Communications and Power in Medieval Europe: The Gregorian Revolution and Beyond

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COMMUNICATIONS AN D POWE R IN MEDIEVA L EUROP E

THE GREGORIA N REVOLUTIO N AN D BEYON D

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COMMUNICATIONS AN D POWE R IN MEDIEVA L EUROP E THE GREGORIA N REVOLUTION AND BEYOND

KARL LEYSE R EDITED B Y TIMOTHY REUTER

THE HAMBLEDO N PRES S LONDON AN

D RI

O GRAND E

Published by The Hambledon Pres s 1994 102 Gloucester Avenue , London NW1 8HX (U.K.) P.O. Bo x 162, Ri o Grande, Ohi o 45674 (U.S.A.) ISBN 1 85285 113 9 (6) Henrietta Leyse r 199 4 Introduction: Timoth y Reuter 199 4 A description o f this book is available fro m the Britis h Librar y and from th e Library of Congress

Typeset b y York House Typographi c Ltd Printed o n acid-free paper and bound in Grea t Britain by Cambridge University Press

Contents

Preface vi

i

Karl Leyser the Historian i

x

Acknowledgements xvi

i

Abbreviations xi

x

1O

n the Eve of the First European Revolutio n 1

2 Th

e Crisi s of Medieval Germany 2

1

3 Fro m Saxo n Freedoms t o the Freedom o f Saxony: The Crisi s of the Elevent h Centur y 5

1

4 Gregor

9

5 Mone 6 Th

y VII an d the Saxon s 6 y and Supplies on the Firs t Crusad e 7

e Anglo-Norma n Succession , 1120-25 9

7 7

7 Frederic

k Barbarossa and the Hohenstaufen Polit y 11

5

8 Frederic

k Barbarossa : Cour t an d Country 14

3

9 Th

e Angevi n Kings and the Hol y Man 15

7

10 A Recent Vie w of the Germa n Colleg e of Electors 17

7

11 Warfar e in the Western Europea n Middle Ages: The Moral Debate 18

9

Index 20

5


Preface

This volume brings together al l Karl Leyser's published and previously unpublished essays on eleventh-, twelfth- and thirteenth-century themes not already published i n Medieval Germany an d it s Neighbours, 900-1250 (London : Hambledon Press , 1982) . Th e genesi s o f th e collectio n an d th e editoria l principles applied hav e bee n set ou t i n full i n the prefac e t o the companio n volume, Communications an d Power in Medieval Europe: Th e Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries (London: Hambledo n Press , 1994) . Her e i t is enough to sa y that th e textua l and/or publication statu s of each essa y i s given at th e start an d that the pagination of those essays previously published in English is given in the running text in square bracket s t o assist th e tracing of references . Those essays prepared b y me for separate publicatio n since Karl's death have all ha d addition s an d correction s mad e i n th e cours e o f editin g the m fo r publication i n this volume; hence it is the versions given here which should for preference b e cited i n future scholarly writing. As wit h the essay s published i n Th e Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries, I have bee n give n generou s hel p b y friend s an d colleague s i n th e for m o f references t o primary an d secondary source s and of clarifications of problems of interpretation. I n this respect thanks are due especially to John Gillingham, Detlev Jasper , Mauric e Keen , Han s Eberhar d Maye r an d Coli n Morris , though no more than those named in the preface to the companion volume are they responsibl e fo r error s whic h remain. Mor e genera l thank s are due , a s before, t o th e Monument a Germania e Historica , no t leas t t o it s president , Professor Hors t Fuhrman n fo r hi s encouragement o f the project ; t o Martin Sheppard of Hambledon Press ; and most of all to Henrietta Leyse r for all her support an d help. Timothy Reute r Munich

, August 1993


Karl Leyser the Historian Timothy Reuter Karl Leyser published his first and only monograph in book form in 1979, in his fifty-ninth year. 1 At variou s time s i n hi s lif e h e planned , though t abou t o r contracted t o write a number of other books: a general survey of tenth-century Europe; a volume o n the eleventh centur y for the projected Oxford History of Medieval Europe i n collaboration wit h Henrietta Leyser ; a study of relations between England and the Reich in the early middle ages; a history of the tenth century church; and last but not least a volume referred to in conversation and occasionally i n hi s publishe d wor k a s Th e Saxon Nobility an d th e Saxon Empire, to which Rule an d Conflict wa s intended t o be merely a preparator y study 2 Only a trace of this has been found amon g his papers: an incomplete draft o f a short preface together with a set of commented chapter-headings for the book , which apparentl y date s fro m the mid-1970s . A s then planned , th e book was to consist almos t wholly of (or at any rate to be based almost wholly on) materia l which he either ha d alread y published o r was later t o publish in article form. 3 Just as the various charter references to Lex Salica seem to bear 1

Leyser , Rule and Conflict. Th e following essay does not give any systematic account o f Karl Leyser's early life and career, though it refers to these on occasion; for more information reference should be made to G. Harriss, 'Karl Leyser as a Teacher', in Warriors an d Churchmen in the High Middle Ages: Essays Presented to Karl Leyser, ed. T. Reuter (London, 1992), pp. ix-xv, and to the forthcoming obituarie s b y Henr y Mayr-Hartin g and Rober t Benson , t o b e publishe d i n th e Proceedings of th e British Academy an d in Speculum respectively. I am grateful t o Henrietta an d Conrad Leyser for commenting on an earlier draft o f this essay, though they are not responsible for an y of its conclusions o r judgements. 2 Leyser , Rule and Conflict, p.v . 3 Mos t of the chapters recur in Rule and Conflict o r in the articles on Ottonian themes collected in Medieval Germany and its Neighbours. The only exceptions are a projected chapter on 'Otto I and th e Mediterranea n World ' (thoug h much o f thi s mus t hav e gone int o th e tw o essay s o n Liudprand o f Cremona publishe d i n Leyser, Th e Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 111-2 4 and 25-42), and a chapter on how the Ottonian elite dealt with its underlings. This was a subject which greatl y interested hi m but o n which in his published wor k there ar e onl y a few scattere d remarks: in 'The Tenth-Century Condition' and The Germa n Aristocracy from th e Ninth to the Twelfth Centuries' , Medieval Germany, pp. 2f., 162f.; and briefly in 'From Saxon Freedoms to the Freedom o f Saxony' and 'On the Eve of the First European Revolution', below pp. 55-6,10-11, the latter itself largely an editorial reconstruction of his thought on a topic which he had long intended to treat separately .

x The

Gregorian Revolution and Beyond

little relationshi p t o Le x Salica a s w e actuall y hav e it , s o i t i s no t eas y t o reconcile all the various oral and written references to The Saxon Nobility with this plan, but at all events it was intended - lik e Rule and Conflict - t o be a series of separate though related studies of article form and length.4 It was the article whic h was his natural mode of expression a s a historian, and i t is not easy t o imagin e what the book s o f a more genera l nature which he planned would have looked like had they been written. To have preferred the article as a vehicle of expression by no means implies an unwillingnes s to tak e a broa d view ; none o f th e article s h e wrot e were primarily piece s of technical scholarshi p aime d a t establishing suc h thing s as the relations o f one manuscript to another, or the sources used by a historian, or th e chronolog y of a sequence o f events. He coul d do such things, and do them well, but just as he preferred t o write articles rather than books, s o he preferred t o sort out matters of technical scholarship in a brief footnote or in a deceptively casua l half-sentence, and he felt it more important to be right than to be seen to be right. It was unusual for him to have spent several pages, as he did i n Rule an d Conflict, i n sortin g out th e questio n o f whether Liutha r of Walbeck pai d Otto I two estates to return to the king's grace or was granted them by Otto as a reconciliation present.5 A footnoted sentence or two on the identity o f the perso n referre d t o a s 'king of the Bavarians ' i n Constantine Porphyrogenitus' D e Administrando Imperil wa s probably more characteristic of his scholarly working methods.6 Though h e wa s thought of , especiall y i n Britain , a s first and foremos t a specialist i n Germa n histor y of the Ottonia n period , hi s interests wer e geo graphically an d temporall y muc h wider, a s these collection s show . In spac e they extended not only to England - inevitable in someone who for most of his working life was a college tutor in Oxford - and the rest of Carolingian Europe, but als o t o Byzantiu m and th e crusade r states , thoug h only occasionally t o Spain an d to th e emergen t kingdom s and the principalitie s to the nort h and east of the Reich. In time they stretched fro m th e eighth through to the early thirteenth centuries , wit h outlier s goin g beyon d tha t time-span . Althoug h most of his work was concerned with aristocratic elites, he was more interested in th e rule s whic h governe d thei r behaviou r tha n i n genealog y o r estat e management. He might best be described as a cultural historian, whose closest affinities wer e with the Heinric h Fichtena u of Lebensordnungen i m 10. Jahrhundert or the Mar c Bloch of the openin g section s of La Societe Feodale. A t first sight it might seem that he was a late developer, since he published hardly anything before his forty-fifth birthda y and most of his work was written after his sixtieth. Ye t a glance a t hi s longer reviews written in the 1950 s and 1960 s shows that already then he was anticipating in his thinking many of the ideas he 4 Fo r printed reference s to the forthcomin g boo k see e.g. The Tent h Century in ByzantineWestern Relationships', Medieval Germany, p. 11 8 with n. 94; 'The Crisis of Medieval Germany', below p. 41, n.78. 5 Rule and Conflict, ch . 3, 'Otto I and Liuthar of Walbeck', and appendix, pp. 32-42,113-23. 6 'Byzantine-Wester n Relationships' (as n.4), p.109 and nn.37ff.

Karl Leyser the Historian x

i

was later to set out more fully:7 the nature of the polity in the medieval Reic h and th e difference s betwee n i t an d thos e whic h developed i n Englan d an d France, especially a s regards th e relation s betwee n rulers and magnates and the differin g characteristic s o f government in the various realms; the fragilit y and instability which underlay even those medieval regimes to which historians have generall y give n highest marks , and th e difficultie s experience d eve n by the obviousl y powerfu l in getting anything done at all; and the dependence of all these societies for their coherence an d indeed for their continuing existence on tw o ver y differen t things, namel y the preservatio n an d continuatio n o f a literary cultur e by a small and often isolated elite and the successful waging of war. Other interests an d awarenesses cam e later, most notably his awareness of the importanc e of aristocratic women for the politics and piety of medieval societies: he was not much interested i n women's history as a separate subject, but his work on the women of the Saxon aristocracy in particular nevertheles s made a significant contribution to it.8 His survivin g work offer s explici t an d sustaine d comparison s betwee n th e Reich an d it s wester n neighbour s onl y for th e twelft h century. 9 Fo r earlie r centuries there are only scattered remarks : the long essay on the Ottonians and Wessex merel y sketches the parallels befor e turning to the significance of the Wessex connectio n fo r the stabilisation of the Ottonians' regime, and his most substantial comparisons for the Ottonia n era concer n th e Reic h an d Byzantium, thoug h the y ar e no t th e onl y ones. 10 Bu t ther e ar e als o implici t comparisons; one o f the mos t importan t recurren t theme s i n his work i s an insistence o n th e othernes s o f the Reic h a s a polity , o n th e wa y in which it worked i n its own looser and mor e informa l terms, i n spite o f the shatterin g effects o f th e upheaval s o f th e 1070s , whos e significanc e in thei r ow n right rather tha n a s a mer e adjunc t t o th e seemingl y mor e importan t conflic t

7

Cf . hi s revie w o f G.O . Sayles , Th e Medieval Foundations of England (Londo n 1948) , i n Medium Aevum, 19 (1950), pp . 90-4; 'A Recent View of the College of Electors', belo w pp. 177-86 ; and hi s review of Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum 1066-1154, 2: Regesta Henrici Primi 11001135, ed. C . Johnson and H. A. Cronne , in Medium Aevum, 29 (1960), pp. 214-15. 8 Se e mos t notabl y th e centra l sectio n o f Rule an d Conflict: 'Th e Wome n o f th e Saxo n Aristocracy', pp. 49-73, but also the remarks in 'The German Aristocracy' (as n.3), and the essays The Ottonian s and Wessex', 'Maternal Kin in Early Medieval Germany', and 'Theophanu divina gratia imperatri x augusta' , The Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 73-104,181-8, and 143-6 4 and 'Th e Anglo-Norman Succession, 1120-25' , below pp. 101-3 . 9 'Englan d and the Empire in the Early Twelfth Century' , and 'Some Reflections on TwelfthCentury King s an d Kingship' , Medieval Germany, pp . 191-214 , 241-67 ; Th e Anglo-Norma n Succession, 1120-1125' , 'Frederick Barbarossa and the Hohenstaufen Polity' , 'Frederick Barbarossa: Court an d Country', below, pp. 105-6,118-2 0 and 145-7. 10 Th e Ottonian s an d Wessex' , Th e Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp . 73-5 . Fo r comparisons betwee n the Ottonian Reich and Byzantium see 'Byzantine-Western Relationships ' (as n.4) , pp . 103-3 7 an d 'Theophanu divina gratia imperatrix augusta', Th e Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 143-64 ; for comparisons with the contemporar y west Prankish kingdom see '987: The Ottonia n Connection', Th e Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 165-79 .

xii Th

e Gregorian Revolution an d Beyond

between Henr y I V an d Gregor y VI I h e was one o f the first to stress. 11 The Reich was not t o b e seen merel y as a failed an d unsatisfactory version o f the emergent moder n stat e offere d paradigmaticall y by the cours e o f English o r French history , eve n thoug h its governance di d have elements o f the moder n state.12 His Germa n perspectiv e an d his interest i n aristocratic attitude s an d aims gave him a greater sens e o f the wa y in which a medieval kingdom might be seen by its elite as being ruled by a collective. The king stood a t its head but was by no means a monarch. As a result his work shows from ver y early on an acute awareness o f the consensua l natur e of much of medieval rulership in all western Europea n kingdoms , lon g befor e thi s ha d becom e a fashionabl e commonplace.13 His own personal experienc e o f exile and war made hi m more sensitiv e t o the underlyin g instability and uncertainty of human institutions than those of us whose adult lives have fallen in the Great European Peac e of 1945-89 can be without a deliberate ac t of will. He was not only sceptical about the possibility of judgin g rulers accordin g t o whether the y were Goo d o r Stron g Kings; his sense o f th e fragilit y o f politica l an d socia l structure s le d hi m t o vie w even 'success' a s something whic h might prove fatal , or a t least ver y dangerous. 14 Just a s armies wer e a t their mos t vulnerable after victor y or when victory, by seemingly bein g within easy reach, tempted leader s to rash action, so political success, whether or not it was achieved by military means, might easily lead the successful to push their luck too far, as it did Henry IV after his victory over the Saxons in 1075.15 Fragility might reveal itself also in hints and stray signs which can be properly interprete d onl y ex post facto, a s in the early eleventh-century prefigurations of the revolutionary struggles for church renewal conventionally known a s Gregoria n reform. 16 I t reveale d itsel f ver y strongly i n th e los s of literacy o f th e earl y Ottonia n era , wit h it s concomitan t substitutio n o f a language of 'ritual, ceremony an d gesture' for the relatively sophisticated an d rational governmenta l an d lega l technique s know n i n th e Carolingia n kingdoms. Yet it could als o be seen in the partial recovery of Carolingian skill s in the Salian era, for the language of ritual was by no means wholly inarticulate 11 'Crisis' , below, pp. 23-4; cf. also Rule and Conflict, p . 107, and 'German Aristocracy' (as n.3), p. 168 . 12 'Frederic k Barbaross a an d th e Hohenstaufe n Polity' , pp . 115-47 ; 'Frederic k Barbarossa : Court an d Country', below, pp. 143-55 . 13 Rule and Conflict, pp . 33,98-107; 'Crisis', below p. 44; 'Some Reflections on Twelfth-Century Kings and Kingship', Medieval Germany, pp. 241-67, passim. 14 Fo r example his description of the policies pursued by the west Prankish Carolingians in the tenth century, '987' (as n.10), p. 167:'fraugh t with poisonous dilemmas', or of Berengar IPs move on Rome in the late 950s in 'Theophanu' (a s n.10), p. 147 : 'to hold his following together b y the magic or poison o f success'. See also Rule and Conflict, p . 25, on 'how precarious Otto Fs regime remained despit e al l his successes'. 15 Fo r th e vulnerabilit y of warriors at moment s of success see 'Earl y Medieval Warfare', Th e Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 46,49. The assessment of Henry IV given in the text was a point h e made often i n discussion, though not in print. 16 'O n the Eve', below, pp. 1-19 .

Karl Leyser th e Historian xii

i

and wa s understood - an d used fo r very varyin g purposes - b y the whole political elite, whereas th e Salians ' adoptio n of more 'rational ' methods, no t least o f more abstract conception s o f the state, of law, and of the place of the ruler i n th e polity , lef t a dee p inabilit y t o expres s an d resolv e conflicts , a seemingly articulat e inarticulac y whic h was finall y t o explod e i n th e Saxo n uprising o f 1073. 17 From th e tim e o f hi s article s o f th e 1960 s re-evaluatin g the battl e a t th e Lechfield an d the military reform s of Henry I through to the essays publishe d in thes e collection s - o n early medieva l warfare, on the logistic constraint s dictating the strateg y an d tactics of campaigning o n the first crusade, an d on changing view s o f th e moralit y o f warfar e i n th e middl e age s - warfar e remained a t th e centr e o f hi s historica l interests. 18 Her e agai n hi s ow n experiences a s a servin g office r durin g th e Secon d Worl d Wa r playe d a n important part , and he himself would on occasion cite Gibbon's dictu m on the value of his experience a s captain of Hampshire Grenadiers to the historian of the Roma n Empire . Wha t Karl' s militar y service gave him was not in the first instance a n interest i n the nut s and bolt s of military history, in such things as changes i n weaponr y o r th e constitutiona l histor y o f arm y recruitment. Hi s approach t o th e histor y o f medieva l warfar e wa s rathe r tha t o f a socia l historian, on e wh o perceived i n the worl d of the wester n European nint h to twelfth centurie s no t s o muc h a 'societ y organise d fo r war ' a s a 'societ y organised b y war' , a n organisationa l principl e whic h pose d acut e mora l dilemmas an d practica l problem s fo r it s elites. Bot h th e ideologica l an d th e material bases of warfare he saw as being of fundamental importance for these societies. Th e ideologica l basi s la y in th e poten t mixtur e of a secular aristocratic warrior ethos and its subsequent justification in rather different term s by a literate clerica l elite , whose beginnings he showed to have gone back much further tha n th e emergenc e o f a tripartit e theor y o f socia l orde r an d o f clericalised knightin g ceremonies in the eleventh century.19 The material basis was provided b y technological advances not only in the equipment of specialised warriors bu t als o - slowl y and with difficult y - i n overcoming aristocrati c individualism an d creatin g discipline d fightin g forces. 20 Thi s basi s to o wa s fragile: traine d warrior s were scarce , an d i t was not unti l the 'revolutionary ' wars o f th e 1070 s wit h their echoe s o f a levee en masse that battl e coul d b e joined freely and frequently. 21 17

'Ritual , Ceremony and Gesture: Ottonian Germany', The Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries, pp. 189-213 , especiall y p. 213; 'Crisis', below, pp. 21-49 , especially p. 44. 18 Th e Battl e of the Lech, 955: A Study in Medieval Warfare', and 'Henry I and the Beginnings of the Saxo n Empire', Medieval Germany, pp. 11-42 , 43-67; 'Early Medieval Warfare' (a s n. 15) , pp. 29-50 ; 'Money and Supplies on the First Crusade', below, pp. 77-95; 'Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: the Moral Debate', below, pp . 189-203 . 19 'Earl y Medieva l Warfare' an d 'Earl y Medieva l Canon Law and th e Beginning s of Knight hood', The Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 189-203 ; 'Warfare : the Moral Debate', below pp. - . 20 'Henr y I' (as n.18), pp. 11-42 ; 'Early Medieval Warfare' (a s n.15), pp. 37-8. 21 'Henr y I' (as n.18), pp . 25, 31-2, 34, and 'On the Eve', below, p. 14.

xiv Th

e Gregorian Revolution and Beyond

Yet his interest in the sociology of military history did not prevent him from making substantial contribution s t o military history stricto sensu. Campaigns generally dismisse d a s failures or defeat s could turn out, under his examination, t o hav e achieve d i n fac t wha t wa s really aime d at . Ott o IP s reveng e expedition agains t wes t Francia i n 978, generall y seen b y modern historian s under th e influenc e of near-contemporary wes t Prankish comment as having begun ineffectually an d then turned into a rout, was shown to have systematically laid waste the main centres of the Carolingian fisc.22 Henry V's invasion of France i n 1124, whose evaluation in modern historiography has also largely been determined by a French account, i n this case Suger's, ha d the importan t but unnotice d resul t o f preventin g Loui s V I fro m organisin g reprisal s fo r Henry Fs successful campaigning earlier in the year. Hence it could be shown to hav e fitte d naturall y int o a patter n o f action s dictate d b y th e growin g alliance betwee n Henr y I an d hi s Germa n father-in-la w rathe r tha n bein g simply another exampl e o f the Germa n inabilit y to recognise tha t the Carol ingian empire was dead.23 Even more obvious successes might turn out to have rather different meanings: the victory at the Lechfeld was won in the days after the battle itself , when the Magyar elite was systematically liquidated.24 If Karl could be said to have had a definable method, apart from bringing his own wide experience an d varied life-history to bear on the study of his chosen areas of the past, then this lay in the repeated an d sensitive interrogation of the great work s of medieval historiography, fro m th e Roya l Prankish Annals to the historians o f Henry II's and Barbarossa's time. One book not well known among Anglo-Saxon medievalist s which certainly greatly influenced him was the classi c stud y b y Helmu t Beuman n o n Widukin d of Corvey , a n autho r central t o Karl' s world. 25 Thi s transforme d an d transcende d conventiona l notions o f Quellenkritik b y subordinatin g positivisticall y pose d question s about whe n a n autho r wrot e an d ho w reliable h e was as a source fo r 'wha t really happened' to a reconstruction o f that author' s ow n view of the world. Beumann studie d Widukind' s wor k systematicall y i n orde r t o sho w ho w Widukind perceive d not only the actors of his time but also the concepts and institutions wit h which they operated : empire , rulership , nobility , sanctity, monasticism, an d so forth. Comparison betwee n Widukind's views and thos e of other writers on the same subjects also tells us about contemporary debate s and controversies whose existence had previously hardly been suspected. The writer's 'bias', to use a term both Beumann and Leyser would repudiate, thus itself becomes th e object o f study, instead of being a mere nuisance which has to b e compensate d for , s o t o speak , b y filters of a complementar y colour . Characteristically, Karl himself produced nothing as systematic a s Beumann's study, thoug h hi s stud y o f Nitnard , hi s thumbnai l sketches o f Thietma r of 22

'987'(a s n. 10), p. 169 . 'Th e Anglo-Norman Succession, 1120-25' , below, pp. 97-114. 24 'Battl e of the Lech' (as n.18), pp. 62-4. 25 H . Beumann , Widukind vo n Korvei (Abhandlungen zur Corveyer Geschichtsschreibung 3, Weimar, 1950) . 23

Karl Leyser the Historian x

v

Merseburg, Adema r o f Chabanne s an d Rodul f Glaber , hi s investigations of the first stirrings o f reaction agains t the old church order i n the early eleventh century, an d hi s accoun t o f Saxo n historians ' conception s o f freedo m an d freedoms ar e smaller-scal e exercises in the genre. 26 Bu t al l his work draw s constantly o n suc h a n approach , o n careful attentio n t o a piece o f incidental detail o r a casua l commen t i n a historian' s accoun t whic h can b e show n by 'close reading' and by the adducing of analogues in other writers to reflect th e way the write r (an d b y implication the writer's contemporaries) though t and felt. The contras t betwee n Karl' s wor k an d th e mor e explici t methodologica l formulations t o be found, for example, in Helmut Beumann' s monograp h wa s not untypica l o f his relationship t o Germa n scholarl y writing. As a Germa n native speake r he was more awar e of it and its importance than most Britis h medievalists o f hi s (o r indee d a later ) generation , fo r who m bot h linguistic deficiencies an d th e politica l and cultura l rift create d b y two world wars had left Germa n medieval histor y itsel f an d to some exten t al l German medieva l scholarship literally a close d book. 27 Ye t hi s ow n scholarl y etho s hardl y assigned a n overwhelmin g priority t o bein g aware of the lates t literatur e (i n any language). Moreover, fo r the first twenty-five years of his scholarly career he rarely went to Germany, becoming a frequent visitor only in the last decade of hi s life. Intellectually , he live d bot h i n and betwee n th e tw o worlds, wel l aware o f both thei r strength s an d thei r weaknesses . I f i n tutorial s give n t o British undergraduate s in th e 1960 s an d 1970 s he wa s capable o f explodin g against 'blood y British pragmatism', he could later i n life equall y be heard a t conferences i n Germany mutterin g about what he in pessimistic mood saw as the inherent tendenc y of some German academics to reduce the real variety of the pas t t o a denatured (an d lifeless) abstraction. He showed, however, little inclination t o ac t as a missionary o r other kind of intermediary betwee n th e two historiographical worlds ; he preferred rathe r to make his own way. If w e ar e al l eithe r nominalist s o r realists , the n Kar l wa s a moderat e nominalist. The attentive reader of the present volume and its companion, and of hi s earlie r work , wil l not e tha t althoug h generalisation s ar e frequen t 26

'Thre e Historians: Nithar d and his Rulers', 'Th e Ascent of Latin Europe', The Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries, pp. 19-28 ; 'On the Eve', 'Saxon Freedoms', below , pp. 1-19 , 51-67 . 27 I t is not at all easy to account fully fo r this neglect, though some of it is no doubt due to quite mundane thing s lik e the British belief - i n itself inexplicabl e - tha t Frenc h i s the only foreign language worth learning and to the hig h cost of holidays in German-speaking countries. The rift between th e two historiographical cultures dates from th e First World War rather than the Third Reich, as Peter Linehan ha s reminded u s in The Makin g of the Cambridge Medieval History', Speculum, 5 7 (1982) pp . 463-94 , especiall y pp. 463-7 , 493-4. What remains unclear is why in the post-war period neithe r those exiles who did exert a substantial influence on Anglophone medieval studies, especiall y Wilhel m Levison , Erns t Kantorowicz , Walte r Ullmann , an d Kar l Leyse r himself, no r thos e Anglophon e medievalists , most notably Geoffrey Barracloug h an d Michael Wallace-Hadrill, wh o were awar e o f Germa n medieva l scholarship, wer e abl e t o rebuil d th e bridges destroyed in 1914, 193 3 and 1939 .

xvi Th


enough, thes e are rarely the exclusive object of what has led up to them, th e climax of the argument. Rather, they have the function of illuminating a detail both rhetoricall y an d logically, of making sense o f the particular rather tha n subsuming it. It is precisely this underlying interest in the particular rather than the general which makes it in the last resort impossible to define his method or to reduce his view of the early and high middle ages, coherent though it was, to a se t o f theses ; hi s wor k mus t b e rea d a s h e himsel f rea d Widukin d o r Thietmar, wit h a n ey e fo r th e detai l whic h i s seemingl y mer e baroqu e ornament an d for the statement which seemingly goes against the grain of the argument, a s wel l a s fo r mor e sweepin g generalisations , thes e las t ofte n expressed wit h an epigrammatic force sufficient t o sustain whole generations of university examination papers. Above all, it must be read as he himself read Widukind or Thietmar: no t once, bu t repeatedly .

Acknowledgements

The editor and the publishers ar e most gratefu l to the publishers fo r permission to reprint essays here . 1 Publishe d her e fo r th e firs t time . Th e Theodo r Schiede r Memoria l Lecture give n i n Munic h i n 1991 ; a Germa n versio n i s t o appea r i n Historische Zeitschrift. 2 Proceedings

of th e British Academy 6 9 (1983), pp. 409-43.

3 Firs t publishe d i n German a s 'Von sachsische n Freiheite n zu r Freiheit Sachsens: Die Krise des 11. Jahrhunderts', in Die abendldndische Freiheit vom 10. zum 14. Jahrhundert: Der Wirkungszusammenhang von Idee and Wirklichkeit i n europdischen Vergleich, ed . J . Frie d (Vortrag e und Forschungen 39, Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke Verlag , 1991), pp . 67-83 . 4L

a Riforma Gregoriana e I'Europa, 2, Comunicazioni (Studi Gregoriani 14/2, Rome: LAS , 1991) , pp. 231-8 .

5 Publishe

d here for the first time.

6 Anglo-Norman Studies 13, ed. M . Chibnal l (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1991) , pp. 225-41. 7 Viator,

19 (1988), pp . 153-76 .

8 Firs t publishe d a s 'Friedrich Barbaross a - Ho f und Land' i n Friedrich Barbarossa: Handlungsspielrdume und Wirkungsweisen des staufischen Kaisers, ed . A . Haverkam p (Vortrag e un d Forschunge n 40 , Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke Verlag, 1992), pp . 519-30 . 9 St

Hugh of Lincoln: Lectures Delivered at Oxford and Lincoln to Celebrate the Eighth Centenary of St Hugh's Consecration as Bishop of Lincoln, ed. Henry Mayr-Harting (Oxford: Clarendon Press , 1987), pp. 49-73.

10 Medium

Aevum, 23 (1954), pp. 76-87 .

11 Publishe d her e for the first time.


Abbreviations

Adalbert, Continuation Adam o f Bremen, Gesta

Ademar of Chabannes, Chronicon

Annales Bertiniani Annales ESC Annales Fuldenses

Annales Regni Francorum

AQDG

Bernhardi, Lothar HI.

See under Regino, Chronicon Magistri Adami Bremensis Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum, ed . B Schmeidler (MGH SR G 1 , Hanover, 1917 ) Ademar d e Chabannes , Chronique, ed. J. Chavanon (Collection d e textes pour servir a 1'etude et a 1'enseignement de 1'hisoire 20, Paris, 1897 ) Les Annales d e Saint-Bertin, ed. F. Grat and others (Paris , 1964 ) Annales. Economies, Societes, Civilisations Annales Fuldenses sive Annales regni Francorum orientalis, ed. F. Kurze (MGH SR G 7, Hanover, 1891 ) Annales regni Francorum inde ab a. 741 usque ad a. 829, que dicuntur Annales Laurissenses Maiores e t Einhardi, 2n d edn b y F. Kurze (MGH SR G 6, Hanover, 1895 ) Ausgewahlte Quellen zur Deutschen Geschichte de s Mittelalters (Freiherr-vom-SteinGedachtnis-Ausgabe) W. Bernhardi, Lothar von Supplinburg (Jahrbiiche r de r Deutschen Geschichte 15 , Leipzig, 1879 )

XX

The Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries

Bernhardi, Konrad 111. Bohmer-Appelt

Bohmer-Baaken

Bohmer-Graff

Bohmer-Mikoletzky

Bomer-Ottenthal

Bomer-Uhlirz

Bomer-Zimmermann

W. Bernhardi, Konrad III. (Jahrbiicher der Deutschen Geschichte 16, Leipzig, 1883 ) J.F. Bohmer , Regesta Imperii III: Salisches Haus, 1. Teil, 1. Abt.: Die Regesten des Kaiserreiches unter Konrad II. (1024-1039), revised by H. Appelt (Graz, 1951) J.F. Bohmer , Regesta Imperii IV : Altere Staufer, 3. Abt.: Die Regesten des Kaiserreiches unter Heinrich VI., 1165(1190)-1197, revised b y G. Baake n (Cologne, 1972) J.F. Bohmer , Regesta Imperii II : Sdchsisches Haus, 919-1024, 4. Abt.: Die Regesten des Kaiserreiches unter Heinrich II., 1002-1024, revise d b y T. Graf f (Vienna, 1971 ) J.F. Bohmer , Regesta Imperii II : Sdchsisches Haus, 919-1024, 2. Abt.: Die Regesten des Kaiserreiches unter Otto II., 955(973)-983, revise d b y H.L . Mikoletzky (Graz , 1950 ) J.F. Bomer , Regesta Imperii II : Sdchsisches Haus, 919-1024, 1. Lieferung, revise d by E. von Ottenthal (Innsbruck, 1893 ) J.F. Bomer , Regesta Imperii II : Sdchsisches Haus, 919-1024, 3. Abt: Die Regesten des Kaiserreiches unter Otto HI., 980(983)-1002, revise d b y M. Uhlirz (Graz, 1956 ) J.F. Bomer , Regesta Imperii II : Sdchsische Zeit, 5. Abt.: Papstregesten 911-1024, revised by H. Zimmerman n (Vienna, 1969)

Abbreviations Bresslau, Konrad II .

Brun, Saxonicum Bellum

D(D)

DA

Diimmler, Ostfrankisches Reich

EHR Einhard, Vita Karoli Ermold, Carmen

Flodoard, Annales

Gesta Francorum

xxi

H. Bresslau , Jahrbucher des Deutschen Reiches unter Konrad II., 2 vols. (Jahrbuche r de r Deutschen Geschicht e 12 , Leipzig, 1879-84 ) Brunos Buch vom Sachsenkrieg , ed. H.-E. Lohman n (MG H Deutsches Mittelalte r 2, Leipzig 1937) Diploma(ta). The referenc e is by convention to the initial of the ruler's name, his number and that of the editio n i n the Diplomata serie s of the MGH ; thus D H II10 is no. 1 0 in the edition o f Henry IFs diplomata . Deutsches Archiv fur Erforschung des Mittelalters E. Dummler , Geschichte des ostfra'nkischen Reiches, 3 vols., 2nd edn (Jahrbucher de r Deutschen Geschicht e 7 , Leipzig 1887-88), The English Historical Review Einhardi Vita Karoli Magni, 6th edn by O. Holder-Egger (MG H SRG 25, Hanover, 1911 ) Ermold l e Noire, Poeme sur Louis le Pieux et Epitres au Roi Pepin, ed. E. Faral (Les Classique s de 1'histoire de France a u moyen age 14 , Paris, 1964 ) Les Annales d e Flodoard, ed . P . Lauer (Collectio n d e texts pour servir a 1'etude et a 1'enseignement de 1'hisoire 39, Paris, 1905 ) Anonymous, Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolimitanorum, ed . R. Hil l (Nelson's Medieva l Texts, Edinburgh , 1962 )

XX11


Hirsch-Papst-Bresslau, Heinrich II .

HZ JEccH Kopke-Diimler, Otto der Grofle

Lampert of Hersfeld, Annales Leyser, Rule and Conflict Leyser, Th e Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries Leyser, Medieval Germany Liudprand, Antapodosis Liudprand, Historia Ottonis Liuprand, Legatio Meyer vo n Knonau, Heinrich IV .

Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich V .

MGH BDK Capit.

S. Hirsch, H. Pabs t and H. Bresslau , Jahrbucher des Deutschen Reiches unter Heinrich II., 3 vols. (Jahrbucher de r Deutsche n Geschichte 11 , Leipzig 1862-75 ) Historische Zeitschrift Journal of Ecclesiastical History R. Kopk e and E. Dummler , Kaiser Otto der Grofle (Jahrbuche r de r Deutschen Geschichte 9, Leipzig, 1876 ) Lamperti monachi Hersfeldensis Opera, ed. O . Holder-Egger (MGH SR G 38, Havover, 1894 ) K.J. Leyser , Rule an d Conflict i n an Early Medieval Society: Ottoman Saxony (London , 1979 ) K.J. Leyser , Communications an d Power in Medieval Europe: The Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries (London, 1994 ) K.J. Leyser , Medieval Germany and its Neighbours, 911-1250 (London, 1982 ) Liudprandi Opera ed . J. Becker , 3rd edn (MGH SR G 40, Hanover, 1915 ) G. Meyer vo n Knonau, Jahrbucher des Deutschen Reiches unter Heinrich IV. und Heinrich V. , 7 vols. (Jahrbuche r der Deutshcen Geschichte 14 , Leipzig, 1980 1909), vols. 1-5 . G. Meyer von Knonau, Jahrbucher des Deutschen Reiches unter Heinrich IV. und Heinrich V. , 7 vols. (Jahrbuche r der Deutsche n Geschichte 14 , Leipzig, 1890 1909), vols. 6-7 . Monumenta Germaniae Historica, with subseries : Die Briefe der Deutschen Kaiserzeit Capitularia regum Francorum

Abbreviations Cone. Deutsches Mittelalter Epp. Epp. Set. LdL Poetae SRGNS SRG SS MIOG, MOIG

NA

Nithard, Historiae

Notker, Gesta Karoli

Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica Regino, Chronicon

RHC

Richer, Historiae

xxni

Concilia Epistolae in Quart Epistolae Selectae Libelli de Lite Poetae Latini Medii Aevi Scriptores rerum Germanicarum, nova series Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum Scriptores in Folio Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Osterreichische Geschichtsforschung [1921-44 : des Osterreichischen Instituts fur Geschichtsforschung] Neues Archiv der Gesellschaft fur dltere deutsche Geschichtskunde Nithard, Histoire des Fils de Louis le Pieux, ed. P . Lauer (Le s Classique d e 1'histoire de France au moyen age 7, Paris, 1926 ) Notker the Stammerer, Gesta Karoli Magni Imperatoris, ed . H.F. Haefel e (MG H SR G NS 12, revised edn, Munich 1980). Ordericus Vitalis , Historia Ecclesiastica, ed. M . Chibnall, 6 vols. (Oxford Medieval Texts , 1969-80) Reginonis Abbatis Prumiensis Chronicon cum continuatione Treverensi, ed. F . Kurze (MG H SRG 50, Hanover, 1890 ) Academic des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Recueil des Historiens des Croisades, serie II: Historiens Occidentaux, 5 vols. (Paris, 1844-95 ) Richer, Histoire de France, ed. R . Latouche, 2 vols. (Les Classique s de 1'histoire de France a u moyen age 1 2 and 17 , Paris, 1930-37 )

XXIV


Rodulfus Glaber , Historiae Rolls Serie s Ruotger, Vita Brunonis

Settimane Simson, Ludwig de r Fromme

Steindorff, Heinrich III.

Thietmar, Chronicon TRHS Uhlirz, Otto III

Vortrage und Forschunge n

Waitz, Heinrich I .

Rodulfi Glabri Historiarum Libri Quinque ed. J. France (Oxford Medieval Texts, Oxfor d 1989 ) Rerum Britanniarum Medii Aevi Scriptores, 9 9 vols. (London , 1858-96) Ruotgeri Vita Brunonis Archiepiscopi Coloniensis, ed. I. Ott (MG H SR G NS 10, Weimar, 1951) Settimane di studio del £entro italiano di studi sull'alto medioevo B. Simson, Jahrbilcher des Frankischen Reiches unter Ludwig de m Frommen, 2 vols. (Jahrbucher der Deutsche n Geschichte 6, Leipzig, 1874-76 ) E. Steindorff , Jahrbucher des Deutschen Reiches unter Heinrich HI., 2 vols. (Jahrbucher der Deutsche n Geschicht e 13 , Leipzig 1874 ) Thietmari Merseburgensis Episcopi Chronicon, ed. R. Holtzman n (MGH SR G NS 9, Berlin, 1935 ) Transactions of the Royal Historical Society M. Uhlirz, Jahrbucher des Deutschen Reiches unter Otto II. und Otto HI., 2 : Otto III., 9831002 (Jahrbucher de r Deutsche n Geschichte 10/2 , Berlin, 1954 ) Vortrage un d Forschunge n herausgegeben vo m Konstanze r Arbeitskreis fii r mittelalterich e Geschichte G. Waitz , Jahrbucher des Deutschen Reichs unter Konig Heinrich I. (Jahrbuche r der Deutschen Geschicht e 8 , Leipzig, 1885 )

Abbreviations Wattenbach-Holtzmann-Schmale

Wattenbach-Levison-Lowe

Wattenbach-Schmale

Widukind, Res gestae Saxonicae

William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum

xxv

W. Wattenbach, Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter: Die Zeit der Sachs en und Salier, revised by R. Holtzmann , new edn by F.-J. Schmale, 3 vols. (Darmstadt, 1967-71 ) W. Wattenbach, Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter: Vorzeit un d Karolinger, revise d by W. Levison an d H. Lowe , 6 continuously paginate d fascicle s (Weimar, 1952-90 ) W. Wattenbach, Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter: Die Zeit der Staufer, ne w edn b y F.-J. Schmale , vol . 1 (Darmstadt, 1976) Widukindi Corbeiensis rerum gestarum Saxonicarum libri III, 3rd edn by H.E. Lohman n and P. Hirsch (MG H SR G 60, Hanover, 1935 ) Willelmi Malmesbiriensis monachi De gestis regum Anglorum libri quinque; Historiae Novellae libri tres, ed. W. Stubbs, 2 vols. (Rolls Serie s 90, London, 1887 89)


1 On the Eve of the First European Revolution

Recent events have compelled us to think once again about the meaning of the rarely simpl e phenomenon Gree k politica l philosophers, an d following them historians, have calle d revolution. 1 The grea t revolutio n of our own century has forsake n itself , ha s confesse d itsel f t o hav e bee n a disastrous an d crue l fallacy. Those now controlling the societies once subject to this revolution now wish t o avoid , i f not t o remedy , th e immeasurabl e suffering s i t caused . A restoration, seventy years later, is indeed neithe r possible no r desired, jus t as in 1815 i t proved to be unachievable even though desired. Compare d with this the revolution we wish to look at here was total. It knew no restoration, fro m it there wa s n o wa y bac k an d an y reactio n onl y mean t tha t th e hothead s o f reform ha d bee n unable to gai n their end s i n full an d without compromises . They coul d no t depriv e an d stri p th e la y powers, fro m emperor s an d kings down to pett y seigneurs , o f all their patronag e an d rights over churche s and church propert y an d claim s to services. 2 But nobod y advocated simon y as it had bee n practise d i n the goo d ol d days; nobody dare d to , eve n thoug h th e toleration o f priests ' marriage s stil l ha d spokesme n her e an d ther e i n th e polemics o f the grea t conflic t betwee n regnum and sacerdotium. 3 The 'struggl e for the right order in the world', as Gerd Tellenbach magnifi cently characterised th e investiture contest many years ago,4 created a host of * Unpublishe d lecture given as the Theodor Schiede r Memorial Lecture in Munich in 1991; a German version is to appear in Historische Zeitschrift. Th e text is based on the surviving English and Germa n texts, except for the sections on the council of Rheims and on Haimerad, which are editorial reconstruction s fro m th e author's notes; the footnotes are editorial. 1 Fo r th e terminolog y and conceptual histor y see R. Kosellec k an d others, 'Revolution' , in Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe, ed . O. Brunner, W. Conze and R. Koselleck (Stuttgart , 1984), vol. 5, pp . 653-788 , especiall y C . Meier , 'Revolutio n i n der Antike' , pp . 656-7 0 and R . Koselleck , 'Revolution als ProzeBbegriff, pp. 749-82 as well as the article by W. Laqueur cited below, n. 14. 2 Se e below, p. 1 5 with n. 74. 3 Se e C. Mirbt , Die Publizistik i m Zeitalter Gregors VII. (Leipzig , 1894), pp. 274-305 , A.L. Barstow, Married Priests an d th e Reforming Papacy: Th e Eleventh-Century Debates (Texts and studies in religion, 12, New York, 1982), pp. 105-5 7 (to be used with caution; cf. the review by R. Schieffer, DA , 4 0 [1984], pp . 688-9) . 4 G . Tellenbach, Libertas: Kirche und Weltordnung i m Zeitalter des Investiturstreits (Stuttgart, 1936), p. 1 ; English a s Church, State and Christian Society a t the Time of th e Investiture Contest, trans. R. Bennet t (Oxford , 1939), p. 1.

2 The


new religious sensibilities an d experiences, no t only for the nobility but also for the rura l laboratores, th e massiv e unprivilege d estat e o f earl y medieva l society.5 What we call, perhaps a little clumsily sometimes, th e clash betwee n regnum an d sacerdotium als o le d t o th e firs t religiou s mas s movement s in Europe. Th e mobilisatio n o f urba n crowd s mad e radica l measure s agains t simony an d clerica l marriage possible fo r th e first time. We meet i t in all its rigour an d frightenin g new organisational form s in the Life o f the Pataren e Ariald. His passionate preaching against simony propagated a new impatience with and intolerance toward s age-old an d everyday conditions in the Milanes e church. Arial d perishe d i n 106 6 bu t hi s Vita, writte n by Abbot Andrea s o f Strumi c . 1075 , introduce s u s to th e wholl y nove l method s o f combat wit h which h e intimidate d hi s enemies, th e marrie d an d simoniaca l clergy. 6 Not only did he organise his adherents as a sect but he also created in the canonica something lik e a counter-churc h where th e comman d to boycot t th e ministrations o f Nicolaitan priests coul d be translate d into action. 7 The houses of alleged culprit s wer e sacked. 8 I n hi s sermon s th e struggl e agains t simony became a religious duty . H e wh o did not activel y oppose simoniac s himself became guilt y of their sin. 9 This wa s a call to violenc e and th e us e of force . From th e word s of the Vita Arialdi we also learn something about those who listened t o hi s agitator y sermon : 'Yo u wh o ar e marrie d an d liv e fro m th e labour of your hands'. Later he called them illiterates (idiotae).10 This does not mean, however , tha t onl y artisan s an d da y labourer s wer e amongs t hi s audience an d receive d th e charg e t o ac t a s God' s agent s b y expellin g al l simoniacs an d incelibat e priests i n His name . Fostering thi s commotion and making it especially menacing were Ariald's strong connection with Rome and the support for his attack on the Milanese church he was able to enlist there.11 A nove l an d ragin g intolerance toward s the statu s quo in the church , the ways of promotion an d the buying and selling of benefices can be found at this

5

O n this see below a t nn. 58f . Andrea s o f Strumi , Vita sancti Arialdi, MG H S S 30 , pp . 1047-75 . O n th e Patari a se e C . Violante, La Pataria Milanese e la riforma ecdesiastlca, 1: Lepremesse (1045-1057) (Stud i storici 11-13, Rome, 1955); idem, 'I laici nel movimento patarino' , in / laid nella 'sotietas Christiana' del secoli XI e XII (Miscellane a de l centre di studi medieval i 5, Milan, 1968) , pp. 588-97, H . Keller , 'Pataria an d Stadtverfassung , Stadtgemeind e un d Reform : Mailan d i m "Investiturstreit"' , i n Investiturstreit un d Reichsverfassung, ed . J . Fleckenstein (Vortrag e and Forschungen 17 , Sigmaringen, 1973) , pp. 321-50 . 7 Vita sancti Arialdi (a s n. 6) c. 11 and 12 , pp. 1057-8 . 8 Ibid . c. 9, p. 1055 , lin e 4. 9 Ibid . c. 10, p. 1056 , line s 9-12. 10 Ibid . c . 10 , p . 1056 , line s 30-1 , 39 : 'vo s vero , qu i coniugat i esti s e t d e vestraru m labor e manuum vivitis ' an d 'vos, qui estis idiotae ignarique scripturae' . 11 Ibid . c. 7 und 19, p. 1054,1064. For the links between Patari a and curia see C. Erdmann, Die Entstehung de s Kreuzzugsgedankens (Stuttgart , 1935) , pp. 127-3 0 (Englis h a s The Origins of th e Idea of Crusade, trans. M.W . Baldwi n and W. Goffart (Philadelphia, 1977) , pp. 140-4) , Violante, 'Laici' (as n. 6), pp. 640-9 , Keller , 'Pataria ' (as n.6), pp. 341-3 . 6

On the Eve of the First European Revolution 3 time not only in Milan but also in reformist circles elsewhere, in Italy and north of the Alps . Thei r writing s stand to the for e an d propagated thei r movement formidably. Ther e i s first of al l Humbert o f Moyenmoutier's lapidar y work, Adversus simoniacos libri tres, in which most of Gregory VIFs demands, his whole programm e ar e alread y clearly set out. I am tempted t o say that what Frederick Engel' s Communist Manifesto mean t for European socialism, Humbert's treatise cam e t o mea n fo r the battl e agains t lay control over churches and agains t th e existin g structure s o f power a s between la y rulers, an d th e priesthood. It is true of course that the manuscript propagation of Humbert' s work was scanty, but his ideas, the condemnation of existing practice, could be and wer e sprea d eve n mor e effectivel y b y wor d o f mouth. 12 Wha t dis tinguished Humber t fro m hi s allie s an d like-minde d propagandists wa s his historical understanding . He clearly saw that the incriminated practices which stood i n the way of the church's libertas went back to the Ottomans and their ecclesiastical policies . H e sought to demonstrate the culpability and sinfulness of the situations that sprang from lay investiture or any other lay conferment of churches by the fate of the Ottonian dynasty . It died out, so he thought, afte r only thre e generations , an d Henr y II , who m h e doe s no t see m t o hav e regarded a s an Ottonian, afte r onl y one.13 W. Laqueur, in a fine article devoted to our keyword in the Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, observed that revolutions rarely burst out of a clear sky.14 Long befor e eve n thei r earlies t stage s ther e ar e usuall y signs of passionat e discontent wit h existing conditions and uncompromising pressures for radical measures t o mak e a n en d o f these conditions . No t onl y in Humbert's Three Books against th e Simoniacs, written around 1058, 15 but als o in two writings from th e Wes t o f a decad e earlie r w e find this radica l criticism, albeit her e confined t o Henr y II I an d hi s dealings wit h th e church , abov e al l with th e papacy. Ther e is , t o begi n with , th e treatis e usuall y calle d D e ordinando pontifice o f th e yea r 1047 , i n whic h Henr y II I i s accuse d o f infamy . H e i s nequissimus an d shoul d be tried, judged and condemned by his peers, othe r

12 Humber t of Silva Candida, Adversus Simoniacos libri tres, MGH Ldl 1 , pp. 95-253 . O n th e spread of the work and its ideas see Rudolf Schieffer , Die Entstehung de s pdpstlichen Investiturverbots fur de n deutschen Konig (Schrifte n de r MG H 28 , Stuttgart , 1981) , pp. 36-47 ; J . Laudage , Priesterbild un d Reformpapsttum i m 11 . Jahrhundert (Beiheft e zur a Archiv fu r Kulturgeschicht e 22, Cologne, 1984), pp. 251-5; R. Schieffer, '"Priesterbild", Reformpapsttum und Investiturstreit: Methodische Anmerkunge n z u einer Neuerscheinung' , AKG 6 8 (1986), pp.479-94 , her e p.49 1 with n . 33 ; G . Tellenbach , Th e Church i n Western Europe from th e Tenth to th e Early Twelfth Century, trans. T. Reuter (Cambridge , 1993) , pp. 177-8 , 183-4 . 13 Humbert , Adversus Simoniacos (a s n. 12 ) III 15 , p. 217, line s 4-5. 14 W . Laqueur, 'Revolution', in International Encyclopedia o f the Social Sciences, ed. D.L. Sill s (New York , 1968), vol. 13 , pp. 501-7 , here p. 502 . 15 Schieffer , Entstehung (a s n. 12) , p . 3 7 n. 127 .

4 The


emperors.16 Against him stands Constantine, who is addressed a s religiosissime imperator, and whose often-cited submissivenes s before th e episcopate, as set out i n Pseudo-Isidore , her e serve s a s a n exampl e an d a contrast. 17 Othe r exempla follow , i n whic h a n empero r governin g hi s imperium charge d th e bishops to ordain a new prelate to whom 'we who rule the Reich may readily bow ou r hea d an d accep t his admonition like th e medicin e of a doctor if we should g o astra y a s a man'. 18 There follo w Carolingia n precepts , especiall y those of Louis the Pious: the bishops were to be the emperor's helpers and the author noted with satisfaction that the dignity of his emperorship here did not outweigh th e blessin g an d goodwil l o f th e pontiffs. 19 Whateve r wa s th e function o f this treatise - and there has been much debate about this - it clearly proclaimed the higher standing of the spiritual power.20 The D e ordinando pontifice, however , is not our only Lotharingian witnes s for a ne w intolerance , a voic e rejectin g th e status qu o an d repudiatin g th e imperial regim e an d it s us e o f powe r i n an d ove r th e church . W e posses s another such testimony in Anselm of Liege's part o f the Gesta episcoporum Leodiensium, which has not hitherto been fully explored under thi s heading.21 True, we find there the famou s scenes of the collision betwee n Wazo o f Liege and Henry III. But it has not been sufficiently noticed how much Anselm, not only i n thes e celebrate d passage s bu t elsewher e i n hi s Gesta, censure d th e emperor an d al l hi s doing s an d ho w il l h e though t o f th e imperia l court . Bishops who spent a lot of time there, that is who served the king, incurred hi s displeasure an d bitte r criticism . Bisho p Notke r o f Lieg e (972-1008 ) too k 16

D e ordinando pontifice MG H Ld L 1 , p. 12 , lines 18-22 , als o edite d i n H.H. Anton , De r sogenannte Traktat 'De Ordinando Pontifice': Ein Rechtsgutachten im Zusammenhang mil der Synode vo n Sutri (1046) (Bonne r Historische Forschunge n 48, Bonn 1982), p. 80, lines 183-4, and in E. Frauenknecht , De r Traktat 'De Ordinando Pontifice' (MG H Studien und Texte 4, Hanover, 1992), p.89 line 203. See H. Fuhrmann, 'Beobachtungen zur Schrift "De ordinando pontifice"', in Aus Archiven un d Bibliotheken: Festschrift fu r Raymund Kottje zu m 65 . Geburtstag, ed . H . Mordek (Frankfurt , 1992) , pp. 223-37. 17 D e ordinando pontifice, ed . Diimmler (as n. 16), p.12, lines 18-22 or Anton (as n.16), p. 80, lines 185-9 or Frauenknecht (as n.16), p. 89, lines 204-9. The author cites the Deprimitiva ecclesia et sinodo Nicena; se e P. Hinschius , Decretales Pseudoisidorianae, Leipzi g 1863 , p . 24 8 and H . Fuhrmann, Einflufl un d Verbreitung de r pseudoisidorischen Falschungen; Vo n ihrem Auftauchen bis in die neuere Zeit, 3 continously paginated vols (Schriften de r MGH 24 , Stuttgart, 1972-74), p. 371 . 18 D e ordinando pontifice, ed . Diimmler (as n.16), p. 12, lines 27-31, or Anton (as n.16), p . 81, lines 196-200 o r Frauenknecht (as n.16), p. 90, lines 217-20. 19 Ibid., ed. Dummle r (a s n.16), p. 12 , lines 33-8, o r Anton (a s n. 16) , p . 81, lines 201- 8 or Frauenknecht (a s n.16), pp . 90-1, lines 221-31. 20 O n the purpose an d the title of the treatise see Anton, Traktat(asn. 16) , pp. 9-19,57,71, with a survey of the various scholarly views, and more recently Fuhrmann, 'Beobachtungen' (as n. 16) and Frauenknecht, Traktat (as n.16), pp. 63-8 . 21 Ansel m of Liege, Gesta episcoporum Leodiensium, MGH SS1, pp. 189-234. On Anselm and his work , writte n befor e 1056 , se e M . Sot , 'Ansel m vo n Liittich' , Lexikon de s Mittelalters (Munchen, 1977-83) , vol . 1 , cols, 688- 9 an d J.-L . Kupper , Liege et I'eglise imperiale, Xle-XIIe siecles (Biblioth6que de la Faculte de Philosophic et Lettres d e I'Universite' de Liege 228, Paris , 1981), p. 15.

On the Eve of the First European Revolution 5 particular car e with the education of young clerks. They travelled with him on long journeys under the surveillance and discipline of one of his chaplains and they ha d t o obe y hi m a s i f i n th e schoolroom . Book s an d everythin g els e needed fo r lesson s wer e take n alon g s o tha t th e youn g pupils mad e goo d progress. Al l th e sam e Ansel m rejecte d an d blame d Notker' s practice . H e feared tha t clerica l student s woul d exploit thi s example an d mov e fro m th e classroom t o th e court s o f bishop s an d king s and s o shak e of f 'the yok e of discipline'. It was sheer delusio n and self-deception t o believe that one could study the artes as well in the hubbub of courts as in the calm of the cloister. I f it were so, all would be well, but since the opposite is more likely to be the case restless yout h shoul d no t inven t fals e excuse s an d pretences . Wha t on e neglects in the peace an d quiet of the cloister can never be made good again in the turmoi l o f th e saeculum. Ho w nic e i t woul d be i f in th e chapel s o f th e emperor an d the bishops nothing else was sought after bu t good manners and morals by the pursuit of learning. But nowadays the reverse is true.22 Anselm se t down edifying details , storie s that were to his taste, also abou t Bishop Walbod o (1018-21 ) an d his relations wit h the Empero r Henr y II . To regain the emperor's grac e he planned to meet him in Cologne and offer a sum of money , th e usua l mean s t o thi s end o f which we hear a good dea l i n th e ambience o f th e Norma n an d Angevi n kings. 23 What follow s i s certainly a moralising topo s whic h all the sam e i s informative about th e worl d and th e milieu of the early reformers: it was better to reconcile oneself with the creato r than with the earthly king and so Walbodo, on the eve of his meeting with the emperor, distribute d th e whole sum - we are not told how large it was - to the poor. Henr y I I di d no t tak e thi s il l and eve n rejoice d tha t hi s 'vain power ' (Anselm's epithet ) shoul d b e deride d b y th e bishop . I n thi s way , Ansel m continued, thi s bisho p wh o spen t nothin g i n th e king' s hal l gaine d mor e renown tha n man y others wh o plundere d th e churche s entruste d t o them , spared no pains t o enrich comedian s an d other 'dogs ' at court and were no t ashamed t o serve them with stupid talk and shameful flatteries, all this for the sake o f kings. 24 Here Anselm, i n the choic e pungenc y of his condemnation, uttered mor e than commonplaces . His anger and irony were even more pointed when he came to speak abou t the promotio n o f his patron, Wazo , t o who m he wa s much attached. Whe n Bishop Nithar d died in 1042 the se e of Liege was once again vacant and once again - i t was not the first time - 'clerg y and people', according to Anselm, elected Wazo . Together wit h a delegation an d letters he reluctantly set off for 22

Anselm , Gesta (as n.21) c. 28, p.205. Ibi d c. 34, p.208. For parallels see G. Waitz, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte, 3r d edn by G. Seeliger (Berlin , 1896), vol. 6, p. 579 with nn. 3 und 4 and Leyser, Rule and Conflict, pp . 32-42. For such payments in the Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Angevin kingdoms see J.E.A. Jolliffe, Angevin Kingship, 2n d ed n (London , 1963) , pp. 50-109 , especiall y pp. 97- 8 and W.L. Warren Henry H (London, 1973 ) pp. 384-5 . 24 Anselm , Gesta (as n. 21) c. 34, p. 208, lines 27-30. 23

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Regensburg where Henr y II I wa s then staying. 25 There wer e those wh o said that Waz o did not stan d muc h of a chance since the electio n ha d taken plac e without th e king' s favour. There wer e others wh o asserted tha t to become a bishop a man must have served as a royal chaplain, which was untrue, and that Wazo had never served at the royal court. This too was incorrect, for Anselm had mentione d earlie r tha t Waz o ha d functione d fo r nin e month s a s a capellanus attached t o Conrad II, in 1031, and made a good name far himself at court.26 I t wa s hel d agains t Waz o also , a s Anselm's increasingl y biting and ironical rhetori c put s it, tha t it would be a disgrace for someone t o become a bishop unles s he had wandered about a t the royal court and above all, no one should be elected who, as one educated in the cloisters had learned to be of use rather than play the lord and master. Here Anselm clearly turned a proverb on its head, for in the catalogu e o f virtues expected i n a prelate i t was of course thought right that he should want to be of use rather than boss men about.27 As if al l this were no t enoug h Ansel m woul d hav e hi s readers know that thes e views o f flatterer s easil y swaye d th e youthfu l min d o f th e king , 'And' , h e continued, ' I don't know what barbarian he was about to inflict on us' when at last Archbisho p Herman n o f Cologn e an d Bisho p Brun o o f Wurzbur g per suaded Henr y t o accep t Wazo' s electio n afte r all. 28 Anselm's contemptuou s reference t o th e 'juvenil e mind' of the kin g is especially startling, since there was scarcely a German rule r who took hi s duties more to heart and sought to fulfil the m wit h mor e seriousnes s tha n di d Henr y III . Th e occasio n o f hi s wedding wit h Agnes o f Poito u whe n larg e throng s of comedians an d enter tainers were sent away without foo d or reward ma y serve a s a reminder.29 We now approach the climax of Anselm's criticism of Henry III, his account of Wazo's collisio n with the emperor i n 1046. It was a thoroughly serious cas e for Wazo had refused suit of host for a naval campaign against the Frisians and now had t o answe r for his offence befor e th e emperor . H e was persuaded t o bind himself to the rule r for a sum of 300 pounds of silver by way of emendatio for hi s default.30 According to Anselm the bishop regretted this all his life and in hi s ver y las t words , a s Ansel m reporte d them , h e deplore d hi s footbal l before th e king and protested hi s innocence and loyalty.31 In the heated scen e in which the ruler and Wazo clashed over the worth and rank of their respectiv e anointment, i t i s agai n Ansel m wh o give s fre e rei n t o hi s ow n anger . H e wrote: 'Th e empero r wa s a ma n inten t on usurpin g for himsel f powe r ove r 25

Ibid . c. 50, p. 219, lines 30-7. For Conrad IPs attempt to have Wazo elected on the death of Reginhard see ibid. c. 49, pp. 218-19 . 26 Ibid . c . 43, pp. 215-16 . 27 Ibid . c. 50, p. 219, lines 39-44. The topos-like contrast betweenpraeesse andprodesse i s found first in Augustine , D e civitate Dei XIX 19 ; it was propagated through Regula Benedict! c. 64,7, Isidore o f Seville, De ecclesiasticis officiis I I 5 and Gregor y the Great, Regula Pastoralis II 6 and Moratia i n lob XXI15 , XXVI 26. 28 Anselm , Gesta (as n. 21) c. 50, p. 219 line 45 to p.220 line 4. 29 Herimannu s Augiensis, Chronicon s.a. 1043 , MGH S S 5 , p. 12 4 lines 26-9. 30 Anselm , Gesta (as n. 21) c. 60, p. 229, lines 22-41. 31 Ibid . c. 70, p. 233, lines 3-11.

On the Eve of the First European Revolution 1 bishops in an all too earthly way (carnaliter), no t to say ambitiously', and here it should b e note d tha t ambitio n was a grave sin. There i s something school masterly about Anselm's criticisms, but they also contain, and at an early date, something very challenging and subversive. There follow Henry's words about his anointing, throug h whic h ruling power flowed to hi m above al l others.32 What matters her e in Anselm's presentation o f Wazo's trial is the word homo. The empero r i s a man , a layman . There i s no hin t her e o f an y sacralit y of kingship, o f the kin g as the unctus Domini. Ansel m seem s t o hav e rejecte d such conceptions. An d yet it should not be forgotten that Henry IV found his last refuge and armed hel p in 1106, precisel y in Liege.33 Misgivings an d warnings abou t th e conduc t an d projects o f Henry II I als o emerge fro m a letter sen t by Abbot Siegfried of Gorze to Poppo of Stavelot. 34 The tw o reformin g rigorists exchange d their starkes t censure s fo r the king' s planned matc h wit h Agnes o f Poitou an d the y were uttered no t onl y on th e grounds of consanguinity. All thi s criticism, thi s ange r agains t the stat e o f things as they were, b e it Humbert's Adversus simoniacos, b e i t th e treatis e D e ordinando pontifice, Anselm of Liege's Gesta or the exchange of views between the abbots of Gorze and Stavelot, ha d one common characteristic. They all came from Lotharingi a (although accordin g t o on e recen t investigatio n the D e ordinando pontifice may hav e bee n writte n i n France). 35 Thi s wa s b y n o mean s accidental . Lotharingia an d France ha d alread y become th e great centres of schooling in northern Europe . H e who had not been educated there, or spent at least some time studyin g there, di d no t coun t a s trul y learned. 36 Ye t Lotharingi a ha d never quite been mastered by, let alone integrated into the east Prankish Reich and it s Ottoman rulin g structures, althoug h Siegfried of Gorze spok e well of 32

Ibid . c . 60, p. 230 lines 1-2. Fo r th e background to the change of political climate in Liege see Kupper, Liege (as n.21), pp. 384-403 . 34 Ed . W , von Giesebrecht, Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, 2: Bluthe des Kaiserthums, 5th edn (Leipzig , 1885), pp . 714-18 . 35 O n the place of origin of the treatise see Anton, Traktat (as n.16), pp. 57, 69-70, who argues for a reform-minded French bishop as author and W. Ziezulewicz, The Schoo l of Chartres and Reform Influence Before the Pontificate of Leo IX', The Catholic Historical Review, 77 (1991) pp . 383-402, wh o argue s tha t th e autho r was a Lieg e ecclesiasti c who studie d a t Chartre s under Fulbert. Frauenknecht, Traktat (as n.16), pp. 52-63, rejects this and points to links with Burgundy, especially Autun. 36 Se e the anecdot e i n Anonymous Haserensis, Gesta Episcoporum Eihstetensium, c. 28, Die Geschichte der Eichstdtter Bischofe des Anonymus Haserensis: Edition - Ubersetzung - Kommentar, ed. S. Weinfurter (Regensburg, 1987), p.56: 'Sub hoc episcopo Gunderammus Eihstetensium scolarum magiste r fuerat ; qu i quonia m domi , no n iuxt a Rhenu m seu Galli a doctu s erat , ta m nullius ab episcopo habitus est, ut ipsum eicere e t alium substituere cogitaret.' This view was not, however, hel d everywher e an d unreservedly ; se e C . Marti , 'Di e Bamberge r Schule n - ei n Bildungszentrum des Salierreichs', in Die Salier und das Reich, 3: Gesellschaftlicher und ideengeschichtlicher Wandel i m Reich der Salier, ed. S . Weinfurter (Sigmaringen , 1991), pp. 335, 343 and also the view s attributed by Ademar of Chabannes, Epistola d e S. Martiali, Migne, PL 141 , cols. 107-8 to his opponent Benedict of Chuisa on the deficiencies of the scientia found in Aquitaine and Francia. 33

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the Ottoma n pas t an d manners when he deplored th e threatened invasion of Aquitanian fashions. 37 It looked westwards and not to the east and it remained an objective for the new and not particularly powerful west Prankish dynasty, the Capetians. 38 Even Henry I municeps (1031-60), the most modest of them, might threate n i t an d i s said t o hav e done s o i n 104 6 whe n th e Salia n ha d marched t o Ital y wit h hi s hos t fo r hi s imperia l coronation , an d knight s t o defend th e wester n frontier s were, accordin g to Anselm , scarce . H e would have it that only Wazo's protesting letter an d admonitio deflected the French ruler fro m hi s plan. 39 Her e i n Lotharingia , in th e perso n o f Duke Godfre y from the Ardennes comital family, arose also the most massive local resistance against Henr y III , give n Godfrey' s hug e possessions , followin g an d no t unjustified claims. 40 What is striking in all this literature 'on the eve' of the great conflict between regnum an d sacerdotium an d befor e th e mas s movement s whic h wer e unleashed b y i t i n France, German y and Italy , is another share d an d mor e deep-seated feature : th e ris e o f self-doubt , pang s o f conscienc e an d self criticism which had no t haunte d the Ottonia n world. We find it in all tiers of society, high and low, not least o f all in the Emperor Henr y III himself. 41 It is evident in the earl y career of the most neurotic and also the most gifted o f all the historian s o f th e beginning s and earl y phases o f th e crisis , Lamper t of Hersfeld.42 H e relate s tha t i n 105 8 he hear d o f the piet y an d God-pleasin g ways of Abbot Meginher of Hersfeld. They were renowned in the whole world 37

Lette r of Siegfried of Gorze (a s n.34), p. 718: 'Unu m tamen est, quod nos plurimum angit et silentii omnin o impatiente s facit , videlice t quo d honesta s regni , qua e temporibu s prioru m imperatorum vest e et habitu nee non in armis et equitatione decentissime viguerat, nostris diebus postponitur, et ignominiosa Franciscarum ineptiarum consuetudo introducitur, scilicet in tonsione barbarum, i n turpissim a e t pudici s obtutibu s execrand a decurtation e a c deformitat e vestium multisque aliis novitatibus, quas enumerare longu m est quasque temporibus Ottonum ac Heinricorum introducer e null i fuit licitum. ' For another contemporar y rejectio n of the Aquitanian way of life see Rodulfus Glaber , Historiae III ix 40, pp. 164/68 . 38 O n the three-cornered relationshi p between Lotharingia, the Empire and France in the early Salian era see E. Boshof, 'Lothringen, Frankreic h un d das Reich in der Regierungszeit Heinrichs IIP, Rheinische Vierteljahrsbldtter, 4 2 (1978), pp . 63-12 7 und B . Schneidmiiller , 'Franzosisch e Lothringenpolitik im 10. Jahrhundert', Jahrbuchfur westdeutsche Landesgeschichte, 5 (1979) pp . 1-31. 39 Ibid . c. 61, p. 225 lines 30: 'Rarus apud nos miles et securus agricola' and also p. 225 lines 40 to p. 22 6 lines 1 7 for Wazo's interventio n with Henry I of France . 40 O n Gottfried an d his uprising see Boshof, 'Lothringen ' (as n.38), and also idem, 'Das Reich in der Krise: Uberlegungen zum Regierungsausgang Heinrich s III.', HZ, 22 8 (1979), pp. 265-87, here pp. 268-71 ; H. Glaesener , 'Le s Demeles de Godefroid l e Barbu avec Henri II I et 1'eveque Wazon', Revue d'histoire ecclesiastique, 40 (1944/45), pp. 141-70 . 41 Fo r Henry Ill's self-doubts se e for example th e wish he expressed on his death-bed t o have lands which he had acquired unlawfully restored t o their rightful owners: Berthold, Chronicon s.a. 1056, MGH S S 5, p. 270 lines 15-17 . 42 For the following anecdote see Lampert, Annales pp. 73,75. On Lampert's personality se e T. Struve, 'Lamper t vo n Hersfeld : Personlichkei t un d Weltbil d eine s Geschichtsschreibert s a m Beginn de s Investiturstreits , Teil A', Hessisches Jahbuchfur Landesgeschichte, 19 (1969), pp . 1123 and Teil B', ibid. 20 (1970), pp. 32-142, here Teil B', p. 79.

On the Eve of the First European Revolution 9 and Lamport conceived a desire to emulate them and so sold his land, became a monk, and only a few months later was ordained a priest at Aschaffenburg. Yet befor e h e returne d t o hi s monastery h e suddenl y resolved t o g o on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The possession o f liquid resources fro m the land sale may have prompted him . The inner contradictions are glaring. First conversio and with it the dut y of stabilitas. Monastic pilgrimages, it is true, were by no means uncommon in the eleventh century but Lampert's differe d from most of them i n that he had set out without his abbot's permission an d blessing.43 He reports his retur n t o Hersfel d o n 1 7 September 105 9 an d h e foun d tha t hi s abbot, Meginher, still lived. The thought that he might not find him alive had tormented hi m al l through hi s journey. Here th e neurastheni c i n Lamper t speaks aloud. H e committed his fault an d at the same time was hounded and plagued b y the sens e o f guilt. In thes e doubt s an d ferment s of restlessness whic h we have now encountered in so many forms lay the fuel for what is here envisaged as the revolution, the sea-chang e o f th e elevent h century . Agains t thi s th e Ottoma n ag e was heroic, a world o f simple composur e whic h struggled to rais e itsel f up onc e more afte r decade s o f calamity . Ther e wer e externa l enemie s t o repulse , heathens t o conque r an d t o convert . Lati n Christianitas neede d rebuildin g after havin g suffered sever e damage. It was done by the prayers and sensibl e economic measure s o f monk s an d b y th e purposefu l ne w foundation s an d buildings o f bishop s i n thei r cities : ne w monasteries , collegiat e churches , hospices an d endowment s fo r th e poor . Th e cor e o f thi s urban revival was ecclesiastical, no t civi c in the sens e o f bourgeois. Ther e wer e merchants and entrepreneurs, bu t a t tha t tim e they still depended fo r the mos t par t o n th e favour an d protection o f their great lords and the latter's connections . I n the tenth centur y too , o f course , thoughtfu l churchme n worrie d an d suffere d pangs o f conscience , especiall y abou t th e governmenta l an d militar y task s which onc e agai n fel l t o th e bishop s an d man y abbot s i n th e Ottonia n dispensation.44 But the general note was positive, straightforward, self-confident an d even optimistic. A n aristocrat , bisho p and historian like Thietmar of Merseburg, wh o often judged himself and hi s spiritual and secular company with much severity, never questioned the durability of the Reich, the make-up of it s horizons , th e divin e mandate of its kingship and hi s own duties t o hi s 43 Se e G. Constable, 'Monachisme et pelerinage au Moyen Age', RevueHistorique, 258 (1977), pp. 11-19 , who also stresses the increase in the emphasis on stabilitas in the eleventh century. 44 Se e F . Prinz, Klerus un d Krieg im friiheren Mittelalter (Monographie n zur Geschicht e des Mittelalters 2 , Stuttgart , 1971) , pp . 147-72 , 175-96 , an d O . Engels , 'De r Reichsbischo f i n ottonischer un d friihsalische r Zeit', i n Beitrdge z u Geschichte un d Struktur der mittelalterlichen Germania Sacra, ed. I . Crusius (Veroffentlichungen de s Max-Planck-Instituts fiir Geschicht e 93, Gottingen, 1989), pp. 135-75, both with discussions of the relevant passages in the sources, notably the lette r from William of Mainz to Pope Agapetus II and the Vita Brunonis of Ruotger as well as the letter s o f Rathe r o f Verona . O n th e latter' s view s an d difficultie s se e H . Fichtenau , Lebensordnungen im 10. Jahrhundert (Monographie n aur Geschichte des Mittelalters, 30, Stuttgart, 1984) , pp . 95-96 , 271 ; Englis h translatio n by P . Gear y a s Living i n th e Tenth Century (Chicago, 1991) , pp. 118 , 294.

10 Th


lord, Henr y II. 45 The empero r migh t commit injustices , even to Thietmar's own family , an d th e margrave s of Meissen migh t behave a s if they knew no lord i n this life, bu t between th e event s Thietmar narrate d an d those 'o n th e eve', that is to say the ferment we have described, only thirty years later, lay an unbridged abyss. 46 It should no t b e forgotten that Thietmar saw himself as a simonist, worrie d abou t i t an d looke d fo r excuses. 47 Ye t Thietma r ha d n o foresight o r inklin g o f th e things tha t late r stirre d Ansel m s o deeply . H e believed i n the continuit y of his practical, aristocrati c and religious world by the Sla v frontier. Hi s main fea r wa s that Henr y IF s marriage would remain childless s o that stranger s would come t o rul e in Saxony, men even stranger than Henry I I already was in any case.48 The Vita of the hermit Haimerad offer s u s a further glimpse of the Ottonia n world's self-assuredness. 49 Haimera d wa s bor n i n Suabi a o f unfre e peasan t parents. His natural abilitie s attracte d the attention of an aristocratic patron ess, a s an emancipate d ser f h e was able t o becom e a priest. 50 However, th e characteristic unres t of the period 'o n the eve' drove him on: he left his church and became a monk a t Hersfeld afte r pilgrimage s to Rome an d Jerusalem. In Hersfeld h e di d no t ge t o n wit h hi s aristocrati c fellow-monks , probably because of his lowly origins, an d whe n he was about t o leave the monaster y with the abbot' s permission h e complained o f the reception h e had received : he ha d not bee n treate d accordin g to his merits as the emperor's brother , by which he of course wanted to stress that all men were the children of God. For this impudenc e Abbo t Arnol d ha d hi m whipped. 51 Th e aristocrati c bisho p Meinwerk o f Paderbor n showe d equall y little sympath y for Haimerad , wh o had settle d i n Hesse as a hermit afte r his time at Hersfeld an d foun d a great following amon g the populus. Meinwer k asked 'wher e this devil came from ' and ha d Haimerad' s 'dirt y an d ill-kept ' mass-book s burn t an d th e hermi t himself beaten, allegedl y on the instructions of the empress Cunigunde. When Count Dodic o o f th e Warbur g ha d invite d Meinwer k an d Haimera d t o a convivium, Meinwerk proteste d loudl y against th e enforce d companionshi p with Haimerad, whic h he regarded as intolerable. He was only reconciled with 45

Thietmar , Chronicon; on Thietmar' s self-awarenes s see H. Lippert , Thietmar von Merseburg: Reichsbischof und Chronist (Mitteldeutsche Forschungen 72, Cologne, 1973). 46 Thietmar , Chronicon VI I 8 (emperor ) an d VII I 21-2 3 (margrave s of Meissen) , pp . 406 , 516-20. 47 Ibid . VI 43-5, pp. 326-30. 48 Ibid . I 1 9 (Henry's childlessness and th e dange r of rule by foreigners) and V 19 (Henry as himself a foreign king), pp. 24/26, 243; for a discussion of these passages see Leyser, 'From Saxon Freedoms t o the Freedom o f Saxony', below, pp. 57-8. 49 Ekkebert , Vita Sancti Haimeradi, MGH SS 10, pp. 595-607. See on this H. Keller, 'Adelsheiliger und "Pauper Christi" in Ekkeberts Vita sancti Haimeradi', in Adel und Kirche: Festschrift fu r Gerd Tellenbach, ed . J . Fleckenstei n an d K . Schmi d (Freiburg , 1968) , pp . 307-24 ; Struve , 'Lampert vo n Hersfeld ' (a s n. 42) , Teil A' , pp . 81-3 ; idem , 'Hersfeld, Hasunge n und die Vita Haimeradi', Archiv fu r Kulturgeschichte, 5 1 (1969) , pp . 210-33 ; H . Keller , 'Ekkebert s Vit a Haimeradi', Archiv fur Kulturgeschichte, 54 (1972), pp. 26-63 . 50 Ekkebert , Vita Haimeradi (as n. 49), c. 2 and 3, p. 599. 51 Ibid . c. 7, pp. 600-1 .

On th e Eve o f th e First European Revolution 1

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Haimerad after th e hermit , who presumably had no knowledge of chant, had mastered wit h aplomb the task set by Meinwerk, namely to sing the Alleluia at the mornin g mass.52 It is significant tha t Haimerad, althoug h his sanctity was apparently accepte d b y th e Ottoma n establishmen t i n th e end , ha d a Vita written only around 1080. This contains a fair number of topoi, it is true, and a good dos e of polemic agains t the behaviou r of an older schoo l o f prelates.53 Nevertheless, w e can se e her e ho w two differen t world s came int o contact , perhaps fo r the first time. The aristocratic church of the Ottoman era was still sufficiently self-assure d to react to Haimerad's provocation s with cudgels and whips withou t a trac e o f hesitation . Th e severit y o f th e reactio n suggests , however, that Haimerad was an alarming figure, probably because he found an audience o f a kind which had no t muc h concerned th e Ottoma n church . H e was a sain t o f socia l protest , wh o wo n i n thi s wa y th e sympathie s o f th e underprivileged. The materia l expansio n whic h has already been hinted at continued in the eleventh century , bu t a t a muc h faste r pac e an d o n a muc h large r scale . Historical researc h b y regions has increasingly uncovered this internal upheaval i n western , centra l an d souther n Europe : intensiv e rura l development ; ever dense r settlement ; th e beginning s of a n urba n explosio n wit h the first burgess movements ; and , almos t everywhere , demographic growth . In an d around Milan the upper levels and the masses already pressed the merely rural nobles, as against those with urban resources and power-bases, very hard.54 In the nort h th e merchan t guil d o f Thiel , whic h Alber t o f Met z s o deepl y suspected,55 should perhaps be compared to the emeute which chased Archbishop Ann o o f Cologn e ou t o f hi s cathedra l an d hi s cit y whe n hi s servant s requisitioned a merchant's ship. 56 We can thus grasp the enormity, dimensions and novelt y o f th e urba n advance . Wit h i t cam e th e increasin g us e an d dissemination o f money, i n the countrysid e as well, and amon g social strat a who i n this way formed new relationships both with their superiors an d with one another . Her e agai n Ansel m o f Lieg e i s of hel p whe n he report s how , beginning in 1042 , i n the cours e o f a prolonged famine, Bishop Wazo caused his agraria n dependant s no t onl y to b e fe d but h e als o had tw o pennies pe r week give n to eac h mansionarius. In thi s way, it was hoped, the y would not have to sell their draught beasts to stay alive.57 An experienced administrator , the bisho p thu s saved the cultivation , productivity and future render s of this 52

Ibid . c. 10 and 15 , pp. 60 1 lines 36-52 and p. 603. O n the topos of the 'unrecognised saint' in connection with hermits see Fichtenau, Lebensordnungen (as n.44), p. 331 (English translation p. 249). 54 Se e the works by Violante and Keller noted above, n. 6, and also H. Keller, 'Die soziale und politische Verfassung Mailand s in den Anfangen de s kommunalen Lebens', HZ, 21 1 (1970), pp. 34-64 an d idem , Adelsherrschaft un d stddtische Gesellschaft i n Oberitalien (9-12. Jahrhundert) (Bibliothek des deutschen historischen Instituts in Rom 52, Tubingen, 1979). 55 Alpertu s Mettensis , D e diversitate temporum I I 20 , ed . H . va n Ri j an d A.S . Abulafi a (Amsterdam, 1980), pp. 78-80. 56 Lampen,Annaless.a. 1074 , pp. 185-90. 57 Anselm , Gesta (as n. 21) c. 53, p. 221, lines 21-6. 53

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temporalities. At the same time his measure would not have been of much use had the mansionarii not been long familiar with the market, sale and purchase. What w e call - somewha t inadequately , a s already sai d - th e investiture conflict, led to the first religious mass movements i n Europe. In its breath an d its intensit y th e struggl e fo r th e libertas ecclesiae als o arouse d ne w religiou s needs among the hitherto seemingl y passive and unprivileged lower strata, the laboratores; in Adalber o o f Laon's orde r o f estates the y were al l servi.58 I n Suabia, according to Bernold, laymen of all classes flocked together in order to be guide d i n their religiou s live s by monastic convents an d precepts withou t themselves becomin g monks. 59 Manegol d o f Lautenbach' s preachin g i n Alsace may not have been addressed solel y to the nobility, to win adherence to the cause o f Pope Urban II.60 Spontaneous gathering s of laymen and women, an almos t feveris h searc h fo r th e vita apostolica an d th e ecclesia primitiva underlay the ne w religious foundations of the later eleventh and early twelft h century. This had, however, its own dangers. Not everyone could renounce the world i n order t o becom e a monk o r a regular canon . Th e searc h fo r a new religiosity fo r th e lait y lagged somewhat behind th e developmen t o f the new orders, perhaps just because th e ideals of piety during this time of conflict had been s o muc h determine d b y th e vita regularis. Her e ther e wa s very littl e difference betwee n th e though t o f the 1050 s an d that of the time of the grea t stirrings of the 1080 s and 1090s. A story from the Miracula Sancti Benedicti by Andrew o f Fleury may serve t o illustrat e thi s (c.1045). Two brothers, twins , came from Barcelona t o Fleury in order to pray at St Benedict's tomb . One of them wa s already a monk. O f the othe r Andre w wrot e somewha t deprecat ingly: 'some nobles had trained him as a warrior, but in as much as it is possible for a layman, he was devout'.61 Here the former miles asked for admission and was granted it . 58 Adalber o of Laon, Carmen ad Robertum regem, ed. C. Carozzi (Les Classiques de 1'histoire de France au moyen age 32, Paris, 1979), p. 20, lines 277,285. On the ordmes-theory of Adalbero, much discussed recently, see Fichtenau, Lebensordnungen (as n. 44), pp. 12-1 3 (English translation pp. 4-6); G. Duby, Les Trois ordres ou I'imaginaire dufeodalisme (Paris , 1978), English as The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined, trans, b y A. Goldhamme r (Chicago , 1980) . Se e J. L e Goff, 'Le s Trois fonctions indo-europe"ennes, 1'historien et 1'Europe f6odale', Annales ESC, 34 (1979), pp . 1187-1215 ; O.G . Oexle , 'Die funktionale Dreiteilun g der Gesellschaft bei Adalbero von Laon' , Fruhmittelalterliche Studien, 12 (1978), pp . 1-54 , idem , 'Die Wirklichkei t un d da s Wissen: Bin Blick auf das sozialgeschichtliche (Euvre von Georges Duby', HZ, 23 2 (1981), pp. 6191, idem, Tria genera hominum. Zur Geschichte eines Deutungsschemas der sozialen Wirklichkeit in Antike und Mittelalter', in Institutionen, Kultur und Gesellschaft i m Mittelalter: Festschrift fur Josef Fleckenstein z u seinem 65 . Geburtstag, ed . L . Fenske , W . Rosene r an d T . Zot z (Sigmaringen, 1984), pp. 483-500, for a critical appraisal. 59 Bernold , Chronicon s.a. 1091 , MGH S S 5 , p . 45 2 line 29 to p . 45 3 line 4; see on thi s K . Hallinger, 'Woher kommen die Laienbruder?', Analecta Cisterciensia, 12 (1956), pp. 3-104, here pp. 25-9; R. Schnitzer , Die Vita B. Herlucae Pauls von Bernried: Eine Quelle zur gregorianischen Reform i n Suddeutschland (Bamberg , 1967), pp. 109-12; K.J. Leyser, 'The German Aristocracy in the Early Middle Ages: A Historical and Cultural Sketch', in idem, Medieval Germany, pp. 181-2. 60 Bernold , Chronicon (as n. 59) s.a. 1094, p. 461 lines 15-20. 61 Andrea s of Fleury, Miracula Sancti Bendicti I (IV) 7, ed. E. de Certain, Les Miracles de SaintBenoit (Paris, 1858), p. 183 .


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The upsurg e an d mobilisatio n o f th e masse s i n the battl e fo r th e libertas ecclesiae and what Gregory VII called justitia also changed their relations with the nobility which had hitherto ruled alone and unchallenged. One cannot, of course, spea k o f a revolution i n the Marxis t sense, i n which a ruling class is overwhelmed an d replaced b y another which it had unti l then oppressed an d exploited. Bu t the lower strata shared the battle for the renewal of the church with the nobilit y and they shared also some of the religious aspirations which emerged i n th e cours e o f th e prolonge d crisis . I t i s tru e tha t th e paris h remained the most vulnerable point of the movement although even here there were, accordin g t o th e Life o f Archbisho p Conra d o f Salzburg , laudabl e advances and improvements.62 Moreover th e new monastic foundations were socially les s exclusiv e than th e olde r houses . Societ y change d b y becomin g larger an d mor e diversified . The laboratores, the lowe r tiers of rural society, were graded in complex fashion. Freedom an d unfreedom merged or at leas t were sometime s har d t o distinguish . Their agraria n dependants entered int o the horizons o f their lords' thinking as never before. They had to be reckoned with more than hitherto and it was no accident that customals fixing and setting down their conditio n i n writing became more frequent than they had been in Ottoman thoug h not than in Carolingian times.63 Even milites must often have been recruited from this reservoir of human potential. In an emergency princes and noble s coul d not affor d t o be too choosy about the social origins of their warriors. I n th e Miracula sancti Benedicti there i s a cas e whic h ha s almos t gained fam e among medievalists studying the origin s of knighthood. Among the servant s o f Fleur y ther e wa s one , calle d Stabilis , wh o becam e a ric h peasant an d the n a successfu l warrior wit h horses , hound s and falcons . H e already ha d a n arme d followin g an d wante d to shak e of f his servitude an d above al l th e census, it s mos t importan t hallmark , whic h h e owe d t o S t Benedict, i.e. Fleury. He married a noblewoman and might have succeeded if he had not overplayed his hand and been defeated, not without miracles, in a judicial duel. What matters here particularly is the already very clear distinction an d classificatio n o f functions : rusticana ignobilitas agains t the militare commercium which ennobled.64 It wa s precisel y i n norther n Italy , i n th e cities , tha t th e nobilit y lost it s military monopoly and could thus be driven into a corner from these centres. 65 In Germany things did not go so far or at the very least, not yet so far. When in 1074 Archbishop Ann o of Cologne was expelled from hi s city, he was able to call up his vassals fro m th e countrysid e to suppres s the risin g mercilessly. In order t o mak e hi s punitive expeditio n a s overwhelming as possible h e als o levied the rural population at large.66 The wars Henry IV, after his return from 62

Vita Chunradi archiepiscopi Salisburgensis c. 17 , MGH S S 11 , p. 73, lines 27-30. O n thi s se e R . Fossier , Polyptyques e t censiers (Typologi e de s source s d u moye n ag e occidental 28, Turnhout, 1978), pp. 25-43. 64 Andrea s of Reury, Miracula (a s n. 61) III (VI) 2, pp. 218-21. 65 Se e the literature cited above, n. 54. 66 Lampert , Annales, pp. 190-1. 63

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Canossa, waged agains t hi s enemies in Germany bor e a revolutionary char acter o n both sides , s o that I am tempted t o call them revolutionary. In them the grea t Saxo n risin g of 107 3 fuse d an d merged with the caus e of the fideles sancti Petri, Gregor y VIF s followin g in th e Reich. 67 The y differe d fro m al l previous wars in Germany and also from thos e tha t followed, even the Saxon war o f Henry V . To begin with, the sanction s an d privilege s of holy warfare already appeare d here , even if the pope did not ye t formally distinguish and endow the m as he later did the crusade. To have succumbed in these battles or to hav e suffere d mishap s in the m counte d as a kin d of martyrdom. 68 Warweariness migh t in the end induce a number of Saxon lords to come to terms with th e kin g but thi s di d not mea n tha t the y changed thei r conviction s and attitudes.69 Henr y I V to o wage d thes e campaign s i n a nove l an d quit e unwonted style. His enemies contemptuously noted that he took the field with armies mad e u p of peasants an d merchants. True, the y suffered defeats , and the participation o f the peasants at the Neckar in 1078 was horribly requited.70 But al l the sam e the struggle did not end with a decisive victory for Rudolf of Rheinfelden, who himself acted in much the same way. He fought wit h hosts made up for the most part o f liberi, and this enabled him to accept one battle after another. Between 107 7 and 1080 four major pitched battles were fought, a densit y which stands unmatched b y any other wa r of the eleventh century, even b y Henr y V' s Saxo n wars. 71 Wit h host s mad e u p mainl y of knight s commanders ha d to be more careful. 72 Hand i n hand with the military operations wen t during the 1080 s th e grea t dialogue o f the polemica l writings ; it too was revolutionary in its density. W. Laqueur, i n his analysis of revolutions, spoke o f their radical phases and these 67 O n the way in which the two groups overlapped one another see L. Fenske, Adelsopposition und kirchliche Reformbewegung im ostlichen Sachsen (Veroffentlichunge n de s Max-Planck Instituts fur Geschichte 47 , Gottingen, 1977), pp. 13-99 ; W. Giese, De r Stamm der Sachsen und das Reich (Wiesbaden, 1979 ) pp. 149-68 ; I.S. Robinson, Tope Gregory VII, the Princes and the Pactum, 1077-1080' , EHR, 9 4 (1979), pp . 721-56 ; Leyser , "Th e Crisi s o f Medieva l Germany', below, pp. 23-5. 68 Se e for example Bernold, Chronicon (as n. 59) s.a. 1080, p. 436 line 36: 'in servitio sancti Petri occumbere promeruit' on Rudolf of Rheinfelden; Gregory VII, Registrum VII 14a, p. 486: 'dono largior e t concedo , omnibu s sib i [Rudol f o f Rheinfelden ] fidelite r adhe.rentibu s absolutione m omnium peccatorum vestra m benedictionem in hac vita et in future vestr a fretus fiducia largior'. See Erdmann, Entstehung (a s n. 11) , pp. 156-7,178,19 0 (English version pp. 172-3,194 , 206-8); I.S. Robinson , 'Gregor y VII and the Soldier s of Christ', History, 58 (1973), pp. 169-92 . 69 Giese , Stamm der Sachsen (as n. 67), p. 170 with n. 770; Fenske, Adelsopposition (a s n. 67), pp. 75-8 , 94-9. 70 Bernold , Chronicon (as n. 59) s.a. 1078, p. 435, lines 21-5: many were killed, others punished with the 'milder ' penalty of castration. 71 Mellrichstad t and the battle at the Neckar (August 1078), Flarchheim (Januar 1080) and the battle a t the Elster (Oktobe r 1080) . See Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV, vol. 3, pp. 137-41,146, 238-40, 333-7, for the sources and the details. 72 Se e J. Gillingham, 'William the Bastard at War', in Studies in Medieval History Presented to R. Allen Brown, ed . C. Harper-Bill, C.J . Holdswort h and J.L. Nelson (Woodbridge, 1989), pp. 141-59, especially pp . 143- 8 on the tendency of contemporary militar y leaders to avoid battles if at all possible.


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can be perceived bot h 'on the eve' of and in the course of the conflict.73 Radical above all was the demand that all grants of land to the church made by laymen, be they kings or peasants, must belong to the recipient absolutel y and that all renders an d services fro m suc h lands were at the discretion an d judgement of the ne w ecclesiastica l owner , whic h meant tha t the y shoul d becom e purel y voluntary. Thi s remaine d a n unattainabl e goa l an d her e th e mor e radica l reformers ha d t o pe g back thei r expectations , a s also i n the deman d tha t all investitures o f al l churches shoul d b e banned . Thi s clai m ha d alread y bee n promulgated a s a conciliar decree a t Rheims in 1119, bu t it encountered fierc e and angr y resistanc e and had t o be dropped. Th e la y aristocracy would no t allow its rights over parish churches to be taken away from it. 74 Let us return to 'on the eve'. What presuppositions fo r change, more still for revolution, ca n w e detect? Som e certainl y that wer e o f moment an d significance. An enlargement of consciousness and the faculties of perception amon g the hithert o silen t stratu m o f the mas s o f the laboratores, th e unprivileged , belonged t o th e revolutionar y development s awakene d b y th e dept h an d breadth of the grea t conflict in the Reich. Such an enlargement is possible als o in a stat e o f illiteracy . Th e inflammator y ideas an d call s t o actio n i n th e polemics an d Gregory VIFs letters could be conveyed also by word of mouth. The difficulty lies in tracing the process historically and this, paradoxically, can only be don e throug h the observation s of schoole d literati. In the elevent h century these belonged almos t exclusively, though not quite, to the clergy, be it secula r o r regular . Befor e 105 0 its outlook, self-awarenes s an d orientatio n had but little time and room for this oceanic, lower-level society. The situation changed markedl y during the next decades and was, as already indicated, on e of the mai n traits of our revolution . Are ther e an y signs for the awakenin g of the crowd , for its presence and participation i n events in the source s comin g from the first half of the eleventh century? It is once again noteworthy how few illusions th e monk s o f Fleur y nurse d abou t th e devotio n an d piet y o f thei r peasant subjects. Self-interes t alone shaped thei r religiosity, so they thought, and the y spoke of the har d race o f the rustic s with their half-heathen beliefs and outlook whic h meant that they cared little about disregarding the feasts of the saint s unles s they hoped fo r some advantage or help from them. 75 There is, however , som e sur e evidenc e fo r th e participatio n o f the vulgus during th e thre e decade s befor e th e middl e of the century . I t had , t o begi n with, conquered a n important place in the peace movement . A large number of relics from the region were brought solemnly to the peace assemblies. 76 The 73

Laqueur , 'Revolution' (as n.14), p. 502. Se e on all this Tellenbach, Church in Western Europe (as n.12), pp. 76-7, 286-93 and Leyser, 'Crisis', below, pp. 25-6. 75 Andrea s of Fleury, Miracula (a s n. 61) II12, p. 210; cf. also II 7, p. 203. 76 Se e here in particular B. Topfer, Volk un d Kir diezur Zeit der beginnenden Gottesfriedensbewegung in Frankreich (Berlin, 1957), pp. 34-54; D.F. Callaghan, 'The Peace of God and the Cult of the Saints in Aquitaine in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries', in The Peace of God: Social Violence and Religious Response in France around the Year 1000, ed. T. Head and R. Landes (Ithaca, 1992), pp. 165-83 . 74

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presence of so many saints not only attracted the crowd hoping for miracles, it also furnishe d th e mean s o f mora l pressur e an d eve n coercio n t o driv e th e milites to swear th e peace oath , eve n t o compel them . The presence an d the expectations o f the many in confined spaces could intimidate theprimores and their following . Without these crowd s the peace movemen t would have been impossible. Ye t when the humiles themselves took part in the campaigns of the agitation, the y coul d far e ver y badly. Bu t i t coul d als o happe n tha t rustici stormed a castl e i n orde r t o fre e thei r capture d lord an d tea r dow n th e fortress.77 Altogether th e means used to combat infringers o f the peace wer e novel an d brought togethe r men who had formerly and in other contexts no t acted collectivel y for a common end . Vast crowd s als o streame d t o Rheims where Pope Le o IX had gone at th e beginning o f October 1049 to consecrate a new basilica o f St Remigius an d to hold a counci l tha t h e ha d summone d fro m Cologn e i n th e summer. 78 A t Rheims h e als o too k a leadin g par t i n th e translatio n o f th e relic s o f S t Corneille. Man y relic s fro m th e sanctuarie s o f th e regio n wer e solemnl y carried t o the metropolis fo r the occasion.79 At the council, which opened o n 3 October, th e buyin g an d sellin g o f churches , i n othe r word s simony , wa s explicitly condemned , an d individua l prelates wer e aske d painfu l question s about thei r own entry into their high office: ha d they entered th e sheepfold by the gate or aliunde1?80 At Rheims the phenomenology of the peace movement vast crowds and relics - fortuitousl y joined the struggle against simony waged by th e highes t authorit y i n th e church , th e pope , b y a no t alway s willin g episcopate and by many abbots. The crowd gave resonance an d support t o the denunciation o f the trad e in benefices. It was a means of pressure . 77 Th e locus classicus for a failure with a mass army is the account of the siege of Deols c. 1038 , Andreas of Fleury, Miracula (a s n. 61) II (V) 4, pp. 196-8 ; see on this G. Devailly, Le Berry du Xe siecle au milieu du XIHe: Etudepolitique, religieuse, sociale et economique (Paris, 1973), pp. 145-8, who very much plays the account down, and T. Head, The Judgmen t of God: Andre w of Fleury's Account of the Peace League of Bourges', in The Peace of Go d (as n. 76), pp. 219-38. Cf . also the defeat of the inhabitants of Le Mans by Godfrey of Maine, Gesta Domni A rnaldi episcopi, in A ctus Pontificum Cenomannensi in urbe degentium, ed. G . Busson und A. Ledru (Le Mans, 1901), pp. 378-9, but als o the taking of a castle by rustici in Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensium 1103, MGH SS 7 , p . 443 ; o n th e pax-militias i n genera l se e H . Hoffmann , Gottesfriede un d Treuga De i (Schriften de r MGH 20, Stuttgart, 1964), pp. 70-89 . 78 Anselmi monachi Remensis historia dedicationis ecclesiae s. Remigii, ed. J . Hourlier, in La Champagne Benedictine: Contribution a I'annee Saint Benoit (480-1980) (Travau x de 1'Academic Nationale de Reims 106 , Rheims , 1981), pp . 197-297 , her e c. 14, p. 216 : 'Advolabant enim . . . promiscui sexu s innumerabiles . Effundeba t asper a Franci a a d honore m glorios i Apostol i su i villanos, oppidanos et cives . . . Ignobilis nobili aut inops cedere nesciebat diviti, sed omnes una conglobati concurrebant intention e devota'. 79 Anselm , Historia dedicationis (as n. 78) c. 21, pp. 226 , 228. 80 O n the course of the council see Anselm, Historia dedicationis (as n. 78) c. 26-33, pp. 236-50; U.-R. Blumenthal , 'Bin neuer Text fur das Reimser Konzil Leos IX. (1049)?', DA, 3 2 (1976), pp. 23-48, and Tellenbach, Church in Western Europe (as n. 12), pp. 188-90. In Anselm's report, c. 14, p. 216 the passage 'nonnullos episcopos et abbates illis adiungit, qui in ovile Dominicum aliunde, non pe r ostium , irruperant ' is , however , no t a questio n pose d a t th e counci l bu t Anselm' s explanation of why the prelates in question sought to prevent the council from comin g about.


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The crow d als o too k par t i n many of the church' s feasts. A newly-electe d bishop o f Limoge s wa s carrie d 'o n th e shoulder s o f th e people ' fo r hi s installation.81 Once there was a great catastrophe when a large crowd pressed and thrus t on e anothe r insid e th e cathedral . Fift y me n an d wome n wer e trampled to death in the stampede. In its wake and not unconnected with it and the peac e movemen t Adema r o f Chabanne s als o reporte d tha t Manichea n heresy wa s being preache d t o th e populac e o f Aquitaine. 82 Bu t th e crow d mattered abov e all when it came to witness and experience an d so authenticate the miraculous. Here the invention of the head of St John praecursoris in 1010 , was the great event to which Ademar devoted a long chapter of his Chronicon. Duke Willia m V the n reigne d i n Aquitaine . Jus t returne d fro m Rom e h e accepted th e discover y an d ordere d tha t th e reli c shoul d b e show n to th e people. Doubt s an d doubter s wer e no t wantin g and Adema r himsel f who seems to have known the prehistory of the head quite well, drew attention t o certain inconsistencie s abou t it s elevation i n the basilic a o f Augerac. 83 Th e doubts were laid to rest, however, by the reverence of the great. King Robert the Piou s cam e an d offere d ric h garments; th e gestur e wa s also o f practica l advantage fo r him. 84 Amon g th e relic' s worshippers , th e kin g of Navarre , Duke Sanche z o f Gascon y an d Coun t Od o o f Champagn e wer e severall y enumerated. Bu t not only the secular great but also the saints, or rather thei r relics fro m nea r an d far were brought by their guardians , monks and secular clerks, to show their respect. Ademar of course lets us know that his principal saint, S t Martial of Limoges, wa s there an d that it was really his intervention which ended a long period o f rainfall and restored th e longed-for dry weather. Large crowds came to all these gatherings: 'Omnis innumerabilis populus' and 'omnis plebs popularis'. There is no doubt here about the social alignment and the sam e plebs als o me t th e procession s o f the monk s when they went with their relics to the Basilica of the Creator a t Charroux. 85 These are the guiding beacons that shine out of the sources 'on the eve' like the Miracula Sancti Benedicti an d Adema r o f Chabannes . O f th e acut e tensions w e met in the Adversus Simoniacos and the De Ordinando Pontifice there is rarely any mention, yet at the same time they are not passed ove r in complete silence. Whe n Bishop Gerald of Limoges died in 1020, theprincipes Lemovicenses, the foremos t me n i n Limoges , clerk s an d laymen , began t o wrangle about the succession an d sought to acquire the bishopric by simoniac 81

Ad6ma r of Chabannes, Chronicon III 57, p. 183 . Adema r o f Chabannes, Chronicon III 49 , p. 17 3 (see als o p. 210) ; see on this passage R . Landes, 'Betwee n Aristocracy and Heresy: Popular Participation in the Limousin Peace of God, 994-1033', in The Peace of Go d (as n. 76), pp. 184-218 , here pp. 203-4; idem, 'La Vie apostolique en Aquitain e a u tournan t d u millennium : Paix d e Dieu , cult e d e relique s e t communaut6s "heretiques" ', Annales ESC, 46 (1991), pp . 573-93. 83 Ad6mar , Chronicon III 56, pp. 179-80 . 84 Ibid . Ill 56, p. 180. Robert took the opportunity to have himself received as king by William. 85 Ibid . Ill 56, p. 180 . 82

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heresy. Here too then, in the provinces, simony was already a heresy.86 Again it was a procession in which the monks and canons and the townsmen took part in order to protest and to wrest the election from the thicket of intrigues. Duke William and his chief councillor, Count William of Angouleme, and then afte r all the principes o f Limoges, mos t likel y again the leading clerks and laymen, held a placitum ove r thi s matte r an d Duk e Willia m then chos e a nobl e bu t 'simple' man, Jordan , th e provos t o f St Leonard. Th e duk e invested him but without recompense, gratis, as Ademar expressly said. He was thus fully aware of th e problem . Hi s ruler , th e duk e reall y wielded roya l function s whe n h e appointed bishop s an d her e th e chronicle r i f anythin g rejoiced rathe r tha n found fault. 87 At this point it could be objected tha t we have so far played Hamlet without the prince, that is to say, said nothing about Henry Ill's intervention in Rome and hi s roug h handlin g o f th e papac y whic h wa s afte r al l th e mode l an d example Henr y I V though t h e wa s followin g whe n h e an d hi s bishop s renounced Gregor y VII in 1076.88 And yet the conflict was, when it broke with all its force, unexpected . Th e tensio n ha d buil t up in letters, befor e the kin g and the pope all of a sudden fought for their personal existence and the place of kingship an d papac y i n thi s worl d an d a large r one . Th e suddennes s an d unpreparedness gav e to the crisis its very character. The participants abruptly found themselve s confronte d wit h fundamenta l question s whic h ha d no t belonged t o thei r experienc e hitherto . W e shoul d perhap s no t spea k o f a predetermined revolutionar y situatio n a t th e outset . Th e caus e o f reform at any rat e migh t hav e advanced , albei t a t a slowe r pace . Wit h labou r an d propaganda i t wa s sometimes possibl e t o persuad e th e nobilit y to par t with some o f their churc h possessions. Durin g his last hours nearly every seigneur 86

Ibid. , p. 182 ; cf. the deposition of Abbot Peter of Charroux with the same justification, ibid. Ill 58, p. 184. For the resistance by the vulgus to illegitimate dealings with ecclesiastical offices see also ibid. Ill 50, p. 174, reporting on the seditio civilis arising from the attempt by Bishop Gerald of Limoges t o retai n th e abbe y of Saint-Martial for himself; cf. Landes, 'Between Aristocracy and Heresy'(as n. 82), p. 211. 87 O n William' s quasi-rega l positio n i n Ademar' s accoun t se e hi s descriptio n o f Jordan' s election, Chronicon III 57, pp. 182-3, and above all III 41, p. 163: 'Dux vero Aquitanorum . . . iam dictus Willelmus gloriosissimus et potentissimus, extitit cunctis amabilis, consilio magnus, prudentia conspicuus , i n dand o liberalissimus , defensor pauperum , pater monachorum , aedificator e t amator ecclesiarum et praecipue arnator sanctae ecclesiae Romanae. . . Et quocumque iter ageret vel conventum publicum exerceret, potiu s rex quam esse dux putabatur, honestate et claritudine qua afflueba t honoris . No n solu m ver o omne m Aquitania m suo subjecit imperio . . . ' Se e also Ademar's accoun t of the deposition of Abbot Pete r of Charroux by William, ibid. Ill 58, p. 184 , and Landes , 'Dynamics ' (a s n . 82) , p . 487 ; B.S . Bachrach , ' "Potius re x qua m ess e Du x putabatur": Som e Observation s Concerning Ademar of Chabannes' Panegyric on Duke William the Great', Haskins Society Journal, 1 (1989), pp . 11-21 . 88 Lette r o f Henry I V t o 'Hildebrand' , Di e Briefe Heinrichs IV., ed . Car l Erdman n (MG H Deutsches Mittelalte r 1, Leipzig, 1937), p. 15, no. 11: 'omnetibipapatusius,quodhaberevisuses, abrenuntio atque a sede urbis, cuius mihi patriciatus de o tribuente e t iurato Romanorum assens u debetur, u t descenda s edico. ' Cf . H . Vollrath , 'Kaisertu m un d Patrizia t i n de n Anfange n de s Investiturstreits', ZKG, 85 (1974), pp. 11-4 4 with the remark s by H. Fuhrmann , DA, 3 1 (1976), pp. 284-5 .


9

felt th e nee d t o mak e hi s peace wit h Go d b y gifts . Hi s heirs could o f cours e challenge an d countermand suc h grants, but in the end they either yielded or negotiated compromises. Wit h kings this was more difficult, bu t even Gregory VII was prepared t o treat over hotly disputed points and if the precepts o f the holy fathers allowe d it , mak e concessions. 89 It must be said however that his professed willingnes s was rarely put to the test. 90 Let u s retur n t o th e 'eve' . O n th e on e han d th e dynami c wa s a ne w intolerance toward s a state o f affair s which , even i f not rightful , ha d s o fa r passed muster bu t was now hissed off the stage in the writings of Humbert an d others. Joined to this on the other hand was the emergence of the masses, their participation i n the peace movement, the cult of the saints and the dark quest for a mor e articulate , do-it-yoursel f lay religion. Withou t thes e congerie s of men an d women in which all social orders acte d together, the struggle against simony, clerical marriage and in the end that for power itself would have been inconceivable.

89 Gregor y VII, Registrum III 10 (to Henry IV), p. 266 lines 24-31; see ibid. II30 (to Henry IV), p. 16 4 lines 13-17. 90 Se e on this Tellenbach, Western Church (as n. 12) , pp. 208-10 , 238, 244-5, 252.


2

The Crisis of Medieval Germany

In the summe r of 1073 a group of east Saxon and Thuringian nobles conspired and ros e agains t their lord , Kin g Henry IV , an d met him at Gosla r t o pres s their demands. Severa l of the region's bishops supported them , some of them cautiously, other s with passion. Eve n more startling was the massive suppor t they enliste d or accepte d fro m th e liberi and the rura l population livin g near the castle s Henr y I V ha d cause d t o b e buil t an d garrisone d b y hi s sout h German milites. Th e Saxo n princes ' grievance s an d complaint s to o wer e backed b y arme d force . Thi s i s what they demanded : th e castle s shoul d b e razed, land s whic h had bee n unjustl y confiscate d should b e restore d b y th e judgement o f princes, th e kin g should stay in Saxony and use his rights there less often than he had done, and he must forsake the company of the low-born advisers gathered abou t him and resort instead to the guidance and direction of his great men. If we are to believe Brun, in Saxony and for Saxon affairs, thes e were t o b e Saxons . The y als o demanded tha t Henry should live a better an d more kingly life and be a better husban d to his queen, Bertha of Turin, whom he ha d marrie d i n 1066 . Henr y ha d com e t o Saxon y to prepar e fo r war and assemble hi s forces , includin g Saxo n contingents , fo r a campaig n agains t Poland. From this too the princes wanted to be released on the grounds that it was inopportune an d that the heathen Liutizi, nearby enemies, needed all their attention.1 [410 ] By mos t account s Henr y di d no t pa y muc h heed t o th e prince s and thei r spokesmen a t Goslar. H e seems to have kept them waiting and in the end sent them away without a very definite answer to their complaints. Lest they should seize hi s person an d impos e thei r demand s o n hi m under dures s he slippe d away from th e accessible palatium at Goslar to his favourite stronghold which had als o becom e a residence, th e Harzburg, where a coup de main was much less eas y to mount. The Saxo n lords, however, followed him and surrounded * Firs t published as the Raleig h Lecture in Proceedings of th e British Academy 6 9 (1983), pp . 409-43; thanks are due to the Academy for permission to republish here. The text is unchanged; a small number of additions has been made to the footnotes. 1 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum, c. 23,27,31, pp. 27f., 31,34; Lampert, Anna/as, pp. 151f., Annales Altahenses maiores ed. E.L.B . vo n Oefel e (MG H SR G 4 , Hanover , 1891) , p . 85 . For Henry's meeting with the princes at Goslar see Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol. 2, pp. 238ff .

22 Th


the place with their forces realising full well that they must keep Henry in their grip and not let him escape southwards . Negotiations continued but one night, on 9 August, th e kin g with a small following escaped an d struggled for three days through the dense forests guided by a huntsman. On the fourth he and his party arrived exhauste d bu t saf e at the roya l curtis of Eschwege. Fro m ther e they wen t t o Hersfeld , wher e mor e troop s fo r th e Polis h campaig n wer e awaited an d bega n t o flock in.2 What the y had experienced, th e threats, th e flight through the wilderness, were ignominies no eleventh-century ruler could ignore an d leave unavenged if he meant to safeguard the standing and efficac y of his overlordship . The wars that followed lasted i n the first place for sixteen years and the end of hostilitie s di d no t mea n a n en d o f tensio n an d disaffection . There wer e further outburst s agains t Salian rule. After 108 9 Henry IV did not see Saxony again. He was on his way to enter i t once more at the head of an army in 1104 when hi s son, th e young Henry V , deserted him at Fritzlar to make commo n cause wit h hi s father' s Saxo n enemie s shortl y afterwards. 3 Hi s accor d wit h them di d not endur e an d eventually Saxon aristocratic an d episcopal opposi tion t o the las t o f the Salian s was no less virulent than it had been durin g the 1070s and 80s . Mor e conspiracie s fermente d in 1112 an d war broke out agai n culminating in Henry V' s crushin g defeat a t Welfesholz on 1 1 February 1115 . And even this collapse of his policies in Saxony was seen by his opponents not as a n en d bu t a s a beginning . A s th e empero r returne d t o th e Rhinelan d embittered b y hi s failure , Ekkehar d tell s u s i n hi s chronicle , th e Saxo n consensus t o resist hi m went from strengt h to strength. 4 Here too the fea r of revenge ring s [411] through. From now on Lothar of Siipplingenburg dominated the scene in east Saxony no less than in Westfalia and across the Slav frontiers. He coul d figh t feud s wit h rivals in the stemlan d withou t havin g to fea r that Henry would benefit by them. The emperor re-entered Saxony only once more briefly fo r a n attempte d detente with Lotha r an d th e Saxo n great , earl y i n 1120.5 Already contemporie s fel t tha t th e Saxo n rising was something quit e

2

Fo r th e event s leading to Henry's flight see Brun, Bellum Saxonicum c . 27, p.31; Lampert Annales, pp. 155f. , Annales Altahenses Maiores (a s n. 1), p. 85; Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol. 2, pp. 252-5 . 3 Meye r von Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol . 5, pp. 203-4. 4 Frutolfi e t Ekkehardi Chronica necnon Anonymi Chronica Imperatorum, ed . F.-J. Schmal e and I. Schmale-Ott (AQD G 15 , Darmstadt, 1972), p. 314. On the battle at Welfesholz see Meyer von Knonau , Heinrich V., vol . 6 , pp . 322-6 , wit h most o f th e sources , an d als o th e Annales Patherbrunnenses s.a. 1115 , ed . P . Scheffer-Boichors t (Innsbruck , 1870) , pp . 129-30 , fo r th e military operations o f Lothar, other Saxon princes and their allies, after th e battle. 5 O n thi s se e Meye r vo n Knonau , Heinrich V., vol . 7 , pp . 146ff. , an d H.W . Vogt , Da s Herzogtum Lothars vo n Siipplingenburg 1106-1125 (Quelle n un d Darstellunge n zur Geschicht e Niedersachsens 52, Hildesheim, 1959), p. 23 and Regesten, no. 55. Henry V had spent Christma s 1119 i n Minister; Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 7, pp. 144f.

The Crisis of Medieval Germany 2

3

novel in its scale and dimensions, something that surpassed all their experienc e of conflict and rif t betwee n a ruler and hisfideles. 6 Even so , however , th e historia n wh o label s thi s uprisin g as th e crisi s of medieval German y owe s hi s reader s a wor d o f explanation . I t wa s Jako b Burckhardt wh o denned crises as accelerations of the historical process which should therefor e b e distinguished , it would follow, fro m single , albeit fatefu l events.7 He himself did not always make this distinction, and in his reflections he was often mor e concerne d wit h huma n responses an d symptomatic behaviour tha n th e slo w gestatio n o f unres t i n seemingl y stable an d flourishin g societies.8 Medieval Germany is rich in crises of both kinds, and many German medievalists hav e seen the history of their country and what they regarded a s its tragic development, it s relatively belated arriva l at statehood, th e side-byside of immense, teemin g energies with their seemingl y weak, contradictory and uncertai n direction , as the outcome of secular fatalities and their unmanageable consequences. Whethe r i t was the prematur e death o f rulers, o r th e untimely extinction of their [412] houses, or the flawed order of things by which the well-being of the Reich was tied to its links with Italy and Rome as was that of no other northern kingdom, there is no dearth of 'ifs' and 'if onlys'. A recent and excellent survey still ends with the statement: The deat h of Henry VI was a catastrophe for Germany'. 9 Yet if there is one crisis, not identified as such by Burckhardt, which brought seminal change s i n th e social , cultural , an d politica l fabri c o f medieva l Germany, questionin g many of its existing values, rapidly fostering new forms of association , ne w ways of feeling amon g Germany's clerical and la y aristo cracy, summonin g it s rura l populatio n fro m centurie s o f passivit y an d it s nascent urba n pressur e group s to asser t militar y and politica l as wel l as economic power , tha t i s the crisi s of the late r elevent h century. We tend, of course, t o thin k o f i t mainl y i n term s o f th e sudde n confrontatio n betwee n regnum an d sacerdotium, fire d b y th e persona l dynamic , the volcani c an d brooding spiri t o f Gregor y VI I an d th e braze n heedlessnes s an d ye t als o unquenchable sens e of his own regality that dwelt in Henry IV. We may thus overlook th e grea t Saxo n risin g o f 107 3 whic h tor e th e Ottonia n an d Salia n order apart no less than did the turmoil of reform. It challenged conventions in the secular world of the aristocracy that appeared to be quite as deeply roote d as were the usages of patronage and service in the episcopate an d monasterie s 6 Lampert , Annales s.a. 1073 , p . 154 : 'nee rem supra modum supraque vires suas temptarent . . . utpote quam ne e sua nee maiorum suorum memoria unqua m gens ulla temptasset', an d cf. ibid. s.a. 1075 , p. 236: 'de usurpato in re publica novo hoc et multis retro seculis inaudito facinore'. 7 J . Burckhardt, Uber das Studium de r Geschichte: Der Text de r 'Weltgeschichtlichen Betrachtungen', ed. P . Ganz (Munich , 1982) , pp. 342 , 349. 8 O n Burckhardt' s 'anthropology ' o f crises an d th e specia l impor t of the Jul y Revolution of 1830 for the origins of his sense of the contemporary crisis see T. Schieder, 'Die historischen Krisen im Geschichtsdenke n Jako b Burckhardts' , in T. Schieder , Begegnungen mil der Geschichte (Gottingen, 1962), pp. 129-62 . 9 H . Fuhrmann, Germany in the High Middle Ages, c. 1050-1200, trans. T. Reuter (Cambridge , 1986), p. 186 .

24 Th


of the Empire. Not only modern historians but already writers like Humbert of Moyenmoutier sa w th e la y hol d ove r churche s an d thei r propert y a s th e damnosa hereditas o f th e Ottonia n Reich whic h must b e se t righ t here an d now.10 Herein la y the meanin g of their message and programme. The Saxon revolt an d it s themes mus t be see n n o les s a s part o f a tainted legac y of the Ottonian Reic h t o the Saxon nobles of the eleventh century and their Salian, Rhine-Frankish kings . It s cause s wer e deepseated , a s w e hop e t o show , although th e rhetori c and justifications of the Saxo n rebellion di d not blame the Ottonians . O n the contrary they appealed agai n and again to the patriae leges and Saxoniae libertas which had once flourished. 11 It [413] is not intended here to belittle the spiritual crisis that hit Germany in the wake of reform. Yet the struggle for what Gerd Tellenbach , many years ago, called 'the right order in the world' was to a greater or lesser extent shared by most of western, central and southern Europe. 12 The Saxon revolt mattered for Germany alone. It did not even give much of a respite to the Sla v peoples eas t of the Elbe . The links and timing of the two outbreaks, the one in 1073, the other in 1076, were fortuitou s bu t thei r conjunctio n prove d t o b e astonishingl y stubborn , tenacious, an d unyielding . Together the y plunge d German y int o som e fifty years o f turmoil . Th e interna l war s whic h filled them wer e fough t wit h an intensity, relentlessness, and harshness which frightened observers and participants alike. Saxony became the chief, though not the only, seat of this warfare and many of the enemies Henry IV so readily made found refug e there during the year s o f Rudol f o f Rheinfelden' s kingshi p an d afterwards . Firs t an d foremost amon g the m wer e som e o f Gregor y VH' s leading partisans i n th e German episcopate , me n lik e Archbisho p Siegfrie d o f Mainz , Gebhar d o f Salzburg, Bisho p Adalber o o f Wiirzburg, and Adalber t o f Worms, who had been expelle d fro m thei r souther n sees. Between 1075 , when Henry invaded Saxony at the head of a large force from all the Reich, and 1081, when he went to Italy , th e Saxon s an d h e fough t fou r majo r pitche d battles . Whe n h e returned from Italy in 1084, there were two more. The bloodshed, devastation, and losse s of the almos t year-by-yea r campaigns , bu t also , it mus t b e said , 10

Humber t o f Silva Candida, Adversus simoniacos libri tres III 7,11,15, MGHLdL l,pp . 206, 211, 217 . 11 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 23, p. 28 : 'de libertat i communi'; c. 26, p. 31: 'totius Saxoniae hbertatem'; ch. 27, p. 31; Lampert, Annales s.a. 1073 , p. 152 and 1074, p. 178: 'ut hbertatem genti suae et legittima a primis temporibus statuta rata atque inviolata manere sinat'; ibid. s.a. 1076 , p . 270: 'leges ac iura sua Saxonibus rata manere sineret'. See also the Carmen de bello Saxonico, line 48, i n Quellen zur Geschichte Kaiser Heinrichs IV., ed. F.-J . Schmal e (AQD G 12 , Darmstadt, 1963), p. 146: 'Leges redde tuis ablataque patria jura!' The same note is struck in the Pegau annals, looking bac k t o th e battl e o f Welfeshol z after 1124 : 'e t a d defensione m libertati s e t patria e se viriliter cohortabantur', MGH S S 16, p. 252. See also Helmold of Bosau, writing between 1163 and 1172, Cronica Slavorum I 27, 3rd edn by B. Schmeidle r (MG H SR G 32, Hanover, 1937) , p. 54: 'Cum igitur Saxones pro tuenda libertate bellum adhuc intentarent.' See on this whole subject now 'From Saxon Freedoms to the Freedom of Saxony', below, pp. 51-67 . 12 G . Tellenbach , Church, State and Christian Society a t the Time of th e Investiture Contest, trans. R.F . Bennet t (Oxford , 1940) , p. 1.


5

temporary expediency , induced the participant s now and again to search for novel and surprising methods to find ways out of their impasse: great debates, meetings between the foremost schooled representatives of each side to argue out their causes in the hope of convincing the opponents by the authority and irrefragable trut h o f thei r texts , th e Bible , fathers , canons, an d papa l pro nouncements. [414 ] Considerable numbers of laymen, princes, plebei milites, great me n an d small , attended thes e disputation s of war-weary bishops, an d significantly th e meeting-places , lik e th e battlefields , lay astrid e th e Thur ingian Prankish border country which divided the Saxon north from the king's Rhine-Main strongholds : Kaufunge n and Gerstungen. 13 The latte r becam e more than once the scen e of negotiations and exchanges of clashing views, in 1073,1074 and agai n in 1084 and 1085 . Both movements , that of the Saxo n rebels and the protagonists of reform, had moreover, an d perhaps not accidentally, one theme in common. That was the nature of gifts. Saxon lay nobles demanded that lands which kings had once given to them or to their ancestors in propriety or which they acquired during Henry IV's minority should permanently, unequivocally, and unconditionally be theirs and their heirs' for good. The Salians, as we shall see, clung to notions of reciprocit y an d reversibility , the conditiona l characte r o f thei r an d thei r Ottoman forebears ' gift s i n propriety, with an astonishin g tenacity as a vital nerve o f their kingship . Som e of the ecclesiastica l reformers too proclaime d that gift s onc e mad e t o Go d an d hi s servants were no t onl y permanent bu t absolute. Th e donor s di d no t retai n an y rights, profits, o r yield s even if th e objects given were regalia. Whether kings and other lay lords could still count on the us e of part o f the lands, rights and profits they had granted or even on services, depended o n the discretion, goodwill, and judgement of the donees , the bishops and monasteries, and on the purposes for which they wished to use their endowments . Not only writers and controversialists like Cardinal Humbert, Placidus of Nonantola, and Rangerius of Lucca, but even Pope Pascal II in a letter t o Archbisho p Ruthar d of Mainz written in 1105, implied that any subsidies which prelates bestowed on kings were voluntary.14 The [415] debate about th e natur e o f gifts therefor e was something the ecclesiastical reformers and th e Saxo n la y lord s shared . Thi s doe s no t mea n tha t thei r respectiv e 13

O n the debate at Kaufungen in 1081 see Brun, Bellum Saxonicum, cc. 126-28, pp. 118-22, and Meyer vo n Knonau , Heinrich IV., vol . 3 , pp . 345-9 . Fo r th e colloquium a t Gerstunge n o n 20 January 108 5 se e ibid., vol. 4 , pp. 3-12 ; A . Becker , Papst Urban II., 1 : Herkunft und kirchliche Laufbahn. de r Papst un d di e lateinische Christenheit (Schrifte n der MG H 19/1 , Stuttgart , 1964) , pp. 66-70 ; J . Vogel , 'Zu r Kirchenpoliti k Heinrich s IV . nac h seine r Kaiserkronun g un d zu r Wirksamkeit de r Legate n Gregor s VII . un d Clemen s (III. ) im deutsche n Reic h 1084/85' , Friihmittelalterliche Studien, 16 (1982), pp. 171-6 ; H. Fuhrmann, Tseudoisidor, Otto von Ostia (Urban II.) un d der Zitatenkamp f vo n Gerstungen (1085)' , Zeitschrift de r Savigny-Stiftung fu r Rechtsgeschichte, kanonistische Abteilung, 68 (1982), pp. 52-69 . 14 Epistolae Moguntinae no. 33, in Monument a Moguntina , ed. P. Jaff e (Bibliothec a Reru m Germanicarum 3 , Berlin, 1866), pp. 379f. Placidus o f Nonantula, Liber de honore ecclesiae cc. 56, 58,71,151-3, MGH Ld L 2 , p. 591,593, 598,634f. For Rangerius of Lucca see his Liber de anulo et baculo, lines 875-84 , 891-4 , MG H Ld L 2 , p. 527 .

26 Th


aspirations wer e compatible with one another . O n the contrary, if in the en d the hardliner s amon g the churchme n were defeated, if they had t o peg back their claims to absolute discretion and disposal ove r ecclesiastical property, it was largely because lay lords of all kinds, not only rulers, refused to bow to this demand and thwarted it, retaining many of their rights over temporalities, not to mentio n regalia, and , i f anything , makin g the m mor e explicit. 15 Lat e eleventh-century Saxony furnishes a good example. In 1085 Otto of Ostia, th e future Pop e Urban II, held a synod at Quedlinburg to rally flagging supporters and muste r th e fideles Sancti Petri. The legat e wanted to decre e tha t Saxons and Thuringians who had snatched ecclesiastica l propert y during the years of recent trouble should restore it to the disseised churches and monasteries. Th e bishops present , s o wrote a wary observer from Hersfeld , aske d him to desist because the guilt y parties wer e all about the m and they feared to offen d th e spoilers who had com e t o Quedlinbur g to renew their coniuratio. 16 This can only mea n th e Saxo n an d Thuringia n nobles . Th e libertas ecclesiae neede d defending agains t it s ostensible friends and allie s quite a s much as against its enemies. Jacob Burckhardt wrote that if two crises coincided then the stronger would temporarily absor b the weaker, and he gave examples.17 It cannot be said that the agitatio n for reform and its preoccupations eve r overbor e an d subsumed the Saxon rising. The Saxon lords and their milites remained their own masters and used Gregor y VII's pronouncements an d the sentences of excommunication an d depositio n o f Henr y I V whic h hi s legate , th e cardina l deaco n Bernhard, despit e Canossa, renewe d in November 1077 at Goslar a s much as they wer e use d b y them. Thei r impatienc e an d ange r in the en d force d th e pope's hands. Here [416] again we encounter the novel and almost revolutionary features of the rising . From its very beginning a group of east Saxon prelates, especially the bishop of Halberstadt, the archbishop of Magdeburg, the bishop of Merseburg, and, more hesitantly, the bishop of Hildesheim, had sided with the eas t Saxo n lords. Burchar d II, th e bisho p of Halberstadt, becam e one of Henry IV' s mos t unforgivin g enemies . A nephe w o f Archbisho p Ann o o f Cologne, one of the man y kinsmen Anno had pushed an d advanced from his point o f vantage in the Church , h e wa s of course a Suabian by birth like his uncle. Muc h Saxon wrath exploded agains t the presenc e o f so many Suabian ministeriales an d lesse r nobles , me n o f modes t parentage , employe d an d promoted b y Henr y I V i n Saxon y sometimes b y givin g the m Saxo n noble women in marriage above their rank. Yet Burchard, who brought quite a few of hi s ow n ki n t o Halberstadt , becam e on e o f th e pillar s o f th e rising , a 15 O n regalia see J. Fried, 'Der Regalienbegrif f i m 11. und 12. Jahrhundert', DA , 2 9 (1973), pp. 450-528 and especiall y pp . 473ff. , fo r Placidus an d Rangerius . 16 Liber d e unitate ecclesiae conservanda I I 22 , MGH Ld L 2 , pp . 239f . O n th e syno d o f Quedlinburg see Becker, Urban II. (a s n. 13) , pp. 71-4, and Vogel, 'Kirchenpolitik' (as n. 13), pp . 178-83. 17 Burckhardt , Studium de r Geschichte (a s n. 7) , p . 355 : 'Wen n zwe i Crisen sic h kreuzen , s o frisst momenta n die starkere sich durch die schwachere hindurch.'


7

foreigner wh o was more Saxo n than the Saxon s themselves in his hostility to Henry IV. 18 His successors, Herran d o f Ilsenburg (1090-1102), a nephew, and Reinhard (1107-22) , were almost a s staunch, Reinhard soon opposin g Henr y V. All three of them opene d th e way for monastic and canonical reform into eastern Saxony. 19 Yet the inciden t a t the syno d of Quedlinburg should warn us: the eas t Saxon bishops ha d very little freedom in their choice of loyalities. Surrounded a s they were by the lands, fortresses, free vassals, and ministeriales of the grea t east Saxo n lay lords they had either to embrace their rebellion o r forgo their sees. So much was made clear to Archbishop Werner of Magdeburg and Bishop Werner o f Merseburg when Henry IV, to whom they had surrendered i n autum n 1075 , sen t the m a s his envoys to th e resurgen t an d newly disaffected Saxon s in 1076. A s Brun, the historian of the Saxon revolt, wrote: the two prelates could have made their own way home even against the king's will as several of his Saxon noble prisoners did. They refused to escape becaus e they feared t o offend Go d from who m all power stemmed even though Henry IV was an impious ruler . When the two men wished to take back the Saxons ' replies to Henry's proposals the y were ordered to choose: either stay or go and never [417 ] return. 20 Som e Saxo n ecclesiastica l prince s lik e Archbisho p Liemar of Bremen, Bishop Benno of Osnabriick, and Eberhard o f Naumburg stood b y Henry , share d hi s setbacks, an d s o suffered expulsion , losing their sees and revenues fo r years on end. Those who remaine d wer e n o les s unde r th e swa y of the Saxo n lay lords. Here la y marke d difference s fro m al l previou s oppositio n t o kingshi p i n Saxony. I n th e secon d decad e o f th e elevent h centur y th e Billungs , th e margraves o f the norther n march , an d th e count s of Werl had bee n bitterl y incensed agains t th e Empero r Henr y II and his bishops, Meinwer k of Paderborn, Unwan o f Hamburg, Ger o of Magdeburg, an d Arnul f of Halberstadt, because the emperor i n each case backed synodal sentences, heav y fines, and penances agains t offendin g lay princes. 21 Moreover , muc h famil y lan d an d important monasti c foundation s passed ou t o f lay control to the bishop s and 18

O n Bishop Burchard II see L. Fenske, Adelsopposition und kirchliche Reformbewegung im ostlichen Sachsen (Veroffentlichunge n de s Max-Planck-Institut s fu r Geschicht e 47, Gottingen , 1977), pp. 100-18. On his kinsmen set up in Saxony see A. Heinrichsen, 'Siiddeutsche Adelsgeschlechter i n Niedersachsen im 11. und 12 . Jahrhundert', Niedersachsisches Jahrbuch fur Landesgeschichte, 26 (1954), pp . 24-11 6 and especially pp. 71ff. 19 Se e Fenske, Adelsopposition (a s n. 18) , pp. 118ff. , 133ff. , 181ff. , 20 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum, c. 86, p. 81. 21 Fo r example, Margrave Bernhard of the northern march had to pay 500 marks to Archbishop Gero of Magdeburg in 1017: Thietmar , Chronicon VII 50 , p. 460. In 101 3 Margrave Gero o f the eastern marc h an d hi s milites had t o pa y a fin e o f 30 0 pounds o f silve r t o Bisho p Arnul f o f Halberstadt a t Henr y IP s comman d because th e milites had attacke d th e bisho p a t Gernrode . Lords were responsible fo r the behaviour of their men. For this incident see Thietmar, Chronicon VI96-98, pp. 388/90. On Henry IPs dealings with Archbishop Unwan see Adam of Bremen, Gesta II 47, 48 and scholion 34, pp. 107ff. , an d Annales Quedlinburgenses s.a. 1013 , MGHSS 3 , p. 81. See als o H . Bannasch , Da s Bistum Paderborn unter den Bischofen Rethar un d Meinwerk (9831036) (Studie n un d Quelle n zu r westfalische n Geschicht e 12 , Paderborn, 1972) , pp. 158 , 166f. , 257.

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their churche s thank s t o Henry' s policies , notabl y hi s astute , no t t o sa y simoniacal, practice s whe n making episcopal appointment s i n Saxony. When Count Thietma r Billun g in 1018 wa s fined by Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn and ha d t o giv e hi m a n estat e becaus e h e coul d no t rais e th e money , a dangerous ga p opened betwee n episcopal an d royal and the Saxon lay nobles' sense of right an d justice . The bishop' s sentenc e hi t an individual sinner but under the iron customs of inheritance his whole kin were bound to suffer and to resent it. 22 I n th e grea t Saxo n risin g of the late r elevent h centur y [418 ] th e fronts ha d change d altogether . Th e bishop s o f the eas t Saxo n dioceses wer e now aligne d wit h the king' s enemies. Wel l might Henry I V complai n t o his princes a t Cappel , i n August 1073 , ho w ungrateful the y had al l been fo r gift s and favour s formerl y bestowed o n them. 23 Fo r thes e hi s diplomata furnis h enough evidence . This new alignment, the east Saxo n bishops' dependence on the neighbouring lay lords, is reflected also in the polemica l literature which, like the grea t conflict itself , burgeone d suddenl y in feveris h efforts t o convinc e adherent s and denounc e enemies . Mos t of the tract s in the Reic h wer e writte n by bishops, well-schooled clerks, regular canons, or monks and addressed to their like, men like Hermann of Metz and Gebhard of Salzburg or the clerical elites of cathedral chapters and cloisters. In east Saxony and Thuringia w e find one of the few marked exceptions. Here Bishop Walram of Naumberg addressed a letter to Count Loui s of Thuringia in which he urged him to obey Henry IV as the power willed by God, pointing out how divine judgement had struck down all his enemies, Gregory VII, Rudolf of Rheinfelden, and Margrave Ekbert of Meissen. Their bad ends proved their bad beginnings.24 Count Louis consulted Bishop Herran d o f Halberstadt bu t Herrand's repl y was drafted in the count's name. Henry IV, who had soiled his marriage and burnt churches, could not be a potestas ordinata. As a vendor o f bishoprics an d abbey s he was a heretic . Excommunicated b y the Holy See, he could never have kingship or any power over right-minded men . Schooled thoug h Herrand's letter undoubtedly is, the arguments Coun t Loui s i s made t o propoun d reflec t als o his own downright reasoning. Were Nero, Herod, and Pilate blesse d because they outlived their victims?25 Between 107 7 and 1125 the Salian kings were more often than not unable to advance thei r candidate s t o Saxo n sees , an d afte r th e deat h o f Rudol f o f 22

O n the clashes between Count Thietmar Billung and Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn see the Vita Meinwerci Episcopi Patherbrunnensis, cc. 100 , 158, 195, ed. F . Tenckhoff (MG H SRG 59 , Hanover, 1921), pp. 54f. , 82f., 112, and Bannasch, Bistum Paderborn (as n. 21), pp. 50,163,179, 193, 217f . For th e surrende r o f the estat e i n lie u of cash see H.A. Erhard , Regesta Historiae Westfaliae accedit Codex Diplomaticus (Miinster , 1847) vol. 1, no. 836 , and Codex Diplomaticus, p. 69 , no . Ixxxvi i c . xx . In thi s charter Duke Bernard Billung i s called Thietmar's 'iustissimu s heres'. 23 Lampert , Annales s.a. 1073, p. 157. 24 Walrami e t Herrandi epistolae d e causa Heinrici regis conscriptae, MG H Ld L 2 , pp. 286-91 . 25 Ibid. , p. 290 . The tw o polemics were preserved in the Annals of Disibodenberg s.a. 1090, MGH S S 17 , 9-14.


9

Rheinfelden and the inglorious departure of Hermann of Salm, these appointments fel l frequentl y int o th e gri p o f Saxo n la y prince s and , afte r 111 5 especially, tha t o f Lothar o f Siipplingenburg. 26 The chie f dramatis personae of the risin g were and [419] remained the greater lay nobles and the centre of their resistance , th e endurin g har d cor e o f thei r rebellion , la y i n easter n Saxony, north Thuringia, and the south-eastern marches, the areas which had been th e heartland s o f th e Ottonian s an d o f thei r principa l militar y an d governmental, no t leas t o f all, fiscal institutions. The significanc e of this will occupy us later. Here it matters above all to note how different thei r rising was from anythin g that had ever been attempted against the Ottos or even against Henry II in Saxony. In the tenth century disgruntled and feuding Saxon princes rarely ros e o n thei r own ; the y nearl y always , as I hav e show n elsewhere , sought t o range behind a disaffected member of the stirps regia or at least th e royal affinity. The y attached themselve s to the rival Liudolfing contender for the kingship in the risings against Otto II and the minority of Otto III.27 Even Margrave Ekkehar d o f Meissen, th e Saxo n nobility's own candidate for th e crown i n 1002 , ha d muc h more Liudolfin g descen t i n him than has hithert o been thought.28 These fitful and yet repetitive conflicts were sometimes based, as was shown recently, on sworn associations of nobles with their convivia and memorials for the dead. 29 Against the m th e risin g o f 1073 presents somethin g much more articulat e and matured, a secular cause rather than the affront s whic h drove Liudolf or Conrad th e Re d to strik e agains t Otto I's brother an d then against the king himself. We have only to compare the rhetoric of Brun and Lampert with the Saxon historiography of the tenth century to notice a new political vocabulary, albeit borrowe d fro m Sallust , and a coherent movement with a programme. The eas t Saxo n conspirators wer e the subject s of a historiography, still, it is true, monastic or from the ambiance of episcopal familiae, which spoke up for them even if it did not speak their language. Its classical commonplaces, words like tyranny , libertas, an d mo s maiorum, gav e scal e an d dignit y to thei r demands an d abov e al l justified the m and made them understandable to th e world at large and the next generation. [420] Widukind of Corvey in the tenth century had been a t least a s well-versed in Sallust as were Brun and Lampert but h e use d hi m t o describ e virtus rathe r tha n th e cause s fo r whic h it was 26 Se e Vogt , Herzogtwn Lothars (a s n . 5) , pp . 21f. , an d Regesten, nos . 58 (Minister), 64 (Halberstadt). 27 Leyser , Rule and Conflict, pp . 29f. 28 O n Ekkehard's kinship with the Liudolfings see E. Hlawitschka, "'Merkst Du nicht, daB Dir das viert e Rad a m Wage n fehlt? " Zu r Thronkandidatu r Ekkehard s vo n Meisse n (1002 ) nac h Thietmar Chronico n iv, c . 52 ' i n Geschichtsschreibung und geistiges Leben im Mittelalter: Festschrift fu r heinz Lowe zum 65 . Geburtstag, ed. K . Hauck and H. Mordek (Cologne, 1978), pp. 281-311. 29 G . Althoff, 'Zur Frage nach der Organisation sachsischer coniurationes in der Ottonenzeit', Fruhmittelalterliche Studien, 16 (1982), pp. 129-42 .

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practised.30 As against this Brim and Lampert denounced a king who broke his engagements, wh o sought to destroy rather than protect inborn rights as well as offending agains t all the othe r establishe d canons of royal conduct. Thei r new political rhetori c reflected and gave voice to sentiments that were really uttered t o back demands really made at Hotensleben in July 1073, one of the many assemblies where the conspiracy took shape. 31 Here, according to Brun, Otto of Northeim addressed th e milites, the warriors and nobles of the second rank who seem t o have been th e mainstay of the movement. Brun may have been there himself and heard him. The Saxo n noble s o f th e 1070 s wer e thu s a political community that ha d come o f age . Thi s ca n b e see n no t onl y in thei r demand s bu t als o i n thei r behaviour whe n they had pu t themselve s in the wron g after th e sac k of th e Harzburg an d the desecratio n o f the roya l tombs and relics there. Again and again they asked for the judgement of their fellow-princes in the king's curia.32 As agains t thi s i t i s startling t o fin d th e Salian s clin g to th e past , tryin g to contain and steer aristocratic opposition by once again having it aligned behind different member s o f th e roya l house . Henr y I V occasionall y offere d th e Saxons a royal regime tempered by observance of their ancient rights but once, in 1080 , afte r the deat h o f Rudolf o f Rheinfelden, h e went much further. To circumvent the electio n o f another rival king he proposed t o the Saxon lords that they should mak e his son Conrad thei r king and he would swear never to enter Saxon y again . Bru n i s our sol e sourc e fo r thi s an d h e ha s Ott o o f Northeim, the outstandin g figure among the Saxo n princes, scor n th e Salia n offer with the grim [421] words: he had often seen a bad calf begot by a bad ox, and so he wanted neithe r fathe r nor son. 33 Nor is this the sole instance. Th e author o f th e so-calle d Kaiserchronik o f 1112-1 3 sough t t o ton e dow n an d palliate th e youn g Henr y V' s pitiles s risin g agains t hi s fathe r i n 110 5 b y suggesting it had really been the ageing emperor's own plan. There were some, he wrote, who thought that the discord between father and son was simulated so that loyalties that had forsaken Henry IV could be attached to his heir and successor. Th e autho r did not wish to be identified wit h this rumour himself, 30 Fo r th e rhetori c o f Saxo n resistanc e cf . abov e n . 11 . On Widukin d an d Sallus t se e H . Beumann, Widukind von Korvei (Abhandlungen zur Corveyer Geschichtsschreibung 3, Weimar, 1950), pp. 94-100 , 124-5. 31 Fo r the Saxons' meeting at Hotensleben see Brun, Bellum Saxonicum, cc. 23-6, pp. 28-31. It is discussed by Fenske, Adelsopposition (a s n. 18), pp. 57-60,296f., and W. Giese, Der Stamm der Sachsen und das Reich in ottonischer und salischer Zeit (Wiesbaden, 1979) , pp. 33 , 152, 155 . G . Baaken, 'Konigtum , Burge n und Konigsfreie' , [n o volume title] (Vortrage und Forschunge n 6, Constance, 1961), pp. 85ff., 93f., identified the 'popular' element in the rising too exclusively with a class of royal liberi. For a full an d wide-ranging discussion of ideas in conflict between 1077 and 1080 see I.S. Robinson, 'Gregory VII, the Prince s and the Pactum 1077-1080', EHR, 9 4 (1979), pp. 721ff . H e rightly speaks of a 'three-cornered struggle' (p. 756) . 32 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum, cc. 41, 42, 45, 48, 51, pp. 41 , 42, 43, 47, 49. 33 Ibid . c. 125, p. 118 . For Henry IV's offers to the Saxons in 1085 to respect their ins and not to infringe thei r patriae leges, see Annalista Saxo, MG H 5 5 6 , pp . 722-23, an d Giese, Stamm der Sachsen (as n. 31), pp. 177f.


1

but Henr y V certainl y gaine d fo r th e tim e bein g th e suppor t o f th e Saxo n bishops and lay nobles by leaving his father and he could take possession of the still considerable roya l lands in Saxony.34 Lampert o f Hersfeld ha s given us a list not only of the foremost clerical bu t also o f th e chie f la y conspirators i n 1073 . I t i s both to o larg e an d no t larg e enough. He included some who were not, or only marginally, committed to the cause o f the insurgent s but h e lef t ou t other s wh o took par t an d mattered. 35 The foremos t name s o f the Saxo n nobility appear: th e Billungs , their rivals, the count s o f Stade, now margraves of the norther n march , the Saxo n count palatine Frederic k o f Goseck, a brother o f Archbishop Adalber t o f Bremen , Henry's friend, Otto of Northeim, the Wettins , the Brunone s of Brunswick, the count s o f Katlenburg, the count s of Ballenstedt, th e Ludowing s of Thuringia an d Coun t Gebhard , th e fathe r of Lothar o f Siipplingenburg, al l these belonged. Mos t of them were descendants and representatives o f comital and margravial families which had helpe d th e Liudolfing s t o mak e their fortune s and i n so doing they had mad e their own. Their ancestor s ha d gained lands, honores, lordship, an d subject s i n the marche s and furthe r inlan d thanks to their services and the [422 ] favours of the Ottoman emperors. Ye t there were also some novi homines in the eleventh-century Saxon aristocracy, the Ludowings of Thuringia an d the Wiprechts of Groitsch, the founders of Pegau.36 Others , the obscur e kin of prominent men , emerge d i n the foremos t positions when sudden death s an d minorities disrupted successions. The house of Ballenstedt prospered becaus e on e o f the m marrie d th e daughte r o f Ott o IP s military tutor, Margrav e Hod o o f the easter n march , whose so n Siegfrie d had bee n made a monk and was kept out of the succession. New seats by which men and their families were named and identified, like Sommerschenburg and Putelendorf, spran g up and with them the new identities themselves.37 We must not b e enslaved by prosopography. Despit e feud s an d rifts within and betwee n familie s it is striking to encounte r men an d women of the sam e kins again and agai n in the many-phase d movement of east Saxo n opposition 34 Kaiserchronik, ed . Schmal e (as n. 4), pp . 226f. : 'Sun t qui dicant ipsum discidium industria ipsius imperatori s . . . provisum , quatinus simulata discordia illa m parte m regni, qu e a patre deficiebat, i n filii traheret artificios e contubernium'. 35 Lampert , Annales s.a. 1073 , pp . 148-50 . esp . pp . 149f. , an d se e als o p . 238 . H e di d no t mention Count Gebhard, the father of Lothar of Supplingenburg, nor Meinfried, the burgrave of Magdeburg. Som e of the bishop s h e cited, however, had not joined the Saxo n conspiracy or at least did not play a very prominent part in it. For the fullest survey of the princely families in revolt see Fenske, Adelsopposition (a s n. 18), pp. 61-94, who also and rightly pointed (p.83) to the amid regis, few as they were. 36 Ibid. , p. 53. 37 O n th e coun t o f Ballenstedt se e O. vo n Heinemann, Albrecht der Bar (Darmstadt, 1864) , pp. 5 ff., an d H.K. Schulze , Adelsherrschaft und Landesherrschaft (Mitteldeutsch e Forschungen 29, Cologne, 1963) , pp . 105-10 . Fo r Sommerschenbur g and Putelendorf see H.-D. Starke , 'Die Pfalzgrafen vo n Sachsen bis zum Jahre 1088', Braunschweigisches Jahrbuch, 36 (1955), pp. 24-52, and especially his 'Die Pfalzgrafen von Sommerschenburg 1088-1179', Jahrbuchfur di e Geschichte Mittel- un d Ostdeutschlands , 4 (1955), pp. 1-71 .

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to the Reich and to stumble upon the persistence of their political rhetoric, the programme an d struggle for the patriae leges which was really a struggle about lands an d inheritances . Som e o f the greates t Saxo n families died ou t i n th e male lin e during the later elevent h an d early twelfth centuries, th e Brunone s (Margrave Ekbert II , ob. 1090) , the Billungs, and the counts of Weimar, but the me n who competed for the hands of their widows, sisters, and daughter s inherited no t only their wealth but also their traditions and attitudes.38 In the ranks of Henry V's enemies we find first and foremost Lothar von Siipplingenburg, whose fathe r Gebhard ha d fough t an d fallen o n the Saxo n insurgents' side at the battle by the Unstrut in 1075. Lothar became almost regal in Saxony long before 1125 . Equall y defiant remained the Wettins, the Ballenstedts, and the Udone s o f Stade despite their friction an d downright clashes with Lothar. The longevity of this opposition t o the Salians is its most arresting feature. It built up mythologies and legends, a heathen cult even on the site of the battle of Welfesholz i n 111 5 whic h flourishe d fo r [423 ] centuries. This was a muchvenerated effig y o f a warrior on a column. 39 Saxon heathenism was fond o f columns as the Eresbur g testifies , an d Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim kne w what he was doing when he chose a column to depict the triumphs of Christ. The tradition s an d value-judgements of the rising were enshrined als o in the massive and vigorous Saxon historiography of the later twelfth century like the Annalista Saxo, the Pohlde annals, the Magdeburg episcopal history, Helmold of Bosau, an d Arnold of Liibeck. The heirs of the Salians, the Hohenstaufen, tried bu t wer e o n th e whol e unabl e t o appeas e an d coa x th e tradition s bequeathed by Brun. All this did not mean that there were no changes of side, no abstentions, and no desertions. Ther e were, but despite the fragile natur e and treacherou s shif t o f alliances , th e eas t Saxo n noble s an d thei r allie s elsewhere hel d out. Henry IV more than once succeeded in suborning important men among his enemies, Otto of Northeim himself for a time, Ekbert II of Meissen mor e than once, Bisho p Udo of Hildesheim, Archbishop Hartwig of Magdeburg, and Wiprecht of Groitsch. Occasionally , as in 1088, he seemed to have pacified most of his opponents only to find that the conflict continued and that little had changed.40

38

K . J . Leyser , 'Th e Germa n Aristocracy fro m th e Nint h t o th e Earl y Twelfth Century : A Historical an d Cultural Sketch', Past and Present, 41 (1968), p. 51 (Leyser, Medieval Germany, p. 187). 39 R . Holtzmann , 'Sagengeschichtliche s zur Schlach t am Welfesholz', i n idem, Aufsdtze zu r deutschen Geschichte im Mittelelberaum, ed. A. Tim m (Darmstadt, 1962), pp. 255-89. On other long memories left behin d by the battle see J. Prinz, 'Der Zerfall Engern s und die Schlacht am Welfesholz (1115)' , i n Ostwestfalisch-weserldndische Forschungen zu r geschichtlichen Landeskunde, ed . H . Stoo b (Munster, 1970), pp. 97ff. , wit h a letter of the year 1322 edited on p. 108 . 40 AnnalesAugustanis.a. 1088,MGH553,p. !33;BernoldiChronicons.a. 1088,MGHSS5,p. 448. See also Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV. ,vol. 4, pp. 213f., 217ff.; Giese, Stamm der Sachsen (as n. 31), p . 180 .


3

What fuelled this persistence, thi s deep-seated aversio n and rejection of the Salian emperor s and thei r regim e i n east Saxony ? To find out we must tur n once more to the gravamina of the men of 1073. Here Henry IV's castles stand to the fore: the exaction s extorte d b y their garrisons, the levy of dues for the use of common rights, the imposition of labour services on free and unfree, the impounding o f cattle , al l thes e occu r ofte n i n th e principa l sources , Brun , Lampert, an d the annal s of Niederalteich.41 The y and the misconduc t of the milites threatened th e well-bein g and security of nobles an d liberi alike. Th e requisitioning o f labour service s coul d damag e aristocrati c estate s an d thei r workings. That ancient, established rights going back to Henry Fs measures to build [424] fortresses agains t the Magyars and to Prankish frontier defences lay behind thes e exactions was deliberately concealed o r only obliquely hinted at by writers lik e Brun , no t t o mentio n Lampert. 42 More importan t eve n tha n these burden s wer e th e threat s which , it wa s rumoured an d suspected , la y behind them , ne w forms of subjection hitting nobles an d free alike, fears of wholly unprecedented taxation . All these, it was asserted, would follow in due course.43 But mor e importan t stil l for the grea t wer e seizure s and seques trations o f their lands , for which the castles evidently furnished the necessar y armed backing. It is true we know of only eight of these by name but they lay in a vulnerable are a a t the norther n an d southern edg e o f the Har z mountain s and th e ver y frequent stays of the kin g at Goslar an d in other, nearby , royal palatia enhanced an d multiplied their effectiveness and menace.44 Lampert of Hersfeld phrase d th e princes complaints thus: the castles mus t be razed and the king must do justice to the Saxon magnates by the judgement of his princes in the matte r of the lands he had taken away without due process. Elsewher e Lampert spok e of 'patrimonia pe r vim seu per calumniam erepta' which must

41

Brun , Bellum Saxonicum, cc. 16 , 24, 25, pp. 221., 28ff.; Lampert , Annales s.a. 1073, pp. 140f., 146 ; Annales Altahenses Maiores (a s n.l) s.a. 1073, p. 85 . See also the Carmen de bello Saxonico (as n. 11), lines 42-4. 42 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum, c. 16, p. 23, admits that at first there was no opposition to Henry IV's castl e building , on th e contrary , 'ad ipsa s aedificatione s eu m ve l opibu s ve l operibu s adiuvabant', and see Baaken, 'Konigtum, Burgen und Konigsfreie' (a s n. 31), pp. 84f. 43 Brun , Saxonicum Bellum, c. 25, p. 29, lines 15ff., and Lampert, Annales s.a. 1073, pp. 146f., 154. 44 O n Henry IV's castles and their fortification se e Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol 2, Excurs 3 and 4, pp. 856ff. , 870ff. ; Baaken , 'Konigtum, Burgen und Konigsfreie' (as n.31), pp. 82ff.; K . Bosl, Die Reichsministerialitdt der Salier und Staufer (Schrifte n de r MG H 10 , Stuttgart, 1950-51), pp. 84ff. ; S. Wilke, Das Goslarer Reichsgebiet und seine Beiziehungen zu den territorialen Nachbargewalten (Veroffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts fur Geschichte 32, Gottingen, 1970), pp. 28f. ; and Fenske, Adelsopposition (a s n. 18), pp. 28ff .

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be restored and he used this expression a t least three times. 45 Once Henr y is described a s giving lands back t o som e who had bee n deprive d o f them per calumniam in order to stem the spread of the revolt. In three places at least the demand for the restitution of lands stands immediately behind the demand for the destruction o f the castles. Castle-building and land-seizures were evidently felt t o be closely connected.. 46 What di d Lamper t mea n b y calumnia? He use d th e wor d ofte n enough , sometimes in the large r sens e of an injury, a wrong, but in [425] the passages cited her e its connotations wer e legal. This is how we meet i t in a good many diplomata fo r Lotharingia n an d Italia n recipients . I t mean t a (t o Lampert , doubtlessly) vexatiou s claim, a demand, a plaint. 47 That i t is associated with the us e o f forc e suggest s swif t executio n afte r th e briefes t o f proceedings , Brun, in his Book of the Saxon War, was less specific. He complained about the seizure of movables, the taking of goods by royal ministeriales, but in a letter of Archbishop Werne r of Magdeburg to Archbishop Siegfried of Mainz (1074/5) which he cited and perhaps himself drafted, we read of Saxon bona which the king had give n to his unworthy and indigent familiars, who possessed littl e or no lan d at hom e and though t Saxo n soi l fertile. 48 Her e bona undoubtedly meant lands , and the building of the castles was even more closely linked with policies o f expropriatio n tha n i t wa s i n Lampert . 'Fo r thi s reason' , th e archbishop wrote (itaque), i.e. to seize Saxon lands for his followers, 'the king secured th e mor e sheltere d place s i n our regio n wit h strongholds an d filled them with soldiery.'49 That land was at the heart of the conspiracy can be seen also fro m Brun's accoun t o f the assembl y at Hotensleben in July 1073. Her e most of the speakers setting forth their grievances complained about the losse s of estate s belongin g t o the m 'lawfully' , roya l seizure of hereditas, and in on e case als o fo r withdrawa l of a fief: Burchard of Halberstadt, Margrav e Dedi, Count Herman n Billung , the Count Palatine Frederick, an d others inveighed against suc h injuries. Otto of Northeim who had also lost lands in Saxony stood out fo r the forfeitur e of his honor, th e duch y of Bavaria.50 45 Lampert , Annales s.a. 1073, pp. 151,155,158,177f.; 'ut sua singulis patrimonia per vim seu per calumnia m erepta restituat'. Cf. th e Carmen (a s n. 11 ) line 45: 'Heredes circumveniunt, vi predia tollunt', p. 146. 46 Lampert, Annales s.a. 1073, 1074 , pp. 151 , 155 , 177 . 47 Fo r calumnia, calumniare, calumniam gerere in diplomata see, for example DD H III 165 , 201a, 201b, 204, 244, 265, 268. See also Mittelateinisches Worterbuch vol. 2 (Munich, 1968), cols. 93ff. 48 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 42, p. 41. On Brun as the draughtsman of Archbishop Werner's letter se e O.-H . Kost , Das ostliche Sachsen im Investiturstreit: Studien z u Brunos Buch vom Sachsenkrieg (Studie n zur Kirchengeschichte Niedersachsens 13, Gottingen, 1962), pp. 21ff. 49 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 42, p. 41: 'Semper nos insolito more quaerebat opprimere, bona nostra nobis eripere suisque familiaribus ea contradere . . . Itaque munitiora nostrae regionis loca fortissimis eastern's occupavit, in quibus armatos non paucos constituit.' 50 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 26, p. 30. Only Archbishop Werner of Magdeburg did not speak of lost proprietas o r fiefs but alleged two royal visits attended by robbery and bloodshed and his concern for the common wrongs, good evidence for how forced and yet inescapable his adherence was. On the nature of Brun's Liber as a rehearsal of the querimoniae to be brought against Henry


5

Historians have often associate d Henry IV's castle-building in [426] Saxon y and Thuringi a with aggressiv e design s on land , recuperation s of possessions lost durin g hi s minority , an d the y hav e als o attribute d t o hi m a pla n o f amassing and developing a compact royal territory round Goslar and the Harz mountains.51 Lampert's phrase per vim is clear enough and per calumniam has sometimes bee n take n t o refe r t o inques t procedure s t o reclai m forme r demesne. O f thi s process we find at least on e exampl e in the Life o f Bishop Benno II of Osnabriick, Henry's helper in Saxony.52 Yet this fitful and isolated instance hardl y suffice s t o gai n insigh t int o the lega l ground s o f Henry IV' s proceedings, and that the king too acted because he believed he had rights to maintain, at least one source, the only one friendly to him, allow s us to see: th e Carmen de bello Saxonico.53 There are, however , others which ma y help us to understand what lay behind Lampert's phrase per calumniam and at the same time th e seriousnes s o f th e crisi s an d th e irreconcilabilit y o f th e interest s engaged. They lead us back to the Ottonians and their land-grants to lay nobles and churches. Above all we must investigate how land the Ottoman kings gave away migh t revert to them again, for here we shall find the key to unlock the storehouse of trouble between the Saxon s and their Salian kings. When Henry I and his successors gave land in proprietatem to afidelis tha t land di d no t a t onc e mel t an d merg e wit h th e donee' s patrimony . I t wa s conquest an d it s tenure must b e distinguishe d no t onl y fro m beneficium bu t also from hereditas. 54 We encounter this [427] distinctio n between hereditas and IV at the 'princes' court' envisaged b y the rebels se e now G. Althof f an d S Coue, 'Pragmatisch e Geschichtsschreibung un d Krisen , 1 : Zu r Funktio n vo n Bruno s Buc h vo n Sachsenkrieg' , i n Pragmatische Schriftlichkeit im Mittelalter: Erscheinungsformen un d Entwicklungsstufen, ed . H . Keller, K . Grubmuller an d N. Staubach (Munstersche Mittelalter-Studies 65, Munich, 1992), pp . 95-107. 51 Th e literature on Henry IV's plans and policies in Saxony is daunting and cannot be cited here in full. Beside s Bosl , Reichsministerialitdt (a s n. 44) , pp. 82ff. ; Baaken , 'Konigtum , Burgen and Konigsfreie' (a s n. 31), pp . 80ff. , Fenske, Adelsopposition (a s n. 18) , pp . 36ff.; Giese, Stamm der Sachsen (a s n . 31) , pp . 148ff. ; se e M . Slimming , Da s deutsche Konigsgut i m 11 . un d 12 . Jahrhundert, 1 : Die Salierzeit (Historische Studie n 149, Berlin, 1922), pp. 87ff. , 91ff. ; W. Berges , 'Zur Geschichte de s Werla-Goslarer Reichsbezirk s vom neunten bi s zum elften Jahrhundert', in Deutsche Konigspfalzen, vol . 1 (Veroffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts fur Geschichte 11/1 , Gottingen, 1963) , pp . 155-7 ; H . Patze , Di e Entstehung de r Landesherrschaft i n Thiiringen (Mitteldeutsche Forschunge n 22 , Cologne, 1962) , vol. 1, pp. 178ff. ; K. Jordan, 'Sachsen und das deutsche Konigtu m im hohen Mittelalter', HZ, 21 0 (1970), pp . 529-5 9 esp. p . 545ff. , an d also in idem, Ausgewdhlte Aufsdtze zu r Geschichte des Mittelalters (Stuttgart , 1980), pp. 212-42 and esp. pp. 228ff . 52 Vita Bennonis I I Episcopi Osnabrugensis c. 14 , ed. H . Bressla u (MG H SR G 56, Hanover , 1902), pp . 16f. , and see H. Ulmann, 'Zum Verstandnis der sachsischen Erhebung gegen Heinrich IV.', Historische Aufsdtze de m Andenken a n Georg Waitz gewidmet (Hanover, 1886) , pp. 119-29 . On th e authorshi p o f th e Vita se e K.-U . Jaschke , 'Studie n z u Quelle n un d Geschicht e de s Osnabriicker Zehntstreits unte r Heinric h IV. , 2. Teil', Archiv fur Diplomatik, 11/1 2 (1965/1966) , pp. 358ff . 53 Carmen de bello Saxonico (a s n. 11) , Boo k I, line s 2, 54f., pp. 144ff . 54 O n royal grants in proprietatem see H. Brunner, 'Die Landschenkungen der Merowinger und der Agilolfinger' , Forschungen zur Geschichte des deutschen und franzosischen Rechtes: Gesammelte Aufsdtze vo n Heinrich Brunner (Stuttgart , 1894), pp. 1-39 ; R. Schrode r an d E. KiinBberg ,

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proprietas fitfully in Ottonia n diplomata . Th e ter m proprietas was wide an d could be used to include hereditas, but sometimes it was not, when the context would expressly stres s that the land being granted away belonged to the king's hereditas.55 Onc e we find that th e hereditas and th e proprietas of a man ha d come int o th e roya l powe r b y the judgemen t of the doomsme n i n a mallum publicum56 Diplomat a ar e i n fac t ou r chie f source s fo r the movement s an d devolution o f royal proprietas and only occasionally can they be supplemente d by narrative sources. The analogy with Anglo-Saxon bookland is tempting, but in Old Saxony we do not possess legislation seeking to explain, prescribe, an d make understandabl e th e rule s an d right s governin g land s grante d b y th e kings, nor do we possess wills , and yet there were such rules. We can discover them only by following up individual example s o f inheritance an d reversion . Marcel Maus s ha s taugh t u s ho w i n certai n societie s dominate d [428 ] by obligatory gif t exchange , ever y gif t command s a return. 57 Som e o f th e characteristics o f th e potlatc h h e expounde d s o wel l fo r Melanesi a ca n b e traced at least faintly also in early medieval Europe. 58 Time and again we read in narrative sources that when embassies came and presented lavis h presents to rulers they were dismissed again with munera no less precious than the ones they had brought.59 When gifts passed between unequals, i.e. a lord gave to his men things the y coveted , the return wa s loyalty and service. Above all , in gifts t o unequals th e dono r wa s presen t i n th e thin g give n an d ha d no t altogethe r Lehrbuch der deutschen Rechtsgeschichte, 7th edn (Berlin , 1932), pp. 229f.; D. von GladiB, 'Die Schenkungen de r deutschen Konig e zu privatem Eigen (800-1137)' , DA, 1 (1937), pp . 80-137; W. Schlesinger, Di e Entstehung der Landesherrschaft, vol . 1 (all published) (Dresden, 1941) , p. 185 ; H. Conrad , Deutsche Rechtsgeschichte, 1: Friihzeit und Mittelalter, 2nd edn (Karlsruhe, 1962), p. 107; H.-C . FauBner , 'Die Verfiigungsgewalt de s deutschen Konigs iiber weltliches Reichsgut im Hochmittelalter', DA , 2 9 (1973), pp . 345-449 ; F. Dorn, Di e Landschenkungen de r frdnkischen Konige: Rechtsinhalt und Geltungsdauer (Rechts- un d staatswissenschaftliche Veroffentlichunge n der Gorres-Gesellschaft , N.F . 60, Paderborn, 1991) . I n a few Carolingian gifts it is stated that the donee could treat the land as if it were hereditas, e.g.: 'ab hodierna di e deinceps liber o potiantur arbitrio habend i tenend i donand i vendend i commutand i suisqu e heredibu s iur e successioni s derelinquendi', fro m a grant to three lay nobles in 910, D Louis the Child 76. Even so, it should be noted, th e donee s ha d discretio n whic h they did not posses s wit h their hereditas. This diploma remained unexecuted . FauBner , pp. 35 3 ff., gave othe r Carolingia n examples but unlik e von GladiB did not recognise or allow for their special character. Unles s expressly stated i t would be mistaken t o assum e heritabilit y under the customary, prevailing, rules and even where stated it was but one possibility ou t of several . 55 Fo r example Otto I's gift t o Hamburg in 955 (D O 1174): Tredium quod nos habuimus . . . iure hereditario', for the endowment of Fischbeck, and his gift t o Nordhausen in 970 (D 01393): 'quicquid proprietatis et hereditatis in villa Blidungen . . . habere visi sumus'. 56 D O I 20 7 of 960 : 'e o quo d omni s heredita s e t proprieta s predict ! Hunaldi nostr e regi e potestati in publico mallo iudicio scabinorum iure iudicata est'. The diploma did not specify what Hunald's offenc e ha d been . 57 M . Mauss , Th e Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies, trans. I. Cunnison with an introduction by E.E. Evans-Pritchar d (London, 1969) , pp. 6f. , lOf . 58 Ibid. , pp. 18ff. 59 E.g . Annales Hildesheimenses s.a. 103 5 (Christmas 1034) and 1039 (Christmas 1038), ed . G. Waitz (MGH SR G 8, Hanover, 1878) , pp . 39 , 43, and Leyser, 'The Ottomans and Wessex', The Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 83, 96.


7

relinquished it . We are concerned her e with the rights he retained. I n the case of th e church' s temporalitie s thes e right s ar e wel l know n an d hav e bee n minutely studied: onerou s service s i n person an d in kind; and this led eventually to the demands for the libertas ecclesiae. In the case of gifts to laymen the donor's expectations ar e also well known when the grant was in beneficium. The y have not been so thoroughly investigate d when the grant was in proprietatem. Yet here too loyalty and service, familiaritas an d friendship, which led to the gift, wer e mean t t o b e vouchsafe d an d guarantee d b y it. Forfeitur e o f roya l land-grants i n proprietatem for infidelit y wa s a familiar feature i n the Carol ingian ninth centur y an d we can find it also among the Ottonians. When the y gave lan d i n proprietatem t o a fidelis who then betraye d the m or was on th e losing sid e i n a risin g o r a dispute d succession , suc h lan d reverte d withou t question, even without judgement, again to the royal donor or his successor.60 A good east Saxon example is the case of none other than Bishop Bernward of Hildesheim, th e teache r an d frien d o f Ott o III . I n 1001 , shortl y befor e a moving farewell near Rome, Ott o III conferre d on the bishop of Hildeshei m the castle of Dahlum in the Ambergau with all its appurtenances, including the annual paymen t o f 500 rams due fro m th e freeme n o f the pagus a t the roya l curtis. It was an astounding gif t out of the emperor's hereditas, [429] lands and rights that he could dispose of, so the diploma asserted, withou t consulting his magnates.61 In 1009, however , we find Henry II giving Dahlum together with the yearly tax in kind to Gandersheim. I t had evidently been taken away from Bishop Bernwar d agai n and most probabl y he lost it to make amend s for his support o f Margrave Ekkehard of Meissen, the Saxon aspirant to the kingship in 1002. Bernwar d had travelled with him to Hildesheim an d given him a regal reception there. He mad e hi s peace wit h Henry soo n enoug h but it cost him dearly.62 Royal grant s i n proprietatem to laymen were made t o individuals and this gave them much greater power to do what they liked with the gift, sell it or give it away , tha n the y possesse d i n relatio n t o thei r patrimonies . Wherea s th e latter were subject to rigorous and inescapable custo m and had to be left to all 60 GladiB , 'Schenkungen' (as n. 54), pp. 104-20. For a further example of Otto Fs time see D OI 115 (949): 'praedium . . . ob infidelitatem eorum direptum nostraeque regiae potestati redactum, seemingly withou t a judgement. For proprietas, like hereditas, forfeited to the king by judgement see D O I 207 (960), abov e n.56. 61 D O III 39 0 (23 January 1001). O n Bernward's leave-taking see Thangmari Vita Bernwardi c. 27, MGH S S 4 , p . 770f . For Bernward' s journey to Hildeshei m wit h Margrave Ekkehard in April 1002 see Thietmar, Chronicon V 4, p. 244 . The bishop appeared among the Saxon great who met Henry I I at Merseburg lat e in July 1002. Se e Bohmer-Graff, nos. 1483yy , 1493b . 62 DHII20 6 (3 September 1009). Gandersheim received Dahlum by way of an exchange. It has been suggeste d tha t Bernwar d ha d t o contribut e Dahlu m a s hi s shar e t o th e endowmen t of Bamberg (Bohmer-Graff, no. 1718) . Whethe r Otto III coul d really dispose s o freely o f Dahlum without consultin g hi s sister , especiall y Sophi a o f Gandersheim , migh t b e questioned , bu t Bernward's partisanship fo r Ekkehar d i s the mor e likel y reaso n fo r hi s loss. Hi s struggl e fo r diocesan right s over Gandersheim agains t Sophia and Archbishop Willigis of Mainz may explain his backing for the margrave.

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heirs entitled to a share, estat e acquired by royal grants in proprietatem might be bequeathe d an d fel l t o a muc h smaller, preferred , an d chose n grou p of persons t o th e exclusio n o f others. The y coul d als o b e use d mor e freel y t o endow churche s an d monasteries withou t having to appease an d compensat e all coheredes as much as had to be done when patrimony was used to fund such gifts. It is no accident that quite a number of Ottonian grant s in proprietatem to lay nobles, men and women, have survived simply because they came with the lands themselve s into the possessio n of religious foundation s an d were pre served i n their archive s an d copie d int o their cartularies. 63 The specia l right and freedo m o f th e done e t o bequeath , however , stemme d fro m th e roya l donor, wit h whom [430] the lan d thus retained a certain connection, an d for this very reason ther e wer e also special liabilities . In Ottonia n diplomat a w e ofte n com e acros s land s which fel l t o th e kin g either b y judgement on a malefactor or by way of inheritance an d bequest. 64 This is in fact the most common evidence we possess for kings inheriting lands from their fideles, clerical and lay, although the narrative sources too speak of such thing s no w and again . Th e inheritance i s thus usually mentioned a t th e very moment whe n the rule r is granting it away again, to proclaim his title t o the done e an d possibl e futur e challengers . No w historians hav e ofte n note d that heirles s lan d fell t o the king, but they have on the whole not troubled t o tell u s wha t constitute d heirlessness. 65 I n th e cas e o f roya l proprietas th e answer to this question might be quite different from what it was in the case of patrimony. I n a society wit h such widely ramifying bond s o f kinship, where coheredes clustered roun d every parcel of land, heirless patrimony was almost impossible o r could be established onl y by the judgement of a court, with the doomsmen agreeing. Yet precisely becaus e royal grants in proprietatem could, with roya l leave , b e devise d an d fel l i n an y cas e t o a muc h narrowe r an d smaller ban d o f heirs, the y might rever t agai n to the donor , th e king, or his successor, if such heirs were wanting. The wider kin had no automatic claim to them. There was thus a certain inner consistency about this type of land-grant. In the east Saxon houselands and the marcher conquests of the Ottonian gift s of lan d wer e o f enormou s importance , mor e s o tha n elsewhere , an d i t i s therefore no t surprising that just here also reversions t o the king were the most frequent.

63

Fo r examples see below, nn. 66, 68, 69, 84. Fo r escheat s afte r sentence s se e Leyser , Rule an d Conflict, p . 36f . Abou t inheritance s accruing to the Ottonians see ibid., p. 10. Examples of bequests and gifts are scattered about in the diplomata, e.g . D D H II127,128, 368, 389, 420, 448, 452. 65 Schrode r an d KiinBberg , Rechtsgeschichte (a s n. 54) , pp. 208 , 364, 577, 824,; von GladiB, 'Schenkungen' (as n. 54), p. 118; E. Mayer, Deutsche und franzosische Verfassungsgeschichte vo m 9. bi s zum 14 . Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1899) , vol . 1 , p. 103 ; A. Meister , Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte von den Anfdngen bi s ins 15. Jahrhundert, 3rd ed (Leipzig, 1922) , p. 109: See also G. Waitz, Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte, vol . 8 (Kiel, 1878), pp . 247-54. 64


9

Our firs t exampl e come s fro m a diplom a o f Ott o II , a n origina l date d Dortmund, 1 4 July 978.66 Here the kin g allowed a noblewoman, [431] calle d Gerbirin, an d he r daughter , Liutgart , t o hol d a n estat e whic h ha d onc e belonged to a Thietmar bu t which after Thietmar's death should have fallen to the emperor . I t seem s ver y likely that Gerbiri n wa s Thietmar's wido w and Liutgart thei r daughter . Th e claus e explainin g Ott o H' s stak e i s o f grea t interest: 'et nos post mortem eiusdem vir secundum legem inheredare debuit' , 'which after the deat h o f the aforesai d man Thietmar should by law be left t o us'. There was thus a law governing these reversion s an d there ca n be littl e doubt tha t we are dealing here with a royal grant in proprietatem. That wives could not succeed t o them without special royal goodwill can be inferred from another diploma , a grant of Otto III to his officer Sigebert. 67 Sigebert , whose strenuous service s to the emperor are praised in the context, receive d a place with three slaves and their families inproprium. I t seems to have been recently assarted land an d amongs t Sigebert' s right s of disposal the diplom a specially mentioned tha t he could give it to his wife. The operation of rules under which lands Ottoma n king s had granted might revert to them again is substantiated vividly i n a gif t mad e b y th e Empero r Henr y I I t o Bisho p Meinwer k o f Paderborn's new monastic foundation , Abdinghof, in July 1017. Her e Abd inghof receive d a n estat e whic h had t o b e bequeathe d t o th e empero r b y Rediald: 'qual e legaliter et capitulariter nomine Redialdus ad nostras manus imperiales hereditavit' , 'whic h lawfully an d in due for m Redial d bequeathe d into ou r imperia l hands'. 68 This mor e tha n hint s at a directive, a capitulary even, under which the land must revert, did we but possess its text. In this case, moreover, i t is known how Rediald's ancestor , Retold, ha d come to hold the land b y Otto I's grant in proprietatem, a diploma of 16 November 958. 69 For nearly sixt y years , then , h e an d hi s descendant s owne d th e estat e i n th e Hessengau. Mos t likel y i t reverte d becaus e Redial d ha d n o son s o r clos e agnatic blood-relations , lik e a brothe r o r a brother' s son . Her e a s in many other cases it is evident that [432] important grants to the church were funde d not out of royal hereditas or older royal possessions but estate which accrued to the ruler by reversion. A particularly telling instance is that of Count Esico, of what has been called the Mersebur g comita l family, an d in his case the evidence of the diplomata is 66

D O II180. For the family connections of the men and women named in this diploma see K. Schmid, 'Neu e Quelle n zu m Verstandni s de s Adel s i m 10 . Jahrhundert' , Zeitschrift fu r di e Geschichte des Oberrheins, 108 (1960), pp. 218f . He does not deal with the question why Otto II should have had the land after Thietmar' s death. 67 D O III 248 (9 July 997). In D HII446 (10 August 1021) Henry II gave to the abbess and nuns of Dietkirche n b y Bon n a n estat e h e ha d onc e bestowe d o n hi s docto r Landeri c an d the n reacquired from the latter's widow. The term recomparavimus suggests that she was compensated. See also a very interesting grant made by Henry IV in 1064 (D H IV 137; cf. below, n. 89) . 68 D H I I 370 , an d see the Vita Meinwerd (a s n. 22) c. 143 , pp. 75f . The case is discussed by Bannasch, Bistum Paderborn (as n. 21), pp. 19f. 69 D O I 197 .

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rounded of f and li t up by Thietmar o f Merseburg's narrative. 70 Count Esic o died o n 2 2 November 100 4 withou t a survivin g son. Throughou t th e tent h century a comital family with the names of Siegfried, Asic, Esico, held sway in the eas t Saxo n Hassegau . The y serve d i n the continuou s Sla v wars but als o accompanied th e Ottonians on their long-distance expeditions. One of them, a Siegfried, earne d fam e fighting agains t the Greek s i n Apulia in 969.n Coun t Esico took part in Otto Ill's Roman expeditio n o f 997-1000 an d on 1 8 April 999, while at Rome, his services and attendance received a reward. Otto gave him in proprium the fortress o f Kuckenburg and twelve royal mansus with all their slave s and appurtenances in the Hassegau which he had hitherto held in beneficium.72 Thepototo-claus e of the diploma was drafted with caution. The count coul d giv e (to a church), exchange, or sell. Esic o als o rendered signal services t o Henry II in his battle for the kingship and was a formidable enemy of Margrav e Ekkehar d o f Meissen' s ambitions. 73 A t th e tim e o f hi s deat h Henry happene d t o b e stayin g at Merseburg , an d whe n the count' s morta l remains were brough t there , the king himself acte d a s the chief mourner an d saw to it that Esico was honourably buried on the north side of the cathedral.74 In doing this he announced to all the world that he considered himsel f to be the count's nearest heir, just as he had done when he met Otto Ill's funeral cortege at Polling nea r Augsburg in February 1002.75 Thietmar now becomes our chief and priceless guide . H e tells us [433] that Henr y conferred Esico's countshi p over Merseburg and all that belonged to it on Count Burchard and a fief of four fortresses b y th e Rive r Muld e o n anothe r eas t Saxo n noble , bu t Esico' s predium, his allods, he kept for himself by a judgement.76 The kinship between the Liudolfings and the ancestors of the count went back a long way, the early tenth centur y a t least , an d Coun t Esic o di d no t lac k kin , s o that Henr y I I clearly needed a judgement to have his lands. Yet one estate of Esico's the king could an d di d tak e ove r immediatel y without judgement an d tha t wa s th e fortress Kuckenburg with the twelve royal mansus which had been granted to the count by Otto III in proprium in 999. They reverted to Henry II at once and without question and we find him giving them away to the canons of Merseburg in a diploma dated 23 November (only a day after Esico' s death), fo r the love 70

O n this family see R. Scholkopf , Di e sachsischen Grafen (919-1024) (Studie n und Vorarbeiten zum Historischen Atlas Niedersachsens 22, Gottingen, 1957), pp. 35ff., and on Count Esico, pp. 39f . with some errors. 71 Widukind , Res gestae Saxonicae III 72 , pp. 148f . 72 D O II I 320 , an d Bohmer-Uhlirz , no . 1317 . Th e descriptio n ther e o f Coun t Esic o a s a ministerialis is confusing an d mistaken. 73 Thietmar, Chronicon V15, pp. 236f. Count Esico had kept and guarded Merseburg, Allstedt, and Dornburg with all their appurtenances for Henry against Ekkehard. 74 Ibid . VI16, pp. 292-4, and Bohmer-Graff, no . 1586a. 75 Thietmar , Chronicon, IV 50 and 51, pp. 188/90 . 76 Ibid . VI16, p. 294: 'Comitatum super Merseburg et benifitium ad hunc pertinens Burchard o et supe r quatuo r urbe s iuxta Milda m fluvium positas Thiedbern o benefitiu m concessit . Omn e autem predium sibi iuditio retinuit'.


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of God , fo r the sak e of his own, his queen's, an d his predecessors' souls, and finally in memory of Count Esico. 77 The differenc e i n the devolutio n o f land held i n heredit y an d lan d acquire d i n proprietatem b y the king' s gif t i n eas t Saxony, could not be demonstrated more clearly. These are by no means the only Ottonian examples.78 The fortunes of great men who owed much land to royal grants were vulnerable if they lacked sons and lef t onl y daughters. W e must ask now how the Salian s dealt wit h thes e incidents when they replaced th e last of the Liudolfing kings in 1024. From its very beginning s th e Salia n positio n i n Saxon y was a n anomalou s one . Th e Ottonians ha d bee n th e kinsmen , friends , an d neighbours , ofte n als o th e coheredes o f their Saxo n fellow-nobles. The Salian s for the mos t part lacke d these bonds. They had, it is true, some kinship in the Saxon aristocracy thank s to the earlier marriages of Gisela, Conra d IPs empress. Sh e had been the wife of Count Brun, a member of a senior branch of the Liudolfings who in the later ninth centur y had been overtake n an d outstripped b y the Ottos an d Henrys . Now the Brunones appear in diplomata as royal kinsmen, and one of Gisela' s half-sisters ha d married a Ballenstedt, wh o thus moved into the outer ring of royal affinity. 79 [434 ] The Salians were Rhenish Franks, yet they took over the enormous inheritanc e o f the Ottonians , mos t of all in Saxony. A large cluster of palatia was at their disposal there , mor e than anywhere else in the Reich . They invited residence. Saxon y also and especially eastern Saxon y contained the greatest concentration o f royal lands and rights, the most extensive area of royal patronage an d a close-meshed networ k of military and fiscal institutions brought int o bein g b y th e stat e o f permanen t wa r o n th e expandin g Saxon frontiers durin g most o f the tent h century. 80 That Conra d I I an d Henry II I were once again able to wage aggressive war s on these frontiers, an d to collect tributes fro m Sla v rulers and peoples, only enhanced the importance of their Saxon stays , no t t o mentio n th e productivit y of the Har z silve r mines. Th e Salians coul d no t d o withou t thi s massiv e bas e an d concentratio n o f roya l powers an d function s an d the y clun g t o the m unhesitatingly . Recentl y a scholar wrote of Saxony after 1024 that it now became a Nebenland, an area of secondary interes t t o its kings.81 Nothing could be further fro m th e truth as a

77

D H II89, and Bohmer-Graff, no . 1588 . No t everything that Margrave Gero (d. 965) had held by royal gift inproprium cam e into the possession of Gernrode after hi s decease, a s I hope to show in a forthcoming book on the Saxon nobility of the tenth and eleventh centuries. 79 Annalista Saxo s.a. 102 6 and 1038 , MGH S S 6 , pp . 676 , 682, an d Scholkopf , Sdchsischen Grafen (a s n. 70), pp. 107f . See also Bresslau, Konrad II., vol . 2, pp. 82f. 80 K . J . Leyser , 'Ottoma n Government' , EHR, 9 6 (1981) , pp . 734ff . (Leyser , Medieval Germany, pp. 82ff.) . 81 Giese , Stamm der Sachsen (as n. 31), p. 149 . 78

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bare glance at the Salian royal itineraries and stays shows.82 It might have been well for the Reic h had Saxony indeed becom e a Nebenland but this could not be, and in the reign of Henry III and after Henry IV's majority in 1065 the very opposite happened . Saxon y became th e centr e o f intensifie d an d enhance d royal governmen t with mounting friction and unrest. The outburst of 1073 was thus no sudden commotion but only the ignition of accumulated fuel . It s fuse-wire s went bac k t o th e reign s o f Conra d I I an d Henry III. Nowher e i s this more manifest tha n in the increasing flow of lands reverting int o th e possessio n o f th e kings . There wer e a t leas t si x of thes e inheritances durin g th e reig n o f Conra d II. 83 Their numbe r ros e strikingl y [435] under Henr y III . I n most case s we know about the king' s right to such lands only when he was in the process of granting them away again to a church, a layman , o r hi s wif e an d th e diplom a mentione d hi s title t o warran t th e donation.84 In realit y th e amoun t of estate inherite d b y the king s must have been far more considerable, since they did not grant it all away but kept much of it for themselves . Th e grea t majority o f these reversions lay in Saxony and most of the Saxon ones in east Saxony. Here the Ottoman grants had been the richest and most thickl y sown, and here too, i n the nature of things, the cases of heirlessnes s wer e bound to increase afte r two, three, o r four generations . Not al l th e escheat s cam e unde r th e headin g o f erstwhil e roya l grant s i n proprietatem. Sometime s there were judicial forfeitures and once also land fell to Conrad I I because it s holder, a Count Bernhard in the Saxon Ittergau, had been of illegitimate birth.85 Yet most of the reversions mus t have been on the score o f erstwhile royal proprietas and in some cases it is possible to trace th e original royal grant as could be done in that of Rediald. In 1055 Henry III gave to hi s imposin g foundation , the collegiat e churc h of St s Simon an d Jud e a t 82

Fo r the Salian itinerary and the incidence of royal stays under Conrad II and Henry III see C. Briihl, Fodrum, Gistum, Servitium Regis (Kolner historische Abhandlungen 14, Cologne, 1968) , vol. 1 , pp. 132ff . Whil e the frequency of stays in the southern duchies , especially Bavaria , rose, Saxony still led b y a good way both in the numbe r of localities visited there and th e numbe r of stays. Briihl's table of comparisons follow s that of H.J. Rieckenberg , 'Konigsstrasse und Konigsgut i n liudolfingische r un d friihsalische r Zei t (919-1056)' , Archiv fu r Urkundenforschung, 1 7 (1941) and separately (Darmstadt , 1965) , pp. 113ff . His results have been confirmed by the more sophisticated methodolog y applied in E. Miiller-Merten s and W. Huschner, Reichsintegration im Spiegel de r Henschaftspraxis Kaiser Konrads II . (Forschunge n zur mittelalterliche n Geschichte 35, Weimar , 1992) , especiall y pp. 415-21 : abou t a quarter of the tota l time spent by Conrad II within the Germa n kingdom was spent in Saxony. 83 D D CII141,152,158,164,182,232. Of these lands only those granted away in D CII141 of 1029 lay in Lotharingia. All the others were Saxon estates. 84 D D H III 116,11 7 of 1043, 11 9 (all 1044), and 160,162 (1046) for his queen Agnes, were all funded out of recently inherited land, and all but one of these estates (D H III 119) lay in Saxony or the adjoining marches. The collegiate church of Sts Simon and Jude at Goslar founded by Henry owed a substantial part of its endowment to reversions, inheritances iure regni, gifts t o the king, and forfeitures. Se e DD H III 256, 257,285,286,305,330, 340 (1050-55), most of them accruing in Saxony. 85 D CII152 (1030); Vita Meinwerd (a s n. 22) c. 205, pp. 119f.; Bannasch, Bistum Paderborn (as n. 21), pp. 17 , 63.


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Goslar, land at Giersleben whic h had come to him hereditario jure.86 Almos t 118 years befor e Ott o I ha d give n that lan d t o a noblewoman , Bia , a t th e request of her son, Frederick, hisfidelis. 81 Otto' s diploma of 937 was preserved in th e archive s o f St s Simon an d Jude , lik e tha t o f Henry H I recordin g th e conveyance o f Giersleben t o the foundation. There ca n be no doubt that the estate had reverted a s former royal proprietas. We have no less than twenty-two diplomata of Henry Ill's which proclaimed royal inheritanc e i n Saxon y an d ther e ar e a fe w eve n fro m Henr y IV' s minority, agai n chiefl y fro m easter n Saxony. 88 Th e veste d interest s behin d these reversions and regrants [436 ] were not at once barred eithe r during the Empress Agnes' s regenc y or afte r th e cou p of Kaiserswerth when Henry fel l into the hand s of Archbishop Ann o of Cologne, abetted b y Otto of Northeim and Ekbert of Brunswick. The memories of kings, their advisers, and expectan t beneficiaries of their largesse, wer e surprisingly long.89 That the Salians used their rights over lands which their predecessors or they had grante d i n proprium rigorousl y an d withou t qualms almos t certainl y alarmed an d must have been resente d by the affinit y an d less immediate heirs of the holders , who could now be sure only of patrimony. What is more, and does no t appea r t o hav e bee n muc h noticed, a ne w formula crept int o th e diplomata recordin g th e king' s title by inheritance. We now read frequently that the land had been bequeathed o r that Conrad II had inherited it imperiali jure. At Magdebur g in 1032, fo r instance, he gave land to afidelis calle d Ai o which a certain Livika had possessed formerl y 'et nos imperiali et hereditari o jure hereditavit'.90 In 1052 Henry III at Kaiserswerth gave an east Saxon estate to Archbisho p Adalber t o f Breme n an d hi s brothers, Ded i an d Frederick , 'quod in nostram proprietatem regni jure cessit'.91 In the same year Sts Simon and Jude received land s in Westfalia 'quo d in nostram potestatem hereditari o regni jure cessit. 92 The us e of these phrases to express and justify reversion s was not universal, but we cannot find them in Ottoman diplomata. The nearest 86

D D H III 233 (March 1049), and 330 (16 January 1055). The earlier of these two diplomata did not mention Henry Ill's title. D H III 330: 'tale predium quale ad nos hereditario iure pervenit in loco qui dicitur Geresleva' fits in well with the description of the gift in D 0117 (cf. n. 87 below). 87 D O 117 (21 October 937). Otto I clearly did not own the whole vill. 88 DD H III 76,106,112,116,117,120,150,157,158,159,160,162,175,256,257,283,286,330, 340. Nos. 305,310 and 311 were most probably estates forfeited b y Thiemo Billung, exlex, who had avenged his father's death after a judicial duel. See below at n. 102. 89 D HIV 65 (1060), 107 (1063), 130 (1064). Very significant also are D HIV 80 (1062) and D H IV 18 2 (1066) whic h confir m an d afforc e gift s t o Meisse n an d t o Naumber g whic h th e donor, Markward, had made out of what Henry III had given to him in proprium. The land in the eastern marches of Saxony and Thuringia had not yet parted company from it s royal overlord even when given to afidelis a s proprietas. Here lay the stronges t foundations of royal power in Saxony and hence also the Salians' desperate struggle not to be uprooted from thei r rights and resources. 90 D C II182 and cf. D H III 76 (23 April 1041). 91 D H III 283. 92 D H III 286. Besides these formulae anothe r should be noted which occurs not infrequently in Henry Ill's diplomata, e.g. D H III 116 for Agnes granting 'tale praedium, quale hereditario iure in nostrum ius atque dominium visum est redactum esse' suggesting possibly an inquest.

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approximation wa s Henry II' s gif t o f land to Abdinghof , which, as we saw, Rediald ha d bequeathe d legaliter et capitulariter.93 [437 ] Behind the chang e of formulae la y a significant change of ideas. The Salians were not the Ottomans' sole heirs and it was jure regni that they had come by the lion' s share o f the Ottonia n inheritance . Wha t had been relationship s of gift an d mutua l obligaton betwee n th e Liudolfing s an d their Saxo n followers became attribute s o f kingshi p a s such , impersona l an d enforcibl e rules , menacing staging-posts almost on the way to statehood or at least institutionalised an d legall y concret e dealing s a s agains t th e face-to-fac e arrangement s between princel y givers and their military comitatus. The Saxon nobles could not fathom thi s development an d it goes far to explain their deep-seated and lasting estrangement. How systematic the royal reversionary expectations had become ca n b e see n fro m a diplom a o f Conrad I I fo r th e almos t insatiabl e Bishop Meinwer k of Paderborn. 94 Her e the emperor gav e away the lordship over a comitatus lying in three west Saxon pagi and parted no t only with any lands he might still hold there but also with all those he might in future acquire. The royal right to inherit could thus be alienated. The larges t eas t Saxo n inheritance which fell to the Salian s was that of the Ekkehardine margrave s o f Meissen . Ekkehar d I I die d withou t son s an d daughters in 1046 and by his own traditio his entire fortune went to Henry III.95 The kin g attende d hi s exequies a t Naumburg, largely endowed b y the margrave an d hi s predeceased brothe r Hermann , jus t as Henry I I ha d acte d a s chief mourner t o Count Esico. Ekkehard IP s sister Mathilda had been marrie d to a rival, the Wetti n Coun t Dietrich , an d there were at least fou r surviving sons of this union, but it is doubtful whether they received much or any of the Ekkehardine hereditas. Much th e mos t importan t possession s o f th e mar graves, for instance the great burgwards of Rochlitz, Strehla, and Teitzig, were in an y cas e roya l grant s i n proprietatem. W e kno w thi s agai n thank s t o Thietmar o f Merseburg.96 In his obit notice of Margrave Ekkehard I, who was killed a t Pohld e in 1002 , h e wrote that Ott o III , a s a reward for Ekkehard' s outstanding services , ha d converte d mos t o f his fiefs into proprietas. Thes e lands and fortresses appear t o have [438] come into the possession o f Hermann, Ekkehard's eldes t son , rathe r tha n Gunzelin , hi s brother, wh o for a tim e succeeded to the margraviate. The two sons in lay estate, Margrave Hermann (ob. 1038 ) an d Ekkehard II , ofte n appear i n the company of the Salians and supported the m i n war an d peace . The y followe d Conrad I I o n his Roman 93

Cf . above nn. 68 and 69, and perhaps the ill-preserved D 01370 of 968/9. D CII178 of 1032. 95 O n Margrave Ekkehard IPs death see Steindorff, Heinrich ///., vol . 1, pp 291f. with the sources, Scholkopf , Sachsischen Grafen (a s n . 70) , p . 72 . Fo r hi s caree r se e O . Posse , Die Markgrafen vo n Meiflen und da s Haus Wettin bi s zu Konrad de m Groflen (Leipzig , 1881) , pp . 84-122. 96 Thietmar, Chronicon, V 7, p . 228 : 'Huius vitae cursu m qua m probabilite r egit, qu i apud dominum suimet beneficii maxima m partem acquisivit i n proprietatem!' Se e also Posse, Markgrafen (a s n. 95), p. 120. 94


5

expedition i n 1029. 97 Thei r conspicuou s loyalt y must b e linke d wit h thei r enormous holding s i n proprium. The y stoo d t o los e to o muc h for infidelity . Once agai n th e wan t o f son s o r brothers ' son s i n th e cas e o f exceptionally powerful me n brought about the reversio n of vast possessions t o the Salians . Henceforth the y enjoyed a commanding position in the south-eastern marches close t o Bohemia . I t explain s man y of Henr y IV' s movement s durin g th e upheavals of the 1070s and also his alliance with the Bohemian dukes. In 1068 , 1071, 1075 , 1076 , an d 108 0 the kin g visited or campaigne d in these regions , sometimes appearin g ver y suddenly and unexpectedly.98 From what has been said it follows that the east Saxon nobles held not only their honores but als o thei r lands less securely than did their like elsewhere . Too man y of their mos t importan t possession s wen t back to roya l gift s with their attendant risks. In this way the very achievement of the Ottonians and the prosperity an d eminence they brought to their followers turned into a dangerous legacy . O f Henr y IV' s outrageou s action s i n Saxon y none attracte d s o much notice as his sudden seizure of the Liineburg, the main seat of the Billung dukes with its monastic foundation while Magnus Billung was under arrest. 99 Yet th e Liinebur g to o ma y hav e bee n roya l proprietas once, an d wit h th e Billungs supporting Ott o of Northeim's war against the Reich was it not justly forfeited fo r infidelity ? I n th e ligh t o f th e reversion s t o th e kin g Ott o o f Northeim's speec h a t Hotensleben , a s reported b y Brun, gains a new complexion. Ott o called o n th e milites to besti r [439 ] themselves an d make sur e that they left th e hereditates which they had from thei r forebears to their own children. Eve n the allegation that Henry wished to infiscate al l their bona can be explained.100 It must be remembered that all the lands in the marches had at one tim e been bestowe d b y the Ottonia n rulers as fiefs or proprietas, most of them probabl y withou t diplomata . Ther e mus t b e a n en d t o reversion s o f former roya l proprietas. The Saxo n risin g o f 107 3 wa s thu s brough t about no t onl y b y th e hars h measures of Henry IV's garrisons and agents, the recent deprivation of Otto of Northeim, th e fine s i n lan d impose d o n th e Wetti n Ded i an d Adalber t o f 97

D C I I 8 2 (Rome, 7 April 1027) , wher e Margrav e Herman n and hi s brother Ekkehar d sponsored a grant to Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn. 98 D D H IV 209, 210, 211, 212 (October 1068) were dated at Meissen and at Rochlitz. See also Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol. 1, p. 598. For Henry's visit to Meissen in 1071 see ibid., vol. 2, pp. 85f. For his raid in the autumn of 1075 see Lampert, Annales, pp. 231-2. For the expedition to Meisse n in Augus t 1076 see ibid. , pp . 269-73 . For th e campaig n i n 108 0 see Brun , Bellum Saxonicum cc. 121-3, pp. 114-17 . 99 Ibid . cc. 21, 22, pp. 26f. ; Lampert, Annales s.a. 1073 , pp. 149 , 160f. That the Liudolfing s raised a fortress and a monastery at Luneburg before Hermann Billung did so is suggested by H.-J. Freytag, Die Herrschaft de r Billunger in Sachsen (Studien und Vorarbeiten zum Historischen Atlas Niedersachsens 20, Gottingen, 1951), p. 60. Otto I granted the salt-tolls to the monks in 956; see D O 1183. 100 Brun, Bellum Saxonicum c. 25, p. 29, and Lampert, Annales s.a.1073, p. 14 7 and cf. above, n. 43.

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Ballenstedt i n 1069. 101 There ar e indeed signs of much earlier Saxo n hostility to the Salia n kings. Conrad IFs confiscation of an enormous estate at Lesum, not fa r from Bremen , ca n hardly have endeared hi m to the Immedings, then still one of the foremost families in Saxony, and the Billungs whose possession it had once been. 102 The Hildesheim annals reported th e death of the emperor in 103 9 i n vivi d detail . Onl y a day befor e h e suffere d a fatal strok e h e ha d walked under the crown - it was Whitsun - with all the sacral solemnities which the autho r al l the sam e calle d earthl y pomp . The n h e deplore d th e hard heartedness of men: nobody grieved about the emperor's sudden death.103 We might discoun t the annalist' s reflections, tha t the y tell us little about Conra d IFs standing i n Saxony, did we not als o posses s a diploma of Henry Ill's in which, exactl y te n year s afte r hi s father' s death , h e endowe d a solem n anniversary fo r hi m a t Hildeshei m wit h vigils, masses, an d lavis h alms as if Henry wishe d t o redres s th e scan t regar d fo r hi s father' s memor y i n th e bishopric.104 Much mor e marked , pronounced , an d acut e wer e th e discontent s an d hostility rouse d by Henry Ill's own measures i n Saxony: the favour shown to the see of Bremen at the expense of the Billungs, the death of Thietmar Billung in a judicial duel , th e banishmen t o f his avenging son , th e frequenc y of the emperor's [440] stays in Goslar, an d above all, as we have seen, th e scale and importance of the reversions of lands he pressed home there. The Wiirzburg annals recal l tha t o n hi s deathbed h e restore d land s which h e ha d unjustl y acquired.105 Abov e al l Lamper t o f Hersfeld , su b anno 1057 , unfold s th e vehemence an d unvarnished downrightness of the Saxon princes' respons e t o Henry Ill' s regime now that it was no more, an d also their determination t o exploit th e minorit y of Henry I V t o th e utmost . I n frequen t conspiratoria l meetings, h e wrote, they agitated against the wrongs which they had suffere d under th e emperor. The time had come to be even and use the opportunity of the king's age - he was not yet seven - to deprive him of his rule. He would only follow in his father's footsteps , the y felt, and be no better than his predecessor. Even a Saxo n claiman t t o th e kingshi p itself, an onl y half-legitimate Count Otto of the Haldenslebe n family , cam e forward , accordin g to Lampert , an d the conspirator s wer e swor n to nothin g les s tha n th e youn g king's murder. Although Henry' s ow n kinsmen, th e Ekbertines , fel l upo n Coun t Ott o and killed him , perhap s becaus e the y fel t tha t i f anyone challenge d th e Salian' s kingship they had a better righ t to it than the outsider Otto , th e alienation of 101 Ibid. s.a. 1069 , pp . 106- 8 an d D H IV 224 (26 October 1069) . Se e also Annales Altahenses Maiores (a s n. 1 ) s.a. 1069 , p . 77 for Dedi's and Adalbert's surrender. For Otto of Northeim see K.-H. Lange , 'Die Stellung de r Grafen von Northeim i n der Reichsgeschichte de s 11. und friihe n 12. Jahrhunderts', Niedersachsisches Jahrbuch fur Landesgeschichte, 33 (1961), pp. 31-79 . 102 Adam of Bremen, Gesta II 80, p. 138 , an d Bresslau, Konrad II., vol . 2, pp. 36 2 ff. W3 Annales Hildesheimeses s.a. 1039 , p . 44. 104 D H III 236 b (Hildesheim , 4 June 1049) . W5 Chronicon Wirziburgense, MGH S S 6 , p . 31 . It was , however , compile d a t Bamberg . See Frutolfi e t Ekkehardi Chronica, ed Schmal e (a s n. 4), p. 10.


7

Saxon prince s fro m th e Reic h coul d hardl y hav e bee n mor e forcefull y expressed.106 If Lampert i s to be believed the incident was a rehearsal almos t and certainly a prelude t o the outburst of 1073 . The rhyth m o f event s leadin g t o th e catastroph e an d explainin g i t no w becomes a good deal clearer. To the situation of acute tension as witnessed by the roya l practic e o f reversion s an d b y Lampert , th e minorit y of Henry I V brought som e relief . Ther e were indeed , a s we have said, a few more roya l inheritances, grante d out again to the see of Magdeburg and to Gernrode, but against the m mus t be set a massive flow of lands, revenues, fores t rights , and comital powers extorted from or coaxed ou t of the helpless king by bishops and lay nobles. [441] We can follow them in the diplomata. An astonishing number of these alienations o f royal rights lay in Saxony or benefited Saxon prelates an d lay nobles, Archbisho p Werne r of Magdeburg, Bishop Hezilo of Hildesheim , Burchard o f Halberstadt, hi s brother Lantfried , to name only some.107 There were no less than thirty-one and the young king's mentors and friends, most of all Archbishop Adalber t o f Hamburg-Bremen, helped themselve s lavishl y to royal possessions. 108 Others wh o stood les s clos e t o the contro l o f the king' s person must have used thes e opportunitie s n o less graspingly even if they did not go to the full length of Lampert's plot. When Henry came of age, and, from about 106 8 onwards , began to be his own master, th e situation change d onc e again drastically. The resumption of royal control and initiative meant also the return t o th e ful l rigour s o f reversions an d more . Th e kin g and hi s new and suspect adviser s als o wished to regain or find compensation fo r what had but recently bee n los t o r usurped. No t only the dead an d their heirs but also new donees no w ha d t o fea r escheats , i n short , wha t Lamper t ha d calle d vi s et calumnia, force made al l too visible by the castles and their garrisons backing swift lega l procedures . T o rui n eminen t individual s b y entanglin g the m i n judicial duels , th e fat e tha t hi t Ott o o f Northeim , wa s a well-trie d device . Shortly afterward s i t wa s use d b y Rudol f o f Rheinfelde n agains t Henr y I V himself.109 The fears of the princes in 1057 turned out to have been more than justified unles s Lampert' s accoun t o f their complot s wa s but historica l hindsight. Still, even if it was no more than that it proves that he saw continuity in 106

Lampert, Annales s.a. 1057 , pp. 71f . On the situation during Henry Ill's later years see E. Boshof, 'Das Reich in der Krise: Uberlegungen zum Regierungsausgang Heinrichs III.', HZ, 228 (1979), 265-87.1 cannot agree with Boshof, who spoke of a progressive isolation of the Saxons in the Reic h (p . 274) . Thi s doe s no t pinpoin t the natur e of th e problem , th e intensit y of roya l government in east Saxony and the flow of reversions. 107 Not all these grants can be cited here. For Magdeburg see DD HIV 65,107,138, for Hezilo of Hildesheim see DD H IV 83,132, 157, 206, 218, 219 ; for Halberstadt se e DD H IV 32,108,109, 110 (for Lantfried, the bishop' s brother) . The flow of favours fo r thes e two last-named bishops continued unti l 1068 and 106 9 respectively. 108 For Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg-Bremen, see DD HIV18,103,112,113,115,168,172, 175. Not all his hoped-for gains, like the abbeys of Lorsch (D HIV169 [1065]) and Sinzig (D HIV 173 [1065]), lay in Saxony. The favours obtained or extorted by Archbishop Anno of Cologne, like D H IV 10 4 (1063), th e ninth part of all money revenues, must also be remembered. 109 Lampert, Annales s.a. 1073 , pp. 166-8 , 170 , 174.

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what the Salians meant to do in Saxony and in the east Saxon princes' efforts to resist the m and their agents. The swift an d relentless return to an ancient and longstanding bu t recentl y relaxe d mod e o f controlling aristocratic tenur e of honores and land in Saxony blew the lid off. The result was the rising of 1073. Its consequences were profound an d lasting. It shaped th e Saxons' sens e of their ow n past an d identity for centuries to come. Helmold, writing between 1163 an d 1172 , spoke of the Saxo n princes' ol d habit of revolt, their 'rebellio num vetus consuetude' [442] when he described their defection from Henry V. The battle of Welfesholz was to him 'prelium illud nostra etate famosissimum'. 110 Arnold of Liibeck in his Chronica of c. 1210 narrated almos t wit h a shudde r how Frederick Barbaross a i n 1180 rebuilt the Harzburg and in doing so stirred up dar k memories . H e calle d th e castl e 'jugu m Saxoniae' , followin g Helmold.111 We meet the story of Otto of Northeim's blunt rebuff t o Henry IV's son i n th e Magdebur g Schoppenchronik, th e wor k o f th e secretar y o f th e Magdeburg scabini written c. 1370. 112 Th e rif t betwee n nort h an d sout h in Germany, o f wh o woul d dominat e whom , remaine d acute , fe d b y thes e memories. Th e possibility of the north prevailing over the south, and so for a return to the modalities of the Ottonian age , reappeared briefly in the twelft h century. It became a likelihood during the reign of Lothar of Siipplingenburg. The submission of the Hohenstaufen brothers, Frederick and Conrad, in 1134/5 at Fulda, Bamberg, and Miilhausen was almost like a counterpoint and belated revenge fo r the surrende r o f the Saxo n princes to Henry IV in the autumn of 1075.113 Yet this sudden shift-back of the centre of authority northwards ended again i n 113 8 when a few prince s raise d Conra d II I rathe r tha n bow to th e formidable holde r o f the Saxo n and Bavarian duchies, Henry the Proud. Fo r most of the middle ages and the early modern centuries the Reich was ruled by dynasties o f souther n o r southwesterl y origin s an d habitat . Saxon y on th e whole did not see them very often afte r the twelfth century. Later attempts by Adolf o f Nassau an d th e Habsbur g Albrecht I to se t foot i n Meissen an d so found or enlarg e thei r Hausmacht wer e thwarted . The Wettin s stoo d thei r ground. The Wittelsbach acquisition o f Brandenburg in 1323 and the Luxemburgs' in 1373 was neutralised by the estates, the erosion of their revenues, the disintegration o f thei r administration . Th e Saxo n greats ' struggl e for thei r inheritances an d lands held in proprium had not been fought in vain. Until the backwoodsmen o f the norther n marc h i n the guis e of Brandenburg-Prussi a took the offensive, the impasse bequeathed b y the Saxon rising held good. The

110

Helmold, Cronica Slavorum (as n. 11 ) I 40, p. 81. Arnold of Liibeck, Chronica Slavorum II18, ed. J.M. Lappenberg (MGH SRG14, Hanover, 1868), pp . 58 , 60f . Th e Helmol d passag e describin g th e Harzbur g 'quo d ipsi s propte r iugu m positum fuerat' is Cronica Slavorum (as n. 11 ) I 27, p. 53. n2 Die Magdeburger Schoppenchronik, ed . K . Janicke , Di e Chroniken de r deutschen Stiidte (Leipzig, 1869) , vol. 1, p. 102. 113 Bernhardi, Lothar HI., pp . 555f. , 562ff., 578f . 111


9

Ottonian idea s o f kingshi p were negated b y the reforme d [443] papacy, its practice was destroyed by the east Saxon nobles' rebellion. That is the meaning of th e secula r crisi s o f th e late r elevent h an d earl y twelfth centurie s which historians ignore at their peril.


3 From Saxon Freedoms to the Freedom of Saxony. The Crisis of the Eleventh Century

If one is concerned wit h the interpretation o f medieval conceptions o f freedom and thei r effectiveness , o f the tensio n betwee n th e educate d writing s of th e historians an d th e actua l working s o f society , on e canno t pas s ove r th e continental Saxon s o f the earl y an d hig h middle ages . The y wer e importan t and significant because they were the first people t o count a secular conscious ness o f an d strivin g afte r freedo m amon g thei r mos t fundamenta l historica l experiences. If the grea t Saxo n uprising against Henry I V had a slogan it was that o f libertas, either tha t of the individual or of the collectivity of the rebels . Saxon gravamina flowe d int o th e rhetori c o f th e uprisin g a s foun d i n th e historical works of Lampert an d Brun; complaints about th e cattle rustle d by royal castle-garrisons, abou t exactions and other misdeeds led to the suspicion or the rumour that the king intended to take away not only Saxon freedoms but freedom tout court. Bru n o f Mersebur g dramatise s thi s impressivel y i n th e famous speec h whic h h e ha s Ott o o f Northei m delive r a t a meetin g o f th e magnates an d lesser men in Hotensleben, with the help of Sallust's oratorica l skills, achievement s o f the language of public life in the late Roman republic. 1 We ar e thu s confronted wit h the questio n whethe r Otto of Northeim an d his hearers coul d reall y hav e mastere d a genera l an d collectiv e conceptio n o f freedom, i n othe r word s whethe r th e su m o f complaint s an d o f threatene d freedoms - mostl y thos e o f the ecclesiastical an d lay nobility, but also of the liberi - coul d amoun t to a general notion of libertas. What was the signifcance of Sallust' s Catiline Conspiracy in this movemen t directe d agains t th e Salia n

* First publishe d i n German a s 'Von sachsischen Freiheiten zur Freiheit Sachsens: Die Krise des 11. Jahrhunderts', in Die abendldndische Freiheit vom 10. zum 14 . Jahrhundert: Der Wirkungszusammenhang vo n Idee un d Wirklichkeit im europaischen Vergleich, e d J. Fried (Vortrag e und Forschungen 39 , Sigmaringen: Ja n Thorbecke Verlag , 1991), pp. 67-83 . Thank s ar e du e t o th e editor an d publisher s for permission to republis h here. No English text of this essay appears t o survive; wha t follow s is an editoria l translatio n o f th e publishe d Germa n version , wit h merely formal change s to the footnotes . 1 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum, c. 25, pp. 28-30. On Brun see O.-H. Kost, Das ostliche Niedersachsen im Investiturstreit. Studien zu Brunos Buch vom Sachsenkrieg (Gottingen, 1962) .

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monarchy, a movement whic h shaped th e development o f the Reich deeply , lastingly and indeed permanently, as I hope to have shown elsewhere?2 The freedo m them e i n th e Saxo n uprisin g o f 107 3 wa s no t ther e b y coincidence o r as a mere chance product of two talented authors, Lampert and Brun. Lik e the uprising itself it had a lengthy and burdened prehistor y i n the Saxon historiography of the earlier middle ages. Of necessity this had to come to term s wit h th e Saxo n experience s o f the eigh t an d nint h centuries , an d indeed als o wit h the horizon s of historical consciousnes s whic h these exper iences bequeathed t o later generations . Th e Saxon s had waged war against Charlemagne for thirty-three years and in the end had been defeated. According to Einhard the y had to abjure their 'demons' and their traditional rites and accept tha t Christia n faith an d its sacraments, as a result of which they were united wit h their Prankish enemie s an d became 'on e people'. 3 Later Saxo n historians watere d thi s down ; Widukind , for example , recounte d ho w th e Saxons, wh o had already once before been the friends and allies of the Franks (as relate d i n Widukind' s ethni c legen d o f th e Saxons) , no w became thei r brothers an d 'as if one people'. There was no question here of the two peoples' coalescing.4 In th e nint h century , however, the Saxon s were regarded a s a conquered people wh o ha d bee n Christianise d i n part b y force. I n Ermoldu s Nigellus' description o f the wal l paintings at Ingelheim they appear a s conquered an d subjugated opponents whom Charles had 'brought to do his right', ad suajura trahit.5 The y counte d amon g th e gentes subactae wh o ha d t o provid e con tingents for the Breton campaign of 818.6 Hrabanus Maurus expressed himself still more drastically when protesting against Gottschalk's request for permission t o leav e Fulda. 7 Precisely because th e process o f incorporation int o the Prankish empire ha d bee n s o much more intensel y contested b y the Saxons than by the Suabians and Bavarians, the incipient Saxon historiography of the ninth centur y an d th e Ottonia n historiograph y o f th e tent h centur y had t o invest so much in coming to terms with this process, i n order to validate new institutions an d cultura l achievements as well as the increasin g aristocratisation of the Saxons ' ow n society. In the last resort thi s historiography owed its 2

K.J . Leyser , 'Th e Crisi s of Medieval Germany' , above , pp . 21-49 . O n th e conten t o f and changes i n th e variou s conception s o f freedo m i n th e earl y an d hig h middl e age s se e H . Grundmann, 'Freiheit als religioses, politisches und personliches Postulat im Mittelalter', HZ , 183 (1957), pp. 23-53, and J. Fried, 'Uber den Universalismus der Freiheit im Mittelalter', HZ, 240 (1985), pp. 313-61 . O n th e theme s o f the Saxo n revol t o f 1073 discusse d her e se e als o F. Kern , Gottesgnadentum und Widerstandsrecht i m friiheren Mittelalter, 2nd edn by R. Buchne r (Darm stadt, 1954), pp. 170ff . an d W . Giese, Der Stamm de r Sachsen und das Reich in ottonischer und salischer Zeit (Wiesbaden , 1979) , pp. 155ff . 3 Einhard , Vita Karoli c. 7, p. 10. 4 Widukind , Re s gestae Saxonicae 115, p. 25. 5 Ermold , Carmen, verse 2163, p . 164 . 6 Ibid. , verses 1510-21, p. 116 . 7 Opusculum Rabani Mauri contra eo s qui repugnant institutis beati patris Benedicti, ed . J . Mabillon, Annales ordinis S. Benedicti, vol. 2 (Paris, 1704) , pp. 726-36; Dummler, Ostfrankisches Reich, vol. 1 , pp. 327-8.

From Saxon Freedoms to the Freedom of Saxony 5

3

very existence t o the proces s o f Christianisation, which repeatedly pose d th e question: whic h of the old values were compatible with the new ones and which were not ? Saxo n self-awareness , th e link s betwee n leadin g Saxo n nobl e families an d th e Carolingians , the translatio n of relics, al l needed a clarifica tion whic h naturalised an d consolidate d no t onl y the ne w faith bu t als o th e secular positio n o f the Saxons and of Saxony within the Prankish empire. This was done best an d earliest by the Poeta Saxo , who completed his Gesta Caroli around 890. 8 Einhard' s Vita wa s her e exploite d i n cultivate d verse s fo r a panegyric of Charlemagne's achievements for the Saxons. But it was precisely at the points where the poet depended most pointedly on Einhard as his source that h e departed fro m hi m most, as for example in his account of the Franco Saxon peace and alliance arrange at Selz in 803.9 Charles himself came there, according t o the poet, and met the entire Saxon nobility. The peace terms are then rehearsed , beginnin g with th e obligatio n t o accep t conversio n and th e renunciation o f th e cul t an d rite s o f paganis m previousl y observed . Her e Einhard's phrases, cited above, ar e clearly recognisable; bu t it was the secula r provisions i n th e Poet a Saxo' s accoun t whic h dominate d Saxo n historica l consciousness fo r s o lon g an d als o decisivel y shape d thei r conceptio n o f freedom. Th e Saxon s were not ever to pay the Franks a census or any kind of tribute; al l were agree d o n this. The y di d indeed ow e their clerg y the tithe s imposed b y divine law, and in matters of faith and morality they were to follow their teachings. But they were to retain an d apply their ancestra l law s unde r the supervisio n o f Charlemagne' s judge s (meanin g presumabl y count s an d missi). They possesse d an d enjoyed libertatis honor.10 Such conceptions becam e an d remained fundamental fo r the Saxon understanding o f freedom , an d w e shal l meet th e patriae leges an d th e libertatis honor ove r an d over agai n in the narrativ e sources for the great conflict with Henry I V an d hi s supporters an d i n the Saxo n historiography o f the twelfth century. We must begin with the reception and survival of this fertile fiction in the historica l source s for m th e tim e before the uprising . It was the Quedlin burg annals in particular which dealt with the peac e conventus in Selz of 803, whose historicit y i s so uncertain and s o much debated. Thes e annals , whose composition an d transcriptio n bega n aroun d th e yea r 1008 , ar e ou r mos t important witnes s to the significanc e of the suppose d even t for the Ottoma n Reich.11 Her e i t i s said tha t Charlemagn e grante d th e Saxon s their ancien t freedom at his assembly at Selz, and, in order to confirm them in their Catholic 8

O n him see B. Bischoff, 'Das Thema des Poeta Saxo', Speculum Historiale, ed. C. Bauer, L . Boehm, and M. Miiller (Freibur g i m Breisgau, 1965) , reprinte d i n idem, Mittelalterliche Studien, vol. 3 (Stuttgart, 1981), pp. 253-9; see also Leyser, Rule and Conflict, pp . 5-7 . 9 Poet a Saxo , Annalium d e gestis Caroli magni imperatoris libri quinque IV , verse s 93-138 , MGH Poetae 4/1, p . 48 , Einhard, Vita Karoli, c. 7, p. 10 , only brings the mai n peac e condition , conversion, and does not mention an y negotiations i n Selz . 10 Poet a Saxo (a s n. 9) IV, verse 111 , p . 48. 11 O n the Quedlinbur g annals se e R. Holtzmann , 'Die Quedlinburger Annalen', Sachsen und Anhalt, 1 (1925), pp. 64-12 5 an d in idem, Aufsdtze zu r Deutschen Geschichte im Mittelelberaum (Darmstadt, 1962), and Wattenbach-Holtzmann-Schmale, vol. 1 , pp. 44- 6 and vol. 3 , p. 18* .

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faith, freed them from all tribute except for the tithes which rich and poor alike had t o pay Christ an d his priests fro m th e fruit s o f their fields and pastures. 12 This wa s hi s command . W e fin d th e sam e though t i n a forge d diplom a o f Charlemagne's fo r Bremen , whic h Adam o f Bremen propagate d i n the first book o f hi s Ecclesiastical History o f Hamburg. Her e on e coul d rea d ho w Charlemagne a s kin g converte d th e Saxon s accordin g t o God' s wil l an d brought the m t o baptism , an d fo r lov e o f God , wh o ha d grante d hi m this victory, gav e the m thei r ancien t freedo m an d free d the m fro m an y kind of census due to him. 13 Very important, an d revealing o f a developing an d specifically Saxon sense of freedom i s the contrast betwee n census or tributum and libertas. To be fre e was t o pa y n o tribute , an d th e observation s o f th e Poet a Saxo , wh o her e represented a Saxon aristocratic standpoint and a specifically Saxon consciousness, wer e not only, as we have seen, cultivated and transmitted i n important historiographical work s of the early and later eleventh century, but were also commonplaces eve n i n Ottonian Saxony , which developed wit h a new dynamism an d aggressiveness . Befor e w e turn t o Ottonia n Saxony , however, we must conside r a n episod e i n th e histor y o f Carolingia n Saxon y whic h was fraught wit h consequences: a n uprising. Peasant uprising s were actually very rare in the early middle ages, and the Stellinga uprising of 841/42 was probably the mos t significan t of the smal l numbe r of movement s of resistance by the unprivileged classes. 14 The wars between the sons of Louis the Pious gave the conquered Saxon s the first chance for about forty years to protest agains t the new order , i n particula r comita l institution s an d th e nativ e potentates wh o through the m cam e t o ne w forms of power, an d als o agains t tithes . Lothar , after h e ha d bee n defeate d militarily , sough t t o enlis t no t onl y th e Saxo n nobility bu t finally also a movement o f the lowe r orders, th e frilingi and liti, against his brother Loui s and his Saxon supporters. Th e miracles recounted in the translations, the earliest Saxon historica l literature , giv e us some idea of the bruta l punishment s an d maiming s which the victim s of the ne w comital jurisdictions coul d suffe r a t th e hand s o f their rival s an d enemie s wh o now presided there. 15 The Stellinga movement was perhaps not so exclusively and 12

Annales Quedlinburgenses, s.a. 803, MGH S S 3, p. 40. Ada m of Bremen, Gesta 112, pp. 14-17 . 14 O n the Stellinga uprising see Diimmler, Ostfrdnkisches Reich (as n. 7), vol. 1, pp. 164-6,1845; H. Schmidt, 'Uber Christianisierung und gesellschaftliches Verhalten in Sachsen und Friesland', Niedersdchsisches Jahrbuchfur Landesgeschichte, 49 (1977) pp . 1-4 4 and especially pp. 38ff. ; E . Muller-Mertens, 'De r Stellingaausfstand , sein e Trage r un d di e Frag e de r politische n Macht' , Zeitschrift fu r Geschichtswissenschaft, 2 0 (1972), pp. 818-42; H.-D. Kahl, 'Randbemerkungen zur Christianisierung de r Sachsen' , Di e Eingliederung de r Sachsen i n da s Frankenreich, ed . W . Lammers (Weg e der Forschung 185 , Darmstadt , 1970) , pp. 519ff . 15 D e Miraculis Sancti Alexandri, Sanctae Felicitatis Filii, ed. B. Krusch, Die Ubertragungen des HI. Alexander von Rom nach Wildes hausen 851: Das dlteste niedersdchsische Geschichtsdenkmal (Nachrichten von der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft zu Gottingen, Phil.-Hist. Kl., Fachgr. 2., no. 4, Berlin, 1933), p. 431: 'Igitur quidam vir de pagoTregwitie propter invidiam inimicorumsuorum, qui sedem legislatorum possidebant, oculorum lumine iam 20 annis . . . privatus.' 13


5

clearly a conflict between socia l group s as Nithard and the Prankish annalist s would have us believe, though the oppression o f th&frilingi an d liberti certainly provided th e mai n fue l fo r th e uprising . Lotha r appeale d t o th e Saxo n resistance of the las t phas e o f the war s against the Frank s an d promise d th e restoration of old customs. Nithard , who detested Lothar , eve n claime d tha t he had allowed the Saxons to practise paganism once more.16 Thepatriae leges, whatever these may have contained, were here reclaimed by the rebels. Lotha r later tried to make amends for the damage done by the Stellinga uprising to the precarious stat e o f Christianit y i n th e Saxo n countryside . I n hi s lette r fo r Waltbraht, Widukind' s grandson , t o Pop e Le o I V (847-55 ) h e wrot e o f th e need t o recove r (recuperare) th e faith ; Waltbrah t wanted to acquire relic s in Rome for his foundation in Wildeshausen.17 From Nithard w e learn tha t the presumptio n o f the Stelling a was punished with a 'noble' and just blood-bath.18 From now on freedom, freedoms and the patriae leges appear primaril y as the prerogatives of the nobility. It is important not to forget this episode i n considering the crisis of the eleventh century. The desecration of the royal graves and relics on the Harzburg by the vulgus in 1074 occurred i n a temporar y vacuu m o f authority , which presented th e peasan t population wit h opportunities whic h they had otherwise long since lost.19 The elemental forc e o f th e plundering s an d arson s whic h too k plac e wa s als o directed agains t th e nobility , an d wa s reminiscen t o f th e Stelling a revolt . Freedom her e endangere d thos e wh o particularl y wante d t o defen d an d vindicate it . In Ottoma n Saxony , with its aggressiv e wars, we find no trace s o f such a social crisis . Th e nobilit y ha d a t firs t n o rivals ; it s dependant s obeye d an d marched t o wa r in subordinate positions . Militar y campaigns, bu t als o feud s and civi l war s amon g th e Liudolfin g hous e o r withi n the Reic h gav e thes e warriors, eve n whe n the y serve d a s pedites, opportunitie s t o distinguis h themselves, an d certainl y to plunder , tak e boot y an d receive rewards : som e may think here of Meginzo or Hosed. 20 As long as the wars against the Slav s continued t o increas e th e power , reputatio n an d connection s o f the leadin g margravial and comital families and of the Billun g dukes of Saxony, as long as the king s themselve s profited , i n othe r word s u p t o tim e o f th e grea t Sla v uprising of 983 and even beyond that, the historiography of the Liudolfings and their principes wa s a stor y o f success . Widukin d o f Corvey' s Re s gestae

16

Nithard , Historiae IV 2, pp. 41-2. Krusch , Ubertragung (a s n. 15) , pp . 428f. : Lothar's letter to Pope Leo IV. 18 Nithard , Historiae IV 4 and 6, pp. 45 , 48. 19 O n these excesse s see Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol. 2, pp. 332-4. 20 Leyser , Rule and Conflict, pp . 14 , 87 on Meginzo, and idem The Germa n Aristocracy in the Early Middle Ages', Past and Present, 41 (1968), p . 4 1 (Leyser, Medieval Germany, p. 177) . O n Hosed se e Leyser , 'Henr y I an d th e Beginning s of the Saxo n Empire', EHR, 8 3 (1968), p . 14 (Leyser, Medieval Germany, p. 24). 17

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Saxonicae ar e drenched with the notion; he concerned himsel f with it intensively, and eve n perceived it s dangers.21 The freedom of the Saxons , which in the Poet a Sax o ha d bee n merel y passiv e (th e Saxon s pai d n o degradin g tribute), became in Widukind's work active: the extent of the Saxons' freedom was measured b y the extent to which they exacted tribute. Nowhere is this to be seen more concisely and exemplarily than in his description of the martyrdom of St Vitus and the translation of his relics to Saxony, to Corvey in fact. What Widukind intended is clearly visible. St Vitus was to become the patron of the Saxon ethne, and his cult was to guarantee victory and success for ever. 'With the arriva l an d th e cul t o f s o grea t a patron' , h e wrot e 'Saxony , onc e a handmaid, becam e free . Onc e sh e paid tribute , no w is she the lad y of many peoples', received, i n other words, many payments of tribute.22 What Widukind otherwise had to say about freedom only serves to support this idea. The Saxons fought for fame and lordship, whereas their opponents , the Abodrites , fough t fo r mer e freedo m an d i n order t o avoi d th e abys s of servitude.23 The Sallustian periods were here constitutive and fruitful, a s they were so often to be in the future. In 963 Margrave Gero conquered the Lausitzi and reduce d the m to th e las t stage o f servitude.24 I n Widukind's mind there were gradation s o f both unfreedo m and freedom. In his account of the great Wendish uprising of 955, an embassy appeared befor e Otto I to offer hi m the traditional tribut e but als o to deman d in return for this that the Slavs should rule over their own affairs; if this were not granted, the n they would fight for their freedom. 25 Her e tribute i s compatible with freedom. Other phrase s in Widukind's work , however, sho w that freedom , libertas, was essentially the same aspotestas, power and lordship. Henry was the first (Saxon) who ruled in Saxony with 'free power'. 26 Even Widukind's ideal of peace mean t no more and n o les s tha n th e undisturbe d exercis e o f lordshi p an d th e untrouble d enjoyment o f property , an d tha t wa s a t th e sam e tim e th e highes t for m o f freedom. Widukin d often sound s thi s note o f euphoria, fo r example: 'Afte r Henry ha d made th e surrounding peoples tributary , and there wa s peace here he listed the Slav tribes -'the Redarii reneged on their sworn promises'.27 When in the first book of his Res Gestae Saxonicae he made the transition fro m the Saxon legends of conquest to history - he himself would scarcely have seen it thi s wa y - h e wrote : 'Th e Saxon s now possessed thei r lan d an d lived in deepest peace.'28 21

Widukind , Res gestae Saxonicae 134, p. 48 and H. Beumann, Widukind vo n Korvei (Abhandlungen zur Corveyer Geschichtsschreibung 3, Weimar, 1950), pp. 19 6 and 222. 22 Widukind , Res gestae Saxonicae I 34, p. 48. 23 Ibid . I I 20, p. 84: 'his pro gloria et pro magno latoque imperio, illis pro libertate ac ultima servitute varie certantibus'. 24 Ibid . Ill 67, pp. 141f. 25 Ibid . Ill 53, p. 132 . 26 Ibid . 117, p. 27: 'qui primus libera potestate regnavi t in Saxonia' und Beumann, Widukind (as n. 21), pp. 30- 1 and p. 31, n. 1. 27 Widukind , Res gestae Saxonicae I 36, p. 51. 28 Ibid . 114, p. 23.


7

With Thietma r o f Merseburg w e have reached th e elevent h century . Th e situation had by this time changed fundamentally. The Saxon kingdom was on the defensiv e agains t Polan d unde r Bolesla s Chrobry , it was allied wit h th e heathen Liutizi , an d i t wa s rule d b y a descendan t o f Henr y I who , thoug h brought u p in Saxony, was by no means so self-evidently a t home there as his predecessors. Thietmar di d not share Widukind's euphoria and optimism; on the contrary , h e wa s thoughtful , an d wa s anxious abou t th e future . T o set against Widukind' s lapidar y sentence abou t Saxony , once a handmaid, now herself a lady and free, Thietmar offere d a n equally pregnant train of thought which, however, le d in a quite different direction . He wrote - lik e Widukind fairly near the beginning of his work - in connection with the death of Henry I: 'Woe to the peoples who have no more hope of the succession of a sprig of the line of their rulers in the kingship . . . the rule of foreigners is the worst evil, it brings with it oppression and great danger for liberty.'29 When Thietmar wrote these words he already knew for certain that Henry II, hi s ruler, would leave no successo r b y hi s marriage with Cunigunde. Thietmar her e identifie d the Saxon libertas with the favours and privileges enjoyed by the gens from which the royal family was descended. Th e Saxons, as a royal people, were free, and Thietmar's remark can almost count as a prophecy of the crisis brought about by Salian 'rule of foreigners', to use his phrase. The bishop of Merseburg also introduced othe r elements , ne w for th e Saxons , int o hi s conception o f free dom. Followin g th e deat h of Margrave Ekkehard I of Meissen in 1002, Bolesla s Chrobry of Poland seize d the favourable opportunity to take over the MeiBen region, Lausit z an d Bautzen , and h e di d this in part wit h the consen t o f th e Saxon lords who lived there, whom he led to believe that he was acting with the consent o f Duke Henry of Bavaria. Many went to him as to their lord, and - so wrote Thietma r - exchange d thei r inherite d honor, her e certainl y meaning 'freedom', wit h submissiveness and servility. He conclude d his chapter thus : 'May Go d forgiv e the empero r [Ott o III ] tha t h e ever made a tribute-payer into a lord, so that he might dare to make his superiors gradually subject to him and diminis h them, not least through bribery, so bringing them to the loss of their freedom an d the shame of slavery.'30 Here we have the familiar contras t between tribut e o n th e on e han d an d lordshi p coupled wit h freedo m in th e other. The sam e thought recurs in Thietmar's disillusioned description o f the Liutizic warriors serving with their idols as allies and mercenaries in Henry IPs armies: onc e the y were subject, now , thanks to our sinful misdeeds , the y are free.31 For Thietma r th e Saxon s possesse d a n inherite d freedo m an d a n honor which Boleslas sought to undermine. This freedom had for him prominent and ritualised features . H e relate s fo r exampl e tha t Bolesla s Chrobry' s father , Miesco I of Poland, would never have dared to enter a house in his fur coat if 29

Thietmar , Chronicon 119, pp. 24/26. Ibid . V 10, p. 232. 31 Ibid . VI 25, p. 304.

30

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he kne w tha t th e magnificen t Margrav e Hod o wa s there , an d i n Hodo' s presence h e would not hav e presumed t o remai n seated whe n the margrave stood.32 One should recall here that Miesco in fact inflicted a serious defeat on Hodo at Zeden in 972.33 In a society which depended t o a great extent on real unfreedom an d indeed slavery , analogies to the antinomy between 'free' an d 'unfree' coul d reac h ver y high up the socia l scale. Thietmar , a s an educate d cleric, was also well aware of the difference betwee n freedoms and freedom as a politica l an d socia l concept . Th e righ t o f electio n o f th e confratres o f Magdeburg was, as he saw, one of their freedoms, but when they clashed with Henry II, wh o wished t o impose hi s chaplain Tagin o o n them a s archbishop , and indeed di d so, they are supposed t o have said (with Lucan): 'the freedom of a people which lives under a king is destroyed b y the freedom o f the ruler . Only the shado w of it remains, if one i s to follo w al l his commands.'34 Thietmar thu s knew at least three kinds of freedom: that of the Saxons as a ruling people; tha t arisin g from th e link , already familiar to us , with tribut e which on e impose d an d di d no t onesel f pay ; an d th e ide a o f th e people' s freedom b y contrast wit h the ruler's freedom, which even allowed something like a theore m o f politica l though t t o emerge . Beside s thi s ther e wa s th e libertas peccandi, no t previousl y mentioned : th e freedo m t o indulg e in sin , licentiousness and libertinage , whic h he bewaile d in the eight h boo k of his Chronicon whe n h e cam e t o spea k o f th e mora l declin e o f hi s ow n age , especially withi n marriage.35 He was also acquainted with that freedom which consisted of refusing to bear the gentle yoke of Christ,36 called a misera libertas by Gregory VII in his letter t o Hermann o f Metz.37 This raises a question which will also concern us when we come to discuss the authors wh o wrot e abou t th e Saxo n uprisin g o f 1073 : ho w fa r coul d th e statements o n freedom of a well-educated chronicler like Thietmar be understood b y his listeners an d readers, and still more important, how far were the ideas o f classical literature applicable to and appropriate for the conditions of the tenth and early eleventh century , to imperial church , court an d the world of the aristocratic laity? The questions have to be given differentiated answers. Thietmar's wor k lead s u s directl y t o th e hear t o f the ecclesiastica l an d lay nobility o f Saxon y an d it s social , militar y an d politica l surroundings . Th e contemporary relevanc e o f his views, recollections an d personal experience s speaks fro m ever y page o f his Chronicon. Th e reade r ha s a sense o f immediacy, when reading about his dealings with King Henry II and with his equals in clerical communities like the Magdeburg cathedral chapter an d among the episcopate, an d about his views on his own family on his father's and mother's 32

Ibid . V 10, p.232. Ibid. II 29, pp. 74/76. On this see H. Ludat, An Elbe und Oder urn das Jahr 1000 (Cologne, 1971), p . 41 n. 31 3 and see also p. 3 4 and n. 246. 34 Thietmar , Chronicon V 41, p. 268. 35 Ibid . VII I 3, p. 496 and Fried, 'Universalismus ' (as n. 2), p. 353 . 36 Thietmar , Chronicon VIII 5, p. 498 and Matthew 11:30. 37 Gregor y VII, Registrum VIII 21, p. 548. 33


9

side, found in scarcely any other earl y eleventh-century source. The Chronicon is one of the great sets of literary memoirs, comparable perhaps with those of the duke of Saint-Simon. What he tells us about freedom when he comes to speak of it will have been comprehensible to his contemporaries a t least in the clerical world ; it wa s no t simpl y a collectio n o f literar y topoi bu t authenti c tradition, a languag e whic h wa s perhap s no t wholl y foreig n eve n t o hi s relations i n th e comita l house s o f Walbec k an d Stade . Th e answe r t o th e questions posed here will prove much more difficult when we come to Lampert of Hersfeld an d Brun. The Ottonian Reich created, for the east Saxon nobility in particular, wealth and ne w honores, whic h w e ma y equat e wit h libertates, bu t thes e wer e embedded in the idea of a pan-Saxon honor under rulers from th e Liudolfin g house. With the deat h o f Henry II in 1024 and the transfer of rulership to th e Salian Conrad , ther e cam e abou t tha t situatio n which Thietmar had feared, but this by no means implies that the crisis was inevitable. Henry II himself had already ha d to submit to what was more or less a separate roya l election and inthronisation b y the Saxon s at Merseburg in 1002, as Walter Schlesinger has so convincingly shown. 38 In th e eye s of the Saxon s kingship had t o procee d from an d b e conferre d b y the Saxons , an d Henry , i n a speec h recorde d b y Thietmar, did his best to assure them that he would continue to honour them as the leadin g peopl e i n th e Reic h i n spit e o f hi s Bavaria n connection s an d obligations.39 Here already he promised no t to corrupt their law and to take account o f their needs. By this we should understand not just lex Saxonum but also an d i n particula r specia l privileges , in othe r word s libertates an d bona plurima, a s wer e promise d b y hi s messenge r t o th e Saxon s assemble d i n Werla.40 On e o f these favours , the restoratio n o f a Count Ricber t who ha d been dismissed b y Otto III, we know about thanks to Thietmar, whose uncle, Margrave Liuthar , apparentl y mad e i t a preconditio n o f hi s suppor t fo r Henry's candidacy. 41 Conra d I I wa s confronte d stil l mor e forcibl y b y th e special positio n o f th e Saxon s followin g hi s electio n i n 1024 . W e kno w n o details of the Saxon participation at the electoral assembly in Kamba, though it is probabl y tha t th e Ekkeharding s - Archbisho p Gunthe r o f Salzburg and Margraves Hermann and Ekkehard - wer e present. Conra d I I had to confirm the Saxons ' laws , an d a t thi s point w e als o lear n ho w a n outside r an d non Saxon perceived thi s trade-mark of the Saxon libertas: Wipo called the law lex crudilissima.42 Wipo showed himself not well-disposed to the Saxons at other points i n hi s work a s well; he though t that the y were i n th e wron g in their 38

W . Schlesinger, 'Die sogenannte Nachwahl Heinrichs II. in Merseburg', in Geschichte in der Gesellschaft: Festschrift fu r Karl Bosl zu m 65 . Geburtstag, ed . F . Prinz , F.-J. Schmale , F. Seibt (Stuttgart, 1974), pp. 350-6 9 and Leyser, Rule and Conflict, p . 100 . 39 Thietmar , Chronicon V 16 , pp. 239/41. 40 Ibid . V 3, pp. 222/24. 41 Ibid . V 3 and 18, pp. 222, 241. 42 Wipo , Gesta Chuonradi II. Imperatoris c . 6, in Wiponis Opera, ed. H. Bresslau (MGH SRG 61, Hanover, 1915) , p. 29.

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dispute with the Liutiz i and that this had been confirmed by the outcome of a judicial duel.43 Wolfgang Giese wrote of the extinction of the Ottonian house with the death of Henry II and forgot that three daughters of Otto II - Sophia , Adelheid and Mathilda - stil l lived.44 Mathilda, the wife of the count palatine Ezzo, died in 1025. Sophi a an d Adelheid , th e abbesse s o f Gandersheim, Essen , Quedlin burg, Gernrod e and Vreden, no w incorporated Saxo n libertas and honor. I t had already been important for Henry II and was to be still more so for Conrad II t o b e receive d an d greete d b y these ladies freely an d in friendship. Their solemn reception and accompanying of the new ruler helped to compensate to some extent fo r the missing close blood relationshi p to their predecessor, but with the death of the last of these princesses, Adelheid in 1043 - Henry III once termed her his spiritual mother - th e special position of the Saxons had to be expressed in a new and different fashion. 45 In the principal sources for the east Saxon rising against Henry IV, including Brun an d Lamper t o f Hersfeld , freedo m i s th e ever-recurrin g an d centra l theme in which all other motives for the uprising culminated. The time has now come to follow Brun and in part Lampert in their accounts in order to examine the Saxo n notions of freedom more closely and to ask whether these authors ' rhetoric allow s u s t o endo w th e Saxo n magnates , whethe r bishop s o r la y princes, with general conceptions of freedom or whether in the las t resort i t was only libertates an d individua l privileges which were a t stake. Brun , like Lampert, began by pillorying the excesse s of Henry's garrisons , which often consisted of Suabian ministeriales. On the matter itself we may point out that the exaction s b y the garrison s were i n themselves nothing new. Thietmar of Merseburg tell s u s tha t Henr y I ha d committe d robber y withi n hi s own kingdom;46 at least for the castles he built he used and had to use the labour of men who were subject to other lords. I t was precisely this that was one of the most serious charges brought against Henry IV's measures. Otto of Northeim is supposed t o have said in the cours e of his harangue at Hotensleben: They command you r serf s an d you r plough-team s t o serv e them , an d the y even compel yo u t o bea r filthy burdens o n you r ow n free shoulders.' 47 Lamper t formulates this accusation less precisely. The provinciates, among whom many - thoug h it should be noted not all - were of high birth and wealth, were forced by the roya l castle-garrisons to serve them like common villeins.48 43

Ibid . c. 33, p. 52. Giese , Stamm der Sachsen (as n. 2), pp. 154 , 165 . 45 O n th e publi c demonstration of goodwill towards Henry II by the tw o sisters see Annales Quedlinburgenses (a s n. 12) , p . 78 . Conra d I I an d hi s wife Gisel a met the m at th e nunner y of Vreden on the Saxon border in November 1024, ibid., p. 90. Adelheid is 'mater nostra spiritualis' in Henry Ill's privilege for Quedlinburg of 25 July 1042 (D H III 93). 46 Thietmar , Chronicon 116, p. 22. 47 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 25, p. 29. 48 Lampert , Annales, p. 146. 44


1

On 29 June 1073, the Saxon magnates complained to the king in Goslar, but received n o answer or only a dilatory one.49 Following this the participants in the protest are supposed to have come together with all the Saxons in order to discuss the common freedom, de libertate communi, which seemed to them to be threatened. 50 Th e concep t o f a libertas communis i s revealing. I t might perhaps compris e th e libertates o f individuals , and thu s ope n th e wa y to a general conceptio n o f freedom for th e participants . Bu t th e cor e an d showpiece of Brun's rhetoric of freedom is the assembly at Hotensleben in July 1073 and th e speec h mad e ther e b y Ott o o f Northeim. 51 Ott o addresse d hi s audience a s milites optimi, whic h perhaps tell s us something about the 'ran k and file ' o f the rebellion ; Bru n late r wrot e o f milites plebei.52 Otto' s speec h proceeded from known abuses to rumours and terrifying threats for the future. Once Henry's castle s were established throughout the country - we only know of seven or so - and were filled with his well-armed warriors, then 'he [the king] will take al l your possessions awa y and give them to strangers, and order you, free men and nobles, to become the servants of unknown men.'53 At this point the speec h shifts to Sallust's Catilina an d lugurtha, and well-known passage s from bot h works are quoted verbatim. There the n follow golde n passages for the historians of a 'right of resistance'. The king, by virtue of his misdeeds, has ceased to be king, and therefore the rebellion is not aimed at a king but at the unjust robbe r o f freedom. I t is not directed agains t the fatherland but for the fatherland an d freedom, 'whic h no good ma n loses, except it be with life an d with th e sou l itself. 54 Th e speec h ende d wit h a n injunctio n to defen d th e ancestral inheritanc e agains t all attacks. According to Lampert th e kin g had made a plan to bring all Saxons into servitude and absorb their lands into the royal fisc. 55 Th e thef t o f freedo m wa s her e als o couple d wit h quit e specific measures: attack s o n rights to use common land s or woodlands, and - her e more rhetori c - th e Saxons complained to Henry's soothin g messengers that they had been compelle d t o purchase even their water for cash.56 Particularly noteworthy i s that the sig n of servitude is here take n to b e the impositio n of tributes an d taxes. I n Lampert's brillian t style the king is made to ask certain Saxons throug h his representatives why they did not serve him like serfs - a s

49

Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 23, pp. 27-8. Ibid . c. 23, p. 28. 51 Ibid . c. 25, pp. 28-30. 52 Ibid . c. 128, p. 122. 53 Ibid . c. 25, p. 29. 54 Ibid . c. 25, p. 29. 55 Lampert , Annales, pp. 146-7. 56 Ibid. , p. 154. On the complaint about the loss of woodland and pasture rights see the Carmen de bello Saxonico I, verses 43-4, in Quellen zur Geschichte Kaiser Heinrichs IV. ed . R . Buchne r and F.-J. Schmale (AQDG 12 , Darmstadt, 1963), p. 147. 50

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was appropriate t o their origin s by birth - an d show fiscal obedienc e to him from thei r income.57 Could Ott o o f Northei m hav e hel d suc h a speec h an d coul d h e hav e proclaimed suc h a genera l and comprehensiv e conceptio n of freedo m and been understood b y his audience? Here there is the additional problem of the Saxon dialect i n which all these idea s would have had to be expressed. Coul d the loca l idio m hav e eve n begu n t o cop e wit h th e classica l commonplace s which Brun puts into Otto of Northeim's mouth? Or, put the other way round, how realisti c wa s th e Sallustia n phraseolog y an d ho w fa r di d i t reflec t an d transmit wha t th e Saxo n noble s ma y hav e sai d abou t thei r freedom s an d freedom at their meetings and cabals? There is hardly any way of verifying this, but i t is significant tha t Brun himself opens th e route to a sceptical answer to these questions . A t th e clos e o f hi s speec h Ott o o f Northei m invite d hi s listeners t o put forward all the injustices which the king had done to them, so that afterward s a commo n judgemen t coul d establis h th e nee d t o act . Th e princely complaint s ar e the n rehearsed , conclude d b y those o f Frederick d e Monte an d Willia m of Lodersleben, wh o shortly afterwards went over to th e king.58 It is worth considering the complaints of the princes - we may leave aside the question o f whether they were all actually present - mor e closely, for they are very suggestive fo r ou r subject . Archbishop Werne r o f Magdeburg said that the kin g ha d forcibl y entere d hi s cit y twice , accompanie d b y murde r an d looting.59 That doe s not reall y mea n anythin g mor e tha n tha t th e kin g had visited Magdebur g twic e and claime d th e customar y servitia: hospitalit y for himself and his entourage. A glance at his itinerary confirms this: he is found in Magdeburg on 8 September 106 5 and again on 27 May 1072, shortly before the Saxon uprising. 60 The archbishop (o r Brun) must have been conscious of how thin thi s accusatio n was , fo r h e adde d apologeticall y tha t h e regrette d th e general loss no less than his own and promised to oppose i t as if he alone had suffered it . Bisho p Burchar d o f Halberstadt , lik e Archbisho p Werne r a relative o f Anno o f Cologne, complained tha t the king had deprived a noble , Bodo, o f land s whic h rightly belonged t o hi s church. Ott o o f Northeim pu t forward hi s unjust depositio n an d th e loss of the duch y of Bavaria. Margrave Dedi, th e Wettin , complained of the los s of property, and here Brun did not mention th e fac t tha t h e ha d forfeite d i t fo r hi s participatio n i n a n earlie r uprising. Afte r thi s Herman n Billun g spok e o f the occupatio n o f the Liine burg, th e Billun g family seat , b y the roya l garrisons, and the coun t palatin e

57

Lampert , Annales, p. 148 . Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 26, pp. 30 , 31. 59 Ibid. c. 26, pp. 30, 31. 60 D H V IV 168 (1065); on the stay in 1072 see Lampert, Annales, p. 137 . 58


3

Frederick of the forfeiture of a fief from Hersfeld, which he had been unable to regain fro m th e kin g even with an offer o f 100 mansus.61 This ma y suffice , althoug h Bru n give s u s t o understan d tha t other s als o brought forwar d thei r slight s an d losses . On e thin g i s quit e clear : w e ar e dealing her e wit h complaint s abou t los t libertates whic h hav e ver y littl e immediate connectio n wit h freedo m a s such , eithe r a s a componen t o f th e constitution or a s a general state of affairs. Th e scen e i n Hotensleben ende d with the takin g of an oath; characteristically , th e bishop s swor e using a quite different formul a from tha t used by the laity. The bishops promised tha t they would 'savin g thei r orde r (salvo ordine suo)' defen d th e freedo m o f thei r churches an d th e freedo m o f all Saxony with all their migh t against al l men. The layme n swor e tha t a s long a s they lived they would not surrende r thei r freedom an d that eve n in the future the y would not allo w anyone to plunde r their land. 62 The dividing-wal l between th e concept s i s striking: the bishop s spoke of the freedo m of all Saxony, the layme n only of their own. Brun late r cam e onc e agai n t o spea k o f freedo m whe n h e describe d th e release of the Saxo n prince s fro m captivit y and their retur n to Saxony in the summer of 1076, a t a time when the position o f the excommunicated king was worsening noticeably an d rapidly. They found thei r people assembled ; i t was to pay tribute for its lands, had already, according to Brun, abandoned all hope of preserving it s freedom, an d was prepared t o do everything which the king's people asked of it. Brun says that Count Hermann Billung and Count Dietric h of Katlenburg enjoined the crowd not to give themselves into captivity and not to allow their hereditary lands to become subject to tribute-payments. 'Pay no one and keep your possessions free, just as you have received the m unencumbered fro m you r parents.' 63 Freedom is here equate d wit h the possessio n of hereditary lan d an d guaranteed b y such possession. But one can also see just how much Brun owed t o the old familiar notio n tha t tribute mean t servitud e and freedom mean t freedo m from tribute , something which must be borne in mind whe n w e no w turn t o Brun' s 'modernity' , tha t is , hi s reception o f th e Sallustian idea of freedom. Brun's thinking on freedom ran on more than one path. 61 Al l thes e complaint s ar e i n Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c . 26 , p . 3 0 and se e als o Lampert , Annales, pp. 140f. , 1461., 151f., where, however, the accents are placed somewhat differently, and Leyser, 'Crisis ' (a s n.2). O n th e natur e of Brun's Liber a s a rehearsal o f the querimoniae to b e brought against Henry IV at the 'princes' court' envisaged by the rebels see now G. Althoff an d S. Coue, 'Pragmatische Geschichtsschreibung und Krisen , 1: Zur Funktio n von Brunos Buch vom Sachsenkrieg', i n Pragmatische Schriftlichkeit im Mittelalter: Erscheinungsformen un d Entwicklungsstufen, ed . H. Keller, K. Grubmiiller and N. Staubach (Miinstersche Mittelalter-Studien 65 , Munich, 1992) , pp. 95-107 . 62 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c . 26 , p. 30-31 : 'Omne s ergo qui ibi convenerant . . . singillatim iuraverunt, episcop i quidem , ut , quantu m salvo ordin e su o possent , toti s viribu s ecclesiaru m suarum necno n e t totius Saxoniae libertatem contra omnes homines defenderent, laici vero, ut , quamdiu viverent , libertate m sua m no n amitterent , terramque suam nullum deinceps violenter praedari permitterent' . 63 Ibid . c. 84, especially p. 80.

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Like Lampert , bu t muc h mor e consciously , deliberatel y an d unambiguously, he took over something of Sallust's late republican rhetoric of freedom; at the critical point, in the speech attributed to Otto of Northeim, he even did so i n par t verbatim : 'Slaves , wh o ar e bough t for money , do no t suffe r th e unjust commands of their lord, and you, who are born free, are willing to suffe r servitude in patience.'64 In Sallust libertas is often the slogan and the characteristic of the populares, of the non-aristocrati c laye r of society which nevertheless ha d citizen' s rights . It s counterpar t wa s the dignitas, th e nativ e worth, exaltation throug h office , an d experienc e o f th e nobility . Brun consciously transformed an d reversed this polarity. In the speech of Gaius Memmius it is not said that the citizens were born free, in libertate nati, as Brun altered the phrase, but rather that they were in imperio nati, meaning that they too were given participatio n i n powe r b y virtu e o f thei r freedom , b y contras t wit h slaves.65 Thi s di d no t sui t Bru n a t thi s point , wher e th e princ e Ott o o f Northeim was addressing milites optimi and perhaps also milites plebei. At the climax of his speech at Hotensleben Otto hardly said anything of a struggle for freedom a s such , bu t rathe r quit e deliberatel y o f libertas mea, o f hi s own freedom i n other words , as Gerd Tellenbac h note d many years ago.66 Brun thus did not manage to extend hi s conception o f freedom here to a generally valid politica l idea , an d indee d di d not tr y t o d o so; according to hi m Ott o ended his speech, as we have seen, with the exhortation to preserve hereditary lands untouche d an d no t t o allo w oneself t o b e enslave d to strangers . The Saxon uprising of 1073 was aristocratic, but did not wish to be exclusively so , and the Ostfalia n grandee s managed t o build up their conspirac y o n a broad basis.67 Liberi from the population around the royal castles were to take part in it. But the freedom which was to be defended, if this was conceived abstractly at all, consisted in essence of their caste status and caste rights against the king, and these in turn could only be made concrete in terms of individual privileges, titles of possession and claims. Lampert kne w hi s Sallus t a s well a s Brun , an d muc h classical literature besides. The conspiring Saxo n lords who visited Henry in Goslar at the end of June and put forward their demands declared to him in Lampert's account that 64 Ibid . c . 25 , p . 29 : 'Servi acr e parat i iniusta imperia dominoru m no n perferent , e t vo s in libertate nati aequo animo servitutem tolerabitis?' Cf. C. Sallusti Crispi Bellum lugurthinum, 31, 11, 12, in C. Sallusti Crispi Catilina lugurtha Fragmenta Ampliora, ed. A . Kurfes s (Bibliothec a Teubneriana, Leipzig, 1972), p. 80. 65 Sallust , Bellum lugurthinum (as n. 64 ) 31, 11: 'vos Quirites, i n imperio nati aequo animo servitutem toleratis'. On libertas as against dignitas in Sallust see D.C. Earl, The Political Thought of Sallust (Cambridge 1961), pp. 53ff . 66 G . Tellenbach, Libertas. Kirche und Weltordnung im Zeitalter des Investiturstreites (Stuttgart, 1936), p. 23; English as Church, State and Christian Society a t the Time of th e Investiture Contest, trans. R. Bennett (Oxford, 1939) , p. 18. 67 Cf . G . Baaken , 'Konigtum , Burge n und Konigsfreie' , [n o volum e title ] (Vortrag e un d Forschungen 6, Constance, 1961), pp. 75-95 with the critical comments by L. Fenske, Adelsopposition und kirchliche Reformbewegung i m ostlichen Sachsen (Veroffentlichungen de s Max-PlanckInstituts fur Geschichte 47, Gottingen, 1977), pp. 294ff .


5

they would continue t o serv e him , but i n the manne r in which distinguished free men (ingenui), men born in a free kingdom, should serve their king. 68 At the point therefore where Brun transformed his source, Sallust, and set libertas in place o f imperium, Lamper t foun d a brilliant evasio n an d ha d th e Saxo n magnates declar e i n Gosla r tha t the y wer e bor n i n libero imperio.*® I n Lambert's accoun t als o thei r conceptio n o f freedo m wa s principally on e o f caste. Th e expressio n i n imperio natus wa s i n an y cas e par t o f Lampert' s impressive an d ric h vocabulary . He use d i t i n a famous passage, wher e h e suddenly praise d Henry' s unshakabl e regality, only to condemn immediately the king's irreconcilable thirs t for revenge and the means and assistants which he used to gratify it. 70 It is also quite possible that Lampert knew something of the Sallustia n contras t betwee n libertas an d dignitas. H e ha s Berthol d o f Zahringen and the bisho p o f Miinster announc e to the outraged Saxon s that they shoul d bo w t o th e roya l majesty, which even amon g barbarians i s lef t untouched. Thi s would b e mor e honourabl e tha n t o surrende r t o th e roya l anger.71 His knowledg e become s stil l mor e visibl e in the indirec t speec h in which he makes Henry try to convince the princes who had assembled for the war agains t Polan d tha t hi s enforce d fligh t fro m th e Harzbur g shoul d b e immediately avenge d by an expedition t o Saxony to punish the conspirators . All should d o their utmos t to ensure that the royal dignitas, which had bee n passed down to them by their ancestors as the highest and most exalted should not be darkened throug h their laxness. 72 Brun stood among the events which he recounted an d in part documented . Lampert lived in Hersfeld, o n the edg e of the conflic t an d near a n importan t main road, bu t h e was much less of a participant i n and determinant of Saxon affairs than Brun. He wrote, as so often, as a brilliant and neurotic outsider. 73 His thoughts on Henry IV were less of a means to an end than were Brun's, and his conceptions of freedom are thus still less easy to use in making clear the real state o f affair s an d th e recurren t ideal s i n th e eas t Saxo n focu s o f th e insurrection. If th e rhetori c o f Bru n an d Lamper t ca n b e use d onl y with caution an d reservations t o recover th e perspectives an d the extent of a Saxon conceptio n of freedo m i n the crisi s o f the elevent h century, an d does not revea l al l to o much, that by no means implies that there was no such thing as a general Saxon 68

Lampert , Annales, p. 152 : 'se promptissim o anim o ei sicut hactenu s servituros, eo tamen modo, quo ingenuos homines atque in libero imperio natos regi servire oporteret'. 69 Cf . nn. 68 and 64. 70 Ibid. , p . 270 : 'Veru m ill e hom o in imperi o natus e t nutritus , u t tanto s natales , tantos prosapiae fasces a c titulos decebat, regium i n omnibus semper adversi s animu m gerebat, mori quam vinci malebat.' 71 Ibid. , p. 154. 72 Ibid. , p. 157 . 73 O n Lamper t see T . Struve , 'Lamper t vo n Hersfeld : Personlichkei t un d Weltbil d eine s Geschichtsschreiberts am Beginn des Investiturstreits, Teil A', Hessisches Jahrbuch fur Landesgeschichte, 19 (1969), pp. 1-123 , and Teil B', ibid. , 20 (1970), pp. 32-142.

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idea of freedom o r that everything reduced to libertates without any overarching conception. On e shoul d no t underestimat e th e capacity for abstraction in the entourage s o f prince s an d grea t lords . Fo r th e mos t par t the y to o ha d capellani, an d i n par t the y wer e ope n t o refor m idea s i n thei r monasti c foundations an d renewals, as Lutz Fenske has convincingly shown.74 As lords or advocate s o f thei r monasterie s the y coul d b e informe d by th e historica l writing practised there . W e must first enquire abou t th e afterlif e o f the great writings o n th e rebellio n was , an d then , stil l mor e important , abou t th e afterlife o f the rebellion itself . Let us begin with the writings. Lampert had, as Tilman Struve has shown, a certain diffusion an d resonance in the middle ages, more tha n wa s once thought . Ther e ca n b e n o doub t o f this where Bru n is concerned: h e flowe d int o th e powerfu l strea m o f twelfth-centur y Saxon historiography. Grea t stretches of his work are cited verbatim o r paraphrased in the Gesta Archiepiscoporum Magdeburgensium an d in the Annalista Saxo. The whol e o f Otto of Northeim's speec h was incorporated into th e Gesta; in the Annalista i t wa s shortened , bu t ther e w e find the lette r o f Archbisho p Werner of Magdeburg t o Siegfried o f Mainz which severely criticise d Henry' s measures i n Saxony. Werner claime d that the royal fortress-garrisons had the task of reducing th e Saxon s t o servitud e or , shoul d thes e attempt t o defen d their freedom , of killing them.75 To investigat e th e afterlif e o f the insurrectio n itself , a s we must no w do , brings u s u p agains t a no t wholl y unexpecte d difficulty . I t wa s reall y a coincidence tha t th e Saxo n risin g becam e caugh t u p i n th e grea t struggl e unleashed b y Gregory VII , bu t th e struggl e gave the risin g fresh breat h an d completely deprive d th e king of the successe s h e had achieve d in 1075. Sinc e Gregory had no, or at all events little sympathy for the Saxons - in one letter to Henry h e wrote of their arroganc e - th e Saxon bishops presente d themselve s mainly a s champion s o f th e church' s cause , althoug h som e o f them , fo r example Burchar d of Halberstadt an d Werner of Magdeburg, belonged to the keenest opponent s o f Henr y I V an d ha d bee n activel y concerne d i n th e conspiracy fro m the beginning , that is from 1073. 76 The most striking feature of th e uprisin g wa s it s toughnes s an d it s continuity . Th e kin g di d indee d succeed onc e o r twic e i n breakin g th e fron t o f hi s Saxo n opponents , an d individual bishops an d aristocrat s wen t over t o him ; nor were seriou s feuds, struggles and even murders absent from the ranks of the rebels.77 But a core of resistance survived , and the Salian s never succeeded i n recovering control of 74

Fenske , Adelsopposition (a s n. 67), pp. 222ff . Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c . 42 , pp . 41- 3 an d especiall y p. 41 . Gesta Archiepiscoporum Magdeburgensium, MGH S S 14 , p. 401 and Annalista Saxo, MGH S S 6, pp. 699-70 3 76 Gregor y VII, Registrum III 7, p. 258. On Burchard of Halberstadt and Werner of Magdeburg see Fenske, Adelsopposition (as n. 67), pp. lOOff . an d pp. 195-8 . 77 Burchar d of Halberstadt, the bitte r enemy of Henry IV, wa s killed during the nigh t o f 6/7 April 1088 in Goslar. The shift y Margrav e Ekbert, who was aiming at a rival kingship, may have been the secre t instigator o f this; see Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol. 4, pp. 208-1 2 and Fenske, Adelsopposition (as n. 67), pp. 116f. 75


7

eastern Saxony. This ope n an d latent solidarity among Saxon princes, including bishops, this survival of hostility to the Salian regime - fo r example, to its restoration unde r Henr y V - wa s indeed t o d o somethin g fo r the ide a of freedom. Ever y movement has its cliches, and the secular idea of freedom, the libertas Saxoniae, may have played a part here. There are als o som e proof s for this. The Saxon lay princes and nobles may not have made much of Sallust's rhetoric, but another not e was sounded again and agai n i n their oppositio n an d i n their negotiation s wit h the kin g and his supporters. Thi s wa s the deman d tha t the y should b e allowe d t o kee p thei r patriae leges, their ancien t constituta, the goo d la w which they had possesse d since their conquest b y Charlemagne and thanks to him.78 Here we may recall the thre e specia l law s which the Sachsenspiegel claimed tha t th e Saxon s had retained eve n agains t Charlemagne' s will. 79 Thus i t was traditions o f Saxo n self-understanding an d historical consciousness , a s we have already me t the m in the wor k of the Poet a Saxo, which here supporte d the idea of freedom. It was the patriae leges - reall y libertates - which through a belief in their survival and throug h thei r ora l an d vernacula r tradition gav e Saxo n freedo m a very solid identity. 80 The uprising of 1073, which continued for decades, wa s joined in traditio n b y late r climaxe s lik e th e battl e a t th e Welfeshol z i n 1115 . Memories o f the Harzbur g remaine d alive , and the Saxon s shuddered whe n Frederick Barbarossa had i t refortified i n the cours e of his campaign agains t Henry th e Lion. 81 Th e plac e wa s accursed . I n thi s wa y history an d Saxo n historical consciousnes s itsel f played thei r par t i n preserving the memor y of libertas Saxoniae, and by this roundabout means the assembly at Hotensleben was kept aliv e in men's minds .

78

Lampert , Annales s.a. 1073, p. 152 : 'si iuste, si legittime, si more maiorum rebus moderaretur; si suum cuique ordinem, suam dignitatem, suas leges tutas inviolatasque manere pateretur'; p. 155 : 'postrem o iusiurandu m nobi s det , quo d legittim a gent i nostra e a primi s temporibu s constituta nunqua m deinceps infringer e moliatur' ; p. 178 : 'u t libertatem genti suae et legittima a primis temporibus statuta rata atque inviolata manere sinat'. 79 Sachsenspiegel Landrecht I 1 8 1-3, 2n d revised ed n b y K.A. Eckhard t (MGH Fonte s iuris Germanici antiqui , NS 1, Hanover, 1955) , vol. 1, pp. 83-4 . 80 Poet a Sax o (as n. 9), book 4, verses 110-11: 'permissi legibu s uti Saxones patrii s et libertati s honore'. 81 Arnol d of Liibeck, Chronica Slavorum II18, ed. J.M. Lappenberg (MGH SRG 14, Hanover, 1868), pp . 58-61 .


4 Gregory VII and the Saxons

The storm y year s o f Gregor y VIF s pontificat e coincided wit h th e greates t rising against royal rule in Germany, the Saxon revolt of 1073. Their conjunction was, as I have shown elsewhere, fortuitous but both Gregor y VIFs cause and that of the Saxons needed on e another to win through.1 The conspiracy of the east Saxon lay nobles and bishops against the Salian regime took heart and came t o lif e agai n after defea t and surrender in 1075 when Gregory launched his sentences agains t Henry IV early in the next year. Saxony became Rudolf of Rheinfelden' s bas e an d in 1079 Gregory VII, in a letter addresse d t o him, saw him as the master of a Saxon kingdom.2 The term is older and was used by writers of the late tenth and early eleventh century to describe the Reich north of th e Alp s as a whole. Her e however it gained a new, narrower and purely Saxon sense, adopted als o by Brun in his Book o f th e Saxon War. 3 Yet it does not see m a s if either party , the pope o r the Saxons , understoo d on e anothe r very well or took dee p cognisance of the other's cause . We possess a letter of Gregory's addresse d t o Archbisho p Werne r o f Magdeburg , Burchar d o f Halberstadt an d Margrave Dedi, date d 20 December [232 ] 1073. In it Gregory did no t mentio n th e Saxons ' gravamina against their kin g but onl y enjoined that th e bloodshe d mus t stop . Her e alread y he insisted o n what would later come to b e th e cornerston e of his words an d deeds, the ide a o f the Roma n Church's arbitratio n an d judgement. 4 Margrave Dedi was the only Saxon lay prince h e eve r addresse d b y name, a n important but b y no means the mos t important man among the rebels.5 That Gregory was at that time indifferent t o what moved the Saxons to resistance might perhaps be deduced from the letter he sent t o Henry IV in September 1075 . There he spoke of the Saxons' prid e First published in La Riforma Gregoriana e I'Europa, 2: Comunicazioni (Studi Gregorian! 14/ 2, Rome: LAS, 1991), pp. 231-8; thanks are due to the editors of the series and to the publishers for permission t o republish here. Text and apparatus are unchanged except in formal respects . 1 K.J . Leyser, 'The Crisis of Medieval Germany', above, pp. 21-49. 2 Th e Epistolae Vagantes of Pope Gregory VII, no. 26, ed. H.E.J. Cowdre y (Oxford, 1972) , p. 66, and cf. no. 25 , p. 64: 'in Teutonico atque in Saxonico regno commorantibus'. 3 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 30,121, pp. 32,114. To Rudolf Glaber the Salian ruler Henry III was 'rex Saxonum iam in re': Historiae V i 17, p. 237. 4 Gregor y VII, Registrum I 39, pp. 61f. 5 H e i s mentioned twice in Brun, Bellum Saxonicum cc. 23, 26, pp. 28, 30.

*

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and thei r unjus t defianc e which had no w by divine judgement been crushed. He wishe d th e kin g well but warne d hi m to mak e th e righ t use of his recent victory and deplored th e slaughter of the battle. 6 When Gregor y VII came to frame hi s own accusations against the Salian he mentioned th e Saxons ' caus e bu t no t wha t it s substance reall y was and th e stress-marks la y o n th e king' s sinfulness , hi s ill-fam e an d hi s simoniaca l dealings, no t misgovernmen t an d wrong s committed agains t princes, noble s and liberi. 7 Gregor y VI I ma y hav e take n ove r fro m th e Saxons , no t thei r complaints o f tyrann y an d unjus t exactions , bu t th e murkie r charge s the y levelled agains t Henry. Of these the most shocking was that of incest. Henry' s sister was abbess o f Quedlinburg an d i t is worth mentioning that Henry ha d stayed ther e i n 106 9 fo r Easte r an d i n 107 0 agai n o n Ascensio n Da y thu s recalling th e solemn an d venerable Ottonia n Easter-keepin g practice. 8 It was his imitation of the native dynasty's custom which perhaps gave offence an d so fomented shamefu l slanders. Gregory did not phrase such accusation explicitly but he yet saw Henry as a tainted man of whom grave offences were rumoured. It is customary to regard Bru n in his Book of the Saxon War as the principal spokesman o f the Saxo n la y revolt an d i n his earlier chapter s describin g th e rising h e wa s just that. Al l th e mor e strikin g it i s that i n th e fiv e letters of complaint addresse d to Gregory VII's stance in 1078 and 1079, his refusal [233] to alig n himself unequivocally with the Saxo n and Rudol f agains t Henry, we hear little or nothing of what really stirred the Saxon nobles and their milites. These me n bor e th e brun t o f a savag e wa r an d Bru n describe d it s battles , Mellrichstadt (1078) , Flarchheim (1080 ) an d on the Elste r (Octobe r 1080 ) i n more detail and with more expertise tha n any other writer. But it was not their animus whic h stoo d ou t i n th e Saxons ' celebrate d letter s o f complain t an d indignation wit h Gregory. W e hear mor e o f expelled bishop s wh o had take n refuge i n Saxony and of the ways Henry IV exploited thei r sees as a substitute for th e Saxo n roya l demesn e no w enjoye d b y Rudol f o f Rheinfelde n o r invaded b y Saxon nobles . Th e Saxon s purporte d t o hav e taken u p arm s for Gregory's caus e rathe r tha n thei r ow n an d eve n thei r defea t i n 107 5 i s represented as if it had been endured for his sake.9 A careful reading of Brun's so-called Saxo n letter s o f 1078-107 9 show s the m a s th e voic e o f th e Saxo n nobility o n onl y on e subjec t tha t wa s commo n groun d betwee n th e loca l bishops, th e refugee s like Archbishop Gebhar d o f Salzburg and themselves: that Henry IV could never be their king again and that Rudolf of Rheinfelden was. Ye t eve n s o the loyaltie s of the Saxo n great remaine d fluid and early in 1080 were shifting when none other than the Billungs, the widow of Margrave Dedi, Wiprech t o f Groitsc h an d other s withdre w an d absconded . Rudol f 6

Gregor y VII, Registrum III 7, p. 258 . Epistolae Vagantes (a s n. 2), p. 3 6 no. 14 ; for Henry's crime s se e ibid. p . 38. 8 Lampert , Annales, s.a. 1069,1070, pp. 105,112 and see K.J. Leyser, 'Earl y Medieval Cano n Law and th e Beginning s o f Knighthood', Th e Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp . 64-5 . 9 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 108, p . 97. 7

Gregory VI I an d th e Saxons 7

1

throughout thes e year s ha d t o spen d muc h time repressin g disaffectio n an d recession fro m hi s rule in Saxony and Westfalia. 10 Much ha s bee n writte n abou t Gregor y VIF s aim s an d hi s plan s afte r receiving and absolving Henry IV at Canossa. He himself in a letter which does not alway s seem t o have been give n its due recently, has stated the m clearly. On 9 June 107 7 he wrote to the archbisho p of Gran apologising that his clerk and messenger ha d been kept so long near the pope's person. When he arrived Gregory ha d intended t o go into the German kingdom in order to make peace and concor d betwee n Kin g Henry an d the principes terrae and he had taken securities fro m th e kin g unde r oat h whic h wer e neede d fo r th e journey . Gregory thus wanted to continue on his way to the Reich north of the Alps, not to judg e Henr y bu t t o reconcil e hi m with his opponents. 11 They kne w and feared jus t thi s an d th e electio n o f Rudol f o f Rheinfelde n wa s th e [234 ] outcome. I n hi s letter Gregor y referre d t o i t a s 'that grievou s strife an d th e division almos t o f the whol e putrid*'. Later, i n the Saxo n letters h e was to b e accused o f being the author of this division as if the election at Forchheim itself had not been the cause of it.12 In Paul of Bernried's story of Rudolf's election , resting o n a good source , th e elevatio n of Rudolf is seen a s the onl y remedy against schis m and the Saxo n lords, not least of all Otto o f Northeim and the Saxon bishops , wer e very much to the fore at Forchheim. 13 It does not appea r a s if Gregory ever understood the dept h of the hostility between Henr y I V an d certai n o f his princes an d their following, mos t of all Saxon ones. At Tribu r in 1076 when they had hi m in their grip some of them were ye t afrai d an d feared hi s revenge because they had insulted him by not coming into his presence an d leaving him ungreeted.14 At Forchheim too we hear throug h Pau l o f Bernried' s sourc e no t onl y tha t ecclesiastica l an d lay princes ros e i n turn to complai n of the abuse s an d dangers they had already endured a t Henry IV' s hands but als o that the y expected t o suffe r mor e and knew that th e Salia n king would have his revenge on them. His kiss of peace was poison. Unles s they elected Rudol f they could not be safe. 15 This secular world of injury, revenge and embittered struggle remained closed to Gregory. He condemne d i t in the roun d but did not understand it in detail. Gregory VIF s response t o the event s at Forchheim has also been debate d thoroughly by scholars. It can be summed up in one phrase that appears again and agai n in his letters t o his own emissaries, the German s as a whole and to 10

Meye r vo n Knonau , Heinrich IV, vo l 3 , pp. 235-6 . O n resistanc e t o Rudol f i n Saxony see ibid., pp. 75 , 192f., 241-2 . 11 Gregor y VII , Registrum IV 25, p. 339; see now in general J. Vogel, Gregor VII. und Heinrich IV. nach Canossa: Zeugnisse ihres Selbstverstandnisses (Arbeite n zu r Fruhmittelalterforschung 9 , Berlin, 1983) . 12 E.g . Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 108, p . 98. 13 Pau l o f Bernried , Vita Gregorii VI I papae cc . 93 , 94 , 95 , i n J.M . Watterich , Pontificum Romanorum . . . vitae, 2 vols. (Leipzig , 1862-63) , vol . 1 , pp. 529-30 , especially p . 529: 'irrevoca bile schisma' . 14 Berthold , Annales, s.a. 1076 , MGH S S 5, p. 287 . 15 Pau l o f Bernried, Vita Gregorii VI I (a s n. 13 ) c. 93, p. 529 : 'vel se afficiendos fore' .

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Rudolf o f Rheinfelde n an d hi s Saxo n following . I t appear s i n hi s very first instructions t o hi s legates, th e tw o Bernhards, afte r Forchheim , dated fro m Carpineto, 31 May 1077 when he still hoped to proceed to Germany and have the last word in the conflict between the two kings: it must be found out where justice la y betwee n th e tw o parties , who m justic e favoure d t o rul e th e kingdom.16 He never abandoned the idea of a papal judgement and above all the definition of it: 'cui parti iustitia faveat'. With this cryptic phrase, a cloud of justice, h e met all the heated argument s and demands made on him between 1077 and 7 March 1080 the second excommunication and deposition of Henry IV. [235 ] The legates , th e Cardina l Deaco n Bernhar d an d Abbo t Bernhar d o f St Victor, Marseilles , ha d bee n empowere d t o resis t an d rejec t th e kin g who disturbed the papal progress t o judgement, be it out of pride or greed.17 They had been charged to denounce the governance of the contumacious ruler and to excommunicate him and all his followers. He however who obeyed humbly was to be confirmed in the kingship by the authority of the Apostles, St Peter and S t Paul, and given every possible help. Two features of this procedure t o which Gregory clung for nearly three years - it has been miscalled neutrality are striking . First , th e assumptio n tha t on e o f th e contestant s woul d b e fractious, th e othe r complian t when in reality both, Henry IV and Rudolf of Rheinfelden an d thei r followings , including bishops, disobeyed , disregarde d and proteste d agains t Gregory' s proceeding s an d ends . Th e secon d i s th e characteristic quality of so much medieval judicature that the substance of the issue, the heart of the conflict itself, moved into procedural preliminarie s an d forms. H e who obstructed Gregory's or his legates' movements, who made it difficult for a conventus fidelium to assembl e and set to wor k on the mai n matter in hand, was deemed to have already manifested his guilt, injustice and un worthiness. By autum n 107 7 on e o f th e tw o legates , th e Cardina l Deacon Bernhar d separated fro m hi s colleague, ha d come to the conclusion that this was Henry IV and on November 12 at Goslar he excommunicated the Salian once more.18 In thi s Saxo n setting , albei t als o i n th e presenc e o f th e refuge e bishops , Siegfried of Mainz, Adalbero of Wiirzburg and Altmann of Passau who added their condemnations , Henr y was not only anathemised but also forbidden all rule and government. This became the hinge on which all the 'Saxon' protests against Gregory' s hesitations , o f no t wantin g to judg e befor e th e Roma n Church had been able to assemble the evidence, were poised. Agai n and again the authors of the letters in Brun's Book harpe d on this theme.19 The bishops and th e layme n wh o stood behin d them either di d not know or they did not want to know that Gregor y was not necessarily boun d by what his legate had 16

Gregor y VII, Registrum IV 23, pp. 334-6. Ibid. , pp. 335f . 18 Meye r vo n Knonau, Heinrich IV., vol . 3 , pp. 75-8 , an d especially Berthold , Annales, s.a. 1077 an d 1079 , MG H S S 5, pp. 302f . and 318 . 19 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum, cc. 110,112, 114, pp . 100 , 101 , 102f. , 107 . 17


3

done an d tha t h e coul d an d di d reserv e hi s judgement . Thi s wa s a s ye t uncertain an d untested ground . He neither avowe d the Cardinal Deacon's act nor did he expressly disavow it. Yet for the Saxons he had already judged and Rudolf ha d been raise d apostolica auctoritate. 20 This could only refer to what the legat e ha d done a t Goslar i n November 1077 . [236 ] In his letter to the ecclesiastical an d lay dignatories of the German kingdom announcing th e despatc h o f th e tw o Bernhards , Gregor y ha d sai d tha t th e 'Roman Empire' was being ruined by the conflict of the two kings.21 It seems to have bee n almos t th e las t time he used this designation an d in the years that followed h e cas t hi s gaze more narrowl y on the regnwn Teutonicum divide d within an d he deplored an d grieved over its rifts. B y 1079 he addressed Kin g Rudolf an d al l those who dwelt with him in the regnum Saxonum, exhorting them to persist an d not to slacken nor doubt of the pope's help.22 It is at least possible that he gradually saw a solution here. Perhap s he hoped for and even reckoned wit h a permanen t diminutio n an d fragmentatio n of tha t imperia l whole which had weighed so heavily on his predecessors an d which he himself had experienced a s an exile at the imperial court. Nor was he so mistaken. The death o f Rudolf afte r th e battl e o n 1 5 October 108 0 did not ope n Saxon y to Henry I V and his kingship recovered there only fleetingly in 1088 . Meanwhile th e complaint s mounted . 107 9 had bee n a more peacefu l year and a t least ther e wer e no major pitche d battle s along the Saxon-Thuringian frontier bu t thi s onl y heightene d th e impac t o f th e faile d legatio n o f th e Cardinal Bisho p Pete r an d Bisho p Udalrich of Padua. The flood of criticism poured no t only from the pens of B run's circle who in the end even caricatured ironically th e ton e o f Gregory's letters . I t wa s reported als o i n the Suabia n Annalist's reflections : 'Many wondered' he wrote sub anno 1079, why the pope bore the shift s an d turns of Henry's adherent s for over a year.23 Gregory VII himself was only too well aware of these voices in his letter to Duke Welf of 30 December 107 8 an d in the defenc e of his legates of 1 October 1079. 24 A new note o f tensio n bega n t o appea r i n his letters an d synods , a ne w passion of imprecation wit h which his sentences an d censures were to strike the recalci trant. Those anathemised wer e to be hit in body and in soul, were to have no victory, n o earthl y success . Thi s not e culminate d in the secon d sentenc e of excommunication, cas t agains t Henr y I V i n th e Lente n syno d o n 7 Marc h 1080. 'Ips e aute m Heinricu s cu m suis fautoribus i n omn i congression e bell i nullas vires, nullamqu e in vita sua victoriam optineat'. 25 Her e [237 ] there i s 20

Ibid . cc. 108 and 114 , pp. 9 8 and 107 . Gregor y VII , Registrum I V 24 , p . 337 , an d E . Miiller-Mertens , Regnum Teutonicum (Forschungen zu r mittelalterlichen Geschichte 15 , Berlin, 1970) , p. 155 . I n his letter t o Bishop Hermann o f Metz of 1 5 March 1081 (Registrum VII I 21, p. 247) , however, Gregory VII calle d Henry 'imperii destructorem'. 22 Epistolae Vagantes (a s n. 2), pp. 661. no. 26. 23 Berthold , Annales s.a. 1079, MGH S S 5, p. 318. 24 Gregor y VII, Registrum VI14 and VII 3, pp. 418f. and 462f. 25 Ibid . VII 14a, p. 486, and compare V 15 (9 March 1078) and VI1 (1 July 1078), pp. 376,390. 21

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that rin g o f confidenc e minglin g wit h nea r despair , th e sombr e not e s o characteristic o f Gregory's las t years. When h e i n th e en d excommunicate d th e kin g agai n Bru n n o longe r mentioned it . For the Saxons it made now very little difference. The battle at Flarchheim o n 27 January 1080 taught them that they could not win decisively even i f they had themselves avoide d defeat . And Gregor y too must have cast his new sentence o n Henry knowing that his allies were not prevailing. More and more he relied on and looked to the aid of the Apostles rathe r than that of Rudolf of Rheinfelden or the Saxons. We must believe him when he wrote that he was not strivin g for earthly advantages. He was preparing for bad days to come. I t ma y no t hav e bee n th e pressure s fro m th e Saxon s an d th e sout h Germans bu t Henr y IV' s peremptor y demand s an d ne w threat s tha t le d Gregory t o wait no longer.26 In a letter dated 1081 an d addressed to Bishop Pete r of Albano and Princ e Gisulf o f Salern o h e asserte d tha t Charlemagn e ha d bestowe d Saxon y on St Peter with whose hel p he conquered i t and he alluded to Saxo n writings and Saxon prudentes who knew about this.27 All the indications ar e that the claim reached hi m fro m a Saxo n sourc e i n the entourag e o f the trimmin g Bishop Benno of Osnabruck. Benno wanted to 'recover' tithes for his see but there are traces of the allegation elsewhere. A future German kin g was to swear that he would com e t o term s wit h the pop e ove r Charlemagne' s gift s o f land s an d census. Yet as the struggle moved closer to the walls of Rome the opportunities to foster ne w bonds, founded on pseudo-Liudprand, dwindled. 28 No papal privileges for Saxon recipients have come down to us in authentic texts for Gregory' s pontificate . The Magdeburg election o f 1079 was perhaps his most concrete an d effective decision in the Saxon church. The unsuccessful [238] candidate, a Wettin, was consoled wit h the see of Naumburg and we do not kno w how his kin viewed the outcome. 29 The mutual misunderstandings between Gregor y an d his Saxon followers were acute and lasting. They laste d because Brun' s Book o f the Saxon War through the Annalista Saxo of the mid26

Vogel , Gregor VII. (a s n. 11) , pp. 184-90 . Gregor y VII, Registrum VIII 23, pp. 566f . 28 Fo r the oath to be sworn by a newly elect German king see ibid. IX 3, pp. 575f. On pseudoLiudprand an d th e assertio n tha t Saxon y ha d bee n give n t o S t Peter b y Charlemagne se e P. Scheffer-Boichorst, 'Zwe i Untersuchungen zur papstlichen Territorial- und Finanzpolitik', MIOG Ergdnzungsband, 4 (1893), pp. 77-94; M. Tangl, 'Forschungen zu Karolingerdiplomen', in Archiv fur Urkundenforschung, 2 (1909) , pp . 314ff. , W . Levison , 'Di e Papstgeschicht e de s Pseudo Liudprand und der Codex Franesianus des Liber Pontificalis', Neues Archiv, 36 (1911), pp. 417-33; K.-U Jaschke, 'Studien zu Quellen und Geschichte des Osnabriicker Zehntstreits unter Heinrich IV.', Archiv fur Diplomatik, 11/1 2 (1965/66), pp . 335-42, and D. Jasper, 'Die Papstgeschichte des Pseudo-Liudprand', DA, 3 1 (1975), pp. 35-9, who, however, thought that Gregory's informatio n rested o n a forged Charlemagn e diploma from Bremen , D Charles the Great 245. 29 O n the Magdeburg election of 1079 see D. Claude, Geschichte des Erzbistums Magdeburg bi s in das 12. Jahrhundert, 1 : Die Geschichte der Erzbischofe bi s aufRuotger (1124) (Mitteldeutsch e Forschungen 67/1 , Cologn e 1972) , pp . 349-52 , an d L . Fenske , Adelsopposition un d kirchliche Reformbewegung i m ostlichen Sachsen (Veroffentlichunge n de s Max-Planck-Institut s fu r Ges chichte 47, Gottingen, 1977), pp. 198-200 . 27


5

twelfth century entered a vigorous stream of Saxon historiography and the five Saxon letters with their chagrin and vituperation of Gregory were there, albeit abbreviated an d so toned dow n a little.30 Even if they did not reflect Saxon lay sentiment o f the conflict very much, they may have helped t o shape the views of a later generation. However, the Annalista Saxo left his readers in no doubt where his sympathies lay. For him the Saxons had fought for the Holy See and it was a sad day when some of them in 1085 deserted th e cause and went over to Henry IV. 31 Nor ha d Gregory' s appeal s falle n o n altogether dea f ears in the Saxon nobility . There is at least on e letter fro m a member of that aristocrac y denouncing simon y an d proclaimin g tha t king s ha d n o busines s t o creat e bishops but only to defend the church. 32

30

Annalista Saxo s.a. 1079, MGH S S 6, pp. 714-17. Ibid . s.a. 1085 , p. 723. 32 Briefsammlungen de r Zeit Heinrichs IV., no. 34, MGH BD K 5 , pp. 72-4. 31


5 Money and Supplies on the First Crusade

Holy wars , jihads, may imprint their own special character on the conduct of military operations bu t they are not exempt from th e general rules governing warfare everywher e an d a t al l times. Eve n th e holies t o f wars, the crusade , could no t b e fough t withou t the ration s arriving , if not punctually , at leas t sooner or later. I n a famous course of lectures Field-Marshal Lord Wavell, as he was to become, se t out what he thought the qualities of a good commander of armie s shoul d be. 1 H e looke d fo r pas t definition s and foun d non e tha t pleased hi m s o muc h a s Socrate' s remark s reporte d b y Xenopho n i n hi s Memorabilia: Th e genera l mus t know how to ge t his men their ration s and every othe r kin d o f store s neede d fo r war . H e mus t hav e imaginatio n t o originate plans , practical sense and energy to carry them through. He must be observant, untiring , shrewd; kindly and cruel; simple and crafty; a watchman and a robber; lavis h and miserly; generous and stingy; rash and conservative . . . He shoul d also , a s a matter of course, kno w his tactics, fo r a disorderly mob i s no more a n army than a heap of building materials is a house'. What matters her e i s the orde r i n which the qualities needed b y a good general are listed: first of al l the ration s an d supplies . Tactic s ar e a long way down and taken fo r granted. Wavell made this point, though not in the elementary way the passag e demands , fo r h e calle d thi s number one requiremen t 'administration', whic h in modern militar y management includes a great man y other functions, no t just supply and maintenance. 2 To understan d ho w th e succes s o r annihilatio n of th e armie s o f th e firs t crusade depende d o n food an d drink for men an d horses w e could do worse than consult the classical theorist of war and warfare, Clausewitz, who devoted

* Unpublishe d an d unfootnoted manuscrip t fro m the late 1980s. The text is editorial a t one or two places where th e manuscrip t wa s quite indecipherabl e o r where a point ha d to b e found at which t o insert a disconnected passage from the manuscript . Th e footnotes ar e editorial. 1 Genera l Si r Archibal d Wavell , Generals an d Generalship: Th e Lees Knowles Lectures Delivered a t Trinity College, Cambridge i n 1939 (London, 1941) , pp. 1-2 . 2 Ibid. , p. 2.

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a chapter of his On War to the matte r of suppliers.3 Clausewitz was above all conscious o f post-medieva l developments i n th e histor y of warfar e and th e revolution wrough t by the Frenc h commander s afte r 1789 , culminatin g with Bonaparte. Nonetheless, som e o f the principle s he clarifie d ar e timeless an d have a direc t bearin g o n ou r problem , whil e in others w e shall find that th e military history of the first crusade contradicts and even overturns Clausewitz's assertions. T o begin with , however, her e ar e som e fundamenta l factors th e Prussian genera l propounded whic h are essential to understand the campaign we are studying and the society that fought them . A horse's ration weighs ten times a s much a s that o f on e man . Th e numbe r of horses i n relation t o th e number o f me n i s thus of critica l importance. I n Clausewitz' s own day, th e early nineteent h century , i t wa s stil l 1: 4 o r 1:3 . Fo r th e armie s o f th e firs t crusade i t is very difficult t o calculat e th e rati o a t the outse t betwee n pedites and mounted milites, especially as we do not know the number of spare horse s which the richer and better-off knights, especially the princes, had with them.4 Yet eve n so , a ratio o f 1:4 - a t any rate a t the outset - i s probable, s o that horsefood mus t hav e bee n b y weight a t leas t thre e t o fou r time s that o f the men. Henc e foragin g expeditions wer e essentia l an d w e come acros s refer ences t o them in our sources ofte n enough . Here an d i n othe r respect s w e mus t pos e th e question : ho w wer e thes e problems solve d in ordinary western and central European warfar e before the first crusade ? Warfar e i n th e nea r eas t confronte d th e Latin s wit h som e conditions and problems that were quite new to them, like waterless country. 5 On the other hand we must not overlook commo n problems like the seasona l nature of campaigning, which depended o n harvests and newly reaped corn, as we can see by comparing the unsuccessful sequel to Henry IV's victory over the 3 Car l von Clausewitz, On War V14, ed. and trans. M. Howard and P. Paret (Princeton, 1976), pp. 330-44. Vegetius, however, much read in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, defined the object of war as 'to secure plenty of provisions for oneself and to destroy the enemy by famine. Famine is more terribl e tha n the sword' , cited b y J. Gillingham, 'Richard I and the Scienc e of War in the Middle Ages', in War and Government in the Middle Ages: Essays in Honour ofJ. O . Prestwich, ed. J. Gillingham an d J.C . Hol t (Cambridge , 1984) , pp . 78-91 , her e p . 85 ; see als o pp . 87- 9 on crusading warfare. 4 Clausewitz , O n Wa r (as n. 3) , pp. 331-2 ; R.H.C. Davis , Th e Medieval Warhorse (London , 1991), pp. 24-5 ; B.S. Bachrach , 'Animal s an d Warfar e i n Early Medieva l Europe', L'uomo di fronte a l mondo animale nell'alto medioevo (Settiman e 31, Spoleto, 1985) , pp . 707-64 , here pp . 717-26 (o n fodder). 5 Fo r the problems presented by water supplies on marches and during sieges see for example the references in Gesta Francorum IV, p. 23 (water problems on the march after Nicaea) , X, pp. 72-4 (tactics following the conquest of Antioch) and pp. 88-9 (water shortage during the siege of Jerusalem); in Raymond of Aguilers, Liber, ed. J.H. and L.L. Hill (Documents relatifs a 1'histoire des croisades 9, Paris, 1969), pp. 13 0 (no water on the Damascus route to Jerusalem), 136 (danger of having to abandon the siege of Jerusalem for lack of water), 139-40 (water shortages during the siege o f Jerusalem); i n Albert o f Aachen, Historia Hierosolymitana II I 1-2 , RHC 3 , pp. 339-4 0 (desperate wate r shortag e o n th e rout e fro m Nicaea) ; o r i n Fulche r o f Chartres , Historia Hierosolymitana (1095-1127), ed . H . Hagenmeyer (Heidelberg, 1913) , 112, 26-7, pp. 199 , 281-3, 294-5.

Money an d Supplies o n th e First Crusade 7

9

Saxons in 1075 wit h the Jerusalem campaign starte d off by the novosfructos. 6 In this respect the near east was no different. There was the heat, perhaps, but it could als o be ver y col d in the uplands , a s Stephen of Blois remarked. Th e inlet o f St George was no more difficult t o cross than the Seine or the Marne. 7 As to foraging, we know that back home travellers wer e usually but not alway s allowed to pasture their horses along th e verges o f roads.8 We also know that hosts dispersed widely to feed their horses and so could b e taken b y surprise by a determined and calculating enemy . Fo r instance th e knights of the bishops of Strasbourg and Basl e in 100 2 garrisone d Breisac h an d went ou t ever y da y to get fodde r fo r thei r horses . Thei r enemy , Hermann , th e duk e o f Saubia , fighting fo r th e kingshi p agains t Henr y II , too k advantag e o f this , an d hi s supporters sent horseme n with bundle s o f hay to th e fortresses , singing , an d they were admitted as if they had been the returning garrison. Once inside the y threw their bundles away an d plundere d th e possession s of the bishops , who barely escaped. 9 A Bohemia n hos t i n 936 caught th e Saxon s whe n the y ha d dispersed; som e wer e strippin g th e corpse s o f slai n enemie s an d other s ha d gone t o fin d stra w fo r thei r horses. 10 Hors e fodde r an d th e shortag e o r plentifulness o f i t dictate d movemen t an d trave l no t onl y i n war bu t als o i n peace. A letter of Lupus of Ferrieres to a friend in 837 tells him that if he deems it essentia l t o tal k t o Lupu s h e mus t wai t unti l lat e summe r becaus e o f th e shortage of fodder. The n he might come and stay a few days without havin g to worry undul y abou t the care of the horses. 11 6 Henr y I V was unable t o follo w u p his victory over th e Saxon s at th e Unstru t in June 107 5 because o f shortage o f food and drink, and had to withdraw: Lampert Annales, p. 225: 'Cumqu e exercitus i n die s fam e e t sit i deperiret, veter i frument o partim igne, partim tantae multitudinis usibus absumpto, nov o autem necdum maturo, curnque spes nulla esset sine largioribus induciis et maioribus impensis bellum hoc confici posse, exoratus rex a principibus Saxonia excessit'. For the Jerusalem campaig n of 109 9 se e Gesta Francorum X , p . 85 : 'uidentesque nouo s fructus proper asse, qui a i n medi o Marti o comedebamu s nouella s fabas , medi o quoqu e April i frumentum , consiliati sun t riostr i dicentes , bonu m uald e ess e Hierosolimitanu m ite r expler e cu m noui s fructibus.' 7 Stephe n of Blois, second letter to Countess Adela, ed. H. Hagenmeyer, Die Kreuzzugsbriefe aus de n Jahren 1088-1100: Eine Quellensammlung zur Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzugs (Inns bruck, 1901), no. 10 , p. 150 : 'frigora pernimia . . . perpessi sumus. Quod quidam dicunt, uix posse pati aliquem in tota Syria solis ardorem falsum est: nam hiems apud eos Occidentali nostrae similis est'. Fo r th e inle t of St George se e Albert, Historia (a s n. 5) I 6, p. 275. 8 H.C . Peyer, Vo n der Gastfreundschaft zum Gasthaus: Studien zur Gastlichkeit im Mittelalter (Schriften der MGH 31, Hanover, 1987) , pp. 45-7. For the difficulties such claims might lead to see e.g. Ruodlieb, Book V , lines 457-60, 585-620 and Book VI , line s 1-17, ed. P.P . Knapp (Recla m Universal-Bibliothek 9846 , Stuttgart , 1979) , pp . 68 , 74/78 ; Willia m o f Poiters , Histoire d e Guillaume le Conquerant II 45, ed. R . Forevill e (Les Classiques de 1'histoire de France a u moyen age 23, Paris, 1952) p . 262. For the crusaders se e Albert, Historia (as n. 5) II 7, p. 304: 'universi s indictum est, n e deinceps quicqua m aliqua injusta v i contingant, praeter pabula equorum'. 9 Thietmar , Chronicon V 21, p. 247. 10 Leyser , 'Earl y Medieval Warfare' , i n Th e Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries, pp. 46-7. 11 Lupu s o f Ferrieres, Epistolae no . 8 , ed . L . Levillain , 2 vols. (Le s Classique s d'histoir e d e France a u moye n ag e 1 0 and 16 , Paris, 1927-35) , vol . 1 , p. 62 ; see als o no . 6 2 to Prudentiu s of Troyes (845) , vol. 1, p. 172 . Both letters were written around the beginning of May, before fodder was readily available.

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Clausewitz distinguished between four ways of provisioning troops. Th e first was supplies furnishe d b y - o r seized fro m - loca l households by individuals. The secon d wa s requisitioning by bodies of troops themselves . The third was general requisitionin g carried out by a commissariat and the last was depots.12 The las t mod e wa s common i n the eighteent h century, and in the eleventh it was no t wholl y unknown . I t wil l b e recalle d ho w Willia m th e Conquero r organised supplie s fo r his invading host a s they lay at the mouth of the Rive r Dives waiting fo r a wind - Willia m of Poitiers has vividly described how the milites were lavishl y supplied so that they did not have to seize draught-cattle or herds or plunder the harvest for forage.13 How decisive this was we know, in that Harold coul d not last or stay on the opposite shore s even without the call to the north.14 In general Clausewit z favoured a system of general requisition ing: where a n arm y was on the mov e that would usually supply it and so not hamper it s operations . I t wa s als o a n orderl y syste m an d s o les s wasteful . Supplies migh t even be bought for cash.15 The equivalent on crusade were the mercatores and o f these w e hear al l along, especially in Byzantium. 16 It is for supplies tha t money and its possession came to be of the essence for the kind of mobile an d even travelling warfare the armie s of the first crusade confronted. 'It follows', wrote Clausewitz, 'that war, with its numerous tentacles, prefers to suck nourishment fro m mai n roads, populou s towns , fertile valleys traversed by broad rivers and busy coastal areas'.17 Clausewitz here seems to hit the nail on th e head . W e hea r a goo d dea l o f fertile valley s in which the crusadin g armies encamped , an d o f coasta l areas , notabl y th e port s o f S t Symeon , Latakieh an d eventuall y Jaffa , o f crucia l importance , no t onl y savin g th e expedition bu t bringin g it to a successful conclusion, thank s to the shipping, the supplie s o f food, tools an d nails which the Genoes e an d others carried. 18 The attacker , Clausewit z thought, mus t always shift fo r himself. 19 This th e crusading armies had to do, and their problems were - and this accords with his views - ofte n at their worst on the eve of decision by battle. The defender had

12

Clausewitz , O n War (as n. 3), pp. 332-8 . Willia m of Poitiers, Histoire (as n. 8) II 2, pp. 150/52 . 14 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle s.a. 106 6 (Versio n C) , ed . D.C . Dougla s an d G.W . Greenaway, English Historical Documents, 2:1042-1189, 2nd edn (London, 1981) , p. 146 . 15 Clausewitz , On War (as n.3), pp. 337-8 , 335 . 16 Fo r the importance of the market in foodstuffs an d horses offered b y the emir of Shaizar see Gesta Francorum X, p. 81 and Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), p. 103 . 17 Clausewitz , On War (as n. 3), p. 338 . 18 Fo r S t Symeo n an d it s rol e durin g the sieg e o f Antioch se e Gesta Francorum VII, 39-40 ; Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), pp. 49, 59-61; Albert, Historia (as n. 5) III 63, p. 383; Radulf of Caen, Gesta Tancredi c . 54 , RH C 3 , p . 647 . Fo r th e rol e playe d b y Latakia , Jaff a an d othe r mor e southerly ports in the last stages of the campaign see Gesta Francorum X, p. 85; Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), pp. 108 , 134 , 141 . 19 Clausewitz , On War (as n. 3), pp. 339-40 . 13


1

stocks. The attacker had left his behind or exhausted them. Yet he also thought that if war were to be 'waged in accordance wit h its essential spirit - wit h the unbridled violenc e tha t lie s a t it s core, th e cravin g and nee d fo r battl e an d decision - the n feedin g the troops, though important, i s a secondary matter' . He cite d Bonapart e wh o use d t o sa y 'qu'o n n e m e parl e pa s d e vivres'. 20 Maintenance o f troops was thus a condition of war, not its object. Just here, it will be obvious, th e histor y of the first crusade does not always bear him out. While it corresponded i n its toughness to total warfare, and only too much so in its passion an d inhumanity, some of its most decisive encounters were dominated by and fought for the sake of supplies: the Turks had the food stocks and horses which the Latins desperately neede d eve n to survive, let alone to go on and conquer . I t ca n als o b e show n tha t considerabl e operation s ha d t o b e undertaken i n orde r t o fee d th e mas s o f the pauperes pedites or th e milites plebei as Raymond of Aguilers once called them. 21 Provisioning could be and often ha d to be a military objective. W e could reflect on Clausewitz's dictum: Great privation s an d sacrifice s migh t b e impose d o n th e soldie r b y hi s commander, bu t ther e ha d to be compensations. 22 The crusaders sometime s saw the dearth o f water as something granted to them by God leading them to do penance fo r thei r sins , but ther e wer e als o periods o f ease, of luxury and indulgence, an d we meet this cycle again and again in the sources, especially in the Anonymous's Gesta Francorum.23 Any reade r o f thi s soldier' s diar y mus t b e struc k b y th e knight-author' s abiding interes t i n the matte r o f supply, an d th e Gesta breath e a rhyth m in which wave s o f plent y wer e followe d b y period s o f terribl e deart h an d indigence in which pauperes actually died of starvation or resorted t o cannibalism to escape death. Her e we must recall tha t thei r situatio n on the crusad e only reflected wha t was common enough in the agraria n societies of western and central Europe throughout the early middle ages and the eleventh century,

20

Ibid. , pp. 339, 338. Raymond , Liber (a s n. 5) , p . 106 ; on th e terminolog y applied to milites i n the narrative sources fo r th e firs t crusad e se e J . Johrendt , '"Milites " un d "Militia " i m 11 . Jahrhundert: Untersuchungen zur Friihgeschichte des Rittertums in Frankreich und Deutschland', reprographically published Ph.D. thesis , Constance, 1971, passim. 22 Cf . Clausewitz, On War (as n. 3), pp. 339: 'hardship and privation, no matter how extreme, must always be treated as a temporary condition, which has to lead to a state of plenty - eve n at times luxury'. 23 Se e for example the accounts of the Anonymous and Raymond of Aguilers of the luxury at the beginning of the siege of Antioch: Gesta Francorum V, p. 28; Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), pp. 479, especially p. 49: 'hi qui in castris remanserant tantam copiam victualium habuerunt, ut de bubus nil preter femor a et armo s e t rarissim i pectu s levare vellent. De annon a vero et vin o non est dicendum qua m levissim e acciperetur' . Thes e passage s ar e precede d b y description s o f th e journey across Asia Minor, in which dearth and plenty alternate with astonishing rapidity. 21

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not only in the mortalities from poo r harvests but even in the cannibalism.24 It is therefor e no t rar e i n th e experienc e o f ou r author s - th e Anonymous , Raymond, Fulcher , Alber t - an d it doe s no t appea r tha t th e losses , eve n combined wit h those thepauperes suffere d in battle, were ever large enough to cause a shortage of military labour or fatigue-men. No, when the Anonymous has Bishop Ademar o f Le Puy preach to the knights their duty to look after th e poor, and feed the m hi s arguments were the obvious and conventional ones: 'You', he said, 'cannot be saved without the poor an d their prayers and they, the poor, need you and cannot live without you.'25 This does not mean that the pauperes, thepedites and theperegrini were passengers, simply useless mouths that ha d t o b e fed . Medieva l warfare , and especiall y crusadin g warfare, was labour-intensive; the y 'constitute d a n indispensable workforce' , essentia l fo r the conduc t o f operations. 26 Thi s employmen t was , however , fitfu l an d uneven, a s when building materials ha d t o be fetched, water carried, tower s pushed o r ditche s fille d in . Fo r instance , whe n Raymon d o f Saint-Gille s wanted to bring his siege-tower under the walls of Jerusalem there was a deep ditch to be filled an d he, apparently never short of cash, appointed on e penny for ever y one who carried thre e stones t o be thrown into it. 27 To fetch water carried in skins to the besiegers fro m spring s some four mile s away must have furnished anothe r opportunit y to earn som e cash and so survive.28 Let us return to the Anonymous's concer n with food and drink throughout his Gesta. The very first incidents of Bohemond's expedition bear this out. The 24

O n the cannibalism see L.A.M. Sumberg, 'The "Tafurs" an d the First Crusade', Mediaeval Studies, 21 (1959), pp . 224-46; M. Rouche, 'Cannibalisme sacre chez les croises populaires', in La Religion populaire, ed. Y.-M. Hilaire (Paris, 1981), pp. 29ff.;R. Rogers , 'Peter Bartholomew and the Role of "The Poor " in the First Crusade', in Warriors and Churchmen in the High Middle Ages; Essays Presented to Karl Leyser, ed . T . Reute r (London , 1992) , pp. 109-22 , her e p. 119 . Fo r a parallel from bac k home see Rodulfus Glaber, Historiae IV iii 10, p. 188 , on the famine of 1031 , and more generally on the famines in western Europe in the eleventh and early twelfth centuries F. Curschmann, Hungersnote im Mittelalter: Ei n Beitrag zu r deutschen Wirtschaftsgeschichte de s 8. bis 13 . Jarhhunderts (Leipzige r Studie n au s de m Gebie t de r Geschicht e 6/1 , Leipzig , 1900) , especially pp. 110-129 , an d H. van Werveke, Die Middeleeuwse Hongersnood (Mededelingen van de koninklijke vlaamse academe voor wetenschappen, letteren en schone kunsten van Belgie 29/3, Brussels, 1967) , pp . 5-12. 25 Gesta Francorum X, p. 74. Ademar was echoing but also expanding on what by his time was established orthodox y on the tripartite division of society: cf. the references given in Leyser, 'Early Medieval Warfare' an d 'Early Medieval Canon Law', The Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries, p. 55 and n . 17 26 Th e quotation has not been identified. On this aspect of the poor see W. Porges, The Clergy, the Poor and the Non-Combatants on the First Crusade', Speculum, 21 (1946), pp. 1-21, especially p. 3 for a discussion of the (very inconclusive) indication of numbers; Rogers, 'Peter Bartholomew' (as n. 24), p. 11 7 and idem, Latin Siege Warfare i n the Twelfth Century (Oxford , 1992), pp. 16-63 , especially pp . 41 , 52, 62. Discussion s o f the pauperes on th e first crusade generally assume the translation pauper = poor, though western European usag e even at this period probably still had overtones o f the sense pauper = defenceless . 27 Gesta Francorum X, p. 91. 28 Ibid. , p. 89 , and p. 90 on the price of water: 'ut unu s homo non posset pr o uno denario ad sufficientiam haber e aquam, aut exstinguere sitim suam'.


3

author ha s onl y jus t recite d wh o wa s i n th e Norma n contingent . Tancred , Richard o f the Principality , hi s brother Ranul f - altogethe r som e thirtee n named personages . Al l these, he wrote, crosse d i n Bohemund's servic e an d landed i n Bulgari a (meanin g western Macedonia) . Ther e the y foun d grea t abundance o f grain , win e an d othe r bodil y substance. Th e ver y first orders Bohemond issue d at a council he held with his people exhorted them to be just and humble . The y shoul d no t plunder the land because i t was Christian. N o one wa s to take mor e than would suffice fo r his food.29 Already in these first sections we are almos t led into the system by which it was envisaged the hos t should live: the more direc t rathe r tha n the organised form o f requisitioning . The account of the march inland to Castoria dwells on the plenty they found as they moved fro m on e village to the next. While on the move, supplies in the area suffice d o r coul d b e secure d b y seizin g them . Th e situatio n a t onc e changed when Bohemond's army , perhaps som e 2,000 men, stayed for som e days a t thos e place s t o kee p Christma s an d perhap s t o res t an d refurbis h themselves. Her e supplie s depende d o n purchase , mercatores, i. e produc e brought b y th e populatio n fro m th e vicinit y or som e distanc e away . Th e inhabitants, however, in this instance refused to offer anything , because they feared the armies were marauders, plunderers come to devastate and kill. This refusal t o sel l a t onc e le d t o wha t th e loca l peopl e wer e afrai d of , violen t seizures o f cattle , donkey s an d anythin g the 'pilgrims ' found. 30 On e o f th e profound difference s between unarme d pilgrimage and the crusad e wa s that such loca l difficultie s coul d b e an d usuall y wer e settle d b y force . Whe n Bohemond's arm y reached easter n Macedoni a i n Lent th e lesso n fro m Cas toria had sun k in, an d this time the souther n Norman host during his stay of some days had mercatores, that is it was possible to purchase provisions. Here also Bohemund cam e to terms with two kuropalastes sent out by the empero r Alexis Comnenos s o that the Norman prince ordered that all animals seized by his men shoul d b e give n back . Mercatores or no mercatores, it was common enough for cattle t o be taken as food on the hoof available for slaughter.31 This raise s th e importan t questio n o f how muc h food th e crusadin g con tingent could carry with them to sustain themselves in the field when in poor, sparsely populated an d hostile country. A precise answer to this question is not easily provided , bu t w e ma y note tha t a t th e outse t severa l o f th e princes ' forces crossed the great Serbian forest with its dark trees - a s Kinglake wrote, 'as grim as an army of giants with a thousand years' pay in arrears'.32 Although the Slav inhabitants were hostile, unwilling to co-operate and treacherous too , slaughtering old women and sick poor stragglers, Count Raymond's force lost no on e fro m hunge r o r i n open fighting during a march lastin g almos t fort y 29

Ibid . I, pp. 7-8. Ibid . Peter the Hermit was careful to ensure that his forces paid the due price for everything in Hungary: Albert, Historia (a s n. 5) I 7, p. 276. 31 Gesta Francorum II, p . 10 ; for cattle on the hoof see below at nn. 37f. 32 A . Kinglake , Eothen: Traces o f Travel Brought Home from th e East (Oxford , 1906 ; paperback reprin t 1982), p. 22. 30

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days.33 This gives u s some impressio n o f what could b e done, at least durin g the beginning of a campaign, but it also shows why the crusaders after the first long marche s o r crossing s an d marche s wer e s o dependent o n Alexis ' an d Byzantine aid: treasure , horses, furnishings, and , no t least of all, food. Her e the argumen t betwee n Duk e Godfrey an d the emperor reporte d by Albert of Aachen i s revealing. Fro m Januar y 109 7 unti l Whitsu n (1 4 May) fou r me n were sent from the emperor's household every week, loaded with gold bezant s and te n measure s of bronz e coi n whereb y th e knight s an d pedites migh t b e sustained. Albert then adde d the strikin g commentary : everything th e duk e gave t o hi s knights ou t o f the emperor' s gift s flowed back int o th e imperia l treasury on being exchanged fo r victuals, not only those which they were given but also which they brought. Alber t reported an imperial monopol y i n selling foodstuffs s o tha t th e imperia l treasur y wa s alway s ful l an d coul d no t b e emptied by any gift.34 This was a very ancient Byzantin e economic devic e fo r dealing with barbarians. Mercatum, then, even if the cash came from the hos t country's government, could still favour the sellers rather than th e buyers. The need to buy provisions fo r men and horses thus called for the possession of large reserves of cash, much larger than the traveller ha d needed hitherto. It is for this reason that Alexis Comnenos succeeded in making all but one or two of th e leadin g crusaders , notabl y Raymon d o f Saint-Gille s an d perhap s Tancred, do homage to him. He was willing to pay for it and none could resist the gift s o f treasur e an d preciou s articles which enriche d thos e who did his will.35 Accordin g t o on e sourc e a t least , Raymon d o f Saint-Gilles ostentatiously receive d les s tha n th e others , thoug h a s h e an d th e empero r late r

33 Raymond , Liber (a s n . 5) , p . 36 ; for othe r account s of th e initia l crusading journeys to Constantinople se e S. Runciman, "Th e First Crusaders ' Journe y acros s th e Balka n Peninsula', Byzantion, 19 (1949), pp. 201-21 . 34 Albert , Historia (as n. 5) II16, pp. 311-12: 'Mirabile dictu, universa quae ex dono Imperatoris Dux militibu s distribuebat, in mutuatione alimentorum ad aerarium Regis protinus redibant, et non solu m haec, sed etiam ea quae ab universe orbe illuc congessit exercitus. Nee minim; nam nullius praeter Imperatoris merces tarn in vino et oleo quam in frumento et ordeo omnique esca in toto vendebatur regno. Et ideo Regis aerarium, assidua pecunia habundans, nulla datione vacuari potest.' 35 Albert , Historia (as n. 5) II16, 20, pp. 311-12, 314; Stephen of Blois, first letter to Countess Adela, ed. Hagenmeyer, Kreuzzugsbriefe (a s n. 7), no. 4, pp. 138-9; Gesta Francorum II, pp. 1112. Fulcher, Historia (as n. 5) 19, pp. 178-9, sums it up: 'erat enim omnibus hoc necesse, ut sic cum imperatore amicitia m consolidarent , sin e cuiu s consili o e t auxili o nostru m ite r nequivimu s expedire, neque illi, qui nos erant subsecuturi eodem tramite. quibus ideo praebuit ipse imperator de nummismatibus suis et de pannis sericis quantum placuit; et de equis et de pecunia, qua nimis indigebant a d tantu m ite r explendum ' (compare als o Taticius' s promise s a t Antioch , Gestat Francorum VI, pp . 34-5). The debate on whether the princes became his vassals in a way which implied obligations in respect of future conquest does not affect the argument here; for references see H.E. Mayer , The Crusades, trans. J. Gillingham, 2nd edn (Oxford 1988) , p. 296 n. 22.


5

became friends, it must have been made good to him.36 To find out the special problems o f keeping s o large a group of armies, lacking a single unchallenged commander-in-chief, supplied, w e must first of all ask how this was done in ordinary warfare in the Latin west. Carolingian armies marched to the theatr e of operations often long distances away from their home ground accompanied by large herd s of cattle. We read, fo r instance, that in a particularly unfortunate year, 810 , nearl y all the beast s succumbe d t o a plague, thus hampering operations.37 Massiv e supplie s o f cattl e accompanie d no t onl y Carolingia n armies. The y see m t o hav e bee n take n alon g als o b y itinerant prince s an d bishops. Tak e fo r instanc e Bisho p Werne r o f Strasbour g (1001-29) . Th e emperor Conra d II had entrusted him with an embassy to Constantinople in 1027, but h e gave out that he wished to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Lan d using the land route and set off with an enormous following and a motley train of animals, includin g horses, oxen , sheep an d pigs, but th e king of Hungary, rightly suspecting the object of his mission, forbade his transit. The land route had no w become ver y common an d popular. The bishop, incidentally one of the earliest Habsburgs we know about, now had to go by ship via Venice and so march wit h al l his train bac k throug h Bavaria an d int o Italy. 38 There i s no reason t o believ e tha t hi s equipage wa s wholly exceptional; i t was only th e outcome o f his efforts whic h proved to be unfortunate. This leads u s to th e matte r o f diet i n early and high medieval warfare. Its chief practitioner s from the nint h century onward s wer e mounte d me n with hauberks, helmets , shields, swords and spears. B y the time of the first crusade something like the mail shirts and leggings visible on the Bayeux Tapestry were customary. Militar y technology was developing fast, an d abov e al l the lanc e could no w b e couche d underar m an d s o becam e a massiv e shoc k weapo n before close-quarte r actio n wit h sword s finishe d th e busines s off. 39 Th e training an d exercis e an d leve l o f fitnes s neede d fo r thes e exertion s wer e demanding, and called for a diet rich in meat. This in itself explains the habit of taking livestock , especiall y bee f cattl e o n th e hoof , int o campaig n o r th e frequent seizur e an d slaughte r o f animal s from th e neighbourhoo d o f campaigning armies . Wit h th e increasin g velocity of mounted hosts, seizur e an d plunder were preferable to the droving of slow-moving herds to the theatre of 36 Gesta Francorum II , pp . 11-12 ; Raymond , Liber (a s n . 5) , p . 42 : 'Cumqu e d e homini o appellaretur, respondi t non se pro capitis suo periculo id facturum. Quapropte r pauca largitus est ei imperator', following on a passage criticising the other crusading leaders for doing homage to Alexis. For Raymond's later friendship with Alexis see Albert, Historia (as n. 5) II24, pp. 317-18, and fo r Tancred's evasio n of the oath see Gesta Francorum II, p . 13. 37 Leyser , 'Early Medieval Warfare' (a s n. 25), pp. 44-4 5 n. 82 and 92. 38 Wipo , Gesta Chuonradi c. 22, in Wiponis Opera ed . H. Bressla u (MGH SRG 61, Hanover, 1915), pp. 41-2; see on the embassy H. Wolfram, 'Die Gesandtschaft Konrad s II. nach Konstantinopel (1024/29)', Af/OG, 10 0 (1992), pp. 161-74. Werner's membership of the Habsburg kindred is disputed. 39 Davis , Warhorse (a s n . 4) , pp . 15-24 , citin g F. Buttin , 'La Lanc e e t 1'arre t d e cuirasse' , Archaeologia, 9 9 (1965) , pp . 77-178 . Se e als o D.J.A . Ross , 'L'Originalit e d e "Turoldus" : l e maniement de la lance', Cahiers de civilisation medievale, 6 (1963), pp. 127-38 .

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operations (just a s the armie s o f the Frenc h revolutio n operate d better with requisitions tha n wit h depots).40 The voracity of western warriors was notorious. Nicephoru s Phocas , i n his conversations wit h Liudprand o f Cremona , slated th e gastrimargia o f Ottonian warriors, their gluttony and heavy equipment as against the sparse biscuit diet of the Byzantine soldier. Even Widukind of Corve y contraste d th e eas e wit h whic h the Slav s bore wealt h or hardship with the need s and demand s of a Saxo n noble. 41 The dail y consumption of Otto F s movin g (and , w e may add , military ) househol d an d followin g according t o th e twelfth-centur y Annalista Saxo , wh o howeve r boaste d a written sourc e - cam e t o the staggerin g figures o f 1000 pigs, 1 0 cartloads of wine, 1000 makers of grain, 8 oxen, chicken, piglets, fish, eggs, vegetables and many othe r things. 42 Ther e i s a surprisin g echo t o thes e muc h debated an d almost certainl y inflated figures in the Anonymous's Gesta Francorum. It tells us muc h abou t ho w th e Latin s sa w themselve s i n th e contex t o f thei r ne w relationships wit h an Islamic enemy. I refer to the strange tale of Kherboga, the emi r o f Mosul' s conversatio n wit h hi s mother . Hi s mothe r grieve s an d warns him against fighting the Frank s who can always count on the lov e and help of their god. She foretells defeat an d terrible losses. Kherbog a then asks her certain questions : are not Bohemond and Tancred the gods of the Franks? Is it true that they eat 2,000 cows and 4,000 pigs at a single meal? Here again we encounter thi s almost preposterous stres s on meat-eating as the characteristic of the Franks , inseparabl e from thei r styl e of warfare. 43 All ou r sources , moreover , an d particularl y th e Anonymous , stres s th e capture of foodstuffs a s booty: grain, wine, oil and barley but above all cattle boves, and ther e see m t o hav e bee n buffaloe s a s well.44 That th e Turks and Arabs had boves in their camps meant of course that they too had a meat diet, but they also knew what the crusaders were after. At one castle on the route to Jerusalem th e defenders gained time and saved themselves from being stormed by ejecting a vast herd of beasts which the crusaders then captured and brought back t o thei r camp . The y the n returne d t o besieg e th e castl e - i t remains nameless - bu t it had already bee n abandoned ; enterin g they foun d al l the other ingredients of a square meal in large quantities: grain, wine, flour, oil and other things they needed. 45 For mos t of the way from Syri a to Jerusalem th e Anonymous's stor y is one of captures, including horses, food and also bribes of money offered by emirs who were frightened by a siege and content to let the crusading hos t marc h pas t them . I n thei r wa y th e spasm s o f deart h wer e relatively short, much snorter than they had been outside or inside Antioch.46 40

Clausewitz , On War (as n.3), pp. 338-9. Fo r reference s se e Leyser, 'Earl y Medieval Warfare' (a s n. 25) pp. 45-6 , nn. 93-4. 42 Annalista Saxo s.a. 968 , MG H S S 6 , 622 ; fo r commen t se e C . Briihl , Fodrum, gistum, servitium regis (Kolne r Historische Studie n 14 , Cologne, 1968) , pp . 175-7 . 43 Gesta Francorum IX , p. 56. 44 Fo r the buffaloes see Albert, Historia (as n. 5) II43, p. 332 and Gesta Francorum IX, p. 62. 45 Gesta Francorum X, pp. 81-2 . 46 Ibid. , pp. 80-7, for the journey to Jerusalem and its tribulations; for Antioch see below at nn. 61f. 41


7

This raises th e questio n o f whether the various hosts under their respectiv e princely leader s ever arrive d a t a system of common distribution o r concerte d policy of how supplies were to be secured an d given to those who most neede d them. The sources throw very little light on this. Albert of Aachen tells us that after surrende r o f Nicae a t o th e empero r i t wa s decided tha t th e crusadin g army, which had bee n wholl y united fo r the first time only under th e walls of that city , should marc h in two separate columns, so that there would be mor e room to pitch camp and also that provisions for men and horses might be more abundant.47 This o f course mean t movin g by differing routes , with the resul t that at Dorylaeum one of the columns was in great difficultie s before th e other could com e t o it s relie f fro m som e distanc e awa y an d achiev e th e tactica l success. Th e battl e wa s crucia l an d i t wa s mad e ver y muc h mor e s o by th e capture of a Turkish cam p ful l o f good things : oxen - agai n they came first buffaloes, goats , camels , donkeys , horses, mules , gold, vast amounts of silver and beautiful tents. 48 According t o Albert, Bohemon d an d the other prince s who commanded contingent s no w agreed tha t they would henceforth poo l all food supplie s an d other necessitie s an d have them in common.49 Albert adde d that thi s was done, bu t a s the whole host rarel y moved as one and the leading princes le d their following s on a good man y separat e expedition s - thin k of Tancred's and Baldwin's seizure of Tarsus or later Baldwin's of Edessa50 - the main formatio n fo r th e purpose s o f supplies remaine d th e force s of the grea t men: Duk e Godfrey, Count Stephen o f Blois, Robert o f Normandy, Robert of Flanders, Hugh o f Vermandois, Bohenmund , Raymond of Saint-Gilles, Bishop Adema r of Le Pu y and a few others. Thi s separatio n o f contingents must not surpris e us . Th e whol e crusadin g hos t a t Nicae a coul d onl y be supplie d

47

Gesta Francorum II , p . 1 6 (armies unite d fo r th e firs t time) . For th e decisio n to march separately see Albert, Historia (as n. 5) II38, pp. 328-39 and cf. Gesta Francorum II, p. 18, where it is said 'quia nox erat non uiderunt tenere unam uiam'. 48 Albert , Historia (as n. 5 ) II 43, p. 332 : 'Christiani igitur victores quicquid in stipendio suae expeditionis Turc i conduxerant , frumentum e t vinu m no n modicum , buflos, bove s e t arietes , camelos, asinos , equos e t mulo s retinuerunt; praeter a aurum pretiosu m et argentu m infinitum, papiliones mirifici decori s et operis.' 49 Ibid. : 'omnes unanimiter, Boemundus scilicet et ceteri principes p r a e f a t i . . i n concordiam et consiliu m redeunt ; qu i a b ill o die , commixti s cibariis cunctisque rebus necessariis , omnia communia habere decreverunt: quod et actum est'. This is probably to be taken together with the choice o f Stephe n o f Bloi s aroun d thi s tim e t o b e 'totiu s exercitu s . . . dominu m . . . atqu e omnium actuum suorum prouisorem atque gubernatorem', meaning in effect th e man responsible for quarte r and logistics. See J.A. Brundage, 'An Errant Crusader: Stephen of Blois', Traditlo, 16 (1960), pp. 380-95, especiall y pp. 386-8; the quotation, from Stephen's second letter to Adela (see above, n. 7), is p. 386 n. 41. For the later arrangements for a communal fund fo r feeding the poor under the direction of Peter the Hermit see Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), p. Ill, and for Peter's warchest, lost to the sultan of Nish, see Albert, Historia (a s n. 5) 112, p. 281; for another communal fund se e below at n. 60. 50 Fo r th e Tarsu s expeditio n see Albert, Historia (a s n. 5 ) III 5-17 , pp. 342-50 , and Radulf , Gesta Tancredi (a s n. 18 ) c. 33-47, pp. 629-41 ; for the Edessa campaign see Albert III 19-23 , pp. 352-5 and Fulcher , Historia (as n. 5 ) I 14, pp. 210-13.

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because th e empero r furnishe d plent y b y se a an d it s transpor t ha d bee n organised by Bohemund.51 The long march to Nicaea ha d been a very difficul t operation. Duk e Godfrey' s movements were hampered because he could not lead hi s people by the rout e whic h had just been use d by so many others. H e employed 3,00 0 me n with axes and swords to hack out another. Bohemund' s forces were already very short of food and the Anonymous reported tha t a loaf of bread sold for twenty to thirty pence. 52 When Nicaea surrendere d and the Turks circumvente d th e crusader s an d gained tolerable term s for themselve s and their familie s from Alexis , the Anonymous again lets on that our 'poor', i.e. the mas s of the pedites, received lavis h alms, i.e. food . Stephe n o f Blois supplemented this information in his letter to his wife, the Countess Adela: the gold, gems, silver , cloth s an d horses went t o the knight s (thes e incidentall y came straight out of the imperial treasury - Nicae a was not stripped, le t alone plundered), while for the pedites there wer e distributions of victuals.53 If we now ask why the Anonymous is so deeply concerned with food supplie s and wh y they almos t hea d hi s agend a a s a write r we approac h th e cor e o f military organisation, indeed of military and civil organisation, in the west long before th e crusade . Th e great , th e prince s an d thei r leadin g follower s had military households wher e those who enjoyed their familiaritas wer e fed, that is, the y wer e Mitesser, th e homines d e bouche. It i s quite wron g to thin k of feudal societ y primaril y a s rank s o f me n holdin g b y militar y tenure s an d flocking o n certai n occasion s t o thei r lord' s council , court s o r camps . W e should thin k much more of the warriors earning their keep as well as favours and reward s in treasure i n the entourag e o f their breadgivers; they had thei r nutrimentum. This wa s a key institution, whic h we can trace back t o Carol ingian society, not leas t o f all to the Carolingia n courts. 54 As an example we may tak e Henr y I' s standin g force s i n Normand y i n 1124 , a s describe d b y Ordericus Vitalis . A grou p of the king' s enemies , partl y Norman rebel s an d partly vassals of the kin g of France, ha d seize d a royal castellan a s he cam e before the door of his stronghold to parley with them. A small host of Henry's

51 Gesta Francorum II, pp. 13-14; Albert, Historia (as n. 5) II28, p. 321; Stephen of Blois' first letter to Adela (above , n. 35), p. 138 . 52 Gesta Francorum II, p. 14. 53 Ibid . Ill, p. 18 : 'iussit maximas elemosinas erogari nostris pauperibus', an implicit contrast with the close of book II, p. 17: 'ex pauperrima gente multi mortui sunt fame pro Christi nomine'. See also Stephen of Blois' first letter to Adela (above n. 35), p. 140: 'imperator de spoliis Nicaeae urbis sic ordinauit pretiosiora, ut scilicet aurum, gemmas, argentum, pallia equos et huiuscemodi milites habeant ; omni a uer o uictuali a peditibu s distribuantur ; principe s cuncto s d e proprii s thesauris suis se ditaturos disposuit'. 54 M . Bloch , Feudal Society, trans . L.A . Manyo n (London , 1961) , pp . 145-60 , 169-75 ; T . Reuter, 'Plunder and Tribute in the Carolingian Empire', TRHS, fifth series 35 (1985), pp. 75-94, here p. 8 4 and n. 53; see also the references in the next note.


9

household troops commanded b y Ranulf , ear l o f Chester wa s in the vicinit y and this is what was said: We can't allow thi s to happen. How can we face ou r lord, th e king , whos e brea d w e eat , i f they, th e rebels , ge t awa y wit h suc h things? S o they intercepte d the m an d inflicte d a crushin g defea t o n the m a t Bourgtheroulde.55 I f a miles belonge d t o th e clos e an d permanen t militar y following o f a grea t man , fo r exampl e th e coun t o f Anjo u o r on e o f hi s foremost vassals , h e coul d b e fairl y sur e o f bein g fe d a t hi s table b y th e domestic establishment o f his lord. Those who hel d benefice s o f course ha d establishments of their own , albei t muc h mor e modest ones, and could onl y expect entertainment from thei r lord on special occasions.56 If a miles di d not belong to som e suc h potentia l organisatio n he was in a muc h mor e difficul t situation to furnish himsel f wit h essentials once he had left the home base of his fief. Grea t princes , wit h larg e monetar y reserve s an d th e abilit y t o us e th e market, coul d maintai n domesti c establishment s awa y fro m hom e - o n cru sade, for example. Lesser men could not, o r at any rate their efforts t o do so collapsed. Now th e differenc e betwee n th e Anonymou s an d othe r raconteur s of th e first crusade was that these did, wherea s he most probably did not, belon g to such a privileged establishment. Fulcher of Chartres was the chaplain of Count Baldwin, Duke Godfrey's brother , Raymond of Aguilers served in Raymond of Saint-Gilles ' chapel. 57 The y ha d n o difficult y i n gainin g acces s t o thei r masters' stewpots and hence we do not find in them this outstanding concern

55

Ordericu s Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica XI I 39 , vol. 6, pp . 346-54 . Se e on suc h bond s M . Chibnall, 'Mercenarie s and the familia regis under Henry I' , History, 6 2 (1977), pp . 15-23 ; J.O . Prestwich, 'The Military Household o f the Norman Kings', EHR, 9 6 (1981), pp . 1-35 . 56 Cf . for example the letter of Wibald of Stavelot to Arnold, provost of Cologne, ep. 282, ed. P. Jaffe, Monumenta Corbeiensia (Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum 1, Berlin, 1864), p. 410: 'fuimu s in curi a 2 0 fere septimanis ; e t lice t a clementissimo princip e liberalite r et honestissim e detent i fuerimus, tame n nobis credite, quo d . . . quadraginta marcas argenti de nostro expendimus'. 57 Fo r th e positio n o f th e Anonymou s se e Gesta Francorum, introduction . O n Fulche r o f Chartres the recent study by V. Epp, Fulcher von Chartres: Studien zur Geschichtsschreibung des ersten Kreuzzuges (Studi a Humaniora 15 , Diisseldorf, 1990) , pp . 24-44 , describes hi s career an d Weltanschauung. O n Raymond of Aguilers see the introduction to the edition (as n. 5) and to J.H. and L . Hill , Raymond d'Aguilers: Historia Francorum qui ceperunt Iherusalem (Memoir s o f the American Philosophica l Societ y 71 , Philadelphia, 1968) , pp . 3-8 . O f the othe r source s adduce d here, Radul f of Caen was not a participant and did not join Tancred's household until around 1107 ; see H. Glaesener, 'Raoul de Caen, historien et ecrivain', Revue d'histoire ecclesiastique, 46 (1951), pp. 5-21 , here p . 7 , and L . Boehm , 'Di e Gest a Tancred i de s Radulf von Caen. Ei n Beitra g zur Geschichtsschreibung de r Normannen um 1100', HistorischesJahrbuch, 75 (1956), pp. 47-72, here pp. 49-51 . Albert o f Aachen, notoriously, never went to the Holy Land, but his work used a now lost account o f someone wh o did and was possibly an eye-witness; see P. Knoch, Studien zu Albert von Aachen: De r erste Kreuzzug i n der deutschen Chronistik (Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Geschicht e von Politi k 1 , Stuttgart, 1966) , especially pp . 45-63 , o n the los t wor k (p. 6 0 for th e questio n of whether th e autho r of this was an eye-witness) and pp. 66-7 3 on Albert's othe r sources .

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and interes t i n the proble m o f staying alive. O f cours e i f there wer e genera l shortages and widespread misery and dearth, they tell us about it and how they survived or failed to survive.58 The Anonymous does not seem to have been so closely tie d t o hi s lord, Bohemund , and late r h e went on to Jerusalem eve n more o n hi s own, and ha d t o fen d fo r himself or i n camping with a group of similarly placed knights . Frequent reference s to the capture of plenty suggest that he shared in these bonanzas by a system of distribution but it is also clear that at one time he lost his horse and was almost certainly reduced to the ranks of th e pedites. Again , th e captur e o f horse s ma y hav e le d t o hi s bein g remounted59 Men of any calculation were very touchy about such things. The situation o f th e pedites an d pauperes wa s muc h mor e seriou s stil l an d the y constituted the mos t vulnerable, albei t larges t element of the crusading host. To feed them could become a major problem, and more than once, as we shall see, it became a military objective in itself, contrary to Clausewitz's dictates . Here it is above al l essential to note tha t not only pedites and pauperes but also nobles , captain s an d princes , no t t o mentio n knights , gregarii et plebei, could fal l into poverty, suffer rea l distress and end up as pauperes during the many months of dearth especiall y at Antioch. Her e Raymond of Saint-Gilles took th e mos t remarkabl e measure s t o ensur e tha t hi s milites remaine d mounted b y forming a brotherhood an d endowing it with 500 marks so that if any one of the knights lost his horse he should have it replaced ou t of this fund and othe r resource s given t o th e fraternity. 60 Th e arrangemen t fitte d int o a quite specifi c tactical situation wher e th e pauperes di d not dar e t o g o out in search o f horse-fodde r acros s th e Rive r Orontes . Thos e wh o ha d horse s i n poor conditio n no w wen t wit h them a s a foragin g force knowin g tha t the y would get better one s i f they lost them. W e do not kno w how long these 500 marks lasted ; w e onl y kno w that th e tota l o f usabl e horse s i n the hos t wa s eventually reduced t o 1,00 0 o r even 700 when the crusaders themselves wer e

58

Fulche r missed the worst of the hunger at Antioch, being with Baldwin at Edessa at the time: Historia (a s n . 5 ) I 14 , p. 215 ; Raymond noted prices and hunge r at th e siege , but wit h some detachment: Liber (as n. 5), pp. 50, 52, 76. 59 Gesta Francorum X, p. 86: 'Nostri denique milites precedentes nos' seems to imply that the author wa s on foo t a t tha t time, as argued by H . Hagenmeyer , Anonymi Gesta Francorum et aliorum Hierosolymitanorum (Heidelberg , 1890) , pp. 5, 441, though R. Hill in her edition of the Gesta, pp. xiii , 86 n. 5 is sceptical; C. Morris, 'Policy and Visions: The Case of the Holy Lance at Antioch', in War and Government (as n. 3), pp. 33-46, here p. 36f. n. 12, is also sceptical about the thesis that the Anonymou s was a knight. For th e acquisition of horses by the crusaders through plunder, tribute and gif t o n the stretc h between Marra and Jerusalem cf. ibid., pp. 83 , 84, 86, 88 (where the author speaks of 'nostros . . . equos'). 60 Raymond , Liber (as n.5), pp. 54-5 ; See on this J. Richard, 'La Confrerie d e la croisade: a propos d'u n episod e d e l a premier e croisade', i n Etudes d e civilisation medievale (IXe-XHe siecles): Melanges E.R. Labande (Poitiers, 1974), pp. 617-22, here pp. 620-1.


1

besieged in Antioch.61 It is Albert of Aachen who lets us into povert y i n high places. During the siege of Antioch the nobles too suffere d fro m hunger . W e read in Anselm of Ribemont's second letter that h e too live d o n donkey- an d horse-meat. At th e wors t moment, when a n egg cost 6d, the crow d at e their own shoe-leather, and Godfrey o f Bouillon gav e fifteen mark s for the meat of a camel, lesser princes went to the wall.62 The conquerors of Antioch, so Albert of Aachen tells us, found ver y little food i n it. After the long siege the Moslem defenders had consumed nearly all . For once the Christian spoilers were muc h less interested in receiving money, cloths, tents and silks, since they hi t upon treasure in the for m o f spices and pepper, which coul d b e used to make nasty food palatable , though pepper too of course was a precious resource. 63 Albert at the end of book four reported that not only the poor but also great men, outstandin g knights and the noblest, were in need. Many of them had lost their horses or had eaten them an d were now among th e pedites, learning t o fight as such whe n the y ha d fro m boyhoo d alway s bee n use d t o horse s an d always ridden int o battle o n horseback . Som e of the leadin g me n no w use d mules, donkeys, palfreys an d mares as horses; men who counted a t home as princes went into action o n donkeys . The y had bee n beggar s for some time , their ow n 'surplus ' ha d failed . The y sol d thei r arms , usin g capture d an d 61 Gesta Francorum VI, p. 34: 'In tola namque hoste non ualebat aliquis inuenire mille milites, qui equos haberent optimos' . Raymond , Liber (a s n. 5) , p. 55 : 'Equi famelic i e t debiles essent , atque admodum pauci ut in toto exercitu comitis et episcopi vix. c. repirentur. Similiter Boamundo et reliqui s contingerat. ' Ansel m of Ribemont, second lette r to Manasses of Rheims, ed. Hagen meyer, Kreuzzugsbriefe (a s n . & 7) , no . 15 , p . 157 : 'Deu s . . . ade o no s castigauit , u t ui x inuenirentur DCC equites in nostro exercitu;. . . quia equi aut inopia uictus aut nimietate frigoris fere omne s perierant'. Albert , Historia (a s n. 5 ) III 60 , p. 381 : 'quibus , prae inopia annonae et diuturna lassitudin e diversaque clade, non amplius quam mille valentes equi habebantur' and IV 53, p. 427: 'Defecerunt eni m Christianis equi quos a Gallia eduxerant... vix ducenti supererant equi bello apti, in die qua proelium cum tot nationibus Gentilium commiserunt'. Horses might die or be weakened fo r lack of food and water, of which they needed a great deal (see above at n. 4): Albert, Historia (as n. 5 ) III 1 , p. 339 : Raymond , Liber (a s n. 5) , pp. 82-3 . They migh t als o be eaten: cf . Ansel m o f Ribemont , op . cit. , p . 15 8 on th e eatin g o f horse s an d donkeys , als o mentioned b y Gesta Francorum IX, pp. 57, 62. The preoccupation with preserving existing stocks of horses and acquiring new ones as well as with the difficulties of fighting effectively with underfed horses run through all the accounts of the first crusade, and their losses are often mentione d along with human losses, e.g. Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), p. 67: 'plus quam centum homines . . . suffocati sunt, equ i vero quam plures'. 62 Fo r the extraordinary prices reache d during the siege see Gesta Francorum V, p. 30; VI, p . 33; IX, p . 62 (eating animal skins; eggs costing two solidi); Raymond , Liber (references as n. 58); Albert, Historia (as n. 5) IV 34, p. 412 (eggs at 6d.; Godfrey eating camel-meat). 63 Albert , Historia (a s n . 5 ) I V 25 , p . 406 : 'victu s quaerentes, se d pauco s reperiunt . Ostr a tantum divers i generi s e t coloris , pipe r quoqu e e t pigment a plurima , veste s e t papilione s Gentilium, tessera s e t alias , qui n pecuniam, se d non multam , invenerunt'; contrast Raymond, Liber (a s n. 5), p. 61 on the rejoicing by 'certain poor' who had taken tents and silks in an earlier plundering raid . Following the conques t of Caesarea i n 1101 the 8,000 members of the besieging force eac h receive d amon g othe r thing s 2 I b o f pepper : Cafaro , Annales lanuenses, ed. L.T . Belgrano (Font i pe r l a storia d'ltalia 10 , Rome, 1890) , p . 13 . On pepper a s a form o f wealth see also th e reference s i n Leyser , 'Earl y Medieva l Warfare' an d 'Th e Ottonian s an d Wessex' , Th e Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries, p. 3 4 and n. 24, 100-1 .

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unaccustomed Turkish weapons.64 What is so startling here is the revelation of the marke t societ y th e crusader s ha d become . Arm s coul d b e purchase d cheaply fro m som e magnate s in desperat e straits ; a lucky looter migh t suddenly exploit the misfortunes of his betters. In other contexts, too, it is startling to discern that any job had a price-tag. The engineer who built the siege tower at Nicaea did so for fifteen marks . Tancred completed the blockade of Antioch by building an d garrisonin g a strongpoint fo r 40 0 marks, o f which 10 0 were paid b y Raymond of Saint-Gilles.65 Amongst th e poverty-stricken primores was Count Hartman n o f the Suabian comital family of Dillingen. He is described a s one of the foremost men in Suabia. Fo r th e assaul t o n Kerbogh a h e use d a n as s and carrie d a Turkis h shield an d onl y a sword a s his weapon, s o Albert wa s informed; we cannot always b e sur e whethe r t o believ e him. 66 Hartman n ha d sol d hi s hauberk , helmet an d other arms, and lived by begging and could not even go on doing this. A personal follower of Duke of Godfrey's - Henr y of Ascha, a promising miles nobilis - was in the same case. Duke Godfrey, we are told, took pity on them an d appointe d fo r Coun t Hartman n on e loa f of bread wit h a piece of meat o r fish out of his own - pe r day, presumably. As for Henry, because he was his vassal and man who had served for many years and in many wars, he made him his table companion. Here then there were two warriors who had at one time possessed and commanded their own households on the expedition, who wer e no w reduce d t o tota l dependence ; th e on e receive d a kin d of corrody, th e other found refug e a t Duke Godfrey's table.67 Valuable evidence about table-companionship come s also from the Gesta Tancredi. Here we read that when the famine befell the crusaders outside Antioch, Tancred, who was rich, di d no t expe l anyon e o f his household fro m hi s table. Instea d h e too k many excluded by others on to his ration strength. It follows, then, that when dearth struck men might be expelled fro m thei r lord's mensa.68 The loss of a lord who fed was a disaster, an d not for nothing did Ademar of Le Puy appear in a vision to say that he had committed hi s familia to Coun t 64

Albert , Historia (as n. 5) IV 54, p. 427. On alternative mounts see also Gesta Francorum IV, p. 23 : 'illi c fui t mortu a maxim a pars nostroru m equorum, e o quo d mult i e x nostris militibus remanserunt pedites; e t pro penuria equorum, erant nobis boues loco caballorum, et pro nimia necessitate succedeban t nobi s capr i e t multone s ac canes a d portandum' , echoed b y Fulcher, Historia (a s n. 5) I 13, p. 202. For attempt s to sell arms in difficult circumstance s see also Gesta Francorum IV, p . 27 , and fo r the difference s betwee n Prankish and Turkish weapons see R.C . Smail, Crusading Warfare (1097-1193) (Cambridg e Studies in Medieval Life an d Thought , ne w series 3, Cambridge, 1956), pp. 77-8. 65 Gesta Francorum VIII, p. 43 and Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), p. 63 for Tancred. For the muchdiscussed payment of the engineer at Nicaea see Rogers, Latin Siege Warfare (a s n. 26), pp. 19-20 ; his study shows, however, that it was normal to pay such specialists. 66 Albert , Historia (as n. 5) IV 54, p. 427; for Albert's use of often inconsisten t or implausible eye-witness accounts see Knoch, Albert von Aachen (as n. 57), pp. 66-8. 67 Albert , Historia (as n. 5) IV 54, p. 427. The two are found acting together earlier in Albert's account, ibid . II 30, p. 322. 68 Radulf , Gesta Tancredi (a s n. 18 ) c. 59, p. 650.

Money an d Supplies on th e First Crusade 9

3

Raymond o f Saint-Gilles so that they had some shelter, food and patronage.69 According t o Alber t o f Aachen, eve n th e greates t migh t suffer want . Duk e Godfrey an d th e coun t o f Flander s a t a crucia l momen t lacke d horses . Godfrey's mone y ha d ru n ou t i n the famin e a t Antioc h thank s to to o much almsgiving and what he spent o n poverty-stricken and weakened knights . He received a mount from Coun t Raymond. The count of Flanders too, 'so those present asserted', had t o be g for a horse t o be mounted o n the day of battl e against Kherboga an d he is described a s the richest and mightiest prince 'of fat Flanders'.70 The insecurit y whic h struc k eve n suc h grea t me n i s ver y revealin g an d explains muc h about th e conduc t of the campaign , the restles s searc h of men for strongholds , assets , place s o f vantage, on which Raymond of Saint-Gille s himself, for instance, wh o had broken his bridges with his home and past, was willing to spend many months in laborious siege operations. It also explains the readiness and willingness of all those leaders to risk everything again and again in pitched battles . In the las t resort th e enemy and his camp must solve their supply proble m an d a s ofte n a s no t the y did . Ye t befor e w e loo k a t majo r operations an d at the food situation which to my mind is frequently the key to understanding them , somethin g mor e mus t b e sai d abou t th e pauperes, th e pedites. Their task as a labour force has been touched on already but they were also the conscienc e o f the host , th e sounding-boar d fo r Ademar o f Le Puy' s sermons, th e me n who again and again reminded their betters of the first and final objective, Jerusale m an d th e Hol y Sepulchre. 71 It was from thei r mids t that th e passion , th e religiou s fever a t certain moment s spran g and als o th e savagery which spared nothin g and nobody in a conquered city. Peter Bartho lomew in the crude audacity and simplicity of his visions spoke their language, not that o f Ademar o f Le Puy. That Raymon d of Aguilers favoured and spent many page s recitin g Pete r Bartholomew' s appeal s an d denouncin g doubter s and sceptics, is one of the startling and unexpected phenomena of first crusade historiography.72 But the n th e poo r coul d b e a source o f power, bot h t o th e clergy and the Provencal count, who, for all his largesse, bravery and concern 69 Raymond , Liber ((as n. 5), p. 85: 'Domino meo comiti familiam mea m comisi, benefaciat ei ut Deus facia t secum misericordiam, et adimpleat que, illi promisit.' 70 Albert , Historia (a s n. 5 ) IV 55, pp. 427-8 ; Godfrey had alread y borrowed from Baldwin, ibid. IV 9, p. 395. Compare also the statement attributed by Raymond of Aguilers to Bohemond, Liber (a s n. 5) , p . 53 : 'discessurum s e aiebat, eo quod propter honore m venerit, et homine s et equos suos inopia deperire conspiceret, nee esse divitem se dicebat, cui ad tam longam obsidionem rei familiari s ope s sufficerent ' (thoug h Raymond say s tha t thi s was only a n excuse) ; h e late r adduced hi s expenses a s a reason why he should be given Antioch, Gesta Francorum X, 75. 71 O n the rol e o f the poor se e especially Rogers, 'Pete r Bartholomew' (as n. 24), and Morris, 'Policy and Visions' (a s n. 59), pp. 33-46. Their wishes are contrasted most strongly with those of the prince s b y Raymond , Liber (a s n . 5) , pp . 74 , 79 , 93-4 , 99, 100 , 131 ; bu t se e als o Gesta Francorum IX, p. 59, and X, pp. 72-6. 72 Raymond , Liber (as n. 5), pp. 68-74, 75-6, 77-8, 84-8, 89-91, 95-7,112-20,127-8, the visions not onl y o f Pete r bu t o f other s i n th e sam e vein , includin g Petrus Desideriu s an d Stephe n of Valence.

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for th e pauperes, remained an outsider and a stranger to the overwhelmingly Frankish-Lotharingian composition of the crusade. Peter Bartholomew's story is in some ways not unique, but all too typical of th e pauperes, like that of Peter the Hermi t himsel f an d William s th e Carpente r too . H e lef t th e sieg e o f Antioch t o g o to a castl e nea r Edess a propter alimoniam, i.e. food , an d he wanted to go to Cyprus for the same reason. Food was not far away even from his visions: 'I bean to fear if I came to you, [i.e. the authorities] that you would say, I a m famished and ha d com e t o tel l thes e tale s for a square meal' , pro victu.13 His situatio n was that of most of the poor , whic h made them all too responsive t o apocalypti c visions and experiences. The y came more easily on an empty stomach. Their betters warily refrained from denouncin g and disowning their claims, and Coun t Raymon d of Saint-Gille s in the aftermat h of his victor y ove r Kerbogha conducte d mor e tha n on e expeditio n ostensibl y t o lea d the m towards food supplies. His knights were summoned for this purpose, an d afte r the sieg e o f Marra, where another famin e broke out, th e count organised a n expedition pro victualibus, pro causa pauperum. Raymon d se t out and took much booty. 74 Th e poo r convalesce d an d th e knight s too wer e muc h comforted. A s th e coun t o f Saint-Gilles ha d als o fe d Tancre d an d als o engage d himself to give Duke Godfrey 10,000 s., Robert of Normandy and the count of Flanders 600 0 s . eac h t o g o o n t o Jerusalem , th e leadershi p o f th e whol e enterprise seeme d to slip into his hands after all, only for him to lose it again in the las t stages of the operations. 75 The wors t shortage s an d hardes t condition s hi t th e crusader s outsid e Antioch. I t was in any case harde r to supply a stationary host for a period of well over a year. Supplies had to come a long way, from Syria, Sicilia, Rhodes, Cyprus th e rich , Chio s an d Samos , Crete , Mitilena , accordin g to th e Gesta Tancredi whic h mentioned al l these. 76 The famin e force d victualling expeditions further and further afield an d inland and these brought heavy casualties; there were als o desertions . Th e sieg e bega n in winter and al l the horror s of winter hit it. Tents suffered . Ther e may have been earthquakes. 77 Eothplebs and nobilit y had t o liv e in the ope n an d winter spared neither . Here Radulf commented tha t i t was much harder an d rougher for the noble s than for th e rustics an d labourers . Th e las t wer e use d t o i t an d noble s Radul f calle d delicate. Th e eleventh-centur y miles an d hi s successors wer e use d t o luxur y 73

Raymond , Liber (a s n. 5) , p . 71 , and cf. also p. 74 . Compare th e desertion s b y Peter th e Hermit, William the Carpenter and others, Gesta Francorum V, p. 33; Radulf, Gesta Tancredi (as n. 18 ) c. 60, pp. 650-1. 74 Raymond , Liber (a s n. 5) , pp . 101-2 ; fo r his foraging expedition s between the battle with Kerbogha and the siege of Marra see ibid., pp. 88 , 89. 75 Ibid. , p. 100 ; for Raymond's influence over the last stages of the crusade see above all R.H. and L. Hill, Raymond IV , Count of Toulouse (Syracuse, 1962). 76 Radulf , Gesta Tancredi (a s n. 18 ) c. 54, p. 647. 77 Ibid. ; see also Raymond, Liber (as n. 5), p. 54.

Money an d Supplies on th e First Crusade 9

5

between bout s of fighting. 78 There i s no doub t t o m y mind that foo d supply dominated th e operations. Fo r the Latins it was essential to blockade Antioc h completely s o that nothing could reach the beleaguered garrison any more. For the Turk s an d Arab s it became essentia l t o den y the besieger s acces s t o th e hinterland wher e the y coul d suppl y themselve s an d t o mak e eve n thei r immediate communication s a s difficul t an d costl y a s possible . Whe n th e mortality rat e among the pauperes rose steeply the bishop of Le Puy urged the princes to do something. Bohemund , Tancred an d the count of Flanders wer e to go to a n as yet unransacked Saracen regio n and return with supplies. The y did so , bu t wer e attacke d whil e restin g o n th e wa y back. I n th e battl e that followed Bohemun d wa s defeate d an d los t al l the food-spoils . Th e coun t of Flanders fare d better , an d retrieve d th e situatio n t o som e extent. 79 A n expedition t o St Symeon mainly for the sake of food was also thwarted. Booty of silk s coul d no t compensat e fo r th e desperatel y neede d supplies. 80 Th e situation change d fo r th e bette r onc e th e besieger s ha d buil t the castl e tha t coerced and made possible traffi c t o the port an d allowed the goods from th e Genoese ship s t o reac h th e besieger s safely . T o hold tha t rout e an d kee p i t open was , I think, th e ke y to ultimat e success, especiall y once th e besiege d were cu t off by Tancred's fortress. 81 Lastly, the battles. There was no choice about having to fight them, first the relief expeditio n durin g th e sieg e an d the n Kherboga . T o risk battl e an d so regain th e mean s o f subsistenc e wer e on e an d th e sam e thing . I n thi s way subsistence explain s far more about the history and success of the first crusade than an y othe r militar y an d politica l factor . I t wa s thei r extraordinar y ingenuity i n solvin g these problem s tha t no t onl y saved th e crusader s mor e than once but brought them to their goal. Pace Clausewitz, at critical moments they did not eat in order t o fight but fought in order t o eat. 82

78

Ibid. , p. 647; note also ibid. c. 60, p. 651, on the deserters: 'pugnaces tamen, sed inter bella deliciis assueti' . A marginal note in KJL's manuscript adduces the phrase 'delicati milites' under Otto I, but this has not been identified . 79 Raymond , Liber (as n. 5), pp. 50-3 ; Gesta Francorum V-VI, pp. 30-3. 80 Raymond , Liber (as n. 5), pp. 59-61; see also Albert, Historia (as n. 5) III 55, p. 385, Stephen of Blois, second letter to Adela (as n. 7), p. 151 . 81 Fo r Tancred's fortress see Gesta Francorum VIII, pp. 43-4. 82 Clausewitz , On Wa r (as n . 3) , p . 339 : 'maintainin g a n arm y i n th e fiel d . . . [has ] to b e regarded as a condition of war, and never as its object'; cf. also p. 95.


6 The Anglo-Norman Succession 1120-25

On 25 November 1120 , Kin g Henry I suffered the worst blow that could befall a medieval ruler. H e los t his only legitimate son and heir in a disaster a t sea . The shi p in which the young prince together wit h a half-brother, a half-sister and a great many nobles wanted to cross over to England from Barfleur struck a ree f an d san k not fa r from th e harbour . Mos t of the cre w and many of the passengers see m t o hav e bee n muc h th e wors e fo r drin k whic h the young prince caused to be dispensed at the crew's request. The master and helmsman simply di d no t kno w wha t h e wa s doing. Th e ide a seem s t o hav e bee n t o overtake the king's ship which had had a headstart. It was a boatrace that went wrong. Some nobles left the craft before it set out because they did not like the look o f th e goings-o n aboard . Amon g them , s o Orderi c Vitali s wrote, was Count Stephen. If we are to understand the disaster of the White Ship we must understand th e normalcy of all the preliminaries: the proffer o f a mark of gold to claim a right and inherited privilege of conveying, here the king's son and his following. I t wa s a fief - s o Orderic ha s the master describ e an d claim it. 1 Thanks to it and the outcome the brilliant situation Henry I had attained, th e advantages tha t ha d been secured for his nearest kin, the assurance tha t is, as far a s possibl e tha t th e princ e woul d succee d hi s fathe r i n Englan d an d i n Normandy, collapsed a t once. Not only the succession but even the immediate security of Henry's regim e were once again challengeable. His enemies could take heart and did. The most burning issue opened up by the catastrophe of the White Shi p was the futur e o f the roya l line itself. Who, afte r 2 5 November 1120, wa s now available to occup y the Englis h royal and th e Norma n ducal thrones an d all their contested appurtenances ? Henry's own response to the disaster was an almost immediate new marriage alliance. Onl y two months and a few days lay between the prince's deat h and his father' s unio n wit h Adeliza , th e daughte r o f Duk e Godfre y o f lowe r Lotharingia. The decision to remarry may well have been older than the recent * Firs t publishe d i n Anglo-Norman Studies 13, ed. M . Chibnall (Woodbridge: The Boydel l Press, 1991) pp. 225-41. Thanks are due to editor and publishers for permission to republish here. 1 Fo r th e fulles t accoun t o f the Whit e Ship's founderin g an d sinking see Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica XII 26 , vol. 6, pp. 294-306 . Important details are also found i n William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum V 419, vol. 2, pp. 496-8.

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disaster bu t it s executio n wa s almos t certainl y hastene d b y it . Adeliza' s consecration an d coronation by Archbishop Ralph of Canterbury is stressed by several chroniclers underlining what was most expected of her, fertility and the birth o f anothe r mal e [226 ] heir. 2 Bu t thi s hop e i n itsel f coul d no t brin g immediate reassuranc e an d comfor t because th e successio n issu e was there, here and now, and the marriage had to be blessed not only with offspring an d the birth of a son, he also had to survive infancy and reach years of discretion. A long minority was not a good prospect for a royal house though it was better than no prospect a t all. It must be remembered that Henry I was already in his fifties which by universally accepted canons counted as old age. Let us listen to Orderic Vitalis : 'Many men, seeing that Henry's lawful hei r had perished and that th e kin g was growing old without lawful offspring... ' i n senium vergens were the words h e used.3 Historians have tended t o obscure the problem, o r rather t o treat i t in an oddly selective way. The year 1125 when Mathilda, the queen - sh e was often called empress bu t never crowned as such - returne d from German y afte r th e deat h o f he r husband , th e Empero r Henr y V , i s usually take n t o b e th e terminus a quo fo r th e discussion , whe n her fathe r arranged he r secon d marriag e wit h Coun t Geoffre y o f Anjo u an d di d hi s utmost to clear rivals and challengers out of the way, or, in the case of Stephen, win the m over . Thi s approac h ignore s the urgenc y and immediatel y of the problem. Who would succeed if Henry I died sooner, if he did not outlive his only legitimate son and heir by more than a year or so? Who could? There i s n o doub t tha t Henry' s view s on thi s anxiou s questio n differe d profoundly from those of most of his vassals and barons and the outside world, i.e. thos e no t boun d t o hi m b y obligation s o f fealty , homag e an d service . Orderic i n th e passag e alread y cite d above , als o tell s u s ho w mos t me n responded to the situation of an ageing ruler without legitimate male offspring. They embrace d th e caus e o f hi s nephew , th e so n o f th e imprisone d Duk e Robert. Willia m Clito , who m Henr y feared , deteste d an d di d no t wan t t o succeed t o anything of the Conqueror's inheritance. 4 He could hope at best to be treated as a pensioner by his uncle but the threat that he presented was all the greate r i n tha t hi s claim s t o Normand y wer e immediate . A s Rober t Curthose's legitimate son he had a right to it that arguably over-rode Henry's by widely accepted rule s and he possessed the qualitie s to be looked for and 2

O n Henr y I' s marriag e with Adeliza an d he r coronatio n se e Ordericu s Vitalis, Historica Ecclesiastica XII28, vol. 6, p. 308, Eadmer, Historia Novorum in Anglia c. 6, ed. M. Rule (Roll s Series 81 , London , 1884) , pp . 290 , 293 , an d M . Chibnall , Anglo-Norman England 1066-1166 (Oxford, 1986) , p. 83 . For he r sacerin g see Th e Chronicle of John of Worcester, 1118-1140, ed . J.R.H. Weaver (Anecdota Oxoniensia , Medieval and Modern Series 13 , Oxford, 1908), p. 16. 3 Ordericu s Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica XII 33, vol. 6, p. 328. 4 O n Willia m Clito se e C . Wendel l David, Robert Curthose, Duke o f Normandy (Harvar d Historical Studie s 25, Cambridge, Mass., 1920), pp. 180ff . an d several of the papers of C. Warren Hollister, bes t consulted in his Monarchy, Magnates an d Institutions in the Anglo-Norman World (London, 1986) , especially 'The Anglo-Norman Succession Debate of 1126: Prelude to Stephen's Anarchy', pp. 145ff . an d S.B. Hicks, Therjinpact o f William Clito on the Continental Policies of Henry I of England', Viator, 10 (1979), pp . Iff .

The Anglo-Norman Succession 1120-25 9

9

admired i n a future ruler. As he was an older brother's an d not a sister's son , his claims to the large r inheritance might be deemed als o to outstrip those of the descendants of Adela, the Conqueror's daughter, in other words the house of Blois's, especially Stephen's , fo r so many years the companio n an d at th e side of the king . William Clito' s life a s an [227 ] enemy, exile, wanderer an d courageous, highl y esteemed warrior is depicted vividl y in the main narrative sources, principally , bu t no t onl y Orderic . H e enjoye d th e sympathie s and alliances no t onl y o f Kin g Louis V I o f Franc e bu t o f mos t o f hi s princes , including Henry's nearest territoria l rivals and enemies, th e count s of Anjou and the count s of Flanders . The Clito's cause was the impetus behind the massive rising of the Norman great against his uncle, the king, which ended i n 1119 when they had to admit failure and , fo r the tim e being, forsake William's camp. It must be seen als o behind th e next , equall y formidabl e defectio n fro m Henr y I i n Normandy during the years 1123-24. Throughou t this rebellion and beyond, Louis VI and Fulk o f Anjo u wer e anxiou s to furnis h Willia m Clito with a territorial bas e from whic h h e coul d pres s an d pursu e hi s claim s b y wagin g war fo r hi s inheritance. Henr y I wh o ha d betrothe d hi s so n Willia m t o a n Angevi n princess, Mathilda , daughte r o f Coun t Fulk , no t uncharacteristicall y would not retur n he r dowe r when she, afte r som e year s of widowhood spent a t his court, went home to her father to become eventuall y a nun at Fontrevault. It was al l the mor e bitte r an d woundin g for Henry , deprived of his son, when Fulk o f Anjou later marrie d anothe r daughte r of his, Sybil , to William Clito and endowe d hi m with the count y of Maine 'until he could recover his lawfu l inheritance'.5 The enmity between the king and his nephew was a family feud . The coun t o f Anjou was not breakin g with the Norman dynasty in giving the Clito hi s daughter , bu t o n th e contrar y investin g i n it s future . Henr y I' s persistence to destroy this marriage, his sparing no means to have it annulled through th e papac y o n th e groun d o f consanguinity , was a t onc e a n ac t of revenge bu t als o a blow to cover his own cruel vulnerability. The Clito's fate, exile with its bouts of poverty and helplessness, appealed to and touche d th e knightl y and princely society to which he an d his followers, above al l his tutor , Helia s o f Saint-Saens , belonged . Thi s situatio n wa s th e topic of epic poems and from the pages of Orderic it is very clear that Henry I's war machine , victorie s an d successe s i n suppressin g risings , wo n hi m n o sympathisers eve n among those who backed him, let alone the defeated, even if the y escape d unharmed , wer e pardone d an d lef t i n possessio n o f thei r inheritances. I t i s strikin g to not e ho w muc h me n wer e willin g to sacrific e making no secret of their aversion for the king's methods and regime. Helias of Saint-Saens forsoo k hi s ow n lordshi p an d patrimon y t o sav e Willia m Clit o from Henr y I's arrest and possibly eventual mutilation. He shared his exile, as 5 Ordericu s Vitalis , Historica Ecclesiastica XI I 34 , vol . 6 , p . 33 2 and se e als o th e Durha m Historia Regum, in Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia, ed. T . Arnold (Roll s Serie s 75, London 1885) vol . 2, p. 267 .

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disinherited a s his master. He was of course closely tied to Duke Robert and married to his natural daughter.6 If Henry I then, after loss of his son, detested and feare d his nephew, the so n of Duke Robert whom in 1126 moreover he entrusted t o anothe r jailer , his illegitimate son, Ear l Rober t o f Gloucester , whom did he [228] consider fo r the now open and insecure succession? Ther e was always his other nephew, Stephen, count of Mortain and then Boulogne whom we encounter frequently in his uncle's charters. Yet, as has been pointed out b y Warren Hollister, ther e is no evidence that for all his honores on th e continent and in England he figured for the succession in Henry's mind during these years, before he married Mathilda, the Boulogne heiress. This happened in 1125 but even then scholars are not certain whether the ends of this match, promoted b y Henry I, were strategic or dynastic.7 They could, of course, have been both . Ye t there are n o sign s that Stephe n wa s being groomed fo r th e succession; he might, more aptly be described as the fall-back man. No, fro m the momen t sh e returne d i n 112 5 Henr y I wante d hi s daughter , hi s sol e surviving legitimate offspring, t o be looked up to as his heiress and successor. The whol e episcopate , abbot s an d la y nobilit y early in 112 7 swor e t o this , however reluctant they may have felt.8 With a ruler like Henry I they had little choice. Historians hav e always treated Mathilda's return as the terminus a quo for her succession an d ruled out that she and her husband, the Emperor Henry V, could be i n the runnin g from Decembe r 1120-25 . 'Whil e the emperor lived', wrote A.L . Poole , 'Matild a coul d not b e considere d a s heir to he r father's dominions; it might lead to the absorptio n of England in the Empire.' 9 A.L. Poole had, I suspect, a certain aversion to the Reich -1 have come across traces of it in another contex t - an d he approached th e problem wit h a twentiethcentury rather than a twelfth-century political orientation.10 Warren Hollister too, however, thought that Mathilda could only be considered for the succession after bein g widowe d i n 1125 . Whil e sh e wa s still reignin g in Germany , h e wrote, she was 'unavailable'.11 But could it not be that Henry I reckoned with her fro m th e ver y beginning of hi s predicament ? I f she , a s hi s onl y direc t legitimate descendant, dominated his thinking about the succession after 1125, why should she not have done so before? More still, I hope to be able to show that Mathilda and her husband, Henry V, were fully aware of the situation and the prospect s opene d u p b y th e deat h o f Princ e William. What Henry did between 112 1 an d 1125 , his itinerary and other measures could not in fact b e 6 O n Helias see Ordericus Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica VIII9, vol. 4, p. 183, and XI20 and XI 37, vol. 6, pp. 92,162-4. David, Robert Curthose (as n. 4), pp. 39, 55,181. 7 C . Warren Hollister , 'The Anglo-Norman Successio n Debat e of 1126', in Monarchy, Magnates and Institutions (as n. 4), pp. 148-50 . 8 Joh n o f Worcester, Chronicle (as n. 2) , pp . 22f. , 2 7 and William of Malmesbury, Historia Novella, ed. K.R. Potter (Nelson's Medieval Texts , Edinburgh , 1955) , pp. 3-5. 9 A.L . Poole , From Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087-1216 (Oxford, 1951), p . 128 . 10 K.J . Leyser, 'Frederic k Barbarossa, Henry II and the Hand of St James', EHR, 9 0 (1975), p. 486 (Leyser, Medieval Germany, p. 220). 11 Hollister , 'Successio n Debate' (as n. 7), p. 148 .


1

understood withou t bearin g i n min d th e sudde n possibilit y o f th e Anglo Norman succession. W e must begin by looking at his situation and Matilda' s when the news of Henry I's calamity reached him and his wife. Mathilda had bee n sen t to he r futur e husban d in 1110 a s an eight-year-old girl.12 [229 ] She was crowned at Mainz on S t James's day , 25 July, and the n entrusted t o Archbisho p Brun o of Trier t o b e taugh t the languag e and th e customs of her ne w home. The marriag e itself too k plac e a t Mainz, early in 1114. I t was a magnificent occasio n - no t for Henry V to drive away all the ioculatores and mimes as his grandfather, Henry III ha d done at his wedding with Agnes of Poitou.13 But even then Mathilda was not yet twelve years old, the correc t earlies t canonica l age and yet one where offspring coul d not be at once expected . Fro m no w o n Mathild a share d he r husband' s doing s an d strivings. He made her, we are expressly told, consors regni, that means she partook in his rule.14 The most visible evidence for this are her 'interventions', her sponsorship o f royal grants in Henry V's diplomata. They mentioned he r agency a t leas t ninetee n time s an d thes e mention s becam e mor e frequen t during the emperor's last years when she seems to have been usually at his side. Her intervention s then may indirectly reveal her ailing husband's need of her and als o tha t he r sponsorshi p wa s more tha n a n occasiona l diplomati c formality. Her interventions, moreover, had begun well before the great wedding feast of 1114. The y were, as befitted her station, always cited first in the texts of the diplomata, befor e the sponsorship of anyone else. Only once did she drop to th e secon d plac e bu t the n her fellow-sponsor in a grant to S t Maximin at Trier, was none other than Pope Pascal II.15 Yet unlike her Ottoman and early 12

O n Mathilda' s ag e a t th e tim e o f he r departur e fo r th e empir e se e O . Rossler , Kaiserin Mathilde Mutter Heinrichs vo n Anjou und da s Zeitalter der Anarchic i n England (Historisch e Studien 7, Berlin 1897) , pp. 417ff . Accordin g t o the Handbook o f British Chronology, 3rd edn by E.B. Fryde , D.E. Greenway , S . Porter an d I. Roy (London 1986) , p . 35, Henry I's first child by Edith-Mathilda, th e daughte r o f Malcol m II I o f Scotland , wa s bor n c . Jul y 110 1 an d die d i n infancy. This would mak e the dat e o f Mathilda's birt h which they gave as c. February 110 2 wellnigh impossible. 13 Frutolfi e t Ekkehardi Chronica necnon Anonymi Chronica Imperatorum, ed . F.-J . Schmal e and I . Schmale-Ot t (AQD G 15 , Darmstadt , 1972) , p . 262 . Thi s wa s a n imperia l chronicl e Mathilda took back with her when she was widowed, now Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 373. Bu t see also ibid. , pp. 310f. , Ekkehard vo n Aura's accoun t of the festivities. 14 Ekkehard , Chronica (as n. 13), p. 312. Other sources for the feast at Mainz are cited in Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 6, p. 285, n. 1. The great assembly of princes became a seedbed for conspiracies. O n Henr y Ill' s marriag e feas t a t Ingelhei m i n Novembe r 104 3 se e Steindorff , Heinrich III., vol . 1 , p. 193 , wit h the sources . 15 K.F . Stumpf-Brentano , Di e Reichskanzler vornehmlich des 10., 11., und 12. Jahrhunderts, 2: Die Kaiserurkunden de s 10,11, und 12. Jahrhunderts (Innsbruck, 1865-1883 , repr. Aalen , 1964), no. 314 7 with the interventio n o f Pope Pascal I I an d Mathilda, date d Burgulia , 1 July 1116. Fo r Mathilda's intervention s throughou t se e ibid. , nos 306 9 (1111) , 3103 (1114) , 3117 A (1114) , 312 1 (1115), 3127 , 3141 , 315 2 (1116) , 315 5 (1117) , 316 1 (1119) , 3162 , 316 4 (1120) , 317 2 (1122) , 319 8 (1124), 3202b, a placitum (1125), 3203 , 3205 , 321 2 (1125) . She also appear s o n no. 322 1 for th e canons of Bologna, whic h lacks a date. The diplomata o f Henry V are being edited for the MG H by Professor M . Thiel who very kindly gave me the text s of all those where Mathilda appear s a s sponsor. I should lik e to thank him here.

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Salian predecessors, like for instance the empress Gisela, Conrad II's wife, she never intervene d alon e but alway s at the hea d o f a group of bishops, abbot s and la y princes . Interventio n an d sponsorshi p i n roya l diplomata belonged [230] to an d wer e importan t part s of the exercis e of power an d th e multiple interventions in Henry V's charters loudly proclaimed shift s and new restraints on imperial prerogative. In the conceptions o f rulership current during the early and high middle ages queens had certain functions, not only in the royal house, and one of these was to brin g about reconciliations , t o make it easier fo r their husbands to foreg o revenge an d th e inflictio n o f punishment s a s advise d b y thei r la y warrio r following without loss of face. At her very coming Mathilda was described in the Paderborn and Cologne annals as securing the royal grace for Duke Godfrey of lower Lotharingia. 16 Her ver y presence made an act of relenting more regal, public and hence useful. I t thus furnished some compensation for the fines and forfeitures relinquishe d althoug h Henry V did not always spare even wedding guests as Count Louis of Thuringia learned to his cost when he came to Mainz in 1114. 17 Later, in 1116, Mathild a brought about the restoration o f the sons of Count Rainbal d o f Treviso. They wer e take n bac k int o the emperor' s grac e and forgive n thei r ow n an d thei r father' s offence s agains t th e Salians. 18 Sometimes he r presenc e was cited in a diploma as a corroborative force. Usually Mathilda stood out above witnesses and petitioners though once she combined th e rol e o f interventio n wit h tha t o f petitio whe n th e bisho p o f Brixen received confirmation of the contentious grant of the abbey of Disentis (in Switzerland) at Volterra in 1117, n o doubt as a reward for his presence in the imperial following.19 As a rule sponsorship occupied a higher judicial plane than petition. In May 1124, for instance, th e church of Mainz received hal f the castle of Eppstein a t the petition of Archbishop Adalbert bu t more thanks to 'the intervention of our spouse Queen Mathilda'. 20 Later in 1124 the abbot of St Blasien cam e to court at the siege of Worms to complain about an oppressive advocate wh o offende d agains t th e teno r o f th e monastery' s privilege s and claimed t o hol d hi s charge fro m th e bisho p of Basle. The bisho p demanded more time but when the case between him, his advocate and the abbot came up before th e empero r a t th e Christma s cour t hel d a t Strasbour g in 1124 , th e princes' verdict wen t against him. His advocate wa s deprived an d replaced by Conrad, th e so n o f Berthol d o f Zahringen . The n w e rea d i n th e diplom a recording th e plea : 'T o perfect the confirmatio n o f the abbey' s privilege, the diligent an d devote d petitio n o f ou r dea r Quee n Mathild a cam e wit h th e abbot's supplication and was of the greatest use to its success.'21 Here her suit 16

Annales Patherbrunnenses, ed. P. Scheffer-Boichhorst (Innsbruck , 1870), p. 12 2 and Chronica Regia Coloniensis, ed. G . Wait z (MGH SRG 18 , Hanover, 1880), p. 49. 17 Meye r von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 6, p. 287 n. 4, where all the sources are given. 18 Ibid. , vol. 7, p. 1 and Stumpf (a s n. 15), no 3127. 19 Ibid. , no. 3155 (17 June 1117). 20 Ibid. , no. 3198. 21 Ibid. , no. 3204.


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seems t o hav e bee n crucia l an d ther e ca n b e n o doub t tha t th e abbo t ha d approached he r and secured he r interest knowing that it would not be ignored by th e emperor . Altogethe r he r intervention s wer e weighte d i n favou r o f churches i n the wes t of the Reich , bu t [231 ] also en route to Italy (Brixen and Lausanne) an d i n Italy . I t i s noteworth y tha t sh e sponsore d grant s t o th e monastery o f S t Maximin , Trier , n o les s tha n thre e time s an d on e wonder s whether sh e ha d an y special tie s with this ancient imperia l abbey. Her e it is worth rememberin g tha t sh e ha d spen t som e year s i n Trie r t o b e taugh t German unde r th e car e o f Archbishop Brun o (1102-24). 22 We know - and we do not often know such things - that Mathilda's marriage to Henry V was a successful partnership, much more so than her later alliance with Geoffrey of Anjou. There i s evidence that she regarded these years at the side of the las t Salian emperor, a s the most triumphant and contented one s of her life . In the Anglo-Norman worl d it was altogether regarde d a s immensely prestigious. Mathilda' s secon d allianc e appear s muc h mor e a s a matc h o f expediency an d compare d wit h the first , i t was socially, if anything, a come down whic h sh e hersel f felt . Coun t Geoffre y o f Anjo u o n th e othe r hand , made th e mos t o f his wife's illustrious antecedents. Ther e i s a charter o f his, dated Angers , 1 July 1133 , wher e h e described himself , speakin g i n the first person, a s 'th e so n o f Fulk , kin g o f th e Jerusalemite s an d th e husban d of Mathilda, th e daughte r o f Henry , kin g o f the Englis h an d onc e th e wif e of Henry, th e Roma n Emperor'. 23 The donor wa s evidently anxious to raise his ambiance fro m princel y to an even higher secular sphere . Henry V not only loved his wife, he also discovered and learned to trust her abilities. Whe n sh e was only sixteen years old, in 1118, h e left he r in charge in Italy where he had gone to secure the massive inheritance of the great countess Mathilda an d to right his relations with the papacy. When he had to go north again i n the same year to cope with the formidable arra y of his episcopal and lay enemies ben t o n removing him, Mathilda remained behind and was left in control o f his host, par t o f hi s court an d th e government . Now she not only sponsored grant s but als o presided ove r placita and uttered diplomat a on her own with the usua l sanctions clauses. Som e o f the original s of the pleas hav e survived. In one of them, aplacitum held by her at Castrocaro (Romagnola ) in November 1118 , he r cler k an d chaplai n Burchar d an d th e chancello r Philip , archbishop o f Ravenn a elect , an d othe r dignitarie s redacte d a judgement against a certain Peter , bishop-elec t o f Forli who, it was alleged, had usurpe d the fourth part o f a church which had for a long time belonged to the abbey of 22 Fo r S t Maximin see ibid., nos. 3069 (8 April 1111), 3147 (1 July 1116), 3212 (7 May 1125). Fo r Mathilda's upbringin g under th e car e o f Archbisho p Brun o o f Trie r se e Meye r von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol . 6 , p . 120f. , an d K.J . Leyser , 'Englan d an d th e Empir e i n the Earl y Twelft h Century', TRHS, 5t h ser. 10,1960 , pp. 63f. (Leyser, Medieval Germany, pp. 193f.) . For the texts see Urkundenbuch zu r Geschichte der . . . mittelrheinischen Territorien, ed. H. Beyer (Koblenz , 1860), vol . 1 , nos. 423 , 434 and 452. 23 J . Chartrou , L'Anjou d e 1109 a 1151: Foulque d e Jerusalem et Geoffroi Plantegenet (Paris, 1928), pp. 377-8 , pieces justificatives no . 46.

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St Mary de foris portam at Faenza. Th e critical moment of the trial came when Mathilda ros e in the presenc e o f all the cour t an d imposed he r bannus on all would-be usurper s o f the monastery' s right s over this possession. The y wer e subject t o the penalty of royal [232] decrees, no t specified. A Count Bonifac e and others were a t the sam e time warned to be content wit h their procuratio and custodia from Castrocaro. 24 Mathilda returned fro m Italy and rejoined her husband only in the following year. Earl y i n 112 4 whe n Henr y le d a swif t expeditio n t o Hollan d agains t Gertrude, th e wido w of Coun t Florenc e o f Holland (sh e wa s also a sister of Lother of Siipplingenburg, his foremost Saxon enemy), he again left Mathild a behind t o watc h event s i n lowe r Lotharingi a whe n h e ha d t o retur n sout h again. Fro m a grant she had mad e to the abbe y of Oostbroek an d the see of Utrecht it is clear als o tha t sh e had bee n endowe d wit h lands in the vicinity. She enjoye d o f cours e ric h estate s elsewher e ou t o f imperia l an d Salia n demesne bu t wer e no t communication s wit h England a factor perhaps when her husband decide d t o dotate her just here on the lower Rhine? 25 Any attemp t t o stud y th e reig n o f Henr y V an d Mathild a i s made mor e difficult an d harde r b y th e circumstanc e tha t h e i s one o f th e fe w emperor s whose diplomata ar e still in the process o f being edited s o that they cannot yet be studie d as a whole. The Monumenta can now offer us a continuous run of royal and imperial diplomata from Louis the German to Frederick Barbaross a with the sole gap of the years 1106-25. Henry V had inherited from hi s father whom h e s o relentlessl y se t aside , hi s tw o mai n burdens : th e rif t wit h th e Saxons in the struggle for the recovery of royal rights and possessions ther e and the rift with Rome over investitures.26 Over both, ruthless and hard-faced man that he was, he clung to his father's policies. A t the beginning of the year 112 1 neither proble m ha d as yet come near a solution although for some years now the papacy, unde r Calixtu s II, had been anxiou s to reach an accommodation . As long as Henry insisted on investitures, as he did until at least 1119, non e was possible. The German empero r wa s in fact the last ruler in western and central Europe who held out for nothing less than the investiture of prelates with ring 24

Rossler , Kaiserin Mathilde (a s n. 12), p. 21 and n. 3 and Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 7, p. 77 n. 39. Theplacitum is being edited by Professor Thiel as D Ma. 3 and it is from hi s edition of the tex t that I comment on the cas e here . I t can be foun d i n J. Heumann von Teutschbrunn, Commentarii d e r e diplomatica imperatricum augustarum a c reginarum Gertnaniae (Niirnberg , 1749), pp. 211f . 25 Ekkehard , Chronica (a s n . 13) , pp . 364f. : 'regin a circ a fine s Lotharingi e relicta' . O n Mathilda's land s by the lower Rhine and near Utrecht see Oorkondenboek va n het Sticht Utrecht tot 1301, ed. S . Muller and A.C. Bouma n (Utrecht, 1920), pt . 1 , nos 302 (1122), 318 (1125). 26 Leyser , 'Englan d and the Empire' (as n. 22), pp. 74f. (pp. 204f.). A definitive study of Henry V's reign and regime must await the publication of his diplomata. He has found few friends among historians, whethe r contemporary or modern. Se e however H. Fuhrmann , Germany in the High Middle Ages, c . 1050-1200, trans. T. Reute r (Cambrige , 1986) , pp . 84-9 5 and A . Haverkamp , Medieval Germany, 1056-1273, trans. H. Braun and R. Mortimer (Oxford, 1988), pp . 124-35 . A. Waas, Heinrich V : Gestalt un d Verhangnis de s letzten Salischen Kaisers (Munich , 1967) , i s unhelpful. Fo r a brief sketc h se e C . Servatius . 'Heinric h V (1106-1125)' , in Kaisergestalten de s Mittelalters, 2nd edn by H. Beuman n (Munich, 1985), pp . 135-54 .


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and staff. 27 His [233] western neighbours and the kings of Hungary had by then abandoned it . We wonder why? One reason almost certainly was that nowhere else had bishopric s an d some roya l abbeys accumulated such massive posses sions couple d wit h s o extensiv e an d profitabl e right s o f government , com manding all the economically most expansive and thriving urban centres. If the temporalities an d the vast body of useful rights conveyed by investiture slipped wholly ou t o f th e ruler' s grasp , no t muc h effectiv e authorit y an d lordshi p would be left, as Henry V himself vividly put it in a manifesto of the year 111 1 attempting t o justif y hi s havin g virtually kidnapped Pop e Pasca l I I whe n a wholly unrealisti c settlemen t cam e t o grief : i f investitures and al l that the y entailed wer e take n awa y 'wha t woul d becom e o f u s an d wha t would ou r kingship consist o f because ou r predecessors grante d an d handed over t o th e churches practically everything'. 28 Withou t th e extensiv e service s owe d b y prelates th e resource s o f a Germa n kin g by th e earl y twelft h centur y after decades of civil war, tilted th e balance of authority wholly against him. The other reasons fo r the Salian ruler's insistence on investiture, the use of visible emblems t o convey the massiv e rights of a great prelacy to the man of the emperor's choice was, I venture to suggest, more profoundly anchored in the make-u p o f German politica l society compared wit h those o f France an d the Anglo-Norma n world . It s rulin g elite s wer e les s literat e o r rathe r the y stood less close to the use of written instruments in government than their like in England an d als o less close to the ne w ways of conceptualising functions of government than th e prince s of France. In England th e kin g at once had an effective substitut e o r adequat e equivalen t of investiture, the wri t commanding sheriff s an d other s t o le t th e ne w prelate enjo y his rights, above al l his temporalities o f every kind. Without their restoration out of the king's custody the bishop-elect wa s helpless and not master of his own.29 In France a group of bishops an d their sees within or close to the centres of royal lordship in the lie de Franc e an d u p t o th e Loir e depende d o n clos e relation s wit h thei r royal protectors an d the y i n retur n backe d the m wit h militia and countles s othe r services so that the Capetians could perform their tasks as reges Christiani. The protection o f churches who here becam e als o th e spokesme n o f widows and orphans wa s ideall y th e chie f on e o f thes e duties . Nowher e di d roya l self interest an d th e ethic of the ministerium regis coincide so fortunately a s in the ambiance o f the Capetia n kings . The abandonmen t of the investiture rite did not alte r this situation. Whe n William of Champeaux, bisho p o f Chalons an d Abbot Pontius o f Cluny who negotiated wit h Henry V at Strasbourg in 1119 , 27 T . Schieffer , 'Nochmal s di e Verhandlungen von Mouzon (1119)', in Festschrift Edmund E . Stengel (Minister, 1952) , pp. 324-41. For Henry V's stance in 1119 see Hessonis Scholastici Relatio de Concilio Remensi, MGH Ld L 3 , pp. 22-8. 28 Fo r Henr y V's manifesto see MGH Const. 1, pp. 150f. , no. 100 . 29 K.J . Leyser, revie w o f Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum 1066-1154, 2: Regesta Henrici Primi 1100-1135, ed. C. Johnson and H.A. Cronne, in Medium Aevum, 29 (1960), pp. 214f.; U.-R. Blumenthal, Th e Investiture Contest (Philadelphia, 1988), pp. 135-74 ; M. Howell, Regalian Right in Medieval England (London, 1962).

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pointed this out to the emperor h e seemed to be content but then the apparent understanding ende d i n renewe d conflic t an d Henry' s excommunicatio n because th e Salian in the last resort could not do [234] without some visible act of conveying at least the temporalities and powers of government.30 In the less sophisticated societ y ove r which he had to rule a conspicuous sign, an objec t changing hands, was essential. The sceptre which was adopted for this purpose in th e concorda t o f Worms , t o expres s th e bestowal o f regalia n rights , mattered mor e than homage and fealty which were not mentioned in the text. In 112 1 negotiation s wit h th e curi a wer e unde r wa y an d a settlemen t beckoned bu t i n th e matte r o f Saxon y Henr y V' s regim e ha d com e t o a standstill. I n 1120 he had held a great court at Goslar where many of the most important Saxo n princes attended . Bot h hi s adherents an d his enemies cam e and there was at least momentarily an abeyance of hostilities.31 But a year after Henry V' s settlemen t wit h th e papacy , hi s helplessnes s i n Saxon y stoo d glaringly exposed. Th e man whom he wanted to instal as margrave of Meissen and Lusatia wa s excluded by Duke Lothar who appointed his own nominee to this ke y march. By all the criteri a tha t normall y determined th e movement s and decision s o f a Salia n kin g Henr y shoul d hav e mounte d a n expeditio n against Saxon y t o cur b an d diminis h Lothar o f Siipplingenburg's formidable ducatus an d a t las t aveng e hi s ow n crushin g defea t a t Welfeshol z i n 1115 . Instead he, Henry V, can be found from 112 2 onwards to concentrate more and more on the countr y watered by the lower Rhine, Hollan d an d above all the city of Utrecht. Tha t he should have ignored Saxony where the situation called aloud fo r hi s intervention an d instea d sough t to secur e a permanent bas e in Utrecht ca n b e explaine d onl y b y th e Anglo-Norma n succession crisis , th e need t o posses s a n assure d startin g poin t an d stronghol d fo r the journe y to England shoul d it become necessary . The firs t sign s of a new imperial interest i n communications with England are foun d i n a surprisin g quarter , th e thirteenth-centur y Waverle y annal s which hav e her e retaine d a notic e no t foun d elsewhere . I t i s wort h while quoting th e passag e i n full. Unde r th e yea r 112 2 we read tha t 'Henry I spent Whitsun (1 4 May) at Windsor where he was for two days, from ther e he went to Westminster fo r a whole week and then he moved to Canterbury and visited Kent i n general . An d ther e h e awaite d hi s daughter, the quee n o f Germany who had sen t wor d to hi m that sh e wanted to come t o England; but sh e was prevented by the count o f Flanders - s o men said - wh o forbade he r to go 30

O n the investiture conflict in France and the Capetians' hold over a network of sees extending beyond their immediate lordship see A. Fliche, Le Regne de Philippe ler, roi de France (1060-1108) (Paris, 1912), pp. 337-45 , 424-50; W.M. Newman, Le Domaine royal sous ks premiers Capetiens (987-1180) (Paris , 1937) , pp . 67-85 , 202-2 4 an d maps . Se e als o R . Sprandel , Ivo vo n Chartres (Pariser Historisch e Studie n 1, Stuttgart, 1962), pp. 116-2 3 and especiall y p. 119 , th e lis t of sees most closel y boun d t o th e kings . A . Becker , Papst Urban I I (1088-1099), 1 : Herkunft und kirchliche Laufbahn. De r Papst un d di e lateinische Christenheit (Schrifte n de r MG H 19/1 , Stuttgart, 1964), pp. 187-201 . See also the tables in J.-F. Lemarignier, Le Gouvernement royal aux premiers temps capetiens (987-1108) (Paris , 1965), p.202. 31 Meye r von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 7, pp. 146-7.


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through hi s land'. 32 Al l thi s i s compatibl e wit h Henr y V' s itinerar y at thi s moment. H e spen t muc h time at [235 ] Aachen, visite d Liege an d returned t o Aachen where we find him on 25 April,33 just about the right time for Mathilda to hav e se t off on her journey. The first question that imposes itsel f mus t be; what wa s th e purpos e o f Mathilda' s voyag e which had obviousl y been con certed between he r and her father? There is no indication, moreover, tha t she did not go also with the full consent of her husband. According to the annal the initiative wa s hers bu t a paterna l summon s canno t b e rule d ou t despit e th e wording o f ou r passage . Historian s hav e venture d comple x explanation s mainly belonging to the real m of international relations or foreign policy as it would no w be called. 34 It would see m t o me that th e likelies t purpose o f the intended visi t was to discus s th e matte r o f the succession . Barel y over a year and a quarte r afte r th e princ e wa s drowned w e have n o indicatio n wha t th e king wa s planning an d wha t plac e hi s daughter an d he r husban d ha d i n his thoughts. Tha t they figured was inescapable an d most likely they figured in the first place , a t leas t unti l Henry' s ne w quee n prove d fertil e bu t eve n the n William Clit o had t o be reckoned with . Equally pressing is the questio n why the count o f Flanders thwarte d Mathilda's journey. The relations between his predecessors and the empir e wer e troubled . Earl y in his reign, in November 1107, Henr y V ha d take n th e fiel d agains t Coun t Robert . Th e militar y operations did not yield an y great result s bu t the terror and the devastations wrought b y the king' s large arm y had their effec t s o that the coun t ostensibl y submitted an d di d homage fo r the par t o f his lordship held of the Reich . Th e hostility of Charles th e Goo d could have been aime d as easily at Henry I as at the emperor. The king's recent marriag e to Adeliza o f Louvain, the daughter of th e coun t o f Flander' s neighbour , hi s ow n friendl y rathe r tha n hostil e relations wit h France coul d have prompted hi s prohibition but once agai n the English successio n crisi s ma y hav e mattere d most . A n imperia l presenc e i n England brough t abou t b y Mathilda as Henry I's daughter and heiress would have enfolded an d pressed har d on Flanders. A show of hostility might serve as a warnin g an d als o hin t tha t Charle s th e Good , a s hi s predecesso r Coun t Baldwin VI I ha d done, no w preferred to back the claim s of William Clito. Having foun d Flander s a n obstacl e Henr y V a t onc e turne d t o searc h fo r more dependable way s of communications with England, routes he dominated and could command . Durin g the next four years he waged a characteristically 32 Annales Monasterii de Waverlela, ed. H.R. Luard , Annales Monastici, vol. 2 (Rolls Series 36/ 2, London , 1865) , p . 218 , an d se e als o W. Farrer , 'A n Outlin e Itinerary of Henry F. EHR, 34 (1919), p . 524 . 33 H.-J . Stiillein , Das Itinerar Heinrichs V . in Deutschland (Munich, 1971), p. 93 and table no . 14. 34 Rossler , Kaiserin Mathilde (a s n . 13) , p . 61-7 ; Meye r von Knonau , Heinrich V., p . 272f. ; Hollister, 'Anglo-Norma n Succession Debate' (as n. 7), p. 155, n. 39. It is doubtful whether Henry had come to Liege with an army to strike at the count of Flanders. He had more local enemies t o subdue. See also W. Kienast, Deutschland und Frankreich in der Kaiserzeit (900-1270): Weltkaiser und Einzelkonige, 3 vols . paginate d a s on e (Monographie n zu r Geschicht e de s Mittelalte s 9 , Stuttgart, 1974) , p. 190 .

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rough and unscrupulous battle for the possession o f Utrecht on the Oude Rijn. A mere glance at his itineraries shows that a very deliberate purpose lay behind his thre e visit s t o th e bishopri c i n 1122 , 112 3 an d agai n i n 1125 , albei t the n mortally ill , so that h e came to die there. Befor e 112 2 he had visited Utrech t only once i n 1110 , [236 ] shortl y afte r receivin g his young bride i n Liege. 35 A visit in 1121 proposed in a Munich dissertation devote d t o the study of Henry V's Itinerarium mus t remai n conjectural . I n 1122 , however , h e move d fro m Aachen t o Utrech t wher e h e ca n b e found keeping Whitsun on 1 4 May and staying unti l earl y June. 36 Interestingl y enoug h alread y o n 1 4 March o f thi s year Mathilda had granted a moor to a local monastery, Oostbroek , which had been founded, endowed an d manned by certain milites conversi, men who had laid down their cingulum militare and changed it for a better life . Mathilda was here, a s she was to b e late r i n England, a patroness o f reform an d religiou s renewal.37 Her an d Henr y V' s sta y i n Utrecht ove r Whitsu n and afterwards was to soun d harshe r note s an d leav e behin d mor e vexin g memories. I t was dominated b y the emperor's opportunis m t o exploit a local upheaval in order to turn the bishop's cit y into a permanent imperia l stronghold to make sure of untrammelled communication s with England. Troubles between episcopa l servants , townspeople an d the itinerant imperial court wit h its many ministeriales, minions and hangers-on were not unusual and the outbreak o f brawls and violence ending in bloodshed ha d occasionally marred solem n courts . Her e a t Utrech t durin g Whitsun , fighting broke ou t between th e emperor' s page s an d th e bishop' s ministeriales. I t spread , th e burgesses joine d i n and very soon ther e were casualties. I t was also rumoured that the disturbance s maske d a plot agains t the emperor' s life . Henr y V was not the man to disregard such stories. No t only did he suppress the commotion but h e als o arreste d an d imprisone d th e bishop , Godebald , wh o onl y redeemed himself by offering a large sum of money for his release.38 We have a diploma o f Henr y V's , date d 2 Jun e 1122 , seemingl y confirmin g privilege s granted t o th e me n o f Utrecht an d Muide n by the bishop , i n reality booting him aside a s seigneur an d replacin g his lordship by direct imperia l rule . Th e men of Utrecht swor e an oath to the emperor whic h the diploma then recited: they promised t o keep the bishopric 'i n our fealty agains t all men', barring all 35

Stiillein , Itinerar Heinrichs V . (a s n. 33), pp. 45f . and table no. 5. Ibid. , pp. 93f. and tables nos 13,14. 37 Fo r the beginnings and endowment of Oostbroek se e Oorkondenboek vo n het Sticht Utrecht (as n. 25), pt 1, no. 302, pp. 277-8 and no. 313, pp. 286-8, Bishop Godebald's confirmation (1125). Here the histor y of th e foundatio n is set ou t i n full : 'Notu m vobi s fieri volumus, quod quidam milites Hermannu s e t Theodericu s e t ali i quamplures , virtut e Spiritu s Sanct i accensi , cingul o militari abrenuntiante s e t i n meliu s vita m sua m commutantes , quendam locu m solitariu m in palude que Oistbroik antiquitu s vocabatur elegerunt, ibique ecclesiam in honore sancte Marie Dei genetricis e t beat i Laurenci i construxerunt. ' Fo r Mathild a a s a patrones s o f refor m se e M . Chibnall, Th e Empres s Mathild a and Church Reform', TRHS, 5t h series 38 (1988), pp . 107-30 . 38 Meye r von Knonau Heinrich V., vol 7, pp. 193-4 , Annales Patherbrunnenses (as n. 16) , pp . 140f. an d Ekkehard , Chronlca (as n. 13) , pp. 360-2 . Ekkehard vividly describes the upheavals at Utrecht bu t has them occur at Christmas, which Henry spent at Speyer. 36


9

subterfuge. Th e bishop' s privileg e is confirmed on condition that they should unanimously persis t i n our fealt y an d aim to put dow n all those who threaten our dignity and crown: they should humiliate the disloyal and strengthen those who ar e faithful. 39 Thi s direc t [237 ] bon d betwee n th e Utrech t vassals , denizens an d servants and the emperor cu t across their immediate obligations to thei r overlord , th e bisho p wh o remained i n disgrace. Henr y wanted thes e arrangements t o be permanent even though there may have been a temporary reconciliation wit h Bisho p Godebald . I n 112 3 th e quarre l turne d int o ope n war. Henr y arrive d wit h a sizeabl e arm y an d bega n t o besieg e on e o f th e bishop's castles an d he also sought to subdue, no t without success i n the end , the widowe d countes s o f Holland . Lotha r o f Siipplingenburg , he r kinsman , came to the rescue and an armed encounter between him and the emperor was quite possible. But Lothar marched back into Saxony after he had made Henry abandon th e siege of the bishop's castle which he then re-provisioned (1123). 40 Bishop Godebal d of Utrecht, all the same, had had enough and, we read in the Paderborn annals , regaine d th e emperor' s grac e with the hel p o f the prince s and above all by the intervention o f the empress, as she is here for once called, i.e. Mathilda. 41 Her ke y role in these operation s and dealings, all with an eye to England , i s striking. Earl y in August 112 3 Henry once agai n kept court in Utrecht an d rewarde d th e loyalty of the inhabitants of Deventer i n the recen t fighting. They receive d quittance from variou s church dues with the bishop of Utrecht's consen t bu t seemingl y a t hi s canons ' expense . The y wer e als o released from a tax on their houses.42 Altogether Henry's attempts to secure a point o f departur e t o Englan d i n th e Lo w Countries , wer e a t leas t fo r th e moment successful . Ha d Mathild a wished to visit her father again she would have ha d a longe r se a crossin g bu t n o difficult y o n he r overlan d journey. Another swift campaig n in Holland earl y in 1124 clinche d th e success. 43 At a great die t in Bamberg which opened o n 4 May 1124 - i t was very well attended b y th e prince s an d ver y wel l looke d afte r b y Bisho p Ott o - a n expedition agains t Duke Lotha r of Saxony was resolved upon and sworn. The duke ha d bee n aske d t o attend bu t remained contumacious. The host was to 39

Oorkondenboek vo n het Sticht Utrecht (a s n. 25), pt 1 , no. 30 8 and cf. no. 309 , likewise of 2 June 1122 to end the levy of excessive toll-dues on visiting merchants. The opening narrative of the diploma repeate d th e injunctio n t o the men of Utrecht to keep their fealty towards the emperor and to put down those who detracted fro m hi s dignity and crown. 40 Meye r von Knonau Heinrich V., vol. 7, pp. 250-1; Annales Patherbrunnenses (as n. 16) , pp. 142f. 41 Ibid. , p . 144 : 'Godebaldu s Traiectensi s episcopu s gratia m imperatori s per interventu m imperatricis, annitentibus principibus, obtinet'. 42 Oorkondenboek va n het Sticht Utrecht (as n. 25), pt 1, no. 312 (2 August 1123) for the men of Deventer: 'pr o devotissima fidelitate sua, quam nobis exhibuerunt', abolishing fees fo r baptism and burial . Bisho p Godebald' s consen t i s mentioned in th e diplom a and eve n ther e i t sounds somewhat forced . 43 Ekkehard , Chronica (a s n.13), p. 364 . When Henry turned south again he left Mathild a in lower Lotharingia; cf. above n. 25.

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assemble in August. But meanwhile Henry V had decided to turn the expedition agains t Kin g Louis VI of France instea d 't o give help to his father-in-law Henry th e kin g of England who , for the possessio n o f Normandy was at war with the same king Louis', a s the chronicler Ekkehard put it.44 So, once again, more dramatically [238] than before, English horizons and perspectives wholly changed the Salian emperor's undertaking. That he could deflect, redirect and give a n entirel y ne w objectiv e t o a n expeditio jurata, a swor n expedition, is surprising an d ha s no t occupie d th e attentio n o f constitutional historians a s much as it should. Barbarossa' s decisio n t o do so in 1157 had canvassed more princely consen t an d i n any case th e earlie r expeditio n planne d against Sicily was widely disliked . Wha t followe d ha s bee n discusse d b y historians o f th e genesis o f nationalis m mor e intensel y tha n an y othe r twelfth-centur y episode.45 A great deal more of ink, fortunately, rather than blood was spilt over it even b y contemporaries , mos t o f all , o f course , Abbo t Suge r i n hi s Life o f Louis le Gros: how intelligence of the emperor's planne d assault reached th e French court, ho w Louis enlisted support , most of all that of St Denis himself whose protectio n he invoked and whose banner he took fro m th e altar of the abbey t o plac e himself a t the hea d o f the larges t princely host, hi s own men and, of course the knighthood of St Denis, tha t had ever been mustered in the regnum Francorum: ho w on hearing of this huge armament Henry V quailed and withdrew with his much smaller forces. He had in any case not yet crossed any frontie r bu t onl y reache d Met z i n Lotharingia befor e retreatin g t o dea l with a rising of the men of Worms in his rear.46 This he did effectively enough , extorting a larg e fin e o f 2000 mark s which must hav e helpe d hi m to recou p some of his outlay on the expedition . More remarkabl e perhaps, hi s nearest kinsman, hi s Hohenstaufen nephe w Frederick, ha d here, a s earlier a t Wiirzburg, abetted the emperor's opponents thoug h he did not share their penalties. 44

Ekkehard , Chronica (as n. 13) , p . 368 : 'prebituru s nimirum auxiliu m socero su o Heinrico Anglic reg i pr o possession e Normanni e provinci e contr a eunde m rege m Galli c Ludewicu m contendenti'. Fro m this it is clear that Henry's objective, if not his sole one, was to help his fatherin-law to remain in possession o f Normandy. For the war against France see Meyer von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 7, pp. 271ff . 45 O f th e immens e literature only a few items can be cited here: A. Luchaire , in E. Lavisse , Histoire de France, 2: Les Premiers Capetiens (987-1137) (Paris , 1911), pp. 325 , 329-30, and idem, Louis Vide Gros: Annales de sa vie et de son regne (1081-1137) (Paris , 1890), pp. cxxxvii f and no . 349: Meyer von Knonau Heinrich V., vol. 7, pp. 275-9; E. Boshof, Die Salier (Stuttgart, 1987), pp. 302f.; W . Kienast , Deutschland un d Frankreich (a s n . 34) , pp . 190-6 ; W . vo n Giesebrecht , Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, 3 : Das Kaiserthum im Kampfe mil dem Papstthum, 5th ed n (Leipzig, 1890), pp. 976-80; R. Barroux, 'L'Abbe Suger et la vassalite du Vexin en 1124', Le moyen age, 64 (1958), pp. 1-26;P . Kirn , A us der Fruhzeit des Nationalgefuhls (Leipzig , 1943),pp. 80ff.; J. Petersohn, 'Saint-Deni s - Westminste r - Aachen : Di e Karls-Translati o vo n 1165 un d ihre Vorbilder', DA , 3 1 (1975), pp. 420ff . 46 Suger , Vie de Louis V I le Gros, c. 28, ed. H. Waquet (Les Classiques de 1'histoire de France au moyen age 11, Paris, 1929), pp. 218-30; Ekkehard, Chronica (as n. 13), p. 368, where the men of Worms ha d t o pa y 500 0 marks ; Annales Patherbrunnenses (a s n. 16) , p . 145 ; Otto o f Freising, Chronica sive Historia de duabus Civitatibus VII16, ed. A. Hofmeister (MGH SRG 46, Hanover, 1912), p. 332 .


1

Triumphant celebration s i n Pari s an d Loui s VF s gratefu l obeisanc e t o S t Denis, concluded th e campaign , if it can be called that. Suger ended his story of the spectacular mobilisatio n b y noting the emperor's deat h a year later with grim satisfaction. I t verified a saying of the forebears that no noble or ignoble person who plagued the kingdom or the church and against whom the bodies of the saint s wer e placed o n the altars, would survive the year. 47 [239] So Suger and, alas, all too many of his modern commentators! The events of August 112 4 hav e bee n tor n ou t o f their militar y context an d s o lamentably misinterpreted. Earlie r i n th e year , o n 2 6 March, 30 0 knights of Henr y I' s forces i n Normandy , on e coul d cal l the m a pai d an d standin g army , ha d inflicted a crushin g defea t o n th e Norma n baronia l rebel s an d thei r Frenc h backers a t Bourgtherould e (Rougemontier , Eure). 48 A larg e numbe r o f his most stubbor n enemies , lik e Walera n o f Meula n fel l int o Henr y I' s hands , some to be savagely blinded, others to disappear in his prisons for many years. Amongst thes e prisoners wa s also Amalric de Montford, count of Evreux but his captor, William de Grandcourt, the son of the count of Eu, took pity on him knowing that he would not see the outside of prison for many years. He did not just allo w hi m t o escap e but , o f necessity, wen t with him thus becoming an exile himself . What i s striking about thi s incident, reporte d lik e so much else by Orderic, is the aristocratic fellow-feeling shown here by one of his own men against Henr y I' s bruta l an d repulsiv e regime. Willia m of Grandcourt, a t no little cos t t o himself, really joined th e rebellio n a t the very moment when he had taken par t i n defeating it.49 The king was now master in the duchy and no one could challenge him there for some time to uphold the claims of William Clito. Seen in this context Henry V's invasio n o r attempte d invasio n o f Franc e gain s a ver y differen t com plexion. I t wholl y absorbe d Loui s VF s an d hi s princes ' efforts , tim e an d resources so that ther e coul d be no counterblow, no revanche, for Bourgtheroulde. Th e emperor' s threatened advanc e must be seen a s a demonstratio n which performed it s purpose ver y well. It diverted Louis VI, his court and his militia and thus enabled Henry I to reap the fullest rewards from his victory nor did i t cos t hi s son-in-la w very much. Onc e agai n the leitmotiv o f Henry V' s manoeuvre mus t hav e bee n hi s nearnes s t o th e Englis h succession . Th e impression tha t Henr y V' s expeditio n was a diversion and n o more i s faintly suggested b y a stray notice i n Lambert o f Waterlos' chronicl e where we read: 'At the beginnin g of August there was a great gathering of people b y the king 47 Suger , Vie de Louis le Gros (as n. 46) c. 28, p. 230. On the Hohenstaufe n Duke Frederick's support fo r th e me n o f Worms, who had restore d thei r bishop against the emperor' s wish , see Ekkehard, Chronica (a s n. 13) , p . 368 . 48 O n the engagement at Bourgtheroulde see above all Ordericus Vitalis, Hlstoria Ecclesiastica XII 39 , vol . 6 , pp . 346-5 4 an d Rober t o f Torigny' s addition s t o Willia m o f Jumieges , Gesta Normannorum Ducum, ed. J . Marx (Paris, 1914), pp . 294-5 ; M. Chibnall, 'Mercenaries and the Familia regis under Henry I', History, 62 (1977), pp. 15-23 . 49 Ordericu s Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica XII 39, vol. 6, pp. 350f .

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of Gaul Louis, for fear of the Empero r Henry' . It was all a bit of a flash in the pan.50 In th e ver y last year of his life Henr y V allows us to se e why he foun d hi s father-in-law's kingshi p and real m so absorbin g a vision , not onl y as a succession prospec t but as a model of a type of governance which had hitherto eluded th e Salia n house . Fo r jus t a t thi s point, al l things having bee n well settled (includin g the troubl e a t Worms) , Ott o o f Freisin g place d hi s celebrated notic e that Henry V, on the advice of his father-in-law, now wanted to impose a general ta x on his [240] whole kingdom. 51 Otto's notice suggest s a process of consultation and that there were quite close and continuous contacts between th e imperia l an d th e Anglo-Norma n courts . Henr y V mus t hav e begun t o publicis e hi s plans, for the prince s a t once deteste d the m and their author. We have no means to know how the emperor would have set about this and wit h what helpers . Give n th e smal l band o f notaries an d capellani wh o made u p hi s chancery, an d t o us e even that ter m is misleading, it is hard to imagine how the huge amount of writing needed for assessments and recording collection coul d possibl y have bee n managed . Ye t agai n there i s a hint that Henry I who had advise d th e empero r woul d also help him. For we read in Otto's Chronicon: 'Fo r th e sak e o f this busines s he wante d to perambulat e through th e lowe r Rhenis h region' , the wealthies t part o f the Reic h i n fact , 'and moved to Utrecht'.52 Here the illness which he had so long and characteristically tried to conceal, overwhelme d him and on 23 May he died. His wife was there with his nephew, the Hohenstaufen duke of Suabia, and to them he gave hi s las t advice. 53 Already a t Aache n hi s increasing illness , probabl y a long-running cas e betwee n th e coun t palatin e Godfre y an d th e abbe y of St Maximin, Trier , h e seem s t o hav e bee n wel l aware of the seriousnes s o f his condition. Th e diploma, recording a restitution, announced: 'And because we are weighed down by such severe illness that we are bound to doubt about the safety of our present life , we have decided to do justice and render judgement not only for this church (St Maximin) but for all churches which in our kingdom and empir e ar e deprive d o f thei r possessions . Fro m thi s da y onward s w e promise to restore their goods in the face of God, if we live.' If not, it goes on, he asked the pope, the bishops, his successor and all the princes to put matters right.54 Henry V' s final movements the n were determined b y Anglo-Norman horizons. I f Henry' s thought s o n th e Englis h successio n wer e flawed, it was not 50

Lamber t of Waterlos, Annales Cameracenses, MGH SS16,513, wrongly under the year 1123: 'Intrante ver o Augusto mense facta es t non minima populi adunatio a Ludovico rege Gallorum, timore Heinric i imperatoris in Francia'. 51 Ott o of Freising, Chronica (as n. 46) VII16, pp. 332f. 52 Ibid. , p. 333: 'Huius rei gratia dum inferiores Rheni partes circuire parat'. 53 Meye r von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 7, pp. 322-3; Ekkehard, Chronica (a s n. 13) , p. 374. 54 Stump f (as n. 15) , no 3212 for St Maximin. The text is in Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der mittelrheinischen Territorien (a s n. 22), vol. 1, no. 452 . For Henry' s worsening illness at Aachen see Anselm of Gembloux, Continuatio Sigeberti s.a. 1125 , MGH S S 6, p. 380.


3

because his measures were inadequate but because he lacked an heir. His and Mathilda's marriag e had remained childless. In an anonymous imperial chronicle describing th e grea t weddin g feast in 1114 , he r beauty , he r bearing , he r great noble and royal ancestry are extolled yet all this only to present her as the hoped-for mothe r o f a futur e Roma n emperor. 55 Accordin g t o onl y on e author, Hermann of Tournai, Mathilda bore her first husband a son but it seems that Hermann , writin g in the 1140s , imagined , it emerges fro m th e context , that her son by her second marriage , Henry Plantagenet, had sprung from he r first.56 Onc e again Orderic Vitali s is our best guide . When he first mentioned the [241] imperial alliance he reflected: 'the emperor loved so noble a wife very much bu t fo r his sins he lacke d a n heir worth y of the empire'. 57 Henry had , however, a n illegitimate daughter, called Bertha, after his own mother, whom he gav e in marriage to the younge r Count Ptolem y of Tusculum at Rom e i n 111?.58 Henry wa s the las t of his line. The Salian s on the whol e were not a n amiable dynasty , unlike the Ottonians and the Hohenstaufen who each had at least one or two men to rouse human sympathies and even affections. Orderi c left his readers in no doubt where Henry V had sinned most: not so much in his callous treatment of his excommunicate father but in the cold-blooded captur e and abductio n o f Pope Pasca l II and the extortion of the investiture privilege, the 'pravilegium' a s it came to be called in the ranks of the outraged reformers. Henry V was the harshes t o f his house, able , astute, bold , brave , with much presence o f mind , acquisitiv e an d relentles s and , jus t becaus e h e wa s s o formidable, unlove d b y most. 59 Th e wan t o f a so n mad e th e emperor' s successes afte r 1120 , no t leas t o f al l th e settlemen t wit h th e papacy , los e something i n th e eye s o f contemporarie s jus t a s th e hug e treasur e h e ha d gathered seemed pointless to them. It is on this sombre note that we must end. Henry Fs succession wit h the wreck of the White Ship raised problems enough but th e Anglo-Norma n worl d woul d no t hav e foun d Henr y V a congenia l solution fo r them i f by another mischance it became unavoidable. Already in 1110 whe n Mathilda arrive d in the Reic h Henr y V had seen to it that the two ruling elites should no t mi x as he, and this very deliberately, sent most of her Norman following home again. 60 As events turned out this may have been les s wise than it seemed a t the time. The Norman conquests of England and in the south ha d brought a new fluidity to the alread y aged regnal establishments of

55

Kaiserchronik (a s n. 13 ) s.a. 1114 , p. 262. Herman n o f Tournai, Liber d e Restauratione Monasterii Sancti Martini Tornacensis c . 16 , MGH S S 14 , p. 282 . 57 Ordericu s Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica X 1, vol. 5, p. 200: 'Imperator autem tarn generosam coniugem admodu m dilexit, sed peccatis exigentibus sobole imperio digna caruit.' 58 Meye r von Knonau, Heinrich V., vol. 7, p. 33. 59 Ekkehard , Chronica (as n. 13) , p. 374, wrote of him: 'acer fuit ingenio , fortis et audax, licet parum felix in preliis, nimius in appetendis alienis'. 60 Ordericu s Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica XI38, vol. 6, pp. 166-8 and Leyser, 'England and the Empire' (as n. 22), p. 65 (p. 195) . 56

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Europe. The empir e was by-passed by these developments on its flank and its periphery. Henr y V' s childles s deat h a t th e ag e of thirty-nine mean t tha t a possible chanc e t o participat e i n thi s fertile dynamism of ideas an d governmental practice was lost to the Reich and like most chances it never recurred.

7

Frederick Barbarossa and the Hohenstaufen Polity

We ofte n credi t Frederic k Barbaross a wit h larg e politica l designs : imperia l control an d direct rul e in Italy driven home by rigorous jurisdiction and fiscal exactions backe d b y force . T o accomplis h thes e end s an d t o confron t th e papacy, he sought to gather German aristocratic and knightly society about his person an d t o appea l t o the m i n manifesto s tha t hav e los t non e o f thei r sonorous grandiloquenc e even today. Embattled with Lombard cities and then with Pope Alexander III , he stands for decades o f imperial intransigence, the quest fo r a past tha t ha d neve r been an d a hard-bitten refusal t o accept , le t alone support , th e post-Refor m papacy' s ne w rol e an d plac e i n th e Lati n Christian world . Ye t i n th e en d th e empero r wa s surprisingl y willin g t o abandon thes e design s without undue qualms, though he may have had little choice. In what follows, I hope to show Barbarossa abov e all as the architect of his own house's fortunes , and to show how his concern for the enhancement of Hohenstaufen possession s an d th e endowmen t o f his sons square d wit h his governing functions and tempered th e Hohenstaufen polity as a commonweal of princes , lesse r nobles , an d emergen t towns . I t wil l als o b e show n ho w Hohenstaufen famil y gain s underlay the late r constitutiona l conflicts o f th e reign, not leas t the fal l o f Henry the Lion. Frederick Barbaross a wa s and ha s remaine d a n imposing figure. Contemporaries, friend s an d foes , wer e atteste d b y hi s commandin g presence. I t struck aw e and respect even where he had no rights and could not wield lawfu l powers. He , th e Tyrannus teutonicus, stalks the page s of John of Salisbury's letters, detested but feared.1 An English chronicler of the third crusade calle d him magnificus imperator, an d whe n he die d i n th e rive r Saleph on 3 0 May 1190, h e gav e hi m a ringin g eloge, describin g hi s person , hi s constanc y of mind - par t o f an age-old cano n in praise o f an eminent ruler - bu t also his eloquence i n his native tongue and his refusal t o use any other even if he knew

*

First published i n Viator, 19 (1988), pp. 153-76 . Thanks are due to the editors and the Regent s of the Universit y o f California fo r permission t o republish. Only formal changes have been mad e to text and footnotes . 1 Th e Letter o f John o f Salisbury, 2 : Th e Later Letters (1163-1180), ed . W.J . Millor, S.J . an d C.N.L. Brooke (Oxford , 1979) , nos . 152 , 168 , 176 , 181 , 184 , pp. 52 , 102 , 182 , 200, 216 .

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it.2 Th e panegyri c reache s it s clima x in callin g hi m th e 'foremos t pilla r of Christianity' and eve n hominum maximus. 3 Anothe r Englis h writer , the Cistercian Willia m of Newburgh, spoke of him as imperator ille noster, at first perhaps wit h a [154 ] touc h o f asperity , for h e censure d Barbarossa' s roug h dealings with the emperor Isaa c II Angelos, but again simply imperator noster. 4 As for th e moderns , hi s reign has not only haunted the Germa n historica l imagination i n ques t o f national status , identity , an d unit y during the nine teenth century , i t ha s als o dominate d mor e recen t historica l stud y o f th e twelfth-century Reich . His regime seems to dictate the problems and questions historians wan t to rais e an d eve n answer . Is this justified? Di d h e stamp his mould o n the aristocratic world he was meant to lead an d control ? Were his enterprises an d patronag e th e centr e o f gravit y o f thei r interest ? Even thi s question migh t be deemed superficial . The histor y of Germany in the twelft h century is one of massiv e and acceleratin g interna l growt h and externa l enlargement, a burgeoning economy, bot h rural and urban, widespread and numerous ne w tow n foundations, and th e ful l rigor s of eastwar d expansion from th e lowe r Elbe t o the Bohemian Mountains. 5 Nor should the church be excluded fro m thi s proces s o f rapi d growth , migration , and land-clearance . Even a cursory glance at Frederick's diplomat a must astonish by the many gifts and grant s o f imperia l protectio n t o ne w o r recen t foundations , especiall y Cistercian, Premonstratensian , and those of Austin canons. Between 1168 and 1180 ther e were about thirty of these.6 There is another yardstick by which we can grasp something of the scale and pace of this internal development. In the first half o f the twelft h centur y the numbe r of places in Germany where coins were minted amounted to only about two dozen. Under Frederick and Henry 2 Da s Itinerarium Peregrinorum c . 1 9 an d 24 . ed . H.E . Maye r (Schrifte n de r MG H 18 , Stuttgart, 1962) , pp. 289 , 300f . I t is worth comparing this with Rahewin, who said the same: 'i n patria lingu a admodu m facundus' , an d Wibal d o f Stavelot : 'e t splendid e disertu s iuxt a gentil e idioma linguae suae'. See Otto of Freising and Rahewin, Gesta Fredericiseu rectius Cronica IV 86, ed. F.-J . Schmal e (AQDG 17, Berlin, 1965), p. 710 and Wibaldi epistolae no . 375, in Monumenta Corbeiensia, ed. P . Jaffe (Biliothec a rerum germanicarum 1 , Berlin, 1864) , p. 505 . 3 Itinerarium (a s n. 2) c. 24, p. 301 . 4 Willia m o f Newburgh , Historia Rerum Anglicarum I V 13 , i n Chronicles of th e Reigns of Stephen, Henry Hand Richard I, ed. R. Hewlett (Rolls Series 82/4, London 1894) , vol. 1 , pp. 327 and 328: and see H.E. Mayer , The Crusades, trans. J. Gillingham, 2nd edn (Oxford, 1988), p. 137 . 5 Fo r some recent general surveys see A. Haverkamp, Medieval Germany 1056-1273, trans. H. Braun an d R . Mortime r (Oxford , 1988) ; O . Engels , Di e Staufer, 3r d edn (Stuttgart , 1984) ; H . Fuhrmann, Germany in the High Middle Ages, c. 1050-1200, trans. T. Reuter (Cambridge, 1986); and H . Keller , Zwischen regionaler Begrenzung un d universalem Horizont: Deutschland im Imperium de r Salier und Staufer, 1024 bis 1250 (Propylaen Geschicht e Deutschland s 2, Berlin , 1986). As a brief analysis, J.B. Gillingham' s The Kingdom o f Germany in the High Middle Ages (900-1200) (London , 1971) ha s lost non e o f its pungency. Important fo r many of the questions to be raise d here is J. Fried, 'Di e Wirtschaftspolitik Friedric h Barbarossas in Deutschland,' Blatter furdeutsche Landesgeschichte, 120 (1984), pp . 195-239 . 6 D D F1548, 549, 556, 577, 579, 586, 588, 592 , 595, 596, 600, 601 (a hospital at Quedlinburg) , 604, 610 , 612 , 627 , 628, 629, 630 (a hospital), to mention only those up to September 1174 . The n DD F I 767 , 768 , 769 , 771 , 772 , 773 , 775 , 785 , 787 , 792 , 800 , 801 , th e flo w o f grant s an d confirmations resumin g when he returned to Germany in October 1178 .

Frederick Barbarossa and th e Hohenstaufen Polity 11

7

VI it ros e t o 215 , ne w establishments and revivals . I t is well worth while and very revealing to note ho w they were distributed among the ruling strata: 106 mints belonged t o churchmen, of these 61 to the episcopate, 4 5 to abbots. Lay lords controlle d 81 ; an d th e kin g onl y 28 , jus t 1 3 per cent . Amon g them , however, on e soo n brok e awa y an d overra n countles s othe r currencies , th e mint Barbaross a se t up abou t 118 0 a t Hall in the dioces e o f Wiirzburg. Her e coin wa s fro m th e beginnin g mass-produced , an d th e Hal l pennie s late r became th e unit o f measurement everywhere . Their succes s reste d - s o the 1977 Hohenstaufen Exhibitio n at Stuttgart proclaimed - on their ordinariness and low standard. It was literally the bad money which, under Gresham's Law, drove out the good. 7 [155 ] Besides thes e hallmarks of internal growth in later twelfth-century Germany we mus t not e sign s o f cultura l reorientation , tha t i s t o say , a proces s o f westernisation. I n the Carolingian Reich an d the early eleventh century there had been lively exchanges of cultural resources between East and West. Lupus of Ferrieres sent boys to Priim in the Eiffel to be taught in German, an d he had been sen t t o Fulda to study theology under Hrabanus Maurus.8 In the twelft h century th e traffi c wa s all the othe r way about. True, on e o f Becket's clerks , Master Gerar d d e l a Pucelle , a renowne d canonist , lef t Franc e t o g o t o Cologne where the schismatic archbishop, Rainald of Dassel, provided for him in his exile and had use s for his teaching.9 Yet the luminaries of the Reich for the mos t par t ha d t o trave l westwar d t o participat e i n th e ne w scholasti c enlightenment; for example, Otto o f Freising and his large following attende d the school s i n Paris, an d h e ha d hear d Gilber t de l a Porree. 1 0 Rainald von Dassel himself studied in France and brought back books from there , possibly Ciceroniana.11 Thither ha d gone also Archbishop Adalbert II of Mainz of the house o f Saarbrucken , Phili p o f Heinsberg , archbisho p o f Cologne , an d Eberhard o f Salzburg , to nam e only a few. 12 There is no evidence of movement in the opposite direction . Henry the Lion once wrote to King Louis VII 7

E . Nau, 'Miinzen und Geld in der Stauferzeit', i n Die Zeit de r Staufer, Geschichte - KunstKultur: Katalog derAustellung, 3: Aufsdtze (Stuttgart , 1977), pp. 87-102 , especiall y p. 89; on Hall see pp. 97f . 8 Loup d e Ferrieres: Correspondence nos . 35 , 58 , 65 , ed . L . Levillai n (Le s Classique s d e 1'histoire de France au moyen age 10 and 16, Paris, 1927-35) , vol . 1, pp. 154/58,224/28,238/42 , and for Lupus' s own stay in Fulda see p. v i and hi s letter t o Einhard, vol . 1 , no. 1 , pp. 6/8 . 9 O n Gerard' s stay and preferments i n Cologne see John o f Salisbury, Later Letters (a s n. 1), nos. 158 , 167 , 184 , 226 , pp . 70 , 98, 216, 396 . I t is characteristic o f John and the Becket circl e tha t they thought tha t Gerar d had now gone to live among the barbarians. O n Gerard as scolasticus at Cologne cathedra l se e J . Fried , 'Gerar d Pucell e un d Koln, ' Zeitschrift de r Savigny-Stiftung fu r Rechtsgeschichte, Kanonistische Abteilung, 68 (1982), pp. 125-35 . 10 O n Otto's education se e Wattenbach-Schmale, p. 50. 11 Wibald , Epistolae (a s n. 2 ) no. 207 , p. 326f . 12 Fo r a list of twelfth-century German prelate s who had studied in France se e Keller, Zwischen regionaler Bergrenzung un d imperialem Horizont (a s n . 5) , p . 308 , an d J . Ehlers , 'Deutsch e Scholaren in Frankreich wahren d es 12. Jahrunderts,' i n Schulen un d Studium im sozialen Wandel des hohen undspdten Mittelalters, ed. J. Fried (Vortrag e undForschungen 30, Sigmaringen, 1986) , pp. 97-120 .

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thanking him effusivel y fo r his kindness to the so n of one of his vassals whom he had received well and looked after. It seems that a short stay at the French court wa s though t desirabl e t o roun d of f th e educatio n als o o f a youn g lay noble. Henr y no w asked Loui s to caus e youth s t o b e sen t i n reverse to his court, t o Brunswic k perhaps , t o lear n th e languag e and become acquainte d with the country. 13 There i s no hint or sign that the invitatio n was taken up . From France, thus, came not only the new intellectual horizons for the clerical elite bu t als o par t o f th e etho s an d mor e o f th e mannerism s o f knighthoo d which permeated th e social life of the imperial and princely courts, the nobility and ministeriales, so markedly in Frederick's time. 14 We have reached th e other sid e of our coin, the Hohenstaufen polity : what kind of a framework was the Reic h i n the twelft h centur y for the ambition s of its leading [156] echelon s and the larger ordines beneath them? Ho w relevan t were th e empero r an d th e mean s o f governmen t a t hi s disposa l t o th e developments tha t hav e jus t bee n outlined ? On e reaso n t o unrol l thes e questions agai n is the publication of three volumes of Barbarossa's diplomata to date , thos e fro m th e year s 1152-8 0 - edite d b y Heinrich Appel t an d his helpers, the Vienna branch of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica . Th e first appeared in 1975, the latest (diplomata of 1168-80) in 1985. S o far there are 802 texts, and to these at least anothe r 228 must be added for the years 1181-90 as well as 164 deperdita that have been inferred, making a total of just under 120 0 for a reign o f thirty-eight years , with a great man y originals surviving. 15 This compares wit h 79 8 surviving items, charters , mandates , an d letters , fo r th e forty-three year s of Barbarossa's Capetian contemporary. Kin g Louis VII. 16 Both chancerie s wer e far surpasse d b y the outpu t o f King Henry II's , where between 350 0 an d 450 0 writ s an d writ-charter s ar e though t t o b e extant , originals an d copies , an d thes e ar e onl y a fractio n o f the tota l issued. 17 For 13 Di e Urkunden Heinrichs des Lowen, MGH Laienfursten- und Dynastenurkunden der Kaiserzeit 1 , Weimar, 1949) , pp. 173f . no. 117 . Henry's invitation suggest s that his vassal's so n went to Louis VII's court, amon g other things, to acquire a smattering of French. Cf. the letter written by the landgrave of Thuringia, Louis II, t o King Louis VII asking for his good offices t o lodge two of his son s i n Paris . He , however , wishe d the m t o stud y an d becom e literate . Se e Recueil de s historiens des Gaules et de la France, vol. 16, ed. M. Brial, revised by L. Delisle (Paris, 1878), p. 42 no. 136 . 14 J . Fleckenstein, 'Friedric h Barbarossa und das Rittertum: Zur Bedetung der groBen Mainzer Hoftage vo n 118 4 und 1188' , in Das Rittertum im Mittelalter, ed. A . Bors t (Wege der Forschung 349, Darmstadt , 1976), pp. 392-418; M. Keen, Chivalry (Ne w Haven, 1984) , pp . 36-7 . 15 Friderid I . Diplomata, 1 : 1152-1158, ed. H . Appel t an d others (MGH Diplomat a regum et imperatorum Germania e 10/1 , Hanover , 1975) , an d Friderid I. Diplomata, 2: 1158-1167 (MG H Diplomata regu m et imperatorum Germaniae 10/2 , Hannover 1979); an d see n. 6 above. 16 A . Luchaire , Etudes sur les actes de Louis VI I (Paris , 1885) ; an d R . Fawtier , Th e Capetian Kings o f France, trans. L. Butler and R.J . Ada m (London , 1960) , p . 8 and n. 6, suggesting that Luchaire's listing was far from complete . 17 R.C . Va n Caenegem, Royal Writs i n England from th e Conquest to Glanvill (Selden Society 77, Londo n 1959) , p . 4 ; M.T . Clanchy , From Memory t o Written Record: England 1066-1307 (London, 1979) , pp. 41-5.


9

King Stephen's troubled eighteen years the total was 720.l8 We must of course be aware o f the accident s of transmission and not ignore the fates of archives. Comparisons ar e therefore risky; but if the use of writing can serve as evidence for th e rang e an d capabilitie s o f a medieval government , th e Hohenstaufe n polity was served b y a chancery much less ubiquitous and sophisticate d than that of the Angevins and the kings of Sicily but perhaps holding its own against that o f the Capetians. 19 Now, the appearanc e an d publication of Frederick's diplomata , mandates, and letters does not mean that we have suddenly gained a huge quantity of new and hithert o unknow n evidence. No , th e overwhelmin g number of pieces so far edite d were i n print somewher e befor e and , a t worst, on e or two of them were know n a t leas t summaril y as regestae. Ye t t o gai n a coheren t vie w of Frederick's acts, the men about him, those who attended his curiae from plac e to place, hi s movements, abov e all the continuitie s of his regime, in short the Hohenstaufen polity , was impossible hitherto, so scattered an d buried in local or ancien t publication s man y of hi s diplomata, letters , an d mandate s were. With th e publishe d collectio n o f al l Frederick' s acts , i t i s a t las t withi n our reach t o understan d th e working s of the Reic h an d thei r limitation s a littl e better than could be done solely or chiefly throug h the narrative sources. Th e history of the chancery during these thirty-eight years, moreover, is the history of the onl y articulate agency of Hohenstaufen [157] government.20 There is no evidence an d there ar e no traces of fiscal record s from th e emperor' s camera. The lis t o f th e Curie que pertinent a d mensam regis Romanorum, th e Tafelguterverzeichnis, which has of late bee n assigne d to Frederick' s first year, or perhaps to 1173/74 on the eve of his fifth Italian expedition, seems to belie thi s assertion. However , th e tex t has, b y the bes t diplomatists , been identified as the draf t of a letter sen t by a canon of Aachen to someone of high rank in the king's entourage , perhap s hi s chancellor . It wa s no t reall y part o f a survey

18 Regesta regum anglo-normannorum 1066-1154, 3: Regesta regis Stephani ac Mathildis imperatricis ac Gaufredi e t Henrici ducum normannorum 1135-1154, ed. H.A. Cronne and R.H.C. Davis (Oxford, 1968) , p . xxix . 19 O n the chancery of the regno see H. Enzensberger, Beitrage zum Kanzlei- und Urkundenwesen de r normannischen Herrscher Unteritaliens un d Sizilliens (Miinchene r historisch e Studien , Abteilung Hilfswissenschaften 9 , Kallmiimz , 1971) , and C. Briihl , Urkunden un d Kanzlei Konig Roger II. vo n Sizilien (Cologne, 1978) . On the Capetian chancery under Louis VII see Luchaire, Etudes (a s n . 16) ; G . Tessier , Diplomatique royale franqaise (Paris , 1962) , pp . 125ff. ; an d F . Gasparri, L'Venture de s actes de Louis VI , Louis VI I e t Philippe Auguste (Centr e de recherches d'histoire e t de philologie de la IVe section de 1'Ecole pratique des hautes etudes 5: Hautes etudes medievales et modernes 2 , Geneva, 1973) . 20 H . Appelt, 'Di e Kanzlei Friedrich Barbarossas' in Die Zeit der Staufer, Geschichte - Kunst Kultur: Katalog derAusstellung, 5 : Supplement: Vortrage un d Forschungen, ed. R . Hausherr and C. Vaterlein (Stuttgart, 1979) , pp. 17-34 .

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policy, one piece belonging to a series, an d so an administrative document in the stric t sens e of the word. 21 The chancery, or better the handful of notaries an d scribes who served near the emperor' s person , no t onl y drafted an d engrosse d th e diplomata , ofte n beautiful, solemn, an d imposin g pieces , bu t als o letter s an d mandates , th e latter being sealed like the diplomata. The numbers of this category, that is, of letters and mandates sent out, is now thought to have been much larger than that of the diplomata , but far fewer of them have survived.22 The Hohenstau fen polit y thu s kne w a stead y traffi c o f writte n messages, information , an d orders carrie d b y messenger s an d sometime s charges d'affaires fro m th e itinerant court t o distant areas of the Reich an d in reverse. Although this was not in the least new, the very fact that we have more texts of this kind than, say, for th e Ottonians an d Salians - thoug h not for the foremost Carolingian s suggests that th e us e of such missives became mor e frequent practice. Wha t the Hohenstaufen Reich lacked was not communications between the emperor and th e intermediat e holder s o f rank , authority , and power , bu t uniformit y among th e latter . Ther e wa s a teemin g welte r o f developin g princel y an d aristocratic lordships , la y and clerical , a bewildering variety of substructures like counties, advocacies , immunities, burgraviates, banni, and mundeburdia. They did not possess any common underlying grid or shared development an d relative uniformities, like the English shires. In Capetian France such a grid of at least rough and elemental samenesses was to emerge with the bailliages and senechaussees, and ther e were , i n an admittedly more limite d area, prevotes already a good deal earlier. 23 If it is pointed out that the latter related onl y to the roya l demesne , w e not e tha t o n Hohenstaufe n hous e land s an d th e imperial demesne , administrativ e areas , procurationes an d Landvogteien appear but patchily and their ways of accountability to the emperor's itineran t court remain obscure.24 In the Hohenstaufen Reich, outside royal possessions, it wa s alread y to o lat e fo r a unifor m groundwor k of loca l organisatio n t o develop o r redevelo p afte r th e break-u p o f Carolingia n counties , an d eve n these ha d no t forme d a demonstrabl y coheren t an d contiguou s network in eastern Francia. This may help to explain why reversions of great fiefs were not necessarily helpfu l t o build up a 'central power'. [158] The outpu t o f diplomat a i n Frederick' s reig n wa s ver y uneven . So , fo r instance, we have thirty-two for the year 1184, all produced in the chancery. To 21

C . Bruhl andT. Kolzer, Das Tafelgiiterverzeichnis de s romischen Konigs (Cologne, 1979); W. Metz, Das Servitium regis (Ertrage der Forschung 89, Darmstadt, 1978); E. Eisenlohr, 'Palaographische Untersuchunge n zu m Tafelgiiterverzeichni s des romische n Konigs' , Zeitschrift des Aachener Geschichtsvereins, 92 (1985), pp. 5-74. 22 O n mandates see F. Opll, 'Das kaiserliche Mandat im 12. Jahrhundert (1125-1190)', MIOG, 84 (1079) 290-327 . 23 O n prevots and prevotes see M. Pacaut, Louis VII et son royaume (Paris, 1964), p. 149, and J. W. Baldwin , The Government of Philip Augustus (Berkeley, 1986), pp. 35f. , 44f., 152ff . 24 H . Niese , Di e Verwaltung de s Reichsguts i m 13. Jahrhundert: Bin Beitrag zu r deutschen Verfassungsgeschichte (Innsbruck , 1905), pp. 262-322 and W. Metz, Staufische Giiterverzeichnisse (Berlin, 1964) , pp . 3 , 88, 92f., 105 , 107, and passim.


1

them fiv e piece s mus t b e adde d tha t wer e submitte d for authenticatio n by recipients of favours, employin g their ow n scribes wh o often used somewha t different conventions. 25 For 1180 , th e yea r of the arme d collisio n wit h Henry the Lion, we have only five chancery-made diplomata, but they included none other tha n the Gelnhause n charter ; and there were a further eigh t pieces that cannot be attributed to any known notary, where the recipient had some share in drafting the text. In 1187 the proportion was nine to three.26 Altogether th e chancery - an d we must remember tha t this is a term of convenience only , not authenticated by the twelfth-century Hohenstaufen sources - experience d all the vicissitude s o f the emperor' s reign . It suffere d severel y in the disastrou s Roman expeditio n o f 1167 , th e mortality , the retrea t an d near-dissolutio n of the emperor' s host . Betwee n Augus t 116 7 an d Jun e 116 8 w e posses s n o diplomata drafte d an d execute d b y members o f the writin g staff a t all , an d there is only one completed fro m outside. It is true that two letters to the clergy and peopl e of Cambrai an d on e t o th e coun t of Flanders were dispatched in September fro m Pavia where Frederick rested on his way home, and there is an important manifesto addressed to the bishop of Freising and sent also to others denouncing th e rebelliou s Lombar d cities . It shal l occupy us later. Frederic k thus had no t los t al l means o f written communication , bu t ther e mus t hav e been casualties among th e scrip tores and loss of expertise.27 This lead s u s to anothe r parado x an d anomal y of the Hohenstaufe n chancery: th e remarkabl y small staf f o f notarie s wh o di d al l the work . Fo r lon g periods th e busines s o f draftin g diplomata , letters, an d mandate s could rest very nearl y on a single man. From 117 4 to 1179 , thi s was one Burkhard, no r was i t th e firs t tim e tha t on e perso n ha d bee n almos t solel y responsible. 28 There were of course other clerks and chaplains in the imperial entourage. Th e diplomata betwee n 118 1 an d 119 0 mention some of their names. One o f them was no t onl y a notar y bu t als o Frederick' s docto r (medicus), other s wer e described a s magistri or simply notaries who have not been detected draftin g diplomata, a s agains t th e si x men wh o did. 29 Occasionall y ol d hand s reap peared t o produce the od d piece. W e are lef t therefor e wit h the impressio n that th e evidenc e b y which we can most readily perceive the make-u p of the Hohenstaufen followin g above all the attendances at Barbarossa's court days, that is, his regime, is conveyed to us by very few hands and eyes. The same diet at Gelnhausen i n April 118 0 that saw the division of the Lion's Saxon ducatusfief and its record also witnessed a judgement by the princes about the disposa l 25

R.M . Herkenrath , Di e Reichskanzlei in den Jahren 1181 bis 1190 (Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Phil.-Hist. Klasse, Denkschriften 175, Vienna, 1985); see the table on p. 319. 26 Ibid . 27 W. Koch , Di e Reichskanzlei i n den Jahren 1167 bis 1174: Eine diplomatisch-palaographische Untersuchung (Osterreichisch e Akademi e de r Wissenschaften, Phil.-Hist. Klasse, Denkschriften 115, Vienna , 1973) , pp. lllf. , 185-7 . 28 R.M . Herkenrath , Di e Reichskanzlei i n den Jahren 1174 bis 1180 (Osterreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften , Phil.-Hist. Klasse , Denkschriften 130, Vienna , 1977), pp. 27 , 45-51, 229. 29 Herkenrath , Reichskanzlei, 1181-90 (a s n. 25) , p . 28 ; D F I 938 ; an d idem , 'Studie n zum Magistertitel i n der fruhe n Stauferzeit' , MIOG, 8 8 (1980), pp . 3-35 , especiall y p. 5 n. 10.

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of vacan t advocacie s an d thei r verdic t forbiddin g anyon e t o buil d an d hol d fortresses i n bishops' cite s against the prelates' will. The diploma setting forth these judgements must have been drawn up by the interested party, in this case the bishop of Basle. His scribe, however, furnishe d a startlingly differing [159 ] list o f princel y witnesse s fro m tha t o f th e Gelnhause n charte r an d a thir d diploma fo r the archbisho p of Cologne datin g from tha t eventful meeting. 30 Diplomata an d mandates , too , ofte n deal t wit h judicia l matters , an d recorded judgement s foun d befor e th e empero r an d hi s cour t an d order s addressed t o individual s t o d o righ t o r institut e proceedings . Th e text s announcing an d propagatin g thes e decisions or baldl y conveyin g suc h com mands have a certain uniformity and alikeness, reminiscent almost of Angevin writs. Once we find a chamberlain sent to Carinthia to settle a dispute, and on another occasion a marshal an d an advocatus from Hagena u wer e ordered to hold a n inquest over lands disputed between and an advocatus from Hagena u were ordere d t o hol d a n inques t ove r land s disputed betwee n th e monk s of Neuburg an d th e landgrav e o f lowe r Alsace. 31 Ther e i s anothe r strikin g development i n thi s sphere . Beginnin g with the yea r 1184 , a few diplomata mentioned prudentes, me n othe r tha n th e princes , wh o were consulte d o n difficult an d disputed legal issues. From th e witness-lists w e can see who they were: men lik e Rudolf th e protonotary , John th e provos t of St Germanus in Speyer. Hug o th e dean , an d Joh n imperialis aule vice-cancellarius ,32 Thi s suggests the faint beginnings of a more professional judicature , of men close to the empero r wh o were consulte d o n thei r own , o r beside s th e princes , o n matters brough t before his curia. It i s a development parallel to Louis VH' s court where i t has long been known and traced.33 Prudentes like this had not appeared in the diplomata of Conrad III and Frederick I's earlier years. Italian influence an d experience ma y be seen at work here. The Hohenstaufen chancery, thus, did not stagnate nor was it imprisoned by its venerable pas t durin g the secon d hal f o f the twelft h century . The editor s Koch an d Herkenrat h hav e draw n attentio n als o t o th e appearanc e o f th e simple diploma a s against the customary very solemn pieces with their invocation, chrismon , signum-line , monogram , th e recognition , an d dua l datin g clauses. Th e simple diplomata lacke d al l these traditional splendours . Fe w at first, their number increased steadily so that between 1181 and 1190 there were

30

D F I 79 5 (Gelnhausen) , 79 6 (for the bisho p o f Basel) . Ther e ar e o f cours e som e correspondences. 31 D F I 620 (12 May 1174), an d A . Wurdtwein , Nova subsidia diplomatica, 1 0 (Heidelberg, 1788), no . 2 4 p. 60. 32 Prudentes: D F I 859 (20 June 1184), D F I 933 (1 March 1186), D F I 974 (25 July 1188). 33 A . Luchaire, Manuel de s institutions franqaises:periode de s Capetiens directs (Paris, 1892), p. 558: Baldwin, Philip Augustus (as n. 23), p. 38.


3

as many of them as of the elaborate ones. 34 Papal privileges rather than French or Angevin practic e ar e thought to underlie these more business-lik e grants. The nascen t politica l societie s o f wester n an d souther n Europe , France , England, southern Italy , and Sicily, were held together by differing aspirations in their rulin g strata. In southern Italy and Sicily, there was the tour deforce o f royal usurpatio n wit h sophisticate d administration s whic h exploite d th e ineradicable ethnic , religious, and cultural divisions among the subject groups. In France, a concentration o f authority in the seigneurial and urban societies of the Capetia n domain s an d th e principalities , no t leas t o f al l the strengt h of historical an d cultura l traditions , create d ne w an d enhance d centra l an d regional solidarities. In Angevin England , ther e was a process that had much in common with Sicilian centralis m an d skilled, professiona l government , bu t the division s over which i t presided wer e les s deep , acute , an d complex. It s inroads, [160 ] o n th e contrary , nurse d a growing cohesion o f magnatial an d shire societies. It is within novel institutions, within an astonishingly intelligen t legal an d governmenta l system , tha t ambition s wer e focuse d an d took thei r characteristic shape . Abov e all , everythin g ha d t o b e writte n dow n a t al l levels.35 In the Reich, the communities and divisions of interests i n its leading strata differe d fro m al l these , an d thei r historica l tradition s spok e wit h confused voices : Carolingian , Ottonian , an d Rhine-Frankis h Salia n an d Bavarian. These conflicting and competing legacies wer e at home i n different areas, th e Ottonia n i n Saxony, the Carolingia n an d Salian i n the Rhinelan d and south . Th e Hohenstaufe n wer e th e Salians ' heirs , an d s o inherited th e deep rift which the Saxon revolt of 1073 had created. 36 The Welfs, however, as heirs to the Billungs and other Saxon families, were able to settle down within the Ottonia n memorie s o f a ric h an d flourishin g twelfth-centur y Saxo n historiography. The y ha d o f cours e t o shar e i t wit h thei r Saxo n rival s an d enemies. Yet they were a very old family, much older than the Hohenstaufen with already a pre-Carolingian house-myth of their own. It had an edge against royal authorit y which reflected their enormous twelfth-centur y wealth , lordships, an d connections. 37 Yet th e Welf s were not th e onl y high aristocratic family i n this period wh o cultivated house history. It was one of the ironical consequences of the reform 34

Fo r th e rise of the 'simple ' diploma see Herkenrath, Reichskanzlei 1181-1190 (as n. 25), pp. 317f., an d als o W . Koch , 'Zu r Sprache , Sti l un d Arbeitstechni k in de n Diplome n Friedric h Barbarossas', MIOG, 8 8 (1980), p. 40. 35 Se e e.g. the Inquest of Sheriffs of 1170, with the constant injunction that every detail must be set down in writing. In the fifteen clause s of the modus inquisitionis the order to write, scribant or scribatur, occurs eight times, and 'let it be enrolled', inbreviatur, twice; W. Stubbs, Select Charters, 9th edn (Oxford, 1913) , pp. 174-8 . In general see Clanchy, From Memory to Written Record (as n. 17), pp. 29ff . 36 K.J . Leyser, 'The Crisis of Medieval Germany', above, pp. 21-49. 37 K . Schmid , 'Welfische s Selbstverstandnis' , i n Adel un d Kirche: Gerd Tellenbach zum 65. Geburtstag dargebracht vo n Freunden un d Schiilern, ed . J . Fleckenstei n an d Kar l Schmi d (Freiburg, 1968), pp. 389-416; an d O.G. Oexle , 'Die "sachsische Welfenquelle" al s Zeugnis der welfischen Hausiiberlieferung' , DA, 24 (1968), pp . 435-97.

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movement i n German y tha t th e man y monasterie s founded , refounded , reendowed, an d protecte d b y grea t lord s nurse d th e famil y prid e o f thei r patrons in their chroniclers , churc h burials, and liturgical commemorations. 38 In this way reformed monasticis m onl y continued, echoed , or perhaps individualised th e massiv e traditions of the Libri memoriales of the tenth and early eleventh centuries. In the Reich, fons et origo and as yet centre of gravity of the Hohenstaufen polity , ther e wer e no politics i n the modern sense of the word focused o n a growing apparatu s o f government. Instead , i t was the age-ol d competition between house s for honores and inheritances whic h harnessed to itself al l th e economic , demographic , an d cultura l development s w e hav e outlined, rathe r tha n bein g transformed by them . I n thi s sense, an d i n this sense only , Germa n politica l societ y remaine d archai c an d caste-ridden , however receptiv e and open it was to the rich traffic of ideas which reached it so abundantly fro m the west in other spheres, not least of all, we saw, as far as the la y aristocrac y an d th e ministeriales were concerned, th e convention s of chivalry and courtliness. 39 The setting for house rivalries was the regnum and imperium, and Frederic k I saw to it that these words once again had a resonance and enjoyed a renewed respect. The y furnishe d i n his day an d b y his doing th e principa l occasion s when th e ecclesiastica l [161 ] an d la y princes, high-rankin g clerks fro m th e cathedrals, abbots , counts , an d ministeriales met a s he held court, calle d fo r judgements, uttered manifesto s and sought support for his popes an d against his north Italian enemies . The arengae of Frederick's diplomata proclai m th e aims, the justifications, the duties an d rights of his emperorship. H e believe d and declared tha t his regnum and imperium stemmed from Go d alone, albei t by the princes' election. 40 Throughout he saw himself as a restorer rather than an innovator; but the word reformare tha t was used to announce his intention to brin g the Roma n Empir e back t o its ancient strengt h carrie d overtone s of improving on the past and employing new means to do so.41 The body of ideas which headed his grants and letters proclaimed ancient and hallowed responsibilities i n a ne w an d mor e exalte d style , ofte n reinforce d b y snatche s o f 38

K.J . Leyser, 'The Germa n Aristocracy from th e Nint h t o th e Earl y Twelft h Century : A Historical an d Cultura l Sketch' , Past and Present, 41 (1968), p. 5 2 and n. 6 7 (Leyser, Medieval Germany, p. 188) . 39 Se e n. 14 above. 40 Se e the imperial manifesto of protest i n Rahewin's part of the Gesta (as n. 2) III 13, p. 420: 'Cumque per electionem principum a solo Deo regnum et imperium nostrum sit'. It is noteworthy how 'per electionem principum' precedes 'a solo Deo'. 41 Cf . D FI 5 (March-April 1152), the letter sent to Pope Eugenius III announcing Frederick's election: 'quatinus per studii nostri instantiam catholica ecclesia sue dignitatis privilegiis decoretur et Romani imperii celsitudo in pristinum sue excellentie robur Deo adiuvante reformetur'. See H. Appelt, Di e Kaiseridee Friedrich Barbarossa (Osterreichisch e Akademi e der Wissenschaften , Phil.-Hist. Klasse , Sitzungsberichte 252 , Vienna, 1967), and especiall y R.L. Benson , 'Political Renovatio: Tw o Model s fro m Roma n Antiquity' , i n Renaissance an d Renewal i n th e Twelfth Century, ed. R.L . Benson and G. Constable with C.D. Lanham (Cambridge, Mass., 1982), pp. 359ff.


5

Roman lega l commonplaces . His imperium was now sometime s a sacrum imperium, h e himsel f invictissimus an d 'semper' augustus, to nam e only th e more importan t formulai c developments i n vogu e i n hi s chancery. 42 Pads reformatio an d imperil augmentum were the solemnly stated aims. 43 By this we need no t understan d solel y th e echoe s of the dilatatio imperil, th e widening and advanc e of its boundaries and possessions which had figured s o signally in the doing s an d historiograph y of the Ottonians , Widukind of Corvey's espe cially. Tru e enough , tha t remaine d a potent an d al l too opportunisti c pilot beacon by which the Hohenstaufen were in the end to founder, but augmentum could als o mea n enhancemen t within ; even , i n Ott o o f Freisin g a t least , discoursing abou t philosoph y was not alie n to the prerogativ e of the Roman Empire and its continuators. 44 The bishop s fo r th e mos t part , their clerk s too , th e princes , nobles , an d ministeriales whos e name s appea r o n th e witness-list s of th e diplomat a an d who attended th e curiae of the emperor as he moved about the Reich, must be deemed to have at least nodde d assen t to this programme, the sentiments set out in the arengae and more specifically in Frederick's manifestos justifying his clashes wit h the Lombard s an d th e papacy . O n a great occasion , facin g th e papal legate s a t Besan$o n i n 1157 , th e prince s present to o flare d u p for th e dignity an d standin g o f thei r Reic h whe n the y hear d th e bestowa l o f th e imperial crown describe d a s a papal beneficium, provocativel y translate d a s Lehen. Against the Lombards they are likely to have shared Otto of Freising's [162] aristocratic prejudice s and dislike of urban communities which admitted mechanics an d craftsme n t o th e bel t o f knighthood , men who m al l othe r people would drive away from the more honourable and free occupations like the pest.45 The lette r o f the autum n 1167 which Frederick addressed to Bishop Albert of Freisin g an d other s rouse s a star k vision of that muc h labored term , th e honor imperil. 46 Frederic k wa s limping back northward, his army debilitated by disease and many of his great men and even more of his knights succumbing to the malarial plague which hit them in the summer heat of Rome after their 42

'Sempe r augustus ' had alread y bee n used fo r Conrad Ill's intitulatio b y Abbot Wibal d of Stavelot, fo r the most part in letters addressed t o Pope Eugenius III an d the emperor Manuel I Comnenus. See Conradi 111.. . . Diplomata, ed. F. Hausmann (MGH Diplomata imperatorum et regum 9, Vienna, 1969), p. xxx, and D K III 18 4 and 18 5 (1147), 216 (1149), 219 to Manuel, 222, 223,225 (1150). See R.M. Herkenrath, Regnum und Imperium: Das 'Reich' i n der friihstaufishcen Kanzlei (1138-1155) (Osterreichische Akademi e de r Wissenschaften , Phil.-Hist . Klasse , Denk schriften 264/5 , Vienna 1972) , pp . 49ff . O n Sacrum imperium see also G. Koch , Auf dem Wege zum Sacrum Imperium (Berlin, 1972), pp. 24 6 ff., especiall y pp . 273-9 , an d Opll , 'Kaiserlich e Mandat' (as n. 22), p. 294. 43 D F I 318, addressed t o Archbishop Eberhard of Salzburg in 1160. 44 Gesta Frederici (a s n. 2) prologus, p. 120. 45 Ibid . II14, p. 308. 46 P . Rassow, Honor Imperil: Die neue Politik Friedrich Barbarossas 1152-1159 (Munich, 1940), and se e th e comment s of H . Grundman n and G . Wol f i n Friedrich Barbarossas, ed. G . Wol f (Wege der Forschung 390, Darmstadt, 1975), pp. 26ff . an d 297ff .

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victories. I t was the signal for the disaffecte d citie s in Lombardy, the League, to rise. The letter, or rather the fragment o f it we have, almost screamed at its recipients: Th e heaven s ar e dumbfounded , th e whol e eart h shakes , th e elements ar e confused in the face of the criminal perfidy, the sinful malice, and wickedest treachery which certain cities of Lombardy, to wit Milan. Piacenza, Cremona - once the chief ally - Bergamo, Brescia, Parma, Mantua, the March of Verona have committed agains t our majesty, the honour of the Empire, and this without cause, withou t any guilt (o n our part). We believe that, hearing such horrible news, your faith grieves and you are shaken to the core. For this rebellion redound s no t only against our person.' The Lombards were casting off th e yok e o f the Germa n imperium whic h had been purchase d with much labour, heavy losses, the blood of many princes and illustrious men. They said (Luke 19:14) , 'We do not want this man to reign over us nor that the Germans should continu e t o b e ou r masters . Befor e w e suffe r th e Empir e t o b e destroyed i n our da y and pass on such damage and loss to our posterity we'd rather suffe r a n honourable deat h amon g ou r enemies' , an d here the lette r breaks off. 47 The brutal assertion of German overlordship must be set against the professed aims of the Roncaglia Die t of 1158: 'pr o conservanda cuiqu e sua libertate'.48 Six years were to pass before Barbarossa was able to lead another host into Italy from the North. Already after the siege of Crema in 1159/60 and the second surrender of Milan on very harsh terms, the emperor's following for his thir d Italia n expeditio n wa s much mor e modest : Rainal d o f Dassel, th e archbishop o f Mainz, the bisho p of Verden, the abbo t of Hersfeld, th e coun t palatine Ott o o f Wittelsbach , th e castella n o f Magdeburg , thre e counts , including th e long-servin g Markwar d o f Grumbach , th e marsha l Henry , a ministerialis, Conrad th e butler, and Arnald Barbavaria, these appea r o n his grants.49 W e mus t conclud e tha t th e appea l o f Germa n domination , th e strident cal l to arms , met but a n uneven, far from wholehearte d response. It was one thing to attend the emperor's curiae and so enact the presence of the Reich, i t was quite anothe r fo r princes , eve n bishops, an d others t o commit themselves t o unremitting service in Italy for the honor imperii. It would be mistaken to think of these curiae generates only as assemblies to transact [163] business. They were also, and perhaps even more, social occasions where the princes and their following, other nobles, and imperial ministeriales commonly met and wanted to be seen meeting one another. The great feast at Mainz in 1184 where Frederick's sons, Frederick duke of Suabia and Henry VI, were knighted and where he, the emperor - as it were - celebrated Hohenstaufen ascendancy i n the Reich, now that Henry the Lion's vast accumulations of 47

D F I 538. Gesta (as n. 2) IV 4, p. 514. 49 I n D F1412 (9 November 1163, at Lodi) Duke Welf VI appears, but his visit to the emperor's court was a brief one. He had crossed the Alps to look after his own possessions and defend them against Rainal d o f Dassel' s encroachments . Earl y i n 116 4 Ulrich , th e younge r so n o f Duk e Sobieslaw o f Bohemia (ob . 1140 ) wa s in th e emperor' s company ( D P I 424). For Frederick' s relatively modes t followin g at this time (1163-64) see D F I 419, 421, 421 a, 422. 48


7

possessions and power had been broke n up , was only an especially memorabl e assembly o f princes , nobles , an d knights. 50 No r ha d th e Hohenstaufe n a monopoly o f feasting, magnificence, and display. On the contrary, before 118 0 they ha d bee n outshon e b y Wel f VF s festivitie s at Gunzenle e i n 1173 , an d above al l in 1175, whe n practically the whole nobility of the south enjoyed his hospitality. Welf strove, as the Steingaden Continuator expresse d it , 'to live in all ways festively, solemniter, and to have the fam e of generosity by his feasts and varie d gifts'. 51 No r i s thi s all . Sid e b y sid e wit h Barbarossa' s curiae generates, with thei r diplomata witnessed b y the grea t me n present and thei r magnificence mentione d b y the chroniclers , there wer e assemblies an d meet ings which, a s it were, challenged th e Hohenstaufe n polit y and pointed t o its vulnerability. Late in 1166 when Frederick wa s still in Italy and in 1167, al l hell broke loos e i n Saxon y agains t Henr y th e Lion' s ruthlessl y aggressiv e an d acquisitive measures at the expense of his Saxon fellow-princes, not least of all the bishop s fro m whom he had extorte d fiefs. 52 I n mid-summer 1167 Henry' s opponents me t a t Magdebur g an d a t Santerslebe n an d conclude d a treaty . They wer e th e archdeacons , abbots , provosts , th e clergy , nobles , an d enfeoffed ministeriales o f Cologne , th e clerica l familia an d burgesse s o f Magdeburg. The y sent to the archbishop, Wichmann , Margrave Albrecht (of Brandenburg), the landgrave of Thuringia, and Otto of Meissen, to name only some, and swore a league, a sanctae sodetatis amicitia, that they would stand together in the war between th e princes, that is, themselves, an d 'the duke of Brunswick', that i s to say, Henry the Lion . The provost o f Cologne promise d that his master th e archbishop whe n he returned from Ital y (where he died on 4 August) woul d corroborate their pact. 53 This is not the onl y such treaty we have. There i s another for the year 1178 , between Philip of Heinsberg, Rainald's successor at Cologne, an d the bishop of Halberstadt , Ulrich. 54 Th e pact s of princes, clerks , and knights pointed t o the future . The war s in Saxony in 1167 an d 116 8 were severe, an d Frederick' s first task when he returned in 1168 was to try to restore peace. By upholding his cousin an d stallin g hi s enemies' plaints , Frederick seriousl y compromised hi s own standing wit h the Saxon princes. In an especially solemn diploma given at the diet of Wiirzburg in summer 1168 (10 July), where he granted to the bishop of Wiirzburg a quasi-ducal jurisdiction in his whole diocese, th e emperor's text 50

Fleckenstein , 'Barbarossa und das Rittertum' (as n. 14). Historia Welforum, ed . E. Koni g (Schwabische Chroniken der Stauferzeit 1 , Stuttgart, 1938, repr. Sigmaringen , 1978), pp . 68f. , th e Continuatio Staingademensis, and se e n . 22 9 for other sources on Welf VI's court and feasts . 52 K . Jordan Henry th e Lion, trans. P.S. Falla (Oxford, 1986) , pp. 101-6 . 53 Fo r the text of the alliance treaty between Henry the Lion's enemies see O. von Heinemann, Albrecht de r Bar (Darmstadt , 1864), pp. 477-9 ; and Urkundenbuch des Erzstifts Magdeburg, 1 : 937-1192, ed. F . Israel with W. Mollenber g (Magdeburg, 1937), pp. 421ff . no . 324. 54 W.v . Giesebrecht , Geschichte der deutsche Kaiserzeit, 5 : Di e Zeit Kaiser Friedrichs de s Rothbarts (Leipzig , 1880), p. 901 . For th e text see Urkundenbuch des Hochstifts Halberstadt un d seiner Bischofe, 1 : Bis 1221, ed. G. Schmidt (Publicationen aus den k. preussischen Staatsarchiven 17, Leipzig 1883), no . 283 , pp. 247-7. 51

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in the narratio mentioned how here in the curia generalis 'we have with God's help brought about a full reconciliation between the discordant [164] princes of Saxony'. The diploma thus asserted, as diplomata often did, far more than the circumstances warranted , an d w e canno t bu t b e struc k b y th e crack s an d uncertainties i n his judicial superiority.55 This was ultimately at stake also in the conflict with Henry the Lion, which broke ou t whe n Barbaross a returne d nort h fro m th e peac e conclude d with Alexander III at Venice in 1177 and from a coronation a t Aries in Burgundy in autumn 1178. As late as midsummer 1179, when the process against Henry was fully under way, the two men met at Haldensleben, the Lion's stronghold. For the su m o f 500 0 mark s Barbaross a offere d t o mediat e fo r hi s cousi n an d reconcile hi m with the angr y and growling princes whom he had damaged so badly.56 The money was meant to honour and satisfy the maiestas imperatoria. It did not guarantee the Lion against having to yield more and lose important possessions judiciall y to othe r opponents , bu t a t leas t Frederic k woul d n o longer be a plaintiff himself. Henry refused - his worst mistake, as it turned out - thoug h it must be remembered that the course of the war to bring about his surrender fo r some time bore him out. Yet it is not surprising that contumacy in the en d la y at the hear t of the collision , contumacy and something else, an inheritance disput e betwee n th e empero r an d Henry . Her e th e profoun d ambiguities of the Hohenstaufen polity come to light. To understand the m we must consul t another , ofte n cited , tex t o f th e yea r 116 0 whe n Frederic k planned t o intensif y hi s war i n Italy after th e long , cruel, an d costl y siege of Milan's ally. Crema. It is a letter written to Archbishop Eberhard of Salzburg, who was ordered t o come to Pa via and join the emperor's forces there with his own knights. Eberhar d already dissente d from Frederick's pope and adhere d to Alexander III. Here the emperor protested tha t he did not undergo all these labours to pile up riches for his own benefit and his sons', but solely for the sake of the 'peace and enhancement of the empire'. 57 We have already quoted th e phrase. The emperor, then, felt it necessary to defend himself against mutterings that his Italian wars were fought mainly for the sake of his, and his nearest descendants', fortunes . Why? His famil y situatio n a t thi s time deserve s a moment's notice . I t i s almost certain that Frederic k I as yet had no sons. Hi s marriage t o his second wife , Beatrice o f Burgundy , had bee n celebrate d a t Wiirzbur g i n 1156 . Sh e ha d brought hi m a rich inheritance and lordship over a good spread o f lands and vassals in the county, but the first surviving child we know of, called Frederick,

55

D F I 546 Arnol d of Lubeck, Chronica Slavorum II10, ed. J.M. Lappenberg (MGH SRG14, Hanover, 1868), p. 48. 57 D F1318, and see n. 43 above. The text is also in DieAdmonter Briefsammlung, no . 52 MGH BDK 6 , pp. 102-3 . 56


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was born only in 1164.58 Beatrice may have been just twelve years old when she became Barbarossa' s wife , bu t w e know of sons who died in earliest infanc y and were buried in the Hohenstaufen house-monastery at Lorch and there may have bee n miscarriage s a s well . Ye t th e date s o f thes e misfortune s remain disputed.59 I t i s quite clear , however , that b y 116 0 th e empero r ha d no t ye t succeeded [165] in founding his elementary family : and his heirs and successors at this moment, if he perished in his Italian wars, were his cousins, Frederick of Rothenburg and Henry th e Lion.60 The emperor's protestation t o Archbishop Eberhard ha d of course biblical overtones. It was senseless to pile up treasure onl y for oneself rathe r tha n for one's sons . Th e obituar y notic e o f the empero r Henr y V (1125), Mathilda' s husband, in Ekkehard of Aura's Chronicle, had harped o n this theme. H e had amassed boundles s movabl e wealth, yet for whom, he did not know, since he died childless. 61 The rhetori c of Frederick's letter covered u p a multitude of tensions an d anxieties , an d i t als o reveal s a deep-seate d stran d i n hi s an d Hohenstaufen mentalite, which he share d wit h his fellow-princes bu t wit h a special poignanc y o f hi s own . Hi s kingshi p had bee n unexpected , an d t o possess it lawfully an d securely he had to appease no t only all Welfic claims but also thos e of his cousin, Conra d Ill' s son Frederick o f Rothenburg, who was too youn g fo r th e crow n i n 1152 . Beside s hi s shar e o f th e Hohenstaufe n inheritance, tha t is, his father's lands, he had to be compensated for the loss of the kingship , s o that th e Suabia n ducatus passed t o him. 62 Yet he was not the only member o f his kin Barbarossa ha d to humour. By his second marriage to Agnes o f Saabriicken, Barbarossa's fathe r Frederick, the second Hohenstau fen duk e of Suabia, had a son called Conrad, born between 1136 and 1140, who was thus Barbarossa's half-brother . As count palatine of the Rhine, which he became i n 1156 , h e fille d a n importan t plac e amon g th e prince s o f th e Hohenstaufen circle ; bu t this meant that the emperor, apar t from th e lands of the Reich, ha d only a relatively modest share of his own family's fortune, itself 58

O n Beatrice's fortun e and its management see J.-Y. Mariotte, Le Comte de Bourgogne sous les Hohenstaufen, 1156-1208 (Cahiers d'etudes comtoises 4, Paris, 1963), and H. Appelt, 'Kaiserin Beatrix un d da s Erb e de r Grafe n von Burgund', Aus Kirche und Reich: Studien zu Theologie, Politik un d Recht im Mittelalter: Festschrift fu r Friedrich Kempf, ed . H . Morde k (Sigmaringen, 1983), pp. 275-83. The county of Burgundy did not merge with Frederick's demesne but was ruled separately unde r Beatrice' s active direction . 59 E . Maschke , Da s Geschlecht der Staufer (Munich , 1943), pp. 45ff. , 58f. ; G . Baaken , 'Die Altersfolge de r Sohn e Friedric h Barbarossa s un d di e Konigserhebun g Heinrich s VI.', D A 2 4 (1968), p . 63 ; and E. Assmann , 'Friedrich Barbarossa s Kinder', DA, 3 3 (1977), pp. 435-7 2 and especially p. 459 for his sequence of births. Yet what he says against Beatrice having been pregnant as a fifteen-, sixteen-, or seventeen-year-old is quite untenable. That she was a delicate woman in no way rules out pregnancies. 60 Sigeberti Auctarium Affligemense s . a. 1160, MGH SS 6, p. 404, where this is explicitly stated. 61 Ekkehardi Chronica recensio 4, Frutolfi e t Ekkehardi Chronica necnon Anonymi Chronica imperatorum ed . F.-J. Schmal e and I. Schmale-Ott (AQDG 15 , Darmstadt, 1972), p. 374. 62 O n Frederick , th e so n o f Conra d III , se e H . Schreibmiiller , 'Herzo g Friedric h IV . vo n Schwaben un d Rothenbur g (1145-1167)', Zeitschrift fu r bayerische Landesgeschichte, 1 8 (1955), pp. 213ff.

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of course fa r surpasse d b y that of the Welfs. 63 Until 1167, i n fact, Barbaross a had not ha d many chances of increasing his own possessions i n Germany and, given hi s famil y situatio n befor e th e lat e sixties , h e coul d readil y enoug h hazard th e biblica l flourish , disclaiming any quest fo r riche s for hi s progeny when h e summoned Archbisho p Eberhar d t o serve in his hard-fought Italian wars. 64 By a tragic an d gri m irony, his acquisitive policie s nort h o f the Alp s only became possibl e afte r th e catastrophi c mortalit y o f 116 7 ha d emptie d th e castles o f s o man y sout h Germa n an d especiall y Suabia n noble s wh o ha d followed hi m t o Rome . Th e unforesee n consequence s o f hi s expeditio n enabled Frederic k t o enlarg e hi s possessions [166 ] b y leaps an d bounds . N o deep-laid scheme on his part gave him his great opportunities. Yet there can be no doubt that after 116 7 he pressed the m to the utmost. The sources agree on his unrelentin g ques t fo r land s an d right s i n Suabia , i n th e year s afte r hi s calamitous setback s a t Rom e an d th e eventua l collapse o f part o f his Italian and al l his anti-Alexandrine church policies. We possess three narrativ e sources, beside s a number of diplomata, which allow us to follow Barbarossa as the architect of his own family's fortune: Otto of S t Blasien's Chronicon, written about 1209 ; that of Burchard, provost of a house o f Premonstratensia n canon s a t Ursberg , wh o brok e of f hi s wor k i n 1230; an d th e Steingade n continuatio n o f th e Historia Welforum, th e Wel f house history.65 This last was composed after 119 1 whe n Welf VI died. In all three, Frederick Fs acquisitions belong to their authors' foremost recollections and impression s o f th e emperor' s late r years , unti l he too k th e cross . I t i s essential to follo w them in a little mor e detail . Let us begin with Otto of St Blasien: 'At thi s time (1168) the Empero r Frederic k cam e bac k t o this sid e o f the Alps an d too k possessio n o f th e whol e substanc e o f Duk e Frederic k o f Rothenburg b y hereditar y successio n an d h e ha d bee n enormousl y ric h i n lands.'66 Hithert o ther e ha d bee n tw o mai n branche s o f the Hohenstaufe n family, tha t o f Conra d II I an d tha t o f hi s older brothe r Frederick , duk e of 63

O n Conrad, the count palatine, see H. Werle, 'Staufische Hausmachtpolitik am Rhein im 12. Jahrhundert', Zeitschrift fu r di e Geschlchte des Oberrheins, 110 (1962), pp. 299-321 . 64 H e ha d spen t 50 0 marks to roun d of f a n importan t inheritance in eas t centra l Germany acquired i n part already by his father. I t included Leisnig and Colditz. See D F 1199 (1 January 1158); Arnold o f Liibeck, Chronicon (as n. 56 ) VII 16 , p. 246 ; and H . Patze , 'Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossa un d de r Osten' , i n Probleme de s 12 . Jahrhunderts, ed . T . Maye r (Vortrag e un d Forschungen 12 , Constance, 1968) , pp. 337ff. , especiall y 360f. The transaction could have taken place befor e Babarossa' s accession . I n 116 3 h e purchase d a villa, Waldmannshofen, from th e chapter o f Bamberg for 7 0 marks. See D F I 420 (27 November). Sometime after 1165 , hal f of Gelnhausen came to him as a Mainz fief: F. Opll, Stadt und Reich im 12. Jahrhundert (1125-1190) (Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters: Beihefte zu J.F. Bohmer, Regesta imperii 6, Vienna 1986), p . 74. 65 Ott o of St Blasien, Chronica, ed. A. Hofmeister (MGH SRG 47, Hanover, 1912): Burchard of Ursberg, Chronicon, ed. O . Holder-Egge r and B.v. Simson (MGH SRG 16 , Hanover, 1916) ; and Historia Welforum (a s n. 51) . 66 Ott o of St Blasien, Chronica (as n. 65 ) c. 21, p. 28.


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Suabia, Barbarossa' s father , Frederic k o f Rothenburg . Conrad' s son , ha d been tempted t o take part in the Roman expedition and was one of its victims. Recently marrie d t o a Welf princess , a daughter of Henry the Lion , h e die d before ther e were an y heirs. Lik e other Hohenstaufe n princes, he had fought feuds in Suabia an d elsewhere that were far from convenient t o his cousin th e emperor.67 Ott o continued : 'an d subsequentl y he [Barbarossa ] acquire d th e possessions of many barons in suam potestateiri. Later Otto revealed a littl e how it was done: 'He gained the estates of many nobles who lacked heirs either by gif t o r b y purchase, a s for instanc e thos e o f Adelgo z o f Schwabegg , th e Warthausen, Biberach , Hornungen , Schweinshausen , Biedertan, Lenzburg , and Werde families.'68 The list of names is long, but more important stil l is the lie of all these lands and castles. Before this spate of acquisitions, Hohenstaufen powe r had been concentrated north o f the Danube and in Alsace. Now it spilled ove r th e rive r southwar d and bega n t o fill out th e spac e betwee n th e River Iller , a tributary o f the Danube, an d Lake Constance.69 These were by no means the main acquisitions which Otto listed, but before we turn to these, Burchard o f Ursberg' s descriptio n o f ho w thes e gain s wer e brough t abou t commands attention . Whe n Adelgoz of Schwabegg, the advocate of the see of Augsburg, died without heirs , 'th e same empero r vindicate d fo r himself th e advocacy as well as his other estates, be [167] it by grant of the bishop [Hartwig I, 1168-84] or b y fiscal or hereditar y succession'. 70 I t i s these las t words which matter. 'He, ' again Frederick, Burchar d wrote, 'when he returned from Italy, came t o acquir e man y lands in Suabia , now b y purchase, no w b y gif t o f th e leading men , o r agai n b y som e mod e o f fisca l o r hereditar y succession' , quacumque successione fiscali vel hereditaria. 71 What are we to understand by successio fiscalisl Burchard clearly distinguished it from purchase but not fro m inheritance. T o my mind it can only mean that the lands reverted to the 'fisc' , there bein g n o close r heirs . I n othe r words , i f Burchard i s to b e believed , Frederick Barbaross a ca n be detected her e claimin g reversions to the kin g in Suabia the way Henry IV and the Salians had done in Saxony, and here too, at just this time, 1171 , h e pressed fo r a reversion. 72 67 Historia Welforum (a s n.51) c. 30, 31, pp. 60-6 . On th e equall y unwelcome feud s wage d by Frederick I' s half-brother Conrad, the count palatine of the Rhine, against Rainald of Dassel, the emperor's chie f aide and on his direct clashes with Barbarossa, see Giesebrecht, Kaiserzeit (as n. 54), pp. 406L, 455, 514, 532 , 557, and Werle, 'Staufische Hausmachtpolitik ' (a s n. 63) . 68 Ott o o f St Blasien, Chronicon (as n. 65) c. 21, pp. 29-30. 69 H . Biittner , 'Staufe r und Welfe n i m politische n Kraftespie l zwische n Bodense e un d Ille r wahrend des 12 . Jahrhunderts', Zeitschrift fu r wurttembergische Landesgeschichte, 20 (1961), pp. 17-73; and in idem, Schwaben undSchweiz imfruhen undhohen Mittelalter: Gesammelte Aufsatze von Heinrich Biittner, ed . H . Patz e (Vortrag e un d Forschunge n 15 , Sigmaringen, 1972) , pp . 337-92. 70 Burchar d of Ursberg, Chronicon (as n. 65), pp. 49f. 71 Ibid. , p. 4 9 lines 19-20, and p. 56. 72 Leyser , 'Crisis' , above , pp . 426ff . I n 117 1 Barbaross a demande d th e surrende r o f th e Plotzkau inheritance , whic h h e ha d allowe d t o g o t o th e Ascanian s i n 1152 . Se e Annales Magdeburgenses s.a. 1171 , and Annales Palidenses s.a. 1152 , MGH S S 16 , pp. 19 3 and 86.

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Twelfth-century Germa n aristocrati c possession s wer e mad e u p o f patri monies, cal l the m allods , fiefs , advocacie s deeme d t o b e fiefs, and honor-es, comital an d highe r offic e togethe r wit h their banni whic h Barbaross a agai n wanted t o define as being held of the Reich and bestowed b y the emperor. This was a shadowy region where conflicting claims and aspirations mingled. In the case of fiefs, where they were held of the Reich, the situation is complex: there was the issue, much loved by constitutional historians, of the Leihezwang, the need to grant at least banner fiefs that had reverted, out again within a year and a day. 73 It i s enshrined i n the Landrecht an d th e Lebnrecht o f the Sachsenspiegel an d the Schwabenspiegel. But not all fiefs were banner, that is, princely fiefs. Abov e all , th e noble s o f Barbarossa's circl e all held ecclesiastica l fiefs which they or their forebears had wrested from the bishops and royal abbots of the Reich. The church paid a heavy price for the struggles waged on its behalf and for its libertas. What happene d the n t o the ecclesiastical fiefs held by the Suabian magnates to whose inheritances then to the ecclesiastical fiefs held by the Suabia n magnate s t o whos e inheritance s th e Hohenstaufe n afte r 116 8 succeeded? Frederic k o f Rothenburg , Barbarossa' s cousin , hel d enormou s church fiefs, notably from Fulda . Hitherto i t had bee n th e practice fo r kings not to hold such fiefs themselves but to grant them out again to their kinsmen. In th e rigorou s caste-orde r o f Germa n societ y and , hence , feudalism , th e Heerschild, i t had once been fel t that a king could not hold of anyone inferior to him. By now, however, Barbarossa ignore d this and took his cousin's huge Fulda fiefs and those he held of the see of Speyer into his own hands. We know this from a diploma he issued at Wiirzburg on 26 January 1170. Here, for once, he reache d dow n int o th e worl d o f land-clearanc e an d viticulture , sharing crops wit h cultivator s an d employin g a provos t recruite d fro m a nearb y canonry t o manag e operation s an d to collec t th e emperor' s share . Th e land and the hil l to be planted ha d been hel d in beneficium 'b y our dearest cousin Frederick, duk e o f Rothenbur g o f piou s memory', 74 Whateve r [168 ] hi s ultimate intentions, Frederick for now controlled an d exploited thes e fiefs and could tak e his time disposing of them. Another casualt y o f the Roma n expeditio n ha d bee n th e so n an d hei r of Count Gebhar d o f Sulzbach wh o hel d considerabl e fief s fro m th e bisho p of Bamberg. The counts were Hohenstaufen kin through the marriage of Conrad III to Gertrude o f Sulzbach. In 1174, on the eve of his fifth Italian expedition, Barbarossa acquire d th e futur e possessio n o f thes e fiefs from th e bisho p of 73

W . Goez, Der Leihezwang (Tubingen, 1962); G. Droege, Landrecht und Lehnrechtim hohen Mittlelalter (Bonn , 1969) , pp . 63f. , G . Theuerkauf , Land un d Lehnwesen vom 14, bis zum 16 . Jahrhundert (Cologne, 1961), p. 7-15; and H-G. Krause, 'Der Sachsenspiegel und das Problem des sogenannten Leihezwangs', ZRGGA 9 3 (1976), pp. 21ff. 74 D FI 559 relating to the vill of Heidingsfeld in Unterfranken. O n Hohenstaufen church fief s see J . Picker , Vo m Heerschilde (Innsbruck , 1862) , pp . 39ff. ; A . Boss , 'Di e Kirchenlehe n der staufischen Kaiser' (Diss. Munich 1886); Niese, Verwaltung (as n. 24); K. Bosl, Die Reichsministerialitdt der Salier und Staufer (Schrifte n de r MG H 10 , Stuttgart, 1950) , vol. 1, pp. 151ff. ; an d H . Maurer, Der Herzog vo n Schwaben (Sigmaringen, 1978), pp. 284ff .


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Bamberg fo r two of his sons, Frederick an d Otto for 120 0 marks and compensation to th e chapter. 75 It i s very significan t tha t th e empero r dispose d ove r monetary resource s in an economy always short of them. Even if his policies in Italy hung fire and in the end fell far short of what he wanted, a steady strea m of revenues , bribes , mone y pai d fo r favours , th e sal e o f privileges , an d opportunities t o rais e loan s cam e hi s way , an d thi s wa s t o b e o f crucia l importance i n the largest inheritanc e the Hohenstaufen wer e able to gain. 76 This was the vast Suabian estate of Welf VI, a veteran rival and near equal of the Hohenstaufe n i n the duchy . He los t hi s only son whom Barbarossa ha d enticed to join his host for the Roman expedition lik e so many other wellborn, warlike, an d competitive youn g men. Welf VI was elderly and could not hope for anothe r hei r fro m his wife, wit h whom moreover h e had fallen out.77 H e had bee n on e o f th e mos t intractabl e an d unscrupulou s o f Conra d Ill' s opponents whose connection s with Roger I I of Sicily and Geisa I I of Hungary not only were profitable t o him but imparted a particularly disruptiv e force to the sout h Germa n feud s which had immobilise d the Hohenstaufen. 78 Ther e were sign s that already i n the 1160 s h e neglected hi s Tuscan interests. No w his spirits collapsed. His life turned into a round of feasting and religious benefactions o n a n enormou s scale . Al l thi s wa s costly, an d Sardinia , Spoleto , th e march o f Tuscany, an d th e curtis Elisin a i n Lombardy wer e hande d ove r t o Frederick I fo r mone y afte r 1173 . Muc h o f i t Wel f V I use d t o buil d th e monastery o f Steingaden , stil l mor e fo r show , largesse , an d loos e women , which was all he now had to live for. The Welf house chronicle, the Continuatio Staingademensis, Otto of St Blasien, and a charter unfol d the transactions b y which Barbaross a acquire d th e immens e Wel f land s i n Suabi a wit h thei r centers, Weingarten, Memmingen, Ravensburg, an d Altdorf, the Welf stem seat.79 Wel f V I a t firs t turne d t o hi s nephew , hi s brother' s son , tha t i s his agnatio, Henry th e Lion and wanted to make him his heir, i n return for large payments to support hi s lavish court and feasting. Otto tells us not only that the Lion faile d to pay, [169] but also why.80 The Welf chronicler was more discreet . 75 D FI 624 and 625, the latter of 13 July 1174 at Donauworth; and see E. Klebel , 'Die Grafen von Sulzbac h als Hauptvogte des Bistums Bamberg', MIOG, 4 1 (1926), pp. 108-28 . 76 G . Deibel , 'Die italienischen Einkiinfte Kaise r Friedrichs I.', Neue Heidelberger Jahrbucher (1932), pp. 21ff. ; idem , 'Die finanzielle Bedeutung Reich-Italiens fur die staufischen Herrsche r des zwolften Jahunderts', ZRGGA, 54 (1934), pp . 134-77 ; A. Haverkamp, Herrschaftsformen de r Fruhstaufer i n Reichsitalien, 2 vols. paginated as one (Stuttgart , 1971), pp. 669ff. , 720. 77 Historia Welforum (a s n. 51) , p . 68 . His wife, Uta , was the daughter o f Count Adalbert o f Calw. Sh e ha d brough t hi m a vast Suabian inheritance north of th e Danub e which threatened Hohenstaufen communication s betwee n easter n Suabi a and Alsace. 78 I wa s unabl e t o consul t K . Feldmann , 'Herzo g Wel f VI . un d sei n Sohn ' (1971) , a n unpublished dissertatio n a t Tubingen. For Welf's pact wit h Roger I I and unrest in Germany se e Bernhardi, Konrad HI., pp . 750ff. , 796ff. , an d E . Caspar , Roger II . (Innsbruck , 1904, repr . Darmstadt, 1963) , pp. 356 , 398f . See als o K. Feldmann , 'Herzog Wel f VI, Schwabe n und das Reich', Zeitschrift fu r wurttembergische Landesgeschichte, 30 (1971), pp. 308-26 . 79 Historian Welforum (a s n. 51), p. 70 and Otto of St Blasien, Chronica (as n. 65) c. 21, pp. 28f. 80 Ibid : 'Du x eni m Heinricu s quorunda m pravorum consilio Welfone m ia m grandevum cito moriturum presagiens argentum pro constitute dare distulit.'

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The agreemen t mus t hav e bee n mad e abou t th e tim e o f th e Gunzenle e festivities wit h their boundles s hospitalit y and gifts . Th e Lio n seem s t o hav e thought that the old man could not live much longer - he died in 1191 - and that there was no need t o throw good money after bad . Welf VI then turned to his other nephew, his sister's son, that is, Frederick Barbarossa . H e responded at once, 'vi r i n omnibu s saga x e t providus'. 81 Remembe r thes e housefatherl y epithets; we shall meet them again. Not only did he furnish Welf VI amply with gold an d silve r bu t h e als o mad e sur e o f th e reversio n her e an d now . Th e transfer took place at once. As an earnest of things to come Frederick retaine d some of the lands but gave most of them back to his uncle in beneficum, a s the Steingaden writer explained, and Frederick adde d a number of Hohenstaufen estates t o compensat e Wel f fo r what ha d bee n retaine d an d t o sweete n th e bargain.82 This mean t that when Welf VI died, th e lands could only revert to Frederick I an d hi s sons . Welf' s gift s t o hi s monasterie s wer e o f cours e exempted fro m this deal, bu t Barbarossa los t nothing by this because h e and his heirs would in due course be the advocates of Weingarten, Steingaden, and the rest. Most of the allodial might of the Welfs thus disappeared forever from south Suabia , althoug h Henr y th e Lio n wa s allowe d t o kee p som e o f hi s patrimony ther e whe n h e surrendered. 83 Th e likelies t dat e fo r al l thes e transactions i s 1178 . Ther e can be no doubt tha t the y constituted the hidde n source of conflict between Henry and his cousin. We do not know whether the deal was discussed at their meeting a t Haldensleben in 1179. Perhap s the Lion thought enough was enough and why should he pay 5000 marks in addition to losing so much hereditas. Even thi s giganti c reversionar y prospec t wa s b y n o mean s th e en d o f Frederick's acquisitions during the last decade of his reign. There were others right up to the third crusade.84 One must be mentioned here . A Suabian vassa l and followe r of very long standing and devote d servic e was Count Rudol f of Pfullendorf. H e too, it appears, lost his only son and heir in the malarial plague of 1167 , bu t h e di d no t brea k wit h the emperor . O n th e contrary , he mad e Barbarossa an d Barbarossa's sons his heirs, and a vast complex of possessions round Lake Constanc e thu s fel l t o them. It included amon g othe r things th e advocacy ove r the se e of Chur, with the Suabia n Alpine passes to Italy and a 81 Historia Welforum (a s n . 51) , p . 70 ; an d se e Hugonis Chronici Continuatio Weingartensis s. a. 1191, MGH S S 21, 477, another late twelfth-century Weingarte n source, where Welf VI, afte r the deaths o f Barbaross a an d hi s so n Frederic k o n crusade , finall y bequeathe d hi s estates , advocacies, and ministeriales to Henry VI. Henry the Lion's claims were not mentioned here at all. 82 Historia Welforum (a s n. 51), p. 70: 'quaedam etiam de suis superaddidit'. See also Otto of St Blasien, Chronica (a s n.65 ) c . 21 , p . 29 : 'omni a predi a su a ips i contradidi t eaqu e usqu e a d terminum vite pluribus aliis additis recepit' (i.e . Welf VI). It was customary to reward donors of future reversion s during their lifetimes in this way. 83 Fo r evidence of Henry the Lion's Suabian possessions after 1181 , see Urkunden Heinrichs des Lowen (as n. 13) , nos. 12 9 and 130 , tw o originals of April 1194. 84 H . Dannenbauer , 'Da s Verzeichni s der Tafllgute r de s romischen Konigs : Bi n Stuc k vom Testament Kaise r Friedrichs I.', in idem, Grundlagen der mittelalterlichen Welt (Stuttgart , 1958), pp. 381ff. , 395ff. , 428ff. , albei t a very speculative paper.


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ferry across the lake shortening the route.85 Count Rudolf died in 1181 [170] on a pilgrimag e t o th e Hol y Land , wher e h e ha d gon e i n summe r 1180 . Hi s instructions t o th e procurato r o f St Mark i n Venice, biddin g him to forward funds h e ha d deposite d i n th e chambe r there , hav e survived. 86 A ver y important charter , date d 2 5 December 1179 , reveals that, as in Welf s case, th e Hohenstaufen alread y had possession o f some of his lordship. The charter was issued by the young Frederick, Barbarossa' s so n and duke of Suabia, but at the very hear t o f Welfic lordship , Altdorf . Frederic k wa s to hav e advocac y ove r lands belonging t o a monastery, Kreuzlingen , after Welf s death, or whenever he resigned i t sooner. Frederick i n this context also declared tha t he had on the same condition s receive d th e defence of the other land s of the monastery that were commende d t o 'ou r dear Coun t Rudol f o f Pfullendorf. (H e i s styled as one subjec t t o Frederick's ducatus, unlike Welf VI who was not.) Frederick' s rights i n both inheritance s wer e thus proclaimed. A large number of Suabian magnates witnesse d thi s charter, includin g Duke Wel f VI and Count Rudolf . But firs t an d foremost , a t th e hea d o f al l the names , ther e wa s 'Gottfridu s cancellarius imperatori s e t scriba . . . huius privilegii scriptor'. Gottfrie d is a familiar figur e i n Barbarossa's diplomata . Late r h e was to b e rewarde d with the see of Wiirzburg. He had thus been sent to the Welf family seat at Altdorf, to be present at the transaction an d above all to record it. Nothing could show more clearl y ho w closely Frederick I stood behin d thes e dealing s on his son's behalf.87 We mus t no w as k wha t end s Barbarossa' s vas t accumulation s o f inherit ances, allods, lordships , advocacies, and ecclesiastical fiefs served. The answer must be, first and foremost, to endow his family of four sons in lay estate. Here the historian s wh o hav e plotte d a ne w constitutiona l polic y fo r him , th e creation o f a great roya l territory a s a new base for kingly rule, hit upon hard rock. Th e chroniclers , whethe r clos e o r indifferen t t o th e fortune s o f th e emperor, are quite explicit. Otto of Blasien is the best guide. Having recited all the inheritance s an d acquisitions , h e continued : 'Th e land s o f al l these an d others which came into the emperor's righ t (in jus), and all the fiefs which they 85 O n th e Pfullendor f inheritance see especially K. Schmid , Graf Rudolf vo n Pfullendorf and Kaiser Friedrich I . (Forschunge n zur Oberrheinische n Landesgeschicht e 1 , Freiburg, 1954) , pp . 169-93. Alread y in 1170 Barbarossa's ver y young son Frederick, duke of Suabia, had the advocacy over the see of Chur: ibid., p. 173 and Regesten no. 87. Count Rudolf s daughter and heiress was married t o Count Albrech t II I o f Habsburg. Th e Habsburg s were compensated with part of the inheritance of the counts of Lenzburg which Barbarossa had been able to secure in 1173 when they died out : ibid. , p . 18 8 and Regesten no. 82 ; and se e als o F . Opll , Da s Itinerar Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossas (1152-1190) (Forschunge n zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters: Beihefte zu J.F. Bohmer, Regesta imperii 1, Vienna, 1978), pp. 56f. For the ferry across the lake see ibid. p. 72, and D F I 779 (Constance, Ma y 1179) . 86 M.-L . Favreau , 'Zu r Pilgerfahr t de s Grafe n Rudol f vo n Pfullendorf : Bi n unbeachtete r Originalbrief au s dem Jahre 1180' , Zeitschrift fu r di e Geschichte des Oberrheins, 123 (1975), pp . 31-45. 87 Wirttembergisches Urkundenbuch 2, ed. Konigliches Staatsarchiv (Stuttgart, 1858), pp. 204f., no. 41 9 (Altdorf, 25 December 1179) .

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held by homage o f ecclesiastical princes , bishops, and abbots, h e caused to be given to his sons and possessed them potestative\ which suggests that the sons held the m i n law but for the moment h e controlled them. 88 More illuminating still i s a n Alsatia n notitia fro m th e Cistercia n monaster y o f Neuburg unde r Hohenstaufen lordshi p an d advocac y i n Alsace . Draw n u p sometim e afte r 1175, it proclaimed tha t they possessed an estate called Selehoven, i n exchange for the right they had enjoyed i n the Holy Forest and in another vill. The Holy Forest was a huge silva n are a aroun d th e Hohenstaufe n centr e o f Hagenau . The monks, i n their notitia, asserted tha t at the time of the exchange they had, thanks to the bequest of Count Reinhol d o f Liitzelburg, [171] their cofounder (ob. 1143) , owne d ever y thir d tree , tha t is , a thir d o f th e whol e fores t i n partnership wit h th e Hohenstaufe n wh o ha d th e othe r tw o thirds . 'But, ' continued th e notitia, 'a s th e empero r wa s prudent an d might y an d a s h e gathered diverse lands into a great mass for the sake of his illustrious progeny , he gav e u s this wretche d littl e estate in exchange fo r ou r immens e righ t an d because w e di d no t dar e t o contradict , w e had t o accep t it'. 89 Th e monks ' statements hav e bee n carefull y examined , an d the y sho w that Walte r Map' s warnings to hi s readers t o beware o f Cistercian propert y claim s and dealing s were no t wholly libellous. Ther e is some evidenc e to prove that the monks of Neuburg coul d not hav e had seisi n of a third of the Holy Forest; and there is also evidence tha t the land they received was not poor but valuable, since they established a grang e there , assarted , plante d vines , an d eventuall y set up a priory. However , the y must have had a claim, and it was to buy it out that th e emperor gave them Selehoven. 90 What matters here is his motive for amassing lands: hi s nobl e offspring , an d hi s housefatherl y prudenc e i n providin g fo r them. It must no t be thought tha t th e endowment o f Frederick I' s sons was just a family event, a private matter (a s we would say). By the beginning of 1179 th e process agains t Henr y the Lio n was unde r way , and the duk e had bee n summoned t o the diet which assembled a t Worms in January 1179. H e did not 88

Ott o o f St Blasien, Chronica (as n. 65) c. 21, p.30. Wiirdtwein , Nova Subsidia (a s n. 31) , no . 24 , p. 60 : 'Sed imperato r cu m esset pruden s et potens, atqu e divers a predia , propte r inclita m ejus prole m i n unum aggregaret, istud tantillum predium nobis dedit pro immenso jure, quia ea non audebamus contradicere, ac idcirco oportebat nos istud acceptare.' Se e also A. Meister, 'Di e Hohenstaufen im Elsass' (Diss . Mainz , 1890), pp . 60ff. 90 Tha t the monk s could not hav e held a third of the Hol y Forest is at any rate suggested by Frederick's diplomata granting them limited rights of use, which they would not have needed ha d they owned so much. See D F1136 (1156), an d especially D F1206 (Hagenau, 27 February 1158) . They coul d pastur e thei r livestock in the forest excep t sheep. The y could take timber only by the assignment and supervision of the emperor's ministri. Later they forged a diploma over a genuine seal, based o n their notitia ( D PI 1061). Se e Herkenrath, Reichskanzlei, 1181-1190 (as n. 25), pp. 245ff. wit h further literature . Compare d t o DF I 136 , th e monks ' positio n i n D F I 206 is more circumscribed. Pop e Eugeniu s Ill's privilege for Neuburg, Migne, PL 180 , col. 1262, no. 215, did not mention the monastery's rights in the forest. In Alexander Ill's privilege of 1177 the monks still held th e vill which, according to the notitia, had been exacted together with the forest rights, and Selehoven wa s not mentioned . Wiirdtwein, Nova Subsidia (as n. 31), no . 21, pp. 53f. 89


7

come and was summoned again. Barbarossa attempting to obtain a sentence of Suabian prince s unde r customar y la w (Landrecht). 91 A t Worms , we learn a t the sam e tim e fro m th e Pega u annalist , th e Hohenstaufe n prince s wer e endowed wit h rich lands and lordships. 92 Otto of St Blasien tells us what each of the m eventuall y received. 93 A younger Frederick wa s to have the Pfullen dorf estat e an d th e expectatio n o f Welf s enormous hereditas to support an d enhance hi s Suabian duchy. He had of course Hohenstaufen patrimony as well Conrad receive d th e honores, fiefs, and house-lands of Frederick o f Rothen burg. Conra d [172 ] Ill' s son, tha t is , north Suabia n and Franconian posses sions.94 Otto was to have the estates and lordship ove r Burgundy which came to Frederic k I through hi s wife Beatrice . Hi s name, like some o f his father's diplomata, announce d that the Hohenstaufen were anxious to be seen not only as the Salians ' bu t als o the Ottomans ' heir s and rightful successors. 95 Henry, the oldest living son - the Frederick bor n in 1164 had died young - was meant for th e kingship . The ecclesiastica l fiefs that went with all these complexes of possessions were distributed separately, to each son according to the lie of his lands an d futur e honours. Th e Pega u annalist mentions especially that thes e arrangements ha d th e approva l o f th e prince s attendin g th e diet : 'null o contradicente'.96 This i s an arrestin g phrase. Wh o coul d hav e contradicted ? From a diplom a date d fro m thi s curia, 2 2 January 1179 , i t i s clear tha t th e Suabian grea t wer e presen t i n considerabl e numbers , som e o f thei r name s being added to the list of witnesses.97 Welf VI himself attended and headed th e list of these additions. The deep division in the Welf family and the prospective shift o f wealt h toward s th e Hohenstaufe n here becam e ver y visible. Hous e policy and imperial policy overlapped and overlay one another. The setting up of the Hohenstaufe n princes should be seen as part of the proceedings against Henry the Lion. Amon g the Suabians great present there must have been men who viewed these development s with alar m and concern. The Hohenstaufe n were becomin g overmight y neighbours an d i t coul d als o b e tha t successio fiscalis here an d ther e hi t an d hur t othe r Suabia n nobles' kinshi p with, and 91

Fuhrmann , Germany (a s n . 5) , p . 169 ; Jordan , Henry th e Lion (a s n . 52) , p . 168f. ; C . Erdmann, 'Der ProzeB Heinriches des Lowen', in T. Mayer et al, Kaisertum und Herzogsgewalt i m Zeitalter Friedrichs I . (Schrifte n de r MG H 9 , Leipzig , 1944) , pp. 296-9 ; K . Heinemeyer , 'De r ProzeB Heinrich s de s Lowen' , Blatter fur deutsche Landesgeschichte, 11 7 (1981), pp . 1-6 0 an d especially pp. 31ff . The literatur e on Henry the Lion' s fall i s torrentital. 92 Annales Pegavlenses s.a. 1179 , MGH S S 16 , 262: 'Ibi [at Worms] auctoritate imperiali nullo contradicente filio s suo s hereditat e propri a et beneficii s multoru m nobiliu m virorum, plurimis etiam urbibu s et minsterialibu s ditavi.' The referenc e to th e 'fief s o f man y nobles ' mirror s the recent Hohenstaufe n successions and gains at the expense of other Suabian noble houses. 93 Ott o of St Blasien, Chronica (as n. 65), p. 30, and see also Hugonis Continuatio (as n. 81), p. 478. 94 Otto , loc cit., Hugo loc, cit., and Burchard of Ursberg, Chronicon (as n. 65), p. 56f. 95 E.g . D F I 98 0 (Dahlem, 1 5 September 1188) , bu t i t should be note d tha t hi s name also recalled Burgundian comital ancestry. Names often announce d destinies in noble families. 96 Cf . n. 92 above. 97 D F I 772. It was for the Premonstratensian house of Roth in Suabia.

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hence expectations of inheritance from, the stricke n an d now 'heirless' families. W e kno w tha t som e Alemanni c comital families, th e Zoller n an d th e Veringer, bot h absen t fro m Worm s an d others who may have been present , shortly afte r conspire d wit h Henry the Lion , oppose d Frederick , and threatened to thwart his proceedings under Landrecht. They needed to be brought to heel and reconciled.98 There is another tension latent in the Pegau annalist's phrase 'nullo contradicente'. I f w e ar e righ t abou t successio fiscalis, succession thank s t o land s reverting fiscally. Barbarossa would have endowed his sons with estates which might be deemed to belong to the Reich now, or at least not unequivocally to the Hohenstaufen house. That he was allowed to do so needed sanctioning. I t also betray s no t onl y the prominenc e o f the Hohenstaufe n famil y them e in Frederick's polity but als o his insecurity despite triumphs , not least of all the massive princely support agains t Henry the Lion . By giving his sons so much, Frederick sough t t o mak e sure tha t al l these lands , rights, fiefs, castles, an d ministeriales would become Hohenstaufen house possessions, and not imperial demesne which must revert shoul d the Hohenstaufe n a t an y time be passe d [173] ove r an d not elected t o the kingship. The would thus fight a future civi l war from positions of strength. The ultimate aim was no doubt already in 1179 an Erbreichsplan, but as yet the princes' right to elect and their watching brief over the interests of the imperial lands could not be gainsaid. The Lion's fall in any cas e di d no t mea n tha t Barbaross a passe d th e las t year s of his reign in unchallenged master y and control. On the contrary, they were poisoned b y a sulphurous conflic t wit h a successio n o f pope s ove r th e se e o f Trier , an d a growing rift with Philip of Heinsberg, archbishop of Cologne, the disappointed beneficiary o f the Gelnhausen Charter." The endowmen t o f th e Hohenstaufe n prince s mean t o f cours e tha t the y could mi x a s equal s wit h thei r like , th e principes regni, tha t consolidatin g group whos e verdic t ha d bee n decisiv e i n th e proces s agains t the Lio n an d whose armed ai d allowed Frederick to appear in Saxony in 1180 and 1181 with imposing forces to watch the disintegration of loyalties round Henry and reap the benefits. 100 It also meant that these Hohenstaufen princes could now man 98

Muc h has been written about this 'Suabian plot'. See Erdmanm, 'ProzeB' (as n. 91), pp. 31521; Schmid, Rudolf vo n Pfullendorf(as n . 85 above), pp. 194ff. ; Maurer, Herzog von Schwaben (as n. 74), pp. 250f. The source is Burchard of Ursberg, Chronicon (as n. 65), p. 54. Late in May 1179, when Frederic k I kep t cour t a t Constance , th e Zoller n an d th e Veringe r counts witnessed his diploma (DPI 779) restoring the libertas of the ferry (see n. 85), suggesting that they were not yet overtly hostile . B y 2 5 January 1180 Count Manegol d of Veringe n is name d among 'our dea r faithful' sponsorin g a grant for the patriarch Ulrich of Aquileia, D F I 791 at Wiirzburg. That he had bee n a t odd s wit h the empero r can, however, be deduce d fro m th e latter' s gruff mandate addressed to the count in July 1179, D PI 783. 99 O n the conflict with Philip of Heinsberg and its ramifications see Engels, Die Staufer (a s n. 5), pp. 102-5 . O n th e rift s wit h Pop e Alexande r Ill' s successor s se e W . vo n Giesebrecht , Di e Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit: 6 , Die letzten Zeiten Kaiser Friedrichs de s Rothbarts, ed. B . von Simson (Leipzig, 1895), pp. 87-166 . 10 °'Nullo contradicente' (see above at n. 96, and see n. 92) also meant that the princes agreed that they would accept Barbarossa's sons into their ranks.


9

important position s i n the Reic h and so make its government perhaps a little easier. They , a younge r generatio n o f th e dynasty , no w replace d Duk e Frederick o f Rothenburg and joined Conrad, the count palatine who lived well into Henry VFs reign. Here lay their true role and value to the Hohenstaufen polity. It would be an exaggeration to say that Frederick I packed the estate of princes wit h hi s sons , bu t thei r presenc e was , all the same , noticeabl e an d weighty. True , Hohenstaufe n scion s were n o better tha n most, an d th e two younger ones , Ott o an d Conrad , soo n gaine d a reputatio n a s ruffian s an d muggers.101 Their younges t brother, Philip, remained unendowed because he was meant for the church and was only hauled out of clerical estate when early deaths struc k dow n an d thinne d th e rank s of th e famil y i n th e 1190s . Wel l before that, however, Henry VI as king and Frederick as duke of Suabia were hard a t work , kep t court , preside d ove r assemblies , transacte d business , arbitrated an d mad e grants , wit h princes, counts , an d noble s abou t them . Henry wa s able t o ad d a stronghold in Breisach to hi s house's ecclesiastica l fiefs in 1185, whil e his brother in the sam e year held a Suabian diet, attende d not onl y Welf V I but als o b y the conspirator s of 1179/80. 102 Duke Frederick accompanied Barbaross a on the crusade, from whic h neither was to return. Reich, ducatus, and hous e wer e thus enmeshed together , an d the endowment o f Hohenstaufe n prince s could not b e just a famil y arrangement . Th e coolness and calm with which Frederick I changed direction and, having opted for th e nort h Italia n venture, abandoned the mai n planks of his policy while saving appearances an d a flow of cash revenues, the change s of course which historians lik e Munz and Pacaut have made so much of, the y all suggest that neither th e ful l realisatio n o f imperia l ideolog y no r [174 ] ne w form s o f government in Italy were really closest to the emperor's heart and thinking.103 The thing s that wer e must be looke d fo r i n the Hohenstaufe n house an d its standing. H e buil t up th e Reic h s o that th e Hohenstaufen , their circle , an d their servants could be raised, enriched, and feared: and he used it so that they acquired th e mean s t o thes e ver y secular ends . I f you thin k this conclusio n unduly cynical, there is a latter-day testimony which clinches it and also shows that the very word cynical is out of place. There i s the letter, a great apologia and justification, that King Philip addressed to Pope Innocent III in June 1206, when his Welf rival Otto IV had not yet quitted the field but looked like a loser:

101 On Otto's reputation se e Annales Marbacenses qu i dicuntur s.a. 1197 , ed . H. Bloc h (MG H SRG 9, Hanover 1907), p. 70, and Chronica Regia Coloniensiss.a. 1198, ed. G. Waitz (MGH SR G 18, Hanover, 1880), p. 164 . On Conrad see Otto of St Blasien, Chronica (as n. 65), c. 37, p. 57, and Burchard o f Ursberg, Chronicon (as n. 65), p.74. 102 B6hmer-Baaken, no. 4 (Basel, July 1185). On Duke Frederick's Landtag in 1185 see Maurer , Herzog vo n Schwaben (as n. 74), pp. 251f. , and 319 plate 22. 103 P. Munz , Frederick Barbarossa: A Study i n Medieval Politics (Londo n 1969) , wher e th e emperor's acquisitions in Suabia are all seen as part of a 'great design' which is later 'scrapped'; cf. pp. 102 , HOff. , 255ff. , 261 , 303 . M . Pacaut Frederick Barbarossa, trans . A.J . Pomeran s (Londo n 1970), pp. 130ff .

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You can believe without doubt, nay , know for truth, that a t that time [1198] there was among the princes of the Empire none richer than we, none more powerful, no r of greater fame . For we had the largest and most widespread possessions, the most castles an d they , to boot , th e stronges t an d quit e unconquerable, and w e had so many ministeriales tha t w e coul d hardl y know their numbe r for certain . W e ha d towns, cities, vills, the richest burgesses, money in plenty, gold, silver, and precious stones, an d we had in our possession also the Cross, the Holy Lance, and the Crown, the imperial vestments, and al l the insignia of the Empire. For God had blessed us with many goods and he had increased our house (Genesis 28:3). Great inheritance had he given us in famous things so that we had no need to labour ambitiously to gain the Empire . Nobod y coul d b e electe d kin g who di d no t nee d ou r favou r an d voluntary obedience muc h more than we needed thei r favour an d goodwill. 104

With these solemn phrases of the Old Testament Philip here not only defended himself against the charge of having lusted after th e crown, that is, the deadly sin of ambition an d coverin g the highes t dignit y and power . He als o tells us about th e Hohenstaufe n fortune , swolle n stil l more, especiall y i n treasure , after Henr y VI' s conquest an d succession i n Sicily. The administrativ e innocence of not knowing how many imperial ministeriales there really were is here particularly tantalising . Wa s it al l rhetoric ? Mos t o f all , however , Phili p or rather hi s dictator here speak s th e ver y min d o f the Germa n princ e o f th e twelfth an d thirteenth centuries . I f we had aske d him what the Hohenstaufen had achieved after seventy years under the crown, this is what he replied. Why then should we know better and father Grand Designs or state planning upon them? I t wa s the hous e tha t mattered , no t th e reorganisatio n o f the state , whatever tha t meant. The very form of one of the las t diplomata Frederick I uttered before setting off on crusade reveals this with startling clarity. It was a reward for the bishop of Brixen. Normally bishops and abbots headed the list of witnesse s i n diplomata . Here , however , th e Hohenstaufe n prince s cam e first, Frederick an d Otto, before Bishop Berthold of Zeitz and a provost.105 The dynasty's opponents feare d it for these very reasons, and they too were out for the same, that is, house gains. Perhaps they felt taken advantag e o f by men as commanding as the aged Barbarossa was, or as calculating, hard-faced, and relentless as [175] Henry VI. The Hohenstaufen polity was a commonweal all th e sam e sustaine d b y aristocrati c prejudice s and shadowy , rather fluid solidarities. I n 118 8 a grou p o f Saxo n prince s unde r Frederick' s presidenc y judged a matte r tha t ha d arise n i n th e distan t south , thi s tim e th e se e of Trent.106 In 118 2 a notable bod y of lay princes cas t a sentence damnin g and squashing th e burgess ' commun e i n Cambrai , whic h Frederic k the n dul y promulgated.107 l04 Regestum Innocentii H I papae super negotio Romani imperil n o 136 , ed . F . Kempf , S.J . (Miscellanea historia pontificiae 12 , Rome, 1947) , p. 319, lines 16-33. 105 DF I 997 (29 April 1189) . 106 D FI 986 (Saalfeld, 6 December 1188) . 107i D F1825 (Mainz, 21 May). It was far from being the last word in the long-drawn-out struggle between the bishop and the burgesses.


1

One o f these solidarities was the crusade. Does it not show that other idea s mattered i n thi s polic y groupe d aroun d i s ruling family? Yet w e kno w tha t important prince s mad e thei r ow n wa y t o Outremer an d di d no t joi n th e emperor's host , to his bitter disappointment. The men of Cologne and others, as before , firs t wen t t o Portugal . Th e crusad e resemble d somewha t thos e competing parties and feasts we have already mentioned. It was the biggest of them all. Barbarossa remembered hi s experiences i n 1147 when a vast horde of militarily useless, indigent pilgrims on foot had slowed up the mounted nobles and their household s an d so engulfed them in common disaster in Asia Minor. This tim e onl y th e wealth y potentes, thei r following , an d attendant s wer e allowed t o take part by Frederick's orders . The third crusade, compared with the second , wa s a muc h more secula r an d mundan e enterprise, wit h larger opportunities t o ear n fam e b y th e displa y of arme d might , liberalitas, an d virtus, and al l this in the servic e o f Christ. Frederic k wen t on it when he had ordered hi s house. Takin g one son , Frederick , duk e of Suabia, with him, he left th e other s in possession of their inheritances , thei r honours , thei r tasks, and their futures. That was the righ t way of worldly and otherworldly piety. Lastly the question must be asked: what was the long-term impact of all this Hohenstaufen acquisitivenes s on the Hohenstaufen polity? The answer to be given her e run s counter t o man y current historica l reflections. The massive build-up o f th e Hohenstaufe n fortun e i n German y weakene d rathe r tha n strengthened commo n bond s an d di d no t furthe r th e growt h o f a super regional political society . I t brought about dissonances an d rifts which undermined rathe r tha n fostere d solidarity . If th e interna l wars of th e earl y thirteenth century , encourage d b y Pope Innocen t III , ha d a Germa n theme , i t was, as we just saw, the Hohenstaufen lands and their wealth. Historians often overlook this : the y bemoan the early death of Henry VI without considering whether his programme as far as we can gauge it would not have exacerbated and accelerated rift s already perceptible before, and very formative afterward. Germany's was a multi-centred and regional society more than most, and that suited it. The princes, their houses, and ambitions only expressed this coming of age of regional cultures and power-structures withou t a single preponderan t core, which in any case the Hohenstaufen had been unable and also unwilling to nurture . Barbarossa' s privilege s fo r his palace town s like Gelnhause n an d Hagenau remaine d elaborat e gestures. 108 I t wa s not powe r h e lacked , no r wealth; but fo r al l his eloquence i n his native tongue, his sedulous interest i n the deed s o f forme r kings , his lov e o f laws , and hi s occasionall y adaptabl e responses t o the economic growth all about him, the gap between the conceptual moulds [176] of his experts and publicists and his own understanding of his world an d task s ma y hav e bee n wid e an d sometime s difficul t t o bridge. 109 iosD F I 447 (in the plain of Monte Malo, 15 June 1164) for Hagenau; D F I 571, 572 (Gelnahausen, 25 July 1170); Opll, Stadt und Reich (a s n. 64) , p. 73ff. , 83ff. , 537ff. , 559f . 109 Fried, "Wirtschaftspolitik Barbarossa ' (as n. 5), pp. 237f .

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Rahewin, when he particularly wanted to praise Barbarossa' s circumspect rul e and daily care for the Reich, law, and justice, called him 'iam no n regni rector, sed unius domus, unius rei publice paterfamilias'.110 The image was startlingly clear and well chosen.

n °Gesta Frederici (as n. 2) III 17 , p. 428. The article presented here grew out of a lecture which was first given a t th e Deny s Ha y Semina r i n Edinburgh an d later a t th e Institut e o f Advance d Studies in Princeton , at Chape l Hill , at the Californi a Institute of Technology, at Stanford , at Seattle, an d a t th e Catholi c Universit y o f America , al l o f who m honoure d m e wit h thei r invitations. The lecture form ha s been retained. I am grateful t o Professor Horst Fuhrmann, the president, and the scholars of the Monumenta Germaniae Historica in Munich for allowing me to use an early proof copy of vol. 4 of Frederick Barbarossa's diplomata for the years 1181-90. Lastly, I shoul d lik e t o expres s m y warm thanks to Professo r Robert Benso n o f UCLA fo r ou r livel y discussions o f Frederick's regime, and for his advice and interest .

8

Frederick Barbarossa: Court and Country

More than other rulers of the twelfth century, indeed o f the whole middle ages, Frederick Barbarossa invite s overall survey and judgement.1 It was his personality an d hi s effectiveness alon e whic h gave a centre an d th e feelin g of being part of an imposing commonwealt h t o one of the largest European aristocrati c and chivalri c societies , eve n i f thi s societ y wa s becomin g mor e an d mor e regionalised. H e wa s als o a dominatin g rule r i n his final years, who m thos e who surrounde d hi m approache d wit h increasing awe . Ag e an d a long reig n gave a ruler a steady increase i n authority in the medieval era. Lords , whethe r great o r small , wer e i n their late r year s endowe d wit h greate r respec t tha n before b y a mobile because short-lived societ y whic h longed fo r stability an d cultivated th e familiar. In these his last years Barbarossa wa s a man of towering authority. A t th e en d o f hi s reign , afte r th e endin g o f the schism , h e stoo d above all the other rulers o f Europe. He was the head o f a flourishing house, which ha d als o become very wealthy. Geral d o f Wales informs us that he had an enormou s annua l income , an d Geral d kne w abou t th e ruler s o f wester n Europe not only from hearsay, and also enjoyed sizing up and comparing the m and their resources. 2 First publishe d a s 'Friedrich Barbaross a - Ho f und Land' i n Friedrich Barbarossa: Handlungsspielrdume un d Wirkungsweisen de s staufischen Kaisers, ed . A . Haverkam p (Vortrage und Forschungen 40 , Sigmaringen: Jan Thorbecke Verlag , 1992), pp. 519-30; thanks are due to editor and publishers fo r permission t o republish here. No English text of this essay appears to survive; what follow s i s a n editoria l translatio n of th e publishe d Germa n version , wit h merel y forma l changes to the footnotes . 1 H . Appelt , 'Friedric h Barbaross a (1152-1190)' , i n Kaisergestalten de s Mittelalters, ed . H . Beumann, 2nd edn (Munich , 1985), pp . 177-98 , a brief an d sensitive portrait. 2 Giraldu s Cambrensis, De Principis Instruction III 30, ed. G.F. Warner , in Giraldi Cambrensis Opera, vol. 8 (Rolls Series 21/8, London 1891) , p. 316. But contrast the quite different estimat e of Frederick Barbarossa's resources in Walter Map, De Nugis Curialium V 5, ed. M.R. James and others (Oxfor d Medieval Texts, Oxford , 1983), p . 450, according to which the emperor wa s well endowed wit h warrior s an d horse s bu t no t wit h gold an d riches . Walte r Ma p explaine d thi s by referring t o Charlemagne' s generosit y toward s th e church . Gerald' s estimat e wa s somewhat illogical, fo r h e offered it in spite of the fac t tha t he too though t that the bishop s in the Germa n kingdom, Lotharingi a and Burgundy controlled almost all the towns; Italy, curiously enough, was not mentioned . Gerald' s comparison s were of a moralising rather than a realistic nature.

*

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Among thes e ruler s Phili p Augustu s o f Franc e wa s th e youngest , an d perhaps somethin g of a n unknow n quantity. The Angevi n Henry I I o f England, wh o ha d immens e land s on th e continent , was certainly more highly profiled an d mor e important ; h e wa s amon g man y other thing s a brilliant judicial innovator. But tha t wa s not th e standar d by which he was measured among thos e i n cultivated circles who determined public opinion. Fo r thes e men Henr y remaine d a compromise d figure : th e murde r and martyrdo m of Thomas Becke t weighte d heavil y on hi s reputation. 3 True , Barbaross a als o had a long-lasting papal schism on his conscience, and contemporaries did not forget this , bu t i n spite o f his bloody campaign s he had produced no martyrs directly. For the contemporary assessment of Frederick there is a small but significant anecdote about a n incident which is supposed t o have taken place on 24 July 1177, th e day on which peace was concluded with Pope Alexander III and the two me n met . Frederic k showe d Alexande r th e honour s me t him , but curi ously enough th e reconciliatio n wa s not signalled by a common banquet held on the sam e day . According to one source, however , the pope sent present s and food for his evening meal, including a fatted calf. He was, in other words, the returning prodigal son4 Giesebrecht though t the story implausible, but the mere fact that it was told shows the concern to depict the reconciliation to the lay aristocrati c worl d fro m a n ecclesiastica l poin t o f view. 5 I n thi s wa y a shadow of a penance which in reality never took place could be rescued . It is appropriate an d inviting to commemorate the eight-hundredth anniversary of Frederick's deat h her e in Constance. Th e empero r wa s frequently in Constance i n his final years, and gladly, it would seem. We know of stays here in 1179 , 1181 , 118 3 an d probabl y als o i n 1187. 6 Ther e wa s a n impressiv e episcopal palac e i n the tow n next to the minste r for his residence, a s Helmut Maurer ha s s o elegantly shown.7 From 117 9 if not earlier , i n other word s no later than the time of his first visit here in the last phase of his reign, hi s house was richl y endowe d o n bot h side s o f Lak e Constance , thank s t o a grea t inheritance. This was left t o him by Count Rudolf of Pfullendorf, wh o died in the Holy Land on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1180. Som e time before that he had made the emperor an d his family the heirs of his lands, castles, lordships , and rights , afte r finding himself in the saddest an d most tragic position which could befal l a high aristocrat an d prince in the twelfth-centur y Reich: h e had lost hi s only son and principal heir during his own lifetime and was unable to 3

Se e on this W.L. Warren , Henry II , 2n d edn (London, 1977), pp. 519-55 . D e Pace Veneta Relatio, ed. W . Arndt, MGH S S 19, p. 463 . 5 W . vo n Giesebrecht , Geschichte de r deutsche Kaiserzeit, 6:Die letzten Zeiten Kaiser Friedrichs des Rothbarts, ed. B . von Simson (Leipzig , 1895) , p. 543f. 6 F . Opll, Das Itinerar Kaiser Friedrich Barbarossas, 1152-1190 (Cologne, 1978), pp. 93,136f., 217,219,221,228. 7 H . Maurer , 'Palatiu m Constantiense : Bischofspfal z un d Konigspfal z i m hochmittelalter lichen Konstanz' , i n Adel un d Kirche: Gerd Tellenbach zu m 65 , Geburtstag, dargebracht vo n Freunden un d Schtilern, ed . J. Fieckenstein and others (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1968) , pp. 374-88. 4

Frederick Barbarossa: Court and Country 14

5

replace him. Berthold, the young Pfullendorfer, may well have died along with so man y others o f th e plagu e whic h decimated an d destroye d Barbarossa' s army on the expedition t o Rome in 1167. The campaign had been an undertaking dea r t o Barbarossa' s heart : h e ha d intende d t o strik e a decisiv e blo w against Alexander III . I t is remarkable that he did not lose the support and the friendship o f Coun t Rudol f i n spit e o f th e catastrophe . W e fin d Rudol f frequently i n Frederick's entourage durin g the 1170s . Ther e ar e n o hints at resentment o r bitterness in the sources. Barbaross a an d his sons were not the only heirs of the orphaned Pfullendor f comita l house.8 A Habsburger, married to a daughte r o f Rudolf , receive d a significan t portion . Th e researche s o f Marie-Luise Favrea u hav e shown us that Rudolf of Pfullendorf ha d gathere d together substantial sums for his pilgrimage, part of which he deposited i n the treasury of St Mark's, Venice.9 It is quite possible tha t Frederick Barbaross a supplied hi m wit h a significan t part o f th e money . Ther e i s a furthe r very similar exampl e o f suc h a transactio n i n hi s dealing s wit h Duk e Wel f VI . Barbarossa an d hi s family , i n particular his son Frederick , duk e of Suabia, henceforth dominate d th e hinterlan d o f Constance , thoug h w e kno w little about how or whence they ruled in these parts. A genera l characteristic of kingship in western and southern Europe in the twelfth centur y wa s the growt h and intensificatio n of the connections , way s and mean s b y whic h king s wh o wer e mostl y bu t no t invariabl y itineran t transmitted thei r wil l to loca l communities , of the form s an d technique s by which guidelines and measures were to be passed on from above for execution to the competent agents a t regional and local level. Where such connections were frequent an d routinised , bot h centra l an d local office s an d institutions grew up . Career s and interes t group s formed at th e beginning s and ends of these routes of administrative traffic an d along them. In the last analysis they were the essential an d indispensable means by which regional societies could acquire statehood . Without such connections, and without their local official s and advocates , kingshi p wa s force d t o remai n distan t an d sporadi c i n it s workings, an d more or less irrelevant for the mass of the agricultural population. Le t us attempt a survey. Integral link s between th e roya l court an d the counties o r shires wer e the backbone o f Anglo-Norma n an d Anglo-Angevi n rule . Lat e Ol d Englis h kingship ha d alread y know n a livel y dialogue betwee n th e tw o levels . It s legislation wa s directed a t the shires and even regulated the way in which the hundreds functioned. In the twelfth century the Angevin sheriffs were increasingly required t o make written reports to the royal court, quite apart from their

8 K . Schmid, Graf Rudolf vo n Pfullendorf und Kaiser Friedrich I. (Forschungen zur oberrheinischen Landesgeschichte 1, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1954). 9 M.-L . Favreau , 'Zu r Pilgerfahr t de s Grafe n Rudol f vo n Pfullendorf . Bi n unbeachtete r Originalbrief au s dem Jahre 1180' , Zeitschrift fu r di e Geschichte des Oberrheins, 123 (1975), pp . 31-45.

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annual accounting to the exchequer. 10 In France the Capetians distinguishe d themselves as local kings who did not disdain petty tasks and local details, as is clearly evident fro m th e charter s o f Barbarossa's contemporaries , Loui s VI I and Philip Augustus. Direct control and the use of knights who belonged to the king's regular following and the royal household were here very much on the agenda. Th e royal demesne an d the dependent bishopric s an d abbeys within the ruler's reach gradually expanded until the conquest of Normandy, so that the administratio n coul d kee p pace. 11 Loca l control s an d effectiv e roya l intervention from th e centre have also been demonstrated for Catalonia and Aragon by Tom Bisson, and the sam e can be said of the Norman kingdom of Sicily.12 This, like England, experience d a penetrating and exploitative royal fiscality: ther e wer e roya l agent s comparabl e wit h th e sheriffs , whos e opportunities, wealth and social rise depended closel y on the use or abuse of their fiscal and juridical offices . The question s whic h mus t b e raise d her e are : wha t was the positio n a s regards the links and connections between the central court and the localitie s in the Germa n kingdom under Frederick Barbarossa? To what extent did the ruler hav e practical mean s to cope wit h the emergin g intermediate powers? Above all , how did the links between court and local authority work in those cases wher e bot h wer e i n th e hand s o f the Hohenstaufen ? Wha t doe s th e comparison betwee n Frederic k Barbaross a an d Henr y II , Loui s VII , Ray mond Berengar IV and William I or William II (of Sicily) tell us? What was the effective range of his itinerant court in transmitting orders to the localities and getting them carried out ? What were the relations between central and local initiatives i n reality? But first we must ask how we are to visualise the imperial court and its composition. The emperor was a traveller for the whole of his life. He probably spen t a s much time in tents a s under a fixed roof. The English king, Henry II, presented hi m in 1157 with a ceremonial tent which could be used fo r a crown-wearin g and a publi c mass. 13 Frederick' s cour t i n effec t consisted o f whatever persons were in his company. The permanent entourage consisted merel y o f a fe w capellani an d notaries , i n th e 1170 s fo r exampl e 10 Warren , Henry I I (a s n.3), pp. 266ff. , an d idem, The Governance of Norman and Angevin England, 1084-1272 (London 1987), chapters 5 and 6. 11 E . Bournazel , Le Gouvernement Capetien au XHe siede, 1108-1180: Structures sociales et mutations institutionelles (Publication s d e la Faculte d e Droit e t de s Sciences Economiques de Limoges N 2, Paris, 1975). 12 T.N. Bisson, The Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History (Oxford , 1986), pp. 48-57. For Sicily se e E . Caspar , Roger 11, (1101-1154) un d di e Griindung de r normannisch-sicilischen Monarchic (Innsbruck , 1904) , pp . 319ff . an d p . 32 3 for th e sendin g out o f tw o justitiars ; F. Chalandon, Histoire de la domination normande en Italic et en Sidle, 2 vols. (Paris, 1907) vol. 2, part 3, chapters 3-4, pp. 667,685 on bajuli and the chamberlains who controlled them. A travelling chamberlain decided a case in 1145 about which the king had previously sent a written order to the strategos of Amain: Rogerii 11. Regis Diplomata Latino, ed. C. Briihl (Codex Diplomaticus Regni Siciliae, II/l, Cologne, 1987), Appendix II/5, p. 269f. 13 Ottonis Episcopi Frisingensis e t Rahewini Gesta Frederid I . Imperatoris II I 7 , ed . F . -J . Schmale (AQDG 17 , Darmstadt, 1965), pp. 404ff .


7

Burchard, who dealt with the bulk of the writing needed including the issuing of diplomata an d mandates, the chancellor Gottfried (later on Johannes) and the protonotar y Rudolf , an d a few legally-trained prudentes whom we meet repeatedly i n th e diplomata . Adde d t o thi s ther e wa s a varyin g number of ministeriales who took turns to serve in court offices. W e must also reckon with large numbers of servants, for a travelling court in the twelfth century needed countless hands at all times. The emperor was always surrounded by knights; a military presence was part of the picture which men had of him.14 Of course, there were often bishops, lay princes and counts who travelled with Barbarossa for stretches , and there were faithful noble s - no t merely ministeriales - who accompanied hi m frequentl y an d fo r lon g periods , suc h a s Markwar d o f Grumbach (the father and son of this name seem to be found alternatingl y in his presence). They and their like were at court, and above all court and army overlapped, or a t least coul d not be clearly distinguished when the empero r was on campaign. The Reic h wa s at it s most presen t a t assemblies , wher e its highest circles repeatedly cam e together an d gathere d aroun d th e perso n o f the emperor . These day s wer e th e socia l centr e o f th e live s o f ecclesiastica l an d secula r princes, counts , other nobles , imperial ministeriales and those who had come in thei r ow n lords' entourage s an d serve d them . I t wa s here rathe r tha n in interaction betwee n centr e an d peripher y tha t th e sens e o f community displayed itself. B y and large it was a kaleidoscopic commonwealt h over which the empero r presided . Th e princel y court s ha d i n thi s respec t a certai n advantage precisel y becaus e o f thei r greate r restrictedness . Ther e - fo r example a t th e court s o f the Babenberge r i n Austria o r th e Ludowinge r in Thuringia - th e narrower radius of action itself provided a greater degree of coherence, thoug h ther e wer e admittedl y no grea t difference s i n th e tech niques of government; even Henry the Lion, with his Angevin connections by marriage, create d t o new kind of administration visible to us in the surviving written sources . We must envisage the imperial court, when it halted at palaces or episcopal sees like Constance as not only, and perhaps not even primarily, the startingpoint for binding decisions o f a political nature, but also, perhaps above all, a social centre. We can often se e how generations succeeded each other there . Counts an d imperial ministeriales took pains to bring their sons to court and introduce the m there , a s i s occasionall y reveale d b y th e witness-list s o f diplomata. On e exampl e ma y suffice, a show of favour b y Frederick fo r th e Hospitallers (Johanniter ) datin g from 1156 , issue d o n a particularly solemn and important occasion, namel y the same day that the great dispute between Henry the Lion and Henry Jasomirgott wa s resolved by turning Austria into a duchy and recording in a diploma the enfeoffment o f Jasomirgott with Austria 14

J . Fleckenstein , 'Friedrich Barbaross a un d da s Rittertum : Zu r Bedeutun g de r grofie n Mainzer Hoftage von 1184 und 1188', in Festschrift fu r Hermann Heimpelzum 70 . Geburtstag 1971, 3 vols. (Gottingen, 1972), vol. 2, pp. 1023-41.

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and the Lion with Bavaria. The privilege for the Hospitallers, issued simultaneously, mentions five sons among the comital witnesses, as well as Frederick, still describe d a s the so n o f Conra d III , an d tw o sons of anothe r noble. 15 Perhaps i t wa s precisel y th e importanc e o f thi s assembl y whic h made th e attendance of the comita l sons as witnesses so desirable. Most of them came from Bavaria , Austri a an d Moravia . Bu t thi s wa s b y n o mean s th e onl y occasion o n which the presence of the sons of counts, nobles and ministeriales is recorded, with or without names. The grea t Whitsun assembly in 118 4 a t Mainz wa s onl y a n extraordinar y intensificatio n o f a constantl y recurrin g sociability. Th e governmenta l action s o f Frederick Barbaross a wer e for th e most part a chain of sporadic dispute-settlements an d displays of favour. They acquired their coherence not through governmental technique but through the social centre fro m which they proceeded . The typica l governmenta l ac t i n Angevi n England, b y contrast, wa s th e inquest, th e investigatio n by bodies who were compelled o n oath to declar e what they knew about this or that matter. 16 That produced a constant coming and goin g of written instruments between cour t an d counties , eve n forests. Now i t woul d b e quit e wron g to maintai n tha t ther e wa s no equivalen t i n Barbarossa's kingdom, but the sources are not so rich. The letter-collections of Admont and Salzburg shed a good deal of light on the emperor's attempts to steer th e cours e o f event s in th e dioces e o f Salzbur g with its Alexandrine sympathies. They also present us with the critical problem of having to ask how far the y are typical. Can we assume that in those regions for which no lettercollections have survived the sam e sort o f thing was going on, onl y to have been lost to us without trace? The historians, for example Otto of Freising and Rahewin, had little time for the ways and means of imperial local government. It is in any case remarkable, and often forgotten, that we have comparatively little by way of contemporary historiograph y fo r th e twenty-fiv e year s afte r Rahewin brough t th e Deeds o f Frederick Barbarossa t o a close i n 1160 : w e must mak e d o wit h Godfre y of Viterb o o r rel y o n Ott o o f S t Blasien an d Burchard of Ursberg, both of whom wrote considerably later. Only the Royal Chronicle o f Cologne date s fro m th e lat e twelft h century . None o f thes e authors hav e muc h t o sa y o n ou r subject . Onl y th e so-calle d Annals o f Marbach, compile d fro m abou t 118 7 onwards , offer a n importan t entr y o n Alsace: afte r Frederick returned to Germany in 1162 following the destructio n of Milan he waged war against Count Hugo of Dagsburg because the latter had ignored th e imperia l orde r t o brea k of f the sieg e o f Horburg; the whol e of Alsace is said to have been involved in civil wars at that time17 Our principa l source s ar e without doubt Frederick's diplomata , mandates and letters. Here indeed we find evidence not only for the king's communications wit h an d intervention s i n loca l affairs , bu t als o fo r th e conduc t o f 15

D F 1152 (Regensburg, 17 September 1156). Warren , Governance (as n. 10) , chapter 6. 17 Annales Marbacenses qu i dicuntur, ed. H. Bloc h (MGH SRG 9, Hanover, 1907), pp. 50f. 16


9

investigations b y th e inquisitio n o f swor n witnesses . Onl y a da y afte r hi s coronation i n Aachen , Barbaross a issue d a diplom a fo r th e possession s of Saint-Remi, Rheim s i n th e regio n o f Meerssen . Th e abbo t ha d complaine d about infringements of his rights and trespasses b y a royal advocate, Gozwi n of Heinsberg. Frederick allowed the plea to go forward, and sent three messengers, who were to enquire o f the inhabitants of Meerssen wha t the rights of the advocate were an d t o lay these down . Th e messengers include d th e dea n of Aachen and 'ou r marshall' Mazelin . They carried out their inquisitio n at the estate o f Meerssen an d produce d th e result s i n written form , with a precis e account of the divisio n o f the rights of justice between kin g and advocate an d count. A further diploma wa s issued on the point.18 Even this was not enough to protect the monastery an d the inhabitants of Meerssen fro m th e advocate' s exactions. Not only Wibald of Stavelot bu t Pope Hadria n I V himself wrote to the archbisho p of Cologne an d th e bisho p o f Liege t o enjoi n them t o warn Gozwin o f Heinsberg t o respect th e king's judgement.19 We can see here how difficult i t wa s t o mak e th e roya l protectio n tha t wa s so ofte n conferre d i n diplomata effective . The Meersse n inquisitio n wa s by n o mean s the onl y one whic h we know about. We have a fairly well documented inques t carried out for a Hohenstau fen hous e monastery i n Alsace, th e Cistercia n abbe y of Neuburg near Hage nau. Here w e posses s no t onl y a n imperia l diplom a bu t als o a n importan t notitia writte n b y th e monk s themselves . Neubur g ha d bee n founde d b y Frederick's father, Duk e Frederic k o f Suabia, together wit h Count Reinhol d of Liitzelburg. It lay in the Holy Wood, an d immense Hohenstaufen forest of considerable economic importance.20 According to their royal charters an d privileges th e monk were allowe d t o graze thei r cattle in the wood but not their sheep, an d they could cut wood for their hearth s bu t no t fo r buildin g except unde r th e supervisio n o f the roya l forest official . Ther e were thus here something like a forest administration, as well as a royal advocate in Hagenau and a royal steward. The monks, however, believed that the y had bee n grante d muc h more substantia l rights by the cofounder Coun t Reinhold , namel y a third of the entire Hol y Wood. Frederic k compelled the m t o renounc e thes e claims , bu t compensate d the m wit h a n estate at Selehoven. But even here they were maltreated by another oppressor 18 D F12,8; D F12 (10 March 1152): 'secunda die, postquam unctionem sacram in Romanorum regem accepimus' whic h hardly contradicts the date of coronation, 9 March. 19 Wibaldi Epistolae, no. 381, Monumenta Corbeiensia, ed. P. Jaffe (Bibliothec a rerum Germanicarum 1 , Berlin, 1864) , p . 512 . Hadria n IV's admonition is in H. Meinert , Papsturkunden i n Frankreich, neue Folge, 1 : Champagne un d Lothringen (Abhandlunge n de r Gesellschaf t de r Wissenschaften z u Gottingen, Phil.-Hist. Kl., 3. Folge Nr. 4 Berlin, 1933), p. 261f., no. 69. 20 H . Heuermann, Die Hausmachtpolitik de r Staufer vo n Herzog Friedrich I. bis Konig Konrad HI. (1079-1152) (Borna-Leipzig , 1939), appendix III . A . Meister , 'Die Hohenstaufe n i m ElsaB' (Diss. Mainz , 1890); K. Bosl 'Pfalzen un d Forsten', in Deutsche Konigspfalzen: Beitrdge zu ihrer historischen und archaologischen Erforschung \ (Veroffentlichungen des Max-Planck-Instituts fiir Geschichte 11/1 , Gottingen , 1963) , pp . 1-29 ; A. Haverkamp , Medieval Germany, 1056-1273, trans. H. Braun and R. Mortimer (Oxford, 1988) , pp. 278-80.

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who ignore d thei r titl e t o the land . This was the landgrav e of lower Alsace , Count Gottfrie d o f Huneburg. The monks now sought help from the emperor and sent a messenger t o him just as he was unsuccessfully besieging Alessandria (betwee n Octobe r 117 4 an d Apri l 1175) . Thei r complain t was heard, naturally, fo r thi s wa s als o a n attac k o n Frederick' s ow n original right s of possession. He ordered that Riidiger, the advocate of Hagenau, and Wolfram, the marshall, should summon the landgrave. He also ordered the two men to gather togethe r fifteen village reeves from fifteen neighbouring villages, who were t o hol d a n inquisition int o th e ownershi p of the dispute d land . Thes e declared tha t the emperor, an d hence now the monks, was the rightful owner of the land. Al l these imperia l dignitaries - Riidige r an d Wolfram - ca n be found i n othe r diplomat a a s well ; Wolfra m wa s presen t i n th e imperia l entourage a t Goslar i n 1170.21 Here we can see how - no doubt with a good deal of trouble and expense - a right could be protected by a local inquisition. Not only the inquisition but also the perambulatio of disputed property coul d be made to establish right . The emperor ordained such a procedure in the course of a dispute between another Cistercian monastery, Pforta, and one of its aristocratic neighbours, in order to establish the propert y boundaries. Th e ministeriales who were told of f to do this were taken from th e neighbourhood, but a t least one of them, Gerewich 'de Cuphese ' can be found elsewher e a s a witness to imperial privileges and decisions i n favour o f other houses in southern Saxony. 22 In all these inquisitions - an d our stock of examples has by no means been exhausted - the cases lay in the neighbourhoo d o f Hohenstaufen or imperial land or of an imperial advocacy, an d ministeriales were each time available locally to carr y out th e procedures, or else they could be sent out from the court. This raises the question of how far the emperor could intervene in what were in the process of becoming territories; here too there is some evidence. In May or Jun e 1155 , afte r Frederic k ha d se t ou t wit h his army from Lombard y to 21

Se e A. Wiirdtwein, Nova Subsidia Diplomatica, vol. 10 (Heidelberg, 1788), pp. 60-2, no.24, and th e spuriou s diplom a of Frederick's base d o n this, D F I 1061 , produced in the thirteent h century. On Riidiger see D F1206 (1158), where the privileges of the monks of Neuburg in respect of the Holy Wood are restricted, and D PI 628 (1174), an imperial judgement ex consilio, and D F 1995 (1189); K. Bosl, Die Reichsministerialitdt der Salier und Staufer, 2 vols. (Schriften de r MG H 10, Stuttgart , 1950-1) , vol . 1 , p . 192f. , want s to identif y th e advocat e o f Hagena u wit h th e chamberlain Riidiger found frequently i n Barbarossa's diplomata between 1162 and 1170, on the last occasion in D F1571 for the merchants of Gelnhausen. That would mean that the advocate of Hagenau and forest officials could have been absent from their duties for many years serving in the emperor's entourage in quite different functions . The evidence of the diplomata suggests that this is not impossible; it would then show how little any kind of specialisation had developed within these circles of ministeriales and professional imperial officials. Perhaps they were all and above all else warriors . On th e marsha l Wolfram se e DD F I 324 (1161), 517 (1166), 57 1 (1170) an d th e spurium mentioned above, D PI 1061. 22 D F 1178 (1157). Five ministeriales in all were entrusted with the task of perambulating the properties claimed by the monks and thus defeating them. On Gerewich of Cuphese (Kiffhausen) see DD F156 and 57 (both 29 May 1153, Heiligenstadt). A Hugold of Cuphese is a witness in D FI 979 (1 September 1188) for the Cistercian house of Walkenried.


1

receive imperial coronation , h e wrote to the landgrave Louis II of Thuringia. He bega n with a brief account of the campaign and then turned to a request. Louis wa s t o loo k afte r th e right s o f th e burgrav e o f Altenberg , wh o wa s evidently with Frederick i n the army . The burgrave had enfeoffe d on e o f the emperor's chamberlain s an d expecte d a reversion o f the fief , bu t h e feare d interference an d trick s fro m a loca l enemy , wh o i s named. 23 Th e mos t significant point here is that Frederick requeste d rathe r than commanded. We can fin d a muc h mor e imperativ e ton e i n a lette r whic h hi s chamberlai n Sigiboth ha d t o presen t t o Duk e Herman n I I o f Carinthi a i n 1174 . Th e chamberlain als o ha d a role to play as arbitrator: th e letter reveal s that there had bee n clashe s betwee n certai n men of the emperor an d those o f the duke . The chamberlai n wa s t o mak e enquirie s a s t o wh o wa s guilt y an d wha t satisfaction wa s required.24 The duk e was warned to make sure that satisfac tion wa s performed shoul d i t turn out that his followers were the guilty ones. Contrariwise the emperor's men were also to make amends should they be the ones at fault. But this local dispute was not the onl y object o f the letter. Th e emperor als o demande d o f Duk e Herman n tha t h e shoul d refrai n fro m conducting feu d against the margrave of Styria for a time, and that he should do his best t o driv e out the archbisho p of Salzburg, the Bohemian Adelbert . Here we find ourselves i n the midst of the bitter struggles over the archbishop ric in the course of the emperor's papa l schism . Up to now we have been able to show that local sworn inquisitions ordained by the emperor fro m the court - i n Hohenstaufen Alsac e a t least - wer e very much par t o f th e technique s of loca l government practised b y Frederick. I n these regions quit e trivia l loca l matter s could be dealt wit h under his supervision. A s a n example we may cite the cas e of the nun s of Sindelsberg, who urgently neede d a wate r conduit : Frederic k confirme d th e complicate d arrangements whic h the y ha d t o mak e i n thi s respec t wit h th e abbes s o f Andlau, and he himself sent his legates to initiate the negotiations between the two houses.25 But all these things were, so it would seem, ad hoc measures, put in trai n partl y a s a resul t o f plaint s before th e emperor , th e produc t of th e protection agains t oppressor s whic h he repeatedly promise d churches . Muc h more wide-reachin g an d mor e penetratin g tha n th e realisatio n o f centra l decisions a t th e loca l leve l was the peac e legislation , i n particular the Landfriede fo r Rhenish Franconia of 1179 and the grea t law against arsonists which covered the whol e o f the empir e an d is to b e dated t o eithe r 118 6 o r 1188. 26 According t o the provisions of the peace of 1179 the judges were to outlaw evildoers an d the n t o g o to th e empero r an d reques t him to use his authority to outlaw the breakers o f the peace. Her e we have feedback from loca l judges 23

D F I 108. D F I 620 (before 12 May 1174). 25 D F I 207 (3 March 1158). 26 Th e tex t of the Rhine-Frankis h Landfriede i s now D F I 774 (18 February 1179, Weissenburg), an d tha t o f th e la w agains t arsonists is D F I 98 8 (29 or 3 0 December 118 6 o r 1188 , Niirnberg), most probably 1188. 24

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counts and others - t o the emperor, a s was common practic e i n the assises issued b y Henry I I o f England. 27 What is also important here i s the genera l obligation to pursue evil-doers. Peasants were to have weapons in their house s so tha t the y coul d o n reques t hel p th e competen t judg e t o pursu e peace breakers.28 In Barbarossa's German kingdo m a general peace jurisdiction was thus emerging. I n Rhenish Franconi a princes , nobles , free men and ministeriales were enjoine d t o hun t down highway robbers, bandits , thieves, forgers and thei r harbourers . Thi s i s al l very comparabl e wit h the Anglo-Angevi n assises, and yet the difference s are als o very evident. Firs t o f all, the right of feud remained generally acknowledge d withi n the kingdom: the edicts of 1179 and 1186 o r 1188 merel y imposed certain restrictions on it. Arson continued to be a perfectly normal accompaniment to the conduct of feuds, though the lord carrying ou t a feud an d his followers who burnt dow n buildings had t o pay compensation, accordin g t o th e law . Lords ha d to eject arsonist s fro m their following in order not to come under suspicion themselves. Th e castle of a lord who protected arsonist s i n his following and did not cas t them out was to be burnt down . It is evident that arso n could spread s o rapidly as to lead to th e burning down of castles on both sides. If an arsonist fled into a house where he could not be captured withou t burning the house down, this was not to count as a breach of the law. If, however, he fled to a castle whose lord was his own lord or his vassal or his blood relative, then the lord was not obliged to hand him over to his pursuers; he could allow the evil-doer to escape from the castle into a wood o r otherwise int o safety. 29 Such actions, an d indeed feud of any kind, were absolutel y forbidde n i n th e assise s o f Henr y II . Th e mos t importan t difference, however , la y in th e executio n an d i n th e organ s throug h which these laws were to be put into force and made effective. I n the Reich it was the powers already in existence which were to do this. In the law against arsonists we read 'If anyone should carry out arson within a duchy then the duke himself shall declare him outlawed as if by us. Margraves, pfalzgraves and other counts shall do the same, and no one except the emperor may pardon the offender.' 30 In England i t was the itinerant royal justices who were to enforce the laws. There are othe r point s whic h should be noted abou t this clause of the law against arsonists . Firs t of all, w e should not e th e geographica l divisions : th e Reich consisted of duchies. Bishop s wer e indeed to excommunicate evil-doer s - tha t wa s their mai n tas k a s laid dow n b y the law - bu t the sentence of outlawry was reserved for lay princes and counts. The emperor's competence was als o restricte d b y th e law . Th e rule r coul d onl y waive a judgmen t of 27

The mos t important sources are assemble d in W. Stubbs , Select Charters and other Illustrations of English Constitutional History from the Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward the First, ed. H.W.C . Davis, 9th edn (Oxford, 1913 , reprinted with corrections 1921-46), pp. 170-3 (Assize of Clarendon); 175-8 (Inquest of Sheriffs); 179-8 1 (Assize of Northampton, especially cc. 7, 9,10, and 11 , pp. 180f.) ; 183- 4 (Assisa d e Armis habendis in Anglia). 28 D F I 774. 29 D F I 988, p. 277. 30 Ibid . p. 275f .


3

outlawry with the agreement of the relevant judge, whether duke, margrave or count.31 Bu t wha t i s stil l mor e noteworth y i s th e wa y i n whic h th e la w envisaged an d reflecte d a ver y high-rankin g society. Wherea s Henr y II' s assises o f Clarendo n (1166 ) an d Northampto n (1176) wer e ver y obviously aimed a t criminals from th e lowe r classes, a s if king and nobles had common interests in such social policing, the law against arsonists was aimed principally at nobles, better-placed fre e men and ministeriales , and it sought to exclude upstarts fro m knighthood . The la w against arsonist s ver y consciously intended to b e a law and not a mere regulation , bu t i t di d no t tr y t o se t u p ne w kinds of link betwee n th e imperial court and the local powers or establish clear new procedures, let alone create new agencies for applying and carrying out the law's provisions. These deficiencies wer e disguise d b y entrusting the existing powers - dukes , mar graves, pfalzgraves and counts - to proceed to enforce the law by virtue of their office, thu s implying a sense of office whic h was not onl y already blurred but had indee d neve r existed excep t fo r brief periods and in part. Attempts have been made, however, to link Barbarossa with the rise and enfeoffment o f those aristocratic families in the southern Harz who called themselves count, and in this way to show that he attempted a revival of a sense of office. 32 We have to cross a final bridge in the course of our theme. As the heir of his father, Duke Frederick II of Suabia, Barbarossa was advocate of a fair number of monasteries, Hohenstaufen house foundations: St Walburg and Neuberg in Alsace, fo r example ; Lorc h i n Suabia ; Miinster-Dreise n i n th e dioces e of Mainz. I n th e imperia l privilege s grante d t o thes e convent s th e genera l advocacy held by the empero r is often stressed , just as is imperial protection. Yet it was physically quite impossible that Frederick should have exercised th e duties of these advocates himself, including presiding over court sessions three times a year. He would not have been in a position to do anything else except cope with this flood ofplacita an d perhaps in the meantime to concern himself with tumult s and seriou s crime s arisin g within hi s advocacies. Thi s wa s not possible fo r Hohenstaufe n ruler s an d indee d the y would perhaps no t hav e stooped to concern themselves with such petty local affairs. Nevertheless, their advocacy was necessary an d was requested b y petitioners; yet subadvocacies, meaning subinfeodation s wit h ful l o r partia l advocatia l jurisdiction , wer e forbidden. Ho w wa s th e ga p fille d betwee n loca l needs , expectation s an d requirements o n th e on e han d an d o n th e othe r a permanentl y travellin g emperor who migh t visit a monastery only once o r twic e if at al l during his whole reign? Frederick forbade others - the counts of Namur, for example - to

31

Ibid. , p. 275f . K.H . Mascher , Reichgut und Komitat a m Sudharz im Hochmittelalter (Mitteldeutsch e Forschungen 9, Cologne, 1957). 32

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e Gregorian Revolutionand Beyond

install subadvocates. 33 The advocacy was frequently left quite deliberately ou t of privileges, only to be admitted again by a side door. Subadvocates did not die out, bu t abbot s coul d choos e the m themselves, an d the high advocacy of the emperor at least meant that if the worst came to the worst the monks could complain t o the highest lay authority. Historians in Germany and elsewhere have thought and still think that bot h the centra l an d th e loca l administration s foun d i n imperial German y i n th e twelfth centur y were backward, and that the new experiments an d successful advances o f firs t th e Angevi n and the n th e Capetia n neighbour s were no t found here. 34 The early diplomata of Barbarossa which have been considere d here len d n o suppor t t o suc h a view, quite th e contrary . Such things as the sending ou t o f roya l legate s fro m cour t t o carr y out loca l investigation s b y questioning th e inhabitants , o r th e us e o f th e Hohenstaufen' s o r imperia l ministeriales i n th e neighbourhoo d t o carr y ou t administrativ e an d judicia l duties wer e b y n o mean s unknown . There i s als o n o indicatio n tha t suc h measures remaine d ineffective . Thes e comparativel y sophisticate d proce dures, which might even include written reports, ha d a Carolingian pas t an d were no t entirel y unknown to th e late r Ottonian s and the Salians . We have shown tha t Barbarossa' s advisers mastered the m early on in his reign, even before the y might have been suggested by Italian models. I n Alsace, around Hagenau, ther e ar e signs that an administrative personnel wa s at work in the persons of ministeriales like Riidiger of Hagenau and his like, men whom the emperor entruste d wit h special tasks alongside their normal duties . At th e clos e w e must ask ourselves why these measure s did not tur n into permanent procedura l form s and become par t o f a continuously functioning and eve r intensifyin g traffi c betwee n th e itineran t imperia l cour t an d th e localities, whether these were Hohenstaufen demesne lands, imperial lands or the varie d lordship s o f princely or othe r vassals . Th e questio n i s difficult t o answer wit h certainty, not leas t becaus e th e correspondenc e an d mandates which we possess do not allow us to guess how much more has been lost. But since w e no w kno w how smal l the Hohenstaufe n chancer y was, as was th e court an d th e permanen t entourag e o f th e ruler , w e shoul d probabl y no t estimate th e losses too highly. It is probably too simplistic t o see Frederick's lengthy Italia n undertakings as the reaso n behind this underdevelopment of administrative procedures . W e saw, afte r all , that som e o f Frederick's loca l 33 D F184 (1152-54). In D F1998 (1 May 1189, Donauworth) for a house of Austin canons in the diocese of Trent subadvocates were strictly forbidden, but in D F11055 (May 1189), a mandate for Admont, they were addressed directly and graciously along with the dukes of Austria and Styria: 'universis iudicibus et subadvocatis ecclesie Admundensis gratiam . . . et omne bonum'. 34 Se e for example H. Heimpel, 'Friedrich I. Kaiser', Neue Deutsche Biographie, vol. 5 (Berlin, 1961), p . 474-5 . A balance d judgement , though notin g the continuin g existence o f numerous 'archaic traits' i n Staufer kingship , can be foun d i n H. Fuhrmann , Germany i n the High Middle Ages, c. 1050-c. 1200, trans. T. Reuter (Cambridge, 1986), pp. 162-8. Contrast G. Barraclough, The Origins o f Modern Germany, 2nd ed n (Oxford , 1946) , pp. 161-92 . The judgemen t of M . Pacaut, Frederick Barbarossa, trans. A.J. Pomerans (London, 1970), pp. 21 Of., is vaguer; compare also B. Arnold, German Knighthood 1050-1300 (Oxford, 1985), pp. 5-6.


5

initiatives were started from his camps at the sieges of Crema and Alessandria. In th e las t resort , Barbarossa simpl y di d not perceiv e hi s duties like this, as daily detailed ruling. H e ha d not bee n schoole d t o work as had his Angevin, Hauteville and Aragonese contemporaries . Eve n the law against arsonists was a unique measure, probably promulgated onl y shortly before his departure for the third crusade, while the Rhine-Frankish Landfriede wa s in any case to last for a period o f only two years. Frederick was, as even foreigners knew well, a superb speake r i n his native Suabia n - jus t a s Otto th e Grea t ha d happil y spoken Saxo n - an d he was for that reaso n accustome d fo r his authority to radiate from his own person. He did not try to institutionalise this authority, at least no t i n Germany; it sufficed a s it was.


9 The Angevin Kings and the Holy Man

The Holy Man or Woman was no stranger in Angevin England. We meet such people, not infrequently , in the village hermits and in those unde r monastic guidance; for example , Wulfric o f Haselbury, Godri c o f Finchale i n the las t phase o f his adventurous life, Siga r and Roger at St Albans, and last, but not least, Christin a o f Markyate. 1 Th e name s o f Bartholome w o f Fam e an d Robert of Knaresborough migh t be added to this list.2 Characteristic of them all are the hard labours of austerity, the struggle against the flesh, the position outside the troubled loca l communities near which they came to live and which turned t o them fo r advice , comfort , cures, and the hope o f God's nearness . Most of them were Anglo-Danish and belonged to the now subject and lordedover majority . This does not mean that they had no links with their Norman seigneurs, lay and ecclesiastical. On the contrary, as has been so well shown by Mayr-Harting, they often enough acted as hinge-men and women between the rural population s an d thei r master s o r th e latter' s agents . Thei r power , influence, an d holines s als o attracte d patronag e fro m above , an d i n 115 5 Henry I I ordered a gift t o be sent to Christina, now a prioress.3 [50] * Firs t published in St Hugh of Lincoln: Lectures Delivered at Oxford an d Lincoln to Celebrate the Eighth Centenary o f S t Hugh's Consecration as Bishop of Lincoln, ed. Henr y Mayr-Harting (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987), pp. 49-73; thanks are due to editor and publishers for permission to republish. Text and footnotes are unchanged except for formal aspects and a small number of references to more recent editions in the footnotes. 1 O n Wulfri c an d Godri c se e H . Mayr-Harting , 'Functions o f a Twelfth-Centur y Recluse' , History, 6 0 (1975), pp . 337-52 . O n Sigar , Roger an d Christin a see Gesta Abbatum Monasterii SanctiAlbani, ed . H.T. Riley, 2 vols. (Rolls Series 28/4, London, 1867-69), vol. 1, pp. 97-106. On Christina, se e C.J . Holdsworth , 'Christina o f Markyate' , i n Medieval Women, ed . D . Bake r (Studies in Church History: Subsidia 1, Oxford, 1978), pp. 185-204 . 2 Fo r Bartholomew , see Geoffrey o f Coldingham, Vita Bartholomaei Farnensis, in Symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia, ed. T. Arnold, 2 vols. (Rolls Series 75, London, 1892), vol. 1, pp. 295-325. For Rober t se e H. Dauphin , 'L'£remitisme en Angleterre aux Xle et Xlle siecles', in L'Eremitismo in occidente nei secoli XI e XII (Miscellane a del Centro di Studi Medioevali 4, Milan 1965), pp. 293-5. I owe this reference to Henrietta Leyser. 3 Th e Life o f Christina o f Markyate, ed . an d trans . C.H . Talbo t (Oxford , 1959) , p . 15 ; Holdsworth, 'Christina ' (as n. 1) , p. 186 . For Henry IFs grant see Th e Great Rolls of th e Pipe of King Henry th e Second, A.D. 1155, 1156, 1157, 1158, ed. J. Hunter (London 1844), p. 22. Henry gave 50* worth of grain to one 'Cristine de Bosco'.

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The rol e an d functio n o f the Hol y Me n hav e been brilliantl y analyse d by Peter Brown for the late Roman and early Byzantine empires.4 They inherited a legacy of trouble, wer e the confidant s o f both humble and very great men, not excludin g emperors, an d often acte d a s mediators an d teachers, focusin g on themselve s th e fears , anxieties , an d tension s o f th e surroundin g hos t society. Wherea s th e patriarc h stood littl e chanc e of being heeded whe n h e passed judgement, the Holy Man was deemed to have earned by his unceasing ascetic labour s a nearness to an d a vision of God whic h he could employ on behalf o f thos e wh o sough t hi s help. H e stoo d outside , an d wa s therefor e trusted as no insider - that is, interested party - could be trusted. Above all, he possessed a mysterious power whereby he could allay anxieties but als o with his curse terrify an d work havoc. Peter Brown has contrasted thi s mysterious and fluid seat of spiritual power in Asia Minor and northern Syria and its direct action wit h th e clerica l worl d o f th e Lati n west . 'I n suc h a society, ' h e concluded, ' a Hildebrand wa s inconceivable.'5 But not, conversely, the Holy Man a s a source o f awe-inspiring spiritual powe r in the highes t rank s of th e Anglo-Angevin ruling class, setting aside the normal rules of play and fulfillin g a badly neede d rol e in the decade s o f its most rapid legal and constitutiona l development, decade s therefore o f intense insecurit y for high and low alike. Such a man was Hugh of Lincoln. What w e kno w abou t hi m fro m th e page s o f hi s biographe r an d th e companion of his last three years Adam of Eynsham echoes with a remarkable truthfulness many of the characteristics of the holy men of late antiquity. Like them he was deemed to have the nearness to God which conferred a breathtaking authorit y an d freedo m of speech tha t coul d override, se t aside , an d o n occasion provide a way out of the harsh routines of Angevin government which imprisoned its victims and its practitioners alike. This also conferred on him an immunity agains t sanction s which , when they hit others , no t excludin g bishops, wer e vexatious , brutal , an d [51 ] costly . Nobod y dare d t o touc h him . Once, i n 1199 , Mercadier , th e commande r of Richard I's mercenaries , was mentioned a s a possible arm of execution against the bishop. Mercadier would know how to sort out this Burgundian. But, so the king's advisers told him, the bishop's curse would prove fatal als o t o Mercadier, an d Richard neede d hi s captain muc h too badl y to expose hi m to this risk. 6 If we can trust Adam of Eynsham, Hugh had all the qualities and gifts needed to fulfil the functions of a Holy Man of the past an d some that ha d not entere d th e canon of ether th e Byzantine models or the English village hermits. Hugh was, as we shall see, a different kin d o f Holy Ma n fro m thos e previousl y described, wit h differen t tasks and active in a different milieu . He was a hinge-man all the same. 4 P . Brown, 'The Rise and Function of the Hol y Man in Late Antiquity', Journal o f Roman Studies, 61 (1971), pp. 80-101 . 5 Ibid. , p. 96. 6 Magna Vita Sancti Hugonis, ed. D.L. Douie and H. Farmer, 2 vols. (Nelsons Medieval Texts, London, 1961-62), vol. 2, p. 114 .

The Angevin Kings and the Holy Ma n 15

9

Let us begin, however, with the similarities. His was an achieved status. He had achieve d i t by incessant asceti c labour s from hi s boyhood onwards . The ponos he had undergone, hi s asceticism, had severed hi m from th e surrounding world, and this enabled him to be the objective mediator, the fearless frank voice which could be heard whe n others succumbed to the usual pressures. A lifetime of hard work and obedience had enabled him to dissociate himself and to inspire aw e and hit the consciences of men in high places who were bound to live in a perpetual stat e of conflict between their new professional secular tasks and th e inne r dictate s o f thei r clerica l or do. Yet , a s w e shal l see , Hug h belonged t o this ruling group, was one of them. Nor did he wholly shun or fail to understand thei r task s and predicaments, eve n those o f his royal masters . Dissociation and objectivity were attained by him also through his origin. H e was a foreigner and a visitor in the Anglo-Angevin world. Again and again the Magna Vita an d othe r source s stres s tha t h e wa s an advena, and h e himself reminded hi s listeners o f it, particularl y at moments of crisis. At Oxford , in 1197, whe n abou t t o def y an d thwar t Archbishop Huber t Walter , actin g as Richard I' s justiciar, Hug h bega n his speech: 'Nobl e an d prudent men , you know that I am a stranger in this land'.7 It must not be thought that, having risen to the episcopate, the labours of the Holy Man , hi s unceasin g toil , fel l int o abeyance . O n th e contrary , the y continued an d explain much of what [52] Gerald o f Wales called his 'authenticity', his unchallengeability.8 I n the twelfth century , burying the dead could be a frightening - not to say repulsive - duty . It is just here, so the Vita tells us that Hugh , whereve r h e happene d t o be , i n his diocese o r outsid e it , when about to attend importan t meetings or dine with kings performed the last rites unsparingly, often under gruesome conditions, and so he constantly enhanced his awesomeness. 9 Tha t h e kisse d lepers , eve n tha t h e too k pain s ove r confirmation, alway s dismounting from hi s horse, wa s thought t o b e wort h noting.10 Not all bishops did, and in the Reich ther e was a bishop of Eichstatt in th e elevent h centur y wh o eve n ordaine d priest s i n th e wood s where h e hunted.11 Bishop Hugh's authenticity as a Holy Man was thus increased, rathe r than diminished, b y his episcopal practice . So also were his functions. Of those we have been taught to expect, there was first of all his much-feared curse, and 7

Ibid. , vol. 2, p. 99. Geral d o f Wales, Vita S . Hugonis, in Giraldus Cambrensis opera omnia, ed. J . S. Brewer (Rolls Series 21, London 1877), vol. 7, p. 104: 'in ore Lincolniensis tanquam personae prae ceteris approbatae religionis , e t autentica e magis', and see p. 106 : 'tanqua m magis authentic*)'. See on Gerald's lif e no w R. Loomis , 'Giraldu s de Barri's Homag e to Hugh of Avalon', in De Cella in Seculum: Religious and Secular Life an d Devotion in Late Medieval England, ed. M.G. Sargent (Cambridge, 1989) , pp . 29-40. 9 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2, pp. 77-83, and Gerald of Wales (as n. 8), pp. 98-9, 102. 10 Magna Vita (as n. 7), vol. 2, pp. 12-14 , on lepers, and vol. 1, p. 127ff. , on confirmations. Fo r St Hugh visiting leper houses see also Gerald of Wales (as n. 8), p. 175, and for not confirming on horseback, p. 95. 11 Anonymu s Haserensis, D e episcopis Eihstetensibus c . 18 , ed. S . Weinfurte r (Eichstatte r Studien NF 24, Regensburg, 1987), pp. 50-1. 8

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Adam of Eynsham is at pains to tell his readers the terrible consequences of Hugh's sentences so as to explain why they were feared and stayed the hands even o f th e agent s o f the exchequer . Balancin g the capacit y t o strik e fear , however, was the gif t o f solace an d of being able to allay anxieties. Eve n th e frequency wit h which he was asked to judge and act as papal judge-delegate reflected no t onl y hi s goo d sens e an d expertise , bu t als o hi s reput e fo r objectivity an d the detachment h e was thought to have attained by his act of dissociation. There were also cures.12 Adam o f Eynsha m an d Geral d o f Wale s agre e tha t alread y a s prio r o f Witham, Hugh ha d gaine d th e privileg e o f familiaritas wit h Henry II . The y differ onl y in their description o f how this came about. Geral d simply asserts that Henry, who often hunted near Witham, visited the priory; whereas Adam portrays the influence and hold St Hugh gained over the king as less accidental, [53] more direct, immediate, an d so, astonishing. 13 If we can follow him, the Holy Man' s fiel d o f actio n wa s enlarge d an d cam e t o includ e office s an d benefits which the model s we have so far studied had not performed. In th e early middle ages, the sacrality of kings set them apart from their following and above thei r bishop s even , and so enabled the m to offe r ' a higher an d more objective king of constraint t o which all sides could bow'.14 The king, as vicar of Christ , himself had , ideall y speaking, a superiority which corresponded a little to the detachment o f the Holy Man. Now the Angevins were in danger of losing this dimension of their kingship. Their government was already, and to a larger exten t tha n elsewhere , rationa l government , an d it s procedures an d routines bit deeply and regularly into the lives of most people, great, middling, and very humble indeed. I t wa s for thi s very reaso n believed and felt t o b e wicked government . It s agent s enriche d themselve s enormousl y ou t o f it s procedures an d were known to do so. Hugh, the Holy Man, was able to temper its rigours and so at the same time audibly proclaim at least the possibility of a better world , the nearnes s of a higher order o f things. As prior o f Witham, Adam tells us, he persuaded the king to confer benefits; at Hugh's prompting, the king changed his ira into clemency, forgave men, and restored to his grace those who had offended him. He also promoted churches and religious houses. That someone fro m outsid e shoul d be able to ge t the king to do such things surprised men so much that they thought that some kind of covert, and perhaps illegitimate, kinship must bind the two men together, a sign perhaps that the Holy Man's voice had not always been heard so clearly in the ruling strata, the royal ambience.15 Adam conveys to his readers the impression that Hugh was a substitute for the sacralit y whic h had onc e mad e it possibl e fo r king s to escap e fro m th e ruthless logi c o f thei r ow n ir a an d thei r courtiers ' insinuations . Tha t th e 12

Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2, pp. 20-33, and p. 10 , a cure. Geral d of Wales (as n. 8), pp. 39ff. ; Magna Vita (as n. 7), pp. 68-72. 14 Leyser, Rule and Conflict, p . 95. 15 Magna Vita (as n. 7), vol. 1, pp. 7 1 and 69, on the common talk of kinship as the explanation for Henry' s deference. 13


1

Angevins no longer had this sacrality as an indwelling or acquired quality we are told [54] indirectly when the biographer describes Hugh's last journey back to Englan d vi a Rheim s i n 1199 . A t S t Remi , h e sa w th e vesse l wit h th e anointing oi l fo r th e king s of Franc e whic h th e dove ha d brough t t o th e sanctuary.16 The Angevin - so is the implication - had nothing like this. It also becomes clear that Henry II did not lose face, rank, or dignity in the eyes of his followers b y listening to Hug h an d doin g what h e enjoined , very unlike the experience with Becket, whic h had grate d an d riled s o intolerably. Yet Hugh, too, w e ar e told , berate d th e kin g for hi s excesses: churche s kept vacan t and maltreated b y royal servants, questionable episcopal and abbatial appointments, the denial of free elections ; al l these remain steadily the same. And yet Hugh did not wish to do away with the part Christian rulers were to play in elections, to stamp on the ambitious and achieve unanimity among the electors.17 He did not therefore challeng e Henry H's powers, wholly or even drastically. More than once already we have said, 'if Adam of Eynsham is to be trusted'. But i s he? There are good reason s for, at any rate, cautious optimism in this regard. I t was not only his own vision which he conveyed, but one he shared and propagate d successfull y and whic h gained acceptance . I t wa s felt t o b e veracious enoug h t o bring about his hero's canonisation . Moreover , wha t he sough to tell us about Hugh's dealings with the kings and their regime is backed at important moment s by Gerald of Wales, and the Henry II and Richard I we meet in his pages we also meet elsewhere. Henry H' s sens e o f humour is well authenticated here. A small incident is worth mentionin g before th e celebrate d occasio n whic h will occupy us later. When th e prior of Witham asked for one mark to buy parchment, the king is reported to have said, 'Ho w you burden us', and at once to have ordered ten marks t o b e give n t o th e brothe r wh o ha d accompanie d Hugh . I t wa s a characteristically rega l gesture. 18 It is Adam of Eynsham's very [55] naivety, his garrulou s loquacity, and inabilit y t o stic k to th e poin t that inspire confi dence. There is also a certain muddle-headedness by which, as we shall see, he sometimes spoil t hi s ow n intende d effects . Yet , i n acceptin g hi m a s ou r principal source for Hugh's dealings with the Angevins and their agents, a note of caution must be sounded about everything he wrote concerning King John. The prologue to Book Five of the Magna Vita mentions the fourteenth year of the king' s reign . Th e interdict , Adam' s exile , an d shattering damage to th e church lay behind, and many of these calamities and also the military setbacks of the reign were presented a s fulfilments o f prophecies, troubles foreseen and foretold b y the age d an d dying Holy Man.19 Prophecy was very much part of 16

Ibid. , vol. 2, p. 177 . Ibid. , vol. l,p. 72. 18 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 85 . The story is not wholly unlike that told by William of Malmesbury about William Rufus, who furiously rejected a pair of boots that had cost only 3s., demanding a pair on which at least a mark had bee n spent, reagardless of their quality. See William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum IV 313, vol. 2, p. 368 . 19 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol . 2, pp. 74, 137-44, 184ff . 17

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the hagiographical canon, and that Adam should have endowed Hugh with the vision of the crise s tha t h e subsequently experience d doe s not mean that th e small incidents of the saint's encounters with John, let alone his impressions of the man , lac k authenticity. 20 But i n Adam we can, fo r once, observ e quit e closely ho w the reagen t o f prophecy was employed, whe n he writes that his hero told hi m of a revelation tha t Jerusalem , whic h the Saracen s had not so long ag o occupied, woul d be miraculously snatched fro m thei r gras p by the Saviour's mercy. Adam lived to see its temporary restoration under the treaty between Frederick I I and Al Kamil in 1229, but this much-denounced bargain struck b y a n excommunicat e emperor wit h a n infide l ca n barel y coun t a s fulfilment o f the hopeful prediction whic h he had many years ago included in the Vita. 21 It does underline, however, the actuality and immediacy of his text and its message . The first question that needs to be raised is why Hugh was promoted to the bishopric of Lincoln; why he, a stranger, was advanced by Henry II in 1186, th e event we now commemorate. [56] The electors , th e canon s of Lincoln, went out of their way to propose candidate s whom they thought would be agreeable to the king: none other than Richard FitzNeal of exchequer fame, Godfrey de Lucy, 'clericu s e t familiari s regis ' an d Herber t L e Poor , who m Roge r o f Howden described i n exactly the same terms. All three men were to be raised to sees soon, but in the case of Lincoln the king rejected them and insisted on Hugh, sayin g tha t i n futur e h e woul d onl y advance th e me n who m Go d chose.22 Ada m o f Eynsham , wh o ha s lef t th e fulles t accoun t o f Hugh' s elevation, ha s Henr y selec t a pasto r o f exceptiona l quality for th e larges t diocese of England just because Lincoln was so far-flung an d populous. Henr y also wanted to make amends, he explained, for an exceptionally long vacancy for whic h h e migh t wel l be blamed . Rober t Chesne y ha d die d i n 1166 , an d Geoffrey Plantagene t had been elected seven years later. But, as the latter had not been consecrated , th e see could be deemed t o have remained vacant until Walter of Coutances succeeded in 1183, only to be translated to Rouen in 1184. There was then another vacancy until 1186, making a total of eighteen years, so Adam reckoned . Amon g Hugh's chie f backers, Adam named Bishop Regi nald o f Bath, hi s diocesan a t Witham. Reginal d ma y have been gla d to se e Hugh move to another sphere of action, since he had become so influential in the whole west country. 23 Gerald o f Wales, in his Hugh biographies, sa w the 20 Notably the incident of the carvings in the tympanum of Fontrevault, where John bridled at being shown kings among the damned (Magna Vita [as n. 7], vol. 2, p. 140) and John's half playfu l and hal f petulan t reluctanc e t o oblat e th e twelv e gold pieces a t th e Easte r servic e which hi s chamberlain had given him for his purpose (ibid. , p. 142) . The bishop felt ashamed for him, and would not take them any more. He refused his hand-kiss, and asked the king to throw his offering into a silver basin. 21 Ibid. , vol. 2, pp. 91-2. 22 'Roge r of Howden', The Chronicle of th e Reigns of Henry I I and Richard I, A.D. 1169-1192, known commonly under th e Name of Benedict o f Peterborough, ed. W . Stubbs , 2 vols. (Roll s Series 49, London, 1867), vol. 1, pp. 345ff . 23 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 1, pp. 92-101 .


3

promotions o f Bisho p Baldwin , th e erstwhil e Cistercia n abbo t o f Ford an d bishop of Worcester, to Canterbur y and o f Hugh to Lincol n as a pair. Bot h men ha d bee n monks , equa l i n goodnes s an d religion , thoug h unlik e on e another i n their ways of virtue. Gerald could not bear to credit Henry II with any praiseworthy action , however , an d so he opined tha t the kin g advanced these outstandin g men only to redeem his reputation after havin g previously promoted man y unworthy clerks to the episcopate. Not genuine devotion, but the ques t fo r publicity and renown, explained his choice. Gerald als o tells us incidentally that Henry was getting on in years, and here [57] perhaps there is a hint. It ma y have been concer n for his own soul and salvation that prompted him t o choos e for once a Holy Man , whil e the rest o f his promotions - fo r example, those of Richard, Godfrey and Herbert - remaine d very much what they had always been.24 Hugh of Lincoln's relation s with the Angevin kings belong to the history of the relations between king s and nobles in the twelfth century. This is a feature of the Magna Vita which, to my mind, has not been given its due, and has even been misinterpreted. Ada m o f Eynsham has been regarded a s one of the few high-medieval hagiographer s wh o scornfull y dismisse d th e habitua l cul t of noble birth an d lineage i n churchmen. H e did not do this, I think; but in the first chapte r o f hi s biograph y o f Hugh , h e commente d onl y on th e painfu l situation i n whic h nobl e birt h wa s no t followe d b y virtuou s conduc t an d eminence. I t wa s bette r t o b e bor n obscurely , for whic h n o on e coul d b e blamed, tha n t o fail t o match high birth with excellence.25 To Adam, such a discrepancy wa s something perverse, but he did not dismiss aristocratic birth as something irrelevant. On the contrary: throughout the Vita there is a quiet but firm insistence o n and interest i n aristocratic origins as a source of saintliness, holy courage , an d authority . W e are lef t i n no doub t abou t Hugh' s exalte d birth an d ancestry , matche d o f course , b y hi s eve n greate r sanctity . Th e canonry t o whic h h e an d hi s fathe r wen t la y nea r th e family' s land s an d castles.26 He ha d mor e tha n one , evidently . A t th e Chartreus e i t was Hugh who wa s depute d t o loo k afte r a highl y placed visitor , Peter o f Tarantaise. When a nobleman fro m Maurienne advised Henry II to ask for Hugh to take charge of Witham, he commended him for his distinguished birth and his even more distinguishe d strenuitas morum. Here, then, even his religious life was expressed i n aristocrati c terms. 27 Whe n Bisho p Reginal d o f Bath , a s King Henry IF s emissary , togethe r wit h th e bisho p o f Grenoble , wen t t o th e Chartreuse an d aske d fo r Hug h t o b e sen t b y Witham , the y overrod e th e prior's an d Hugh' s ow n reluctanc e wit h th e hel p o f som e o f th e monasti c brethren, natu [58] maioribus, those o f higher birth. 28 Once again , decision s were carried by higher ecclesiastical ran k and aristocratic pre-eminence . Th e 24

Geral d of Wales (as n. 8), pp. 67ff . Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol 1 , p. 5. 26 Ibid. , vol. l,p. 7. 27 Ibid. , vol. 1, pp. 38-40, 47ff . 28 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 57 . This does not come through in the translation . 25

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angry words of Brother Gerar d to Henry II, slating the king's procrastination in providing for Witham created a n immediate bond between the nobleman Hugh and the king. The latter listened to the sharp criticism of his conduct and noticed Hugh's embarrassment. Th e Holy Man's moderation and understanding enabled Henry to be stirred, rather than indignant. The money needed for the building s a t Witham was then sen t a t once. But we must note in passing that th e intemperat e Brothe r Gerar d wa s als o o f goo d birt h (sanguinis generosi), s o Ada m tell s us , an d thi s gave him a righ t to spea k out . Wha t recommended Hug h finally for the see of Lincoln was his morum elegantia, his aristocratic bearing.29 The beginnings of Hugh's pontificate basked in the fullness of royal flavour. The king , s o Ada m reported , fel t th e ful l jo y o f having fulfilled hi s vow in advancing the ma n of God. H e showered gift s on him, gold and silver vessel s which he needed, an d lavishly met the full cost of his consecration. Yet, on his way t o th e solemnities , Hug h ha d ridde n fro m Witha m via Winchester t o London o n a horse withou t ornamenta l trappings , whil e his Lincoln clerks , who had come to escort him, had sported saddlebags with golden mountings. The skin s and roug h covering s for nightl y use , slun g behin d his saddle , embarrassed th e canon s s o much that eventuall y one o f the clerica l familia removed them by stealth.30 The next response o f the Holy Man to his new environment was even more startling to the Angevin and his court. The bishop had not been enthroned long before he excommunicated a royal chief forester and refused a prebend to one of Henr y IP s curiales. Th e inciden t i s celebrate d an d ha s bee n tol d ofte n enough: how the king, roused by his entourage, summoned the bishop to come and se e hi m a t Woodstock . Hugh , ridin g over fro m Dorchester , foun d hi m with every mark of manifest anger in the wood near his palatium, surrounded by his magnates. Nobody rose to greet [59] Hugh, and nobody spoke. To fill the void an d demonstrate hi s struggle with his own affected wrath , Henry aske d for a needle and thread to be brought to him - it is interesting to think that such things wer e abou t an d availabl e i n th e open , o r ha d i t al l bee n planne d beforehand? Henr y then began to sew the bandage wrapped round an injured finger of his left hand. Hugh, of course, saw that the silence, the whole feast of anger, was addressed to him. Now the Holy Man was a master of repartee and by it, give n his ineffable authority, he could be master of the situation. It was part of his ways to administer unexpecte d an d salutary shocks and this is how we must understand his reported words. He said in a low voice: How like your kinsmen, you r cognati, fro m Falaise . I t wa s a devastatin g insul t because , through hi s mother, Mathilda , Henr y II too was descended fro m the tanner' s daughter, Willia m th e Conqueror' s mother . (A s it was maternal descent, I cannot forbear pointing to the us e of cognatus). Those who heard the words were flabbergasted , thoug h they could not help laughing. Not all understood 29 30

Ibid. , vol. 1, pp. 66-8 and 94. Ibid., vol. l,pp. 102-3.

The Angevin Kings and th e Holy Ma n 16

5

their meaning. Ye t the kin g himself burst out laughin g and threw himself o n the ground with mirth. He had been let off the hook, and he himself explained the stor y of William's mother's modes t origins . There i s another reason why Henry I I may have been ready to forgive the bishop's boldness. He was, after all, th e first Angevin ruler, and the joke underpinne d the rightfulnes s o f the Angevin succession. Thi s does not seem to have been noticed. 31 It is necessary to pause here and comment on Adam's picture of the king. He is thought to have treated Henr y II always with respect an d warmth. Yet the conventions o f kingl y conduct i n th e twelft h centur y ha d gaine d a certai n refinement. Roya l laughte r shoul d b e moderate an d not uncouth, gross , an d noisy. So Hugh o f Fleury woul d have it, an d Willia m of Tyre complained o f King Amalric o f Jerusalem's coarse mirth. 32 In depicting Henry rolling [60] on the ground with uncontrollable laughter , Adam cannot be said to have treate d him with much respect. The inciden t shoul d no t b e dismissed to o lightly. Adam reveal s tha t Hug h had no t confine d hi s excommunicatio n t o on e chie f forester . H e spok e o f proceres an d intimos ballivos. Onc e mor e claus e 7 o f th e Constitution s o f Clarendon, forbidding the excommunication of tenants-in-chief and demesn e officials withou t the king's or his justiciar's prior knowledg e and intervention , was at stake. 33 Hugh's joke an d its electrifying effect di d not clear th e issue s out of the way, and it must be said that the explanation for his action which he is thought t o have given the king unfolds a strained doctrin e o f responsibility . If he, Hugh, did not perform the duties of his office by looking after his church and s o coerc e it s oppressor s an d ignor e undu e demands fo r prebends , h e would endanger the health of the king's soul. It was not only superfluous, but improper, to trouble the king, who had charged him with not explaining his act beforehand, abou t thing s the kin g knew had been rightly done an d therefore could no t but approve. 34 Whether Henr y II was wholly convinced by this reasoning may be doubted, but hi s anxiet y t o embrac e Hug h an d s o commen d himsel f t o hi s prayers cannot. H e als o lef t th e term s o f th e forester' s reconciliatio n t o Hugh' s discretion. Geral d o f Wales has commented that Hugh showed himself hot and rigid i n th e earl y day s of his pontificat e becaus e h e ha d n o associat e i n th e kingdom o n who m h e coul d lean , n o superio r o n whos e suppor t h e coul d count, but that later he grew more used to English ways and thought it wise to conform t o th e expectation s o f hi s fello w bishops , wit h modest y an d 31 Ibid. , vol . 1 , pp . 113-19 . Se e W.L . Warren, Henry I I (London , 1973), pp . 629-30 ; D.H . Farmer, Saint Hugh o f Lincoln (London , 1985), pp . 35-6 . For th e Conqueror's mother see now E.M.C. va n Houts , Th e Origin s o f Herleva , Mothe r o f Willia m the Conqueror' , EHR, 10 1 (1986), pp. 399-404. Ada m evidently associated he r with the tanner's craft: 'Municipiu m hoc [i.e. Falaise] arte pelliparia celebriu s excolitur. ' 32 'Som e Reflections on Twelfth-Century Kings and Kingship', in Leyser, Medieval Germany, p. 264 and n . 70. 33 W . Stubbs, Select Charters and Other Illustrations of English Constitutional History from th e Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward th e First, 9th edn by H. W.C. Davis (Oxford, 1913) , p. 165 . 34 Magna Vita (a s n. 7 ) vol. 1, p. 118 .

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patience.35 Adam does no t agre e with this, but his Vita reveal s in its own way that his hero was a man of peace, rather than confrontation. The forester afte r due penance , whic h include d a publi c flogging, was not onl y absolve d bu t blessed an d became a friend. The refusal of the prebend did not mean, as even Adam o f Eynsham's tex t makes clear, that curiales [61] never became canons of Lincoln i n Hugh's time. A few did.36 Later Hugh excommunicated anothe r forester, wh o was then killed by a gang of what must clearly have been forest offenders. Th e stor y i s told, a s are s o many others, t o illustrate the dreade d effectiveness o f the Holy Man's curse. 37 Our nex t marke r i s all too wel l known an d has drawn the fire of constitu tional historians - Stubbs , Round, Helen Chew , and Richardson and Sayles as well as the biographer s of Richard I. 38 A brief pause in the great Norman War, a truce conclude d i n September 119 7 somewher e between Gaillo n an d Les Andelys, serve d onl y t o re-equip, fortify , an d muster forces for the nex t round of the struggle. Richard needed something like a standing army, such as Henry I had employed , t o regai n all his possessions, an d this lay behind th e demand which Hubert Walter was asked to voice to an assembly of bishops and lay magnates . I t me t a t Oxfor d o n 7 December. 39 He demande d tha t the y furnish th e kin g with 300 knights for service all the year round: the knights or the money to hire them, and certainly the money to pay them. It was a drastic step-up in obligations, mad e necessary, s o it was presented, b y the situation. I t seems that the bishops and royal abbots were especially addressed, and Hubert Walter began deliberations by announcing that he, for one - tha t is to say, the church o f Canterbury - woul d compl y an d meet th e king's needs . Richar d FitzNeal, now bishop of London an d dean of the province, joined him to give his assent. I t was the bishop of Lincoln's turn next. Very significantly, Huber t Walter treated hi m as a key figure and, according to Gerald of Wales, it was the [62] wish of all that he should reply. Hugh began by setting forth his credentials , the sourc e of what Gerald has so well called hi s 'authenticity': that h e was a stranger i n these part s an d ha d bee n take n for th e episcopa l offic e fro m th e simplicity of the eremitical life. When the church of Our Lady, Mother of God 35

Geral d o f Wales, Vita S. Remigii c. 29: 'De Baldewino Cisterciensi e t Hugone Cartusiensi', in Giraldi Cambrensis Opera omnia (a s n. 8) , pp. 77ff . 36 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 1, pp. 119-20 . 37 Ibid. , vol. 2, pp. 27ff . 38 W . Stubbs, The Constitutional History o f England, 3 vols. 5th edn (Oxford, 1891), vol. 1, pp. 547-8; J.H. Round, 'The Oxford Debate on Foreign Service (1197)', in idem, Feudal England, 2nd edn (London , 1964) , pp . 398-405 ; H.M. Chew , Th e English Ecclesiastical Tenants-in-Chief an d Knight Service (Oxford, 1932), pp. 39-46; H.G. Richardso n and G. O. Sayles, The Governance of Medieval England from th e Conquest to Magna Carta (Edinburg h 1963), pp . 83-4 ; K. Norgate, Richard th e Lion Heart (London , 1924) , pp. 307- 8 (albeit under the yea r 1196); J . Gillingham , Richard the Lionheart (London, 1978) , pp. 271-2; see also The Great Roll of th e Pipe for th e Tenth of th e Reign of King Richard the First, ed. D.M. Stenton (Publications of the Pipe Roll Society 47, London 1932) , pp. xix-xxiv . 39 Chronica Magistri Rogeri de Houedene, ed . W . Stubbs , 4 vols. (Rolls Serie s 51 , London 1871), vol. 4, p. 40; Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2 pp. 98-9 ; Gerald of Wales (as n. 8), pp. 103-4.


7

(that is, the see of Lincoln), had been committe d t o his inexperience, h e had carefully studied it s customs and dignities and also its obligations and burdens, and h e had spent thirtee n year s - Ada m go t his reckoning wrong here maintaining them. Then followe d the startling assertion that he owed military service to th e kin g only in England an d not abroad. Hence , 'I deem i t to be better to return t o my native soil and the eremos than to be a bishop here and subject m y church to unaccustomed burden s and so ruin its immunities.' What matters here is not only that he meant it, but that his audience knew he meant it. More than once Hugh had wished to withdraw, particularly when in 1195 he had had to find 2,000 marks to relieve his church of an annual tribute, a sablemantle worth £10 0 an d heavy arrears o f this, an d he could no t raise s o much cash. He ha d announce d tha t h e would retire to Witham until the necessar y sum had accumulated b y saving the cost of his residence i n the see. A voluntary aid from his clergy had removed th e threat. 40 Adam o f Eynsham vividly describes the archbishop's anger and dismay. His lips wer e tremblin g whe n h e turne d t o th e bisho p o f Salisbury , Herbert L e Poor, askin g hi m whether h e woul d giv e th e kin g the ai d requested. 41 The bishop o f Salisbur y the n too k courag e an d replie d tha t withou t enormou s prejudice t o hi s churc h h e coul d no t sa y anythin g but wha t th e bisho p o f Lincoln ha d said . Huber t Walte r wa s now very angry indeed, dissolve d th e council, an d reported t o the kin g that, thanks to Hugh, his [63] business had come to nought. The response was what might be expected. Th e possessions of both bishops , Lincol n an d Salisbury , wer e t o b e seize d b y the fisc . Geral d made i t clear tha t thei r regalia wer e meant , tha t is , exactly what was in th e king's hand during a vacancy. It is here that the Vita author excels himself. He tells u s tha t n o on e dare d t o la y hands o n th e re s - tha t is , th e land s and possessions - o f the bisho p o f Lincoln. Men were afrai d t o offen d hi m and terrified of his anathema which they regarded as a sentence of death. This state of suspense, or failure to obey orders, lasted fro m th e feas t of St Nicholas, 6 December, until the following 1 September.42 The Pipe Roll for 1197/8 does not show any traces of the bishop of Lincoln' s possessions bein g in the king's hands, but the argument from silenc e is always somewhat uncomfortable. Gerald als o mentions a royal command to harass St 40 Magna Vita (as n. 7), vol. 2, p. 99. For the annual exaction of a mantle and its redemption see ibid., vol. 2, pp. 33-8 ; Geral d o f Wales (as n. 8), pp. 41 , 108; Roger o f Howden, Chronica (as n. 39), vol. 3, p. 303. For the writ releasing the see of Lincoln from the obligation, see The Registrum Antiquissimum o f th e Cathedral Church of Lincoln, vol. 1 , ed. C.W . Foste r (Lincol n Recor d Society 27, Hereford, 1910), p. 123 , no 198. Adam of Eynsham spoke of 3,000 marks (Magna Vita [as n. 7], vol. 2, p. 35), but the Pipe Roll for the seventh year of Richard I's reign has the entry that the bishop o f Lincoln had rendered accoun t and paid into the treasury 2,000 mark s to quitclaim himself and his successors. See Th e Great Roll of th e Pipe for th e Seventh Year of the Reign of King Richard the First, ed. D.M . Stenton (Publications of the Pipe Roll Society 44, London, 1929) , p . 159. The discrepanc y is noteworthy, but Roge r of Howden had spoken o f only 1,000 marks. 41 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2, p. 100 . 42 Ibid. , and Geral d o f Wales (as n. 8) , p . 104 : Tantam erga viru m sanctu m subito concepit indignationem, quod baronia sua tola, quam Regalia reges appellant, ipsum illico destitui jussit.'

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Hugh's familiares, as only Angevin royal agents knew how, and Adam at one place mentioned the bishop's vexations.43 There is no doubt, however, that the full fur y o f the government' s reprisals hit Bisho p Herbert o f Salisbury, who suffered heav y damages and had to buy his way back to the king's grace at a stiff price. The Winchester annals here confirm Adam. 44 For Hugh to defy th e Angevin government was one thing, for a Le Poor to do so was quite another. However, thi s i s onl y hal f th e story . Th e suspens e o f th e roya l mandat e unexecuted wa s i n itsel f intolerable , an d Bisho p Hug h the n crosse d th e Channel to seek out Richard: here the encounter between the Holy Man and the Angevins reaches a climax. Hugh found Richard I in the chapel of his new castle, Chateau Gaillard, having gone through no intermediary whatsoever, so Adam asserted. Richard , like Henry II, showed every sign of displeasure and would neithe r retur n Hugh's greeting [64] nor giv e him the kis s of welcome. The bishop the n told him: 'You owe me the kiss. I've come a long way to see you.' The kin g replied, 'Yo u haven't deserved it from me. ' But Hugh had by then seized Richard by the tunic round his chest; he shook it vehemently and then gripped his cloak. Richard was astonished, but suffered i t and in the end bestowed th e kiss . Tw o archbishops an d five bishops, accordin g to Adam , watched al l this.45 The scene recalls and startlingly resembles one in the Life o f St Theodore of Sykeon, wh o died in 613. A harsh consul called Bonosu s wanted the saint t o come down from his monastery so that he could pay his respect to him. While Theodore was praying for th e consul , th e latte r stood , bu t di d not bo w his head. To the astonishment o f the onlookers, the saint seized him by the hair of his forehead an d pulled it until he bent his head down. The righteou s is bold as a lion' (Proverbs 28:1), wrote the author of his Life.46 I t was the same kind of violence, wielde d i n each cas e with impunity, and once agai n the Holy Man administered a shock. Accordin g t o Geral d o f Wales, the kin g accepted th e kiss o f peace, savin g his quarrel ; bu t bot h author s agre e tha t later , durin g Mass, Richar d ros e an d wen t t o wher e th e bisho p praye d t o giv e him th e osculum again after th e Agnus Dei. 47 In Adam, little or nothing is said about the issue that had led to the meeting. Hugh protested that he was not oppose d to the king's business, saving the honour of God the 'salvation of my soul and 43

Geral d of Wales (as n. 8) , p. 10 4 and Magna Vita (a s n. 7) , vol. 2, p. 102 : 'Nam cum post terrores multiplices ac uexationum plurimarum acerbitates ei diuitius intentatas' could mean more than threats. 44 Magna Vita (a s n. 7) , vol . 2 , p. 100 : 'pos t iniurias, dampna atque uexatione s e t plurima s contumelias, uix tandem maxima pecunie summa pacem et possessiones sua s redemit'. Cf. ibid., vol. 2, p. 10 7 and the Annals of Winchester, ed. H.R. Luard , in Annales Monastici, 5 vols. (Rolls Series 36, London, 1864-9), vol. 2, p. 67. 45 Magna Vita, vol. 2, p. 101 . The scene is well described in Gillingham, Richard (as n. 38), pp. 36-7. 46 P . Brown , 'Ris e an d Function ' (a s n. 4) , p . 8 1 n. 7 ; an d see The Lif e o f St Theodore of Sykeon' c. 142 , in Three Byzantine Saints: Contemporary Biographies Translated from the Greek, ed. E . Dawe s and N. Baynes (Oxford, 1977) , pp. 179-80. 47 Geral d of Wales (as n. 8), p . 105 and Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2, p. 102 .


9

yours', meaning th e king's . Accordin g to both texts , Hugh spoke to the kin g privately about th e latter's sin s and transgressions, marital and simoniacal. In Gerald, Richard asked him that he should not henceforth impede his business in England. Hug h replied that , on the contrary, he would rather promote and advance the king's matters with all his strength as long as they were not openly against Go d an d th e church' s liberty. Once again , then, the claus e of exception! Richar d too k thi s well , bu t h e als o averre d tha t th e archbishop s an d bishops were usin g Hugh a s a shield 's o that the y migh t conceal thei r malic e under his authority', tanquam magis authentico. [65] The Holy Man was here in a dilemma, bu t there is no doubt that he had inspired aw e and fear. His person was sacrosanct. 'If all bishops were like him,' Richard is reputed t o have said, 'no prince would dare to raise his head agains t them.' 48 To all these words and deeds which seem to stay and unhinge the routines of Angevin governmen t an d t o hal t th e norma l operatio n o f th e roya l ir a and malevolentia, Gerald add s a priceless little detail. Guibert of Nogent has left a much-cited accoun t o f Carthusia n custom s regardin g foo d an d drink . O n Sundays an d grea t feast s the y ha d chees e an d fish , no t fis h whic h the y themselves bought , however , but fish which they received b y the gift , no t of any donor , s o Guiber t implies , bu t o f certai n goo d men . Geral d o f Wale s mentioned tha t o n th e sam e day , afte r Mas s an d befor e dinner , th e kin g presented a great pike to the bishop, who m he knew to abstain from meat . In the ligh t o f Guibert o f Nogent's exposition , thi s was more tha n a regal an d hospitable gesture. Richard I also wanted to be thought of as one of the goo d men who were allowe d t o give fish to a Carthusian.49 Hugh thu s returned wit h honour an d in the king's grace. Hi s very presence seemed t o hav e brough t abou t a miraculou s transformatio n i n Richard . However, Ada m o f Eynsham himself suggests that Richard's conversion was not quite as spontaneous, dramatic , and unexpected as he himself had depicted it. Th e king' s ange r was no light matter, but he had to listen to his magnates and supporters. Befor e they went to Chateau Gaillard, Hugh and his party had halted a t Rouen , wher e the y ha d me t Willia m Marshal an d th e coun t of Aumale. The earl and the count had warned the bishop of Lincoln and told him of the misfortunes and insults that had been heaped on the bishop of Salisbury. They offered [66 ] to mediate and see the king on Hugh's behalf. The Holy Man inspired fear . Heaven' s revenge woul d hit them, the king, and his following if shameful injurie s wer e inflicte d on Hugh . Th e bishop' s reply , a s reported i n 48 Magna Vita (as n. 7), vol. 2, p. 105 ; Gerald of Wales (as n. 8), p. 106 . In the Magna Vita (as n. 7), vol . 2, p. 103 , Hugh called the king , who was born in Oxford (i n the dioces e of Lincoln), his parishioner, for whom he must answer before God a t the Last Judgement. It was a not unfamilia r pastoral clai m goin g bac k t o th e Gelasia n formula . We meet i t much more often coming fro m popes, though , or , i n England , fro m th e archbisho p o f Canterbury , tha n fro m a diocesan . Moreover, Hugh said that a year had already passed since he last talked to the king about his soul. It wa s thus not th e first occasion, an d perhap s Richard, like hi s father, ha d sough t the bishop's spiritual counse l and did not object to being thought of as his parishioner. 49 Geral d of Wales (a s n. 8) , pp . 105ff. ; Guiber t d e Nogent , Autobiographic I 11 , ed. E.-R . Labande (Le s Classiques de 1'histoire de France au moyen ag e 34, Paris, 1981), pp. 66/70.

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Adam, wa s masterl y an d unfold s hi s whol e inne r make-up , th e blen d o f sanctity with wisdom, insight, and even understanding for the secular world of Richard I and his magnates. 'I know very well that he needs you in the situation he i s in fo r whic h I a m sorry. ' H e mus t als o rewar d th e tw o lords for thei r services. If their request were to receive a rough answer, they would serve him less readil y i n future . I f Richar d relente d i n response to thei r plea s o n th e bishop's behalf , h e woul d think h e ha d don e grea t thing s for the m an d s o reward the m les s generously with grants and gift s tha n they deserved. Hug h allowed the m t o g o an d se e th e king , however , t o tel l hi m o f hi s arrival . Richard was as taken abac k by the bishop's magnanimitas (again an aristocra tic and rega l virtue ) a s were th e ear l an d the count , an d so he ha d alread y remitted hi s anger before Hug h arrived.50 Somewhat disingenuously, Adam told the story of Hugh's meeting with the earl and the count at Rouen after , and not before, he described th e encounter with Richard at Chateau Gaillard , wher e he even alleged, as we saw, that there had bee n n o mediation. Th e immediate power of the Holy Man in mastering the king' s wrath, the dram a of the enforce d kis s of peace, suddenl y become less miraculous and astounding. Yet Adam's belate d revelation of the Rouen meeting als o unfold s something of the socia l impac t of holiness, it s ramifica tions at large an d where its real strength lay. Richard I had to fear, or at least reckon with, the awe and the reverence that Hugh commanded among his [67] most important vassals and supporters. H e could not afford to quarrel with the bishop of Lincoln or be seen to remain at odds with him. It would bode il l for his cause. I t woul d set hi m apart fro m strong current s o f feeling and needs. With the Holy Man's blessing, his war might prosper. Without it, men like the Marshal would doubt it. Hence, it was wise to temper the rigours of the game. Conversely, Richar d I wa s advise d t o tr y t o exploi t Hugh' s standing , hi s 'authenticity', by making him the bearer of a new request for special aid - tha t is, b y repeating his demand, thi s tim e throug h th e bisho p o f Lincoln's ow n mouth. Hug h was not having it, but the king's men at least tried. Later, John was to do the same when he asked Hugh in 1199 to travel back to England in his company. Th e beginning s of hi s kingshi p would be enormousl y eased an d enhanced i f Hugh was seen a s his side. Again, the saint refused. 51 There remains th e constitutiona l issu e raise d by the bishop o f Lincoln an d endorsed b y the bishop of Salisbury at the Oxford council, the claim that they 50 Magna Vita (a s n. 7) , vol . 2, pp . 107-9 . The coun t of Aumale, Baldwin of Bethune, was a younger so n wh o had rise n hig h throug h loya l servic e clos e t o Richard' s person , an d lik e th e Marshal, hi s friend, wa s rewarded with a n exalted marriage. Baldwin ha d been hostage for th e king in Austria, and Richard could not ignore his advocacy for Hugh. On Baldwin's marriage see Roger of Howden, Chronica (as n. 39), vol. 3, p. 306. On his services see Sir Maurice Powicke, The Loss of Normandy, 2n d edn. (Manchester, 1961), pp. 109-10 , and Gillingham, Richard (as n. 38), pp. 126 , 223, 240. On magnanimitas as a saintly virtue, albeit stemming largely from Aquinas' s reception of Aristotle's Ethics, see A. Murray, Reason and Society in the Middle Ages, paperback edn. (Oxford, 1985), pp. 355-62. For a discussion of the Marshal's and Baldwin's intervention, see also S. Painter, William Marshall (Baltimore , 1933) , 112-13 . 51 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2, pp. 105-6 .


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were not bound t o serve with their knights overseas or even send them there. Yet ther e i s no doubt tha t Hug h paid scutage, for in the Chancellor' s Roll of 1196 an d i n th e Pip e Rol l o f 119 7 w e fin d th e bisho p o f Lincol n rendering account fo r the secon d an d third scutage o f the 'exercitu s Normanniae'. Th e sums were quite considerable. 52 What the bishop claimed therefore was not a wholesale quittanc e fro m th e obligatio n o f foreign service, bu t th e optio n t o commute i t as of right. Richard I may have thought that to let it be in the cas e of Hugh would be wiser course. He lost little or nothing if Hugh alone was not pressed for the special aid, and not all future bishops of Lincoln would be Holy Men. H e could see to that. The bishop of Salisbury, as has been mentioned , felt the ful l weight of the central government's wrath and had to buy his peace as best as he could, thus vindicating the king's point. A good many prelates, as has been shown by Lady Stenton, contributed heavily and well above [68] their normal amount s o f scutage. 53 The questio n o f foreign service was not t o go away again for a long time, but for the moment Hugh's triumph was his alone. His stand, however , ha d resonance an d won applause, no t only from hi s two biographers an d their public. It was noted and commented als o by none other than Roge r o f Howden, himsel f a royal clerk. He reporte d th e incident thus: Bishop Hug h alone , ' a tru e worshippe r o f God , refrainin g fro m ever y improper action' , di d no t acquiesce : th e measur e (tha t is , th e levy ) would redound t o the damage of his church and his successors would say: 'Our fathers have eate n sou r grape s an d th e children' s teet h ar e se t o n edge ' (Jeremia h 31:29).54 Most likely it was this episode whic h underlay the statement in the report of the commission charge d by Pope Honorius III with investigating Hugh's claims to canonisation : tha t h e wa s wont t o das h th e assault s of the secula r powe r raging agains t th e churc h wit h complete disregar d o f hi s ow n person' s an d goods' safety . Ye t th e pope' s bul l o f canonisation , i t i s notable , di d no t mention this. 55 He seem s t o hav e mad e a rea l enem y o f Huber t Walter , wh o i n 119 9 attempted t o la y another unusua l exaction o n th e churc h of Lincoln. Twelve named canon s of the cathedral, well-heeled and well-lettered men, were to be drafted int o th e roya l servic e t o b e sen t o n mission s t o th e papa l curia, Germany, an d Spain , al l funde d entirel y ou t o f Lincol n revenue s an d pre bends. Th e intended measur e bor e a remarkable resemblance t o the practice of the Reichskirche (the imperial church), though even there the links between 52

Th e Chancellor's Roll fo r th e Eighth Year o f King Richard th e First, ed . D.M . Stento n (Publications o f the Pipe Roll Society 45, London,1930), p. 247. By Michaelmas 1197 he had paid £51 for the second and £56 for the third scutage of the exercitus Normanniae: The Great Roll of the Pipe for th e Ninth Year of King Richard the First, ed. D.M . Stenton (Publications of the Pipe Roll Society 46, London, 1931) , pp . 109 , 110 . 53 Pipe Roll 10 Richard I (as n. 38) , Michaelmas 1198, introduction, pp. xx-xxiv . 54 Roge r o f Howden, Chronica (as n. 39), vol. 4, p. 40. 55 D.H . Farmer , Th e Canonisatio n of S t Hugh o f Lincoln' , Lincolnshire Architectural and Archaeological Reports and Papers, 6/ 2 (1956), pp. 86-117 , here pp. 115-16 .

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any give n cathedra l communit y an d th e roya l chape l wer e no t quit e s o arbitrary. Hugh' s clerks wer e frightene d an d wante d thei r lor d giv e a soft pedalled response, but the bishop asked the archbishop's envoy, a curial clerk, to take his twelve letters away again and threatened that if the addressees went to court , h e woul d g o wit h them. 56 I t wa s an unheard-o f demand . Huber t Walter, eve n though he appeared t o listen to Hugh's objections, nevertheles s ordered once again the seizur e o f the bishop' s temporalities . [69 ] The consequences wer e th e sam e a s before : th e Hol y Man' s curse . Hi s sentenc e of excommunication woul d be fata l t o anyon e whom it struck , not leas t o f all Mercadier. The order to execute the seizure was in the end given to Stephen of Turnham, an d th e issu e shifted . I t was now really a question o f whether th e royal agents obeyed an d carried out their master's commands. An extraordinary game of hide-and-seek between Stephen of Turnham's emissaries and the bishop's comitatus followed. The executor s of the orde r eve n sought to enter into negotiation s wit h th e bishop' s household . The y woul d safeguar d an d protect his property i f he would stay his sentence of excommunication for th e moment and try to calm down Richard's animosity. Orders to archdeacons and rural dean s t o excommunicat e al l thos e wh o commande d an d carrie d ou t unjust an d violen t seizures o f the church' s properties wen t out al l the same , whatever ambiguity lay behind this. 57 Hugh ha d alread y decided that h e mus t cross th e Channe l once more an d seek out the king. On his way, however, he called at the exchequer and asked the baron s t o trea t th e indemnitie s of his church kindly durin g his absence . They greete d him with reverence an d promised to do compliantly (obtemperanter) wha t h e asked . W e hav e alread y sai d tha t most , i f no t all , secula r government wa s regarded i n purist church circles as sinful an d wicked, albeit necessary, an d the exchequer lay at the heart o f all this wickedness. Remembering this, we can understand the anecdot e now told by Adam of Eynsham. The barons invited the Holy Man to sit down, and eventually he complied. No sooner had he done so when they exclaimed overjoyed: 'Wha t a triumph that we live to see the day when the bishop of Lincoln sits at the king's exchequer.' For once, the laugh seemed to be on Hugh. Flushed, he jumped up and at once gave his kiss to them all, and taking his leave, said 'I shall triumph over you if after this kiss you do my church any harm whatsoever.' It might be said that the Holy Man's kiss of peace could be almost as menacing as his curse.58 To reach Richard I, Hugh this time had to travel much further. I t is essential to recal l onc e more wha t was at stake. Richar d was [70] no longer willing to tolerate his own ministers evading orders out of respect or fear of the bishop of Lincoln. Hugh was at Angers when his clerks, the canons of Hereford who had come t o elec t o r b e give n a new bishop, an d th e ecclesiastica l dignitaries of Angers advise d hi m to mak e his peace wit h the kin g in the usual way for his 56

Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2 , pp. 110-16 . " Ibid., vol. 2, p. 116 . 58 Ibid., vol. 2 , pp. 129-30 .


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own and al l their sakes . Thi s meant the proffe r o f a sum of his money to have the roya l goodwill. Hug h was under severe pressur e an d was half incline d to yield t o what hisfamilia urge d him to do. 59 In the end he proposed tha t the y should slee p on it and decide in the morning, when the abbes s of Fontevrault arrived to tell him that Richard had been hit by a bolt and lay in agony between life an d death . Th e new s of his death followe d shortly. 60 The situatio n now quickly became insecure, bu t her e Hug h at once responde d i n the fullness of his mettle a s only a Holy Man would. Courageously, he moved on, console d Queen Berengaria, an d helped to bury his royal lord at Fontevrault, as he had buried s o many humbler men. Justifying hi s determination t o those who tried to dissuade him , pointing out the dangers of all travel at this moment, he gave Richard a remarkably fine obituary, and thi s when his temporalities wer e a t least partly, if not wholly, in the king's hands and he could not know when they might b e bac k i n hi s possession. I f Richard ha d trouble d th e bishop , i t was because wicked men had misled him. Whenever he, Hugh, had come into his presence, the kin g had alway s received hi m with great honour and had never dismissed hi m unheard when he spoke abou t the affair s o f Lincoln. Often he had als o conferred honores. 61 Some o f these can be traced i n the Registrum Antiquissimum. A charter of Richard's affirm s tha t th e bisho p ha d vindicate d his rights to th e mano r of Marston i n Northamptonshir e whic h wen t bac k t o a gran t b y th e ear l o f Chester an d Henr y II , the n stil l onl y duk e o f Normandy , in 1153. 62 Mor e important i s Richar d I' s charte r date d 2 5 Januar y 119 0 a t Westminster , granting that the men of the church of Lincoln should be quit of murdrum and wwrdrara-pennies o n al l the church' s lands . W e find indeed numerou s Pip e Roll entrie s pardonin g murder-fine s 'pe r [71 ] libertatem carte regi s episcop o Lincolniensi'.63 Nor i s this all. In th e sam e charte r o f his first year, th e king granted quittance on 100 acres of old assarts and purprestures, 50 in Buckland, 25 in Spaldwick , an d 2 5 in the count y of Rutland, which should in future n o longer com e unde r the regard . To this Richard added 5 0 acres of new assarts and purprestures , als o i n Buckland , an d thes e to o wer e placed outsid e th e regard. The church of Lincoln and Bishop Hugh had, moreover , granted an d confirmed t o the m th e agistmen t of their wood s everywhere and the righ t to take out of them everything they needed, whether green wood or dry wood (in viridi e t sicco), withou t th e vie w o f the foresters , savin g however the king' s hunting and the royal regard every third year.64 For one so against everything 59

Ibid. , vol. 2, pp. 131-3 . Ibid. , vol. 2, pp. 134-5 . 61 Ibid. , vol. 2, pp. 135-7 . 62 Registrum Antiquissimum (a s n. 40), p. 12 2 no. 19 7 and pp. 94- 7 nos 149, 150. 63 Ibid. , vol. 1, p. 124ff . no . 199 . For the Pipe Roll entries see for example The Great Roll of th e Pipe fo r th e Second Year o f Kind Richard I, ed . D.M . Stento n (Publication s of th e Pip e Rol l Scoeity 39, London, 1925) , p. 12 . After th e account for murdrum fines in Dorchester and Thame Hundreds, Oxfordshire, we read: 'In perdonis per libertatem carte R. episcopo Line' xvj s. et j d\ Cf. ibid., pp. 40,78,80,82. 64 Registrum Antiquissimum (a s n. 40), p. 12 4 no. 199 . 60

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associated wit h th e roya l fores t a s wa s Bishop Hugh , thes e wer e n o mea n gains. It woul d b e quit e misleadin g t o se e the relation s betwee n Hug h an d th e Angevin kings only in the ligh t of Adam of Eynsham's and Gerald of Wales's stories. There is abundent evidence that as bishop of Lincoln Hugh served his kings as they expected hi m to serve them, on numerous occasions. He neither opted out , no t di d h e disrupt , reject, an d negat e al l the way s and mean s of royal government . I n 118 8 h e wen t on a mission to Franc e wit h Archbisho p Baldwin on Henry IPs behalf to negotiate - i n vain - wit h Philip Augustus.65 He was present at the king's Whitsun meeting with the Capetian a t La FerteBernard, a t the council of Pipewell (1189), at Richard I's coronation, and again on severa l occasion s in 1194 , th e counci l o f Nottingham , and , mos t signifi cantly, the king's crown-wearing at Winchester on 17 April to purge the shame of his captivity.66 He took part als o in the peace negotiation s at Le Goulet in 1200; an d when he visited the charterhouse at Arvieres shortly afterwards, he rebuked th e forme r bishop of Belley and the monk s for wanting to know the [72] terms of the treaty. 67 Monks should not be interested in such things. Hugh can be found als o defending his rights in the royal courts, and it was here that he vindicated his threatened advocacy ove r the abbey of Eynsham. 68 How then are we to understand him? He was no maverick, no holy fool, but on th e contrar y a ma n fame d an d sough t afte r fo r hi s understandin g an d judgement, not leas t o f all as a papal judge-delegate. His acts of defiance, of side-stepping th e rigour s o f th e Angevi n regime , ca n b e see n a s par t o f a continuing struggle for the church's liberty and immunities, its resistance to the demands of a relentlessly hard-pressing, because hard-pressed, roya l government fighting a war and paying for expensiv e alliances . I n thi s sense Hugh' s stands were a continuation of Becket's, bu t in a much lower key and keeping a lower profile. I t coul d als o be the case , of course, that Becket' s example b y itself had taught Henry II and Richard a lesson i n caution. In an epitaph twice cited by Adam of Eynsham, Hugh is called the 'hammer of kings' (regum malleus), but he was nothing of the kind. 69 We have already noted that the claim made for him in the report of the commission investigating his life , namely , tha t h e resiste d th e secula r powe r withou t regar d t o hi s person's safet y an d hi s goods , doe s no t appea r i n th e papa l bul l of canonisation. Fa r fro m bein g committe d t o constan t conflict , his opponency was occasional, an d h e ha d som e understandin g of hi s kings' predicaments. H e 65

'Roge r of Howden' (a s n. 22), vol. 2, p. 40. Ibid. , vol. 2, p. 66, for La Ferte-Bernard, and p. 79 for Richard's coronation. For Pipewell, 1189, and for Hugh's share in the events of 1194, see Roger of Howden, Chronica (as n. 39), vol. 3, pp. 15ff.,240ff.,247ff . 67 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 2, pp. 149 , 174. The incident was noted in the survey of Adam of Eynsham's work by A. Gransden, Historical Writing in England, c. 550 to c. 1307 (London, 1974), p. 315 . 68 Magna Vita (a s n. 7) , vol . 2 , pp . 39-42 ; Geral d o f Wale s (a s n. 8) , p . 40 , and Eynsham Cartulary, ed. H.E . Salte r (Oxford Historical Society 49, Oxford, 1907) , vol. 1, p. xvii. 69 Magna Vita (a s n. 7), vol. 1, p. 5 6 and vol. 2, p. 232. 66


5

reproached the m fo r simony , rathe r tha n fo r thei r interes t an d shar e i n episcopal promotions . An d he was a Holy Man in a way that Becket never was. The livin g Becket , whateve r penitentia l severitie s h e inflicte d o n himself , could no t wis h away his past. I t ha d bee n to o resplenden t an d ostentatious . Hugh's bein g was all of a piece. H e ha d earned hi s fame a s a Holy Man by a lifetime of asceticponos, of hard work, as a Holy Man should. Those in power affected b y his acts of defiance may even have been secretly grateful for them. They kne w tha t thei r regim e [73 ] wa s obnoxiou s an d harsh , an d thes e outspoken, courageou s and not altogether ineffective protest s helped to make it a littl e mor e tolerable . The y als o neede d reassurance . The Angevin s and their circle s feared to lose touch with the holy altogether, so rapidly was their world changing , an d s o unstable wa s their environment , with its new ambi tions, expectations, nove l distractions, and entertainments, and above all, its much mor e purposefull y organise d apparatu s o f secula r government . Th e exchequer was , afte r all , a triump h of purel y huma n ingenuity and contri vance. It s plac e i n a Christia n world order wa s somewhat unnerving. Hugh assuaged fear s of a widening chasm, the legacy of the conflict between regnum and sacerdotium. H e coul d b e see n t o tak e par t i n diplomati c missions , meetings of kings, complex business in the church, and yet not be part of them. He allaye d deep anxieties by showing that these activities were not always and altogether incompatibl e with holiness. At th e en d w e ar e lef t wit h the disturbin g question o f how to explai n the startling similaritie s o f th e Hol y Man' s actio n an d impac t o n societie s a s different a s those o f seventh-century Asia Minor , Syria, and Byzantium, and of twelfth-century England.70 To answer it, the historian is tempted to turn to the socia l anthropologist . I t i s a temptation tha t should for once b e resisted . The tradition s o f the Hol y Man and how his special kind of living sanctity was experienced i n the Latin west of the early middle ages still need exploring. His tracks mus t be followed backwards.

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The Hol y Ma n di d no t disappea r fro m th e religiou s lif e o f Byzantium, but i n th e twelft h century th e intellectua l elite and th e hierarch y looked o n hi m with some distaste , as a plebeian charlatan and uncouth mountebank. See P. Magdalino, The Byzantin e Holy Man in the Twelft h Century', i n Th e Byzantine Saint: University o f Birmingham Fourteenth Spring Symposium o f Byzantine Studies, ed . S . Hacke l (Studie s Supplementar y t o Sobornos t 5 , London , 1981) , pp . 51-66.


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A Recent View of the German College of Electors

Works on the histor y of the medieval empire written in English are rare, and students o f the subjec t a t English and American universities should welcome Mr Bayley's alert and racy attempt to tackle one of its most difficult problems. 1 The successio n t o th e thron e i n German y fro m th e nint h to th e thirteent h century ha s tempte d a galax y of scholars , an d ever y conceivabl e avenu e of research ha s bee n followe d forward s an d backward s man y time s ove r t o discover by what rules the descent of the crown was governed in the old Reich, and how they changed from dynasty to dynasty and crisis to crisis up to the time of the Interregnum. Rarely has so little evidence had to be squeezed so hard to yield answer s t o th e mos t pressin g questions that the historia n of the period must ask. To sum up the literature on the formation of the College of Electors is in itself a portentous task, and Mr Bayley has done more than that. He places before his readers not only a history of election and hereditary succession up to the doubl e election i n 1257 , bu t als o a n outline of the politica l interests, th e international intrigues, and the rival ambitions that led to that event. This is an admirable plan . Al l to o ofte n historian s o f th e constitutio n pursu e thei r problems an d historians of the struggle for power pursue theirs; but, although they use the same sources, the result is two entirely different kind s of history. In medieval England and France hereditary monarchy was the bridge which led fro m regionalis m and the rul e of local custom to the financial and judicial sovereignty o f th e state . Thei r constitutiona l conflicts wer e fough t ove r th e control o f institution s originall y created b y th e crow n fo r it s ow n use . I n Germany primogenitur e di d not determin e the successio n t o the thron e an d the prolifi c energies of the Germa n aristocracy and towns were not harnessed First publishe d in Medium Aevum, 23 (1954), pp. 76-87 ; thanks are du e t o th e edito r and publishers for permission to republish . The tex t is unchanged; the footnote s have been updated only in respect o f editions. 1 C.C . Bayley , The Formation of th e German College of Electors in the Mid-Thirteenth Century (Toronto, 1949). In what follows I am deeply indebted to Professor H. Mitteis's book Die deutshce Konigswahl, 2n d ed n (Vienn a 1944), although I hav e ventured to diffe r fro m hi m i n hi s mai n contention. D r M . Lintzel' s pape r Di e Entstehung de s Kurfiirstenkollegs (Bericht e iibe r di e Verhandlungen der Sachsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften z u Leipzig, phil.-hist. Klasse 99/2, Berlin 1952 ) reached me too late to be used.

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to the service of a single reigning house. They found their interests best served by territorial autonomy. That well-known jeering question Das Hebe heilge Rom'sche Reich Wie halt's nur noch zusammen? might have been aske d during the interregnum in the thirteenth century. For the elected ruler s of Germany then no longer controlled all the lands which the Saxon emperor s ha d brough t unde r German hegemon y in the tent h century while in Germany itself they had to yield most of their rights of government to the ecclesiastica l an d lay princes, an d [77 ] share the remainde r with the ver y men to whom they owed their election. The Reich survived in its estates, amongst whom the electoral princes formed the first and most august clique. They alone had the right of giving the empire a head when the throne fell vacant. Without them the emperor coul d do little and in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries they controlle d wha t ther e wa s o f commo n busines s an d legislation . Thei r rights and privileges wer e guaranteed i n one of the very few constitutional laws the empir e possessed, th e Golde n Bul l of 1356 . Ther e a t least was certainty when everything else - for instance, the powers and composition of the diet remained matter s for endless argument. Not hereditary kingship, but the law which regulate d th e procedur e o f electing a king, became th e ancho r of th e Reich. The electors, the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier, the king of Bohemia, th e coun t palatin e o f th e Rhine , th e duk e o f Saxon y an d th e margrave o f Brandenbur g enjoye d a monopol y whic h coul d mak e thei r political fortune . No t fo r nothin g wer e the y calle d solide bases imperil e t columpne immobiles. 2 How , on e mus t ask, di d seven prince s an d just thes e seven acquir e a n exclusiv e righ t i n the elections ? Why did other prince s o f almost equal territorial power and importance drop out ? A wholly satisfactory answer t o thes e question s ha s neve r bee n foun d an d M r Bayle y is in goo d company in failing to explain the mystery. Chance and circumstances mad e the College o f Electors, but not they alone. Let us begin at the beginning. The German s o f the earl y middle ages did not allo w a pre-eminent righ t of elder sons to inherit the family estate. Every member of a kin had a claim to be provided for out of its possessions. The Carolingians liked to treat their crowns as family property an d divided even their regality amongst sons and brothers. Lands, bishoprics, abbeys , and the fealties of nobles were thus shared out. But the lin e o f Charlemagne ha d becom e th e roya l race par excellence and for a long time its members could dispose of their kingdoms on the strength of their reputation becaus e it was believed that they alone possessed th e magic stuff of which king s were made. Whe n thei r fortune, an d early in the tenth century , their line, failed in Germany, kingship was saved by the leaders of the Church and o f the triba l aristocracy, especiall y the me n who counted for most in the 2

I n th e Golde n Bull ; cf . K . Zeumer , Di e Goldene Bulle Kaiser Karls IV., 2 vols. (Weimar , 1908), vol. 2 , p. 28, and now Die Goldene Bulle Kaiser Karls IV. vom Jahre 1356, ed. W.D. Fritz e (MGH Fonte s iuris Germanici antiqu i in usum scholarum separati m editi , Berlin , 1972) , p. 68.

A Recent View o f th e German College of Electors 17

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Prankish and Saxon tribal hosts. The relentless pressure of Slavs and Magyars from the east may explain their need for it. A new royal house had to be found and i t coul d b e raise d t o th e thron e onl y by election . Afte r 91 1 the Reic h existed becaus e th e tribe s wante d it , th e easter n Franks , th e Saxons , th e Bavarians and Suabians whom groups of Lotharingian magnates joined somewhat later . Electio n b y tribes too k th e plac e o f Carolingian famil y kingshi p with it s tendenc y o f share s fo r all , eve n illegitimat e members of th e roya l house. [78 ] At first the Franks, but in 919 the Saxons, gave the Reich a king from among themselves, and i n each cas e th e noble s an d free men of the host s chos e th e undisputed leade r o f their race. Thei r election , however, raised not only one man but his whole family to royal status. The new Saxon house , the Liudolfings, thus won a chance of becoming the new stirps regia. They had only to be successful t o prove tha t the y too possessed those prosperity-bringing qualitie s which the grea t an d th e peopl e demande d of a king. Having made good, th e Liudolfings coul d therefor e hop e tha t th e roya l dignit y (and al l it s rights ) would remain with their generatio. But this hope could only mature if the stem magnates who had elected Henr y I affirmed their belief in his family's future by electing als o one o f his sons. Paradoxical as it may sound, without some form of election hereditar y successio n was impossible.3 Even th e mos t commanding of Saxon and Salian kings, Otto I and Conrad II, ha d t o hav e thei r sons ' successio n recognise d b y electio n an d i t wa s necessary als o i n orde r t o kee p orde r withi n th e roya l family . Th e hei r designate ha d t o b e protecte d agains t the claim s of his brothers an d cousins once partitio n of the kingshi p was ruled out. The nearest kinsmen of reigning Ottomans ha d to be content with stem duchies and archbishoprics, and some of the m resente d it . A reignin g father coul d therefor e designate on e o f his sons, a s Henry I di d Otto , hi s first-born by Mathilda, but thi s was really an urgent reques t t o th e senior s o f th e tribe s t o elec t him . Th e chronicle r Widukind ha s i t tha t i n 93 6 th e tw o leadin g peoples, th e Frank s an d th e Saxons, chose Ott o a s their king 'iam olim designatum'. 4 This was followed by universalis electio at Aache n i n which magnates from al l the region s and th e heads o f th e churc h took part . Eligere again i s use d b y th e continuato r of Region o f Prii m t o describ e th e event s of 961 at Worm s and Aachen , when young Otto, later Otto II, was chosen and 'ordained' king at his father's wish.5 Otto II I wa s electe d whe n onl y thre e year s ol d unde r hi s father' s eye s a t Verona. A s hi s right s ha d t o b e defende d agains t a powerfu l cousin-once removed, Duk e Henr y o f Bavaria , hi s electio n wa s certainl y no t a mer e formality. M r Bayley has perhaps done less than justice to these events (cf. p. 85). The y wer e election s an d no t just , a s h e maintains , the ceremonie s of homage don e b y the great, popular acclamatio n an d coronation rites . I t is in 3 Cf . th e succinc t statement of an eleventh-century annalist about Ott o I' s accessio n i n 936 : 'iure haereditari o paternis eligiture succedere regnis', Annales Quedlinburgenses, MGH S S 3, 54. 4 Widukind , Res gestae Saxoncae I I 1 , p. 63. 5 Adalbert , Continuatio p. 171 .

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any case dangerous to draw a hard and fast distinction between state ceremony and effectiv e political actio n in the earl y middle ages, for ceremony then was political action , o r t o sa y the leas t i t was an indispensable means of political indoctrination. From th e tent h centur y onwards, then , king s in Germany were made [79] and not born. Still, this form of succession in which blood-right was recognised and made good by election, might in the end have led to hereditary monarchy as it did in France. Bu t the Saxon dynasty failed in the direct line in 1002 and in little ove r a century the sam e thing happened t o th e Salian s who succeede d Henry I I i n 1024 . Compare d wit h the Capetian s th e Germa n ruler s i n this period were man for man abler and yet in the long run the French dynasty did better, partly because i t never failed to produce a n heir. Election alone , i t i s true, wa s not enough . Th e churc h had th e powe r t o enhance the dignity of kingship by its sacramental rites and to make respect for it a religious as well as a secular duty. Consecration an d anointing exalted th e king; they gave him a spiritual role and an almost supernatural character. This coronation ritua l came to be regarded as indispensable, and the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne , an d Trier, wh o disputed and share d th e righ t of officiating , had to be counted on as kingmakers probably even in the tenth century. The tribe s electe d no t necessaril y alway s at th e sam e time and place, bu t within them th e powe r an d prestige o f a few leading families decided. Thei r voice, onc e given, carried th e lesse r me n along , so that, if all went well, the flow of adherent s becam e a n irresistible torrent which swept their candidates to the throne. Dissident s withdre w from th e field, as the Lotharingians did in 1024 at Conrad II' s election, and this gave to the proceedings a much needed if spurious ai r of unanimity. But in 1024 the tribes as such no longer dominated the orde r o f things alone. Beside s them , actin g as one body , had arise n th e prelates of the Germa n Church , wh o now represented not only religious bu t also secular powers. They carried into the election all the weight and authority which thei r enormou s endowment s i n land , judicia l immunities and usefu l rights coul d command . For , thank s to th e polic y of the late r Ottonian s an d Henry II, some of the archbishops and bishops had become the equals of even the riches t la y dynasties bot h i n wealt h an d i n the numbe r of their military followers. Amongs t th e churchmen , however, the dut y of subordinatio n t o authority wa s more commandin g and bette r establishe d tha n amon g the lay lords and therefore the voices of the archbishops, especially the three Rheinish metropolitans, ha d to be heard and echoed by their suffragans when it came to the busines s o f choosin g a king . I n th e fina l Kur, th e constitutiv e ac t o f election, th e archbisho p o f Main z spok e first ; h e wa s followe d by hi s col leagues, and then by the other prelates. When Wipo, the chronicler of the 1024 election, wrote his Life o f Conrad II, Mainz was already regarded as the lawfu l head o f the whole assembly. Two conclusions can be drawn even from so early an electio n a s that o f 1024 . First , th e bishops , especiall y the thre e Rhenis h archbishops - the later electors, in fact - alread y enjoyed great influence over the proceeding s o f the assemblie s whic h met to choose a king. (We can only


1

guess a t their pul l behind th e scenes , a t the [80 ] bargaining, the bribing , and the intrigues between rivals. ) Secondly, the elections were not really popular, even if the triba l armies which came t o them joined an d hailed the choic e of their leaders. At al l times, probably, the issue was decided by a very few men. These things nee d sayin g becaus e M r Bayle y largely ignore s thei r impor tance fo r the late r histor y of the kingshi p in Germany, when the papacy had entered on the scene a s the all y of malcontent princes. This alliance furthered the interes t o f the Rhenis h archbishops as kingmakers and in particular those of th e archbisho p o f Mainz. In 110 6 th e holde r o f the see , Ruothard , threa tened the young Henry V that he would be set aside like his father if he ruled unjustly.6 I n 112 5 Archbisho p Adalber t o f Main z made himsel f th e uncom promising spokesma n o f electiv e kingship . H e mor e tha n anybod y under mined th e chance s o f Frederick , duk e o f Suabia , Henr y V' s nephew , an d found th e doctrin e whic h justified th e prince s to themselves when they chose Lothar t o Saxo n instead ; jus t a s in 119 8 Adol f o f Altena, th e archbisho p o f Cologne, seem s t o hav e fathered the ide a o f a small an d specially privileged group o f electors on th e supporter s of his candidate, Ott o IV, an d eve n o n Pope Innocen t III . Whe n i n th e latte r hal f o f th e twelft h centur y the tribal order i n th e Reic h becam e blurred , thi s to o strengthene d th e hand s o f th e leading prelate s who had lon g stood outsid e an d abov e it . I t als o tende d t o narrow the circle of electors. Bishops and lay princes now took part in elections as the first feudatories o f the empire, an d their ranks gradually closed agains t the participatio n o f mere count s and lesser lords . The y formed an upper an d exclusive estat e i n th e Germa n aristocrac y whos e view s an d judgement s prevailed i n th e curiae generates, th e grea t court s hel d b y th e emperors . Amongst th e la y princes , too , ther e mus t hav e bee n a certai n orde r o f precedence. Som e ha d a little mor e authorit y an d some a little less, when it came t o choosin g a king . Frederic k Barbaross a i n hi s famou s repl y t o th e complaints o f Pope Hadrian IV in 1158 hinted at this when he is reported b y the German bishop s t o hav e sai d tha t th e prince s use d thei r electora l right s secundum ordinem 'i n du e order'. 7 I t coul d hardl y b e otherwise , fo r th e ecclesiastical feudatorie s fa r outnumbere d the la y members of th e estat e o f princes at the end of the twelfth century. The latter needed some leaders, some primi inter pares to hold their own against the heads of hierarchy. Where there was s o littl e cohesio n an d subordination , precedenc e an d notion s o f ran k became al l important . Ther e wer e suc h notion s i n th e highes t circle s o f German society, and, though they may have fluctuated with the rise and fall of princely dynasties, the y tended t o promote th e claim s to exclusive privileges which with luck became acknowledge d rights . Mr Bayley does no t approac h the formatio n of the Colleg e of Electors [81 ] from thi s angle . H e sees the power o f the papac y an d the influenc e o f canon law at work everywhere. German custom was too uncertain to resist them. The 6 7

Annales Hildesheimenses, ed. G. Waitz (MG H SR G 8, Hanover 1878), p. 56. MG H Const. 1, no. 167 , p . 233 .

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German king s ha d enjoye d eve r sinc e th e day s o f Ottoma n hegemon y in western Europe and almost unchallenged right to be crowned emperors by the pope. This fatal embrace of the Germa n kingshi p with a title and a positio n which only the Roma n pontiff s coul d besto w has often been regarde d a s the radix malorum in Germany's history during the middle ages. The 1077 election of Rudol f o f Rheinfelden i n the presenc e of Gregory VIF s legates certainl y struck a blow at blood-right and lowered the prestige of kingship in the eyes of the world. Mr Bayley rightly dwells on this event, but chiefly as a precedent for later occasions, a precedent heeded above all by Innocent III when he decided to interven e i n th e doubl e electio n o f 1198 . But , i f Innocen t wa s a t al l influenced b y Gregor y VII , h e ha s no t take n u s int o hi s confidence, for h e never allude s to Gregory's relation s wit h Henry IV in the whole correspondence whic h was entered an d collected i n the Regestum super negotio Romani Imperil. Thi s silence about Gregory VIFs sentences of deposition and excommunication is, to say the least, pointed, for Innocent in some of his best known reflections reviewed the dealing s of his predecessors wit h offending emperor s at some length and with admirable lucidity.8 It suggests that he did not propose to imitate Gregory but to use different method s and to justify them by different arguments. H e wa s indeed i n no hurr y to accep t eithe r Ott o IV or Phili p of Suabia a s German kin g and future emperor . It served his turn to wait, and he waited. Whe n h e finally cam e into the ope n an d declared himsel f for Otto in March 1201 , he claimed to have made this decision on the grounds that Ott o was th e worthie r o f th e tw o candidates , bot h o f who m he ha d t o examin e quoad imperium obtinendum. 9 Mr Bayley would go further, and holds that Innocent also asserted a right to determine th e validit y of the tw o German election s an d to handle them just like dispute d episcopa l elections . Bu t her e th e evidenc e afforde d b y th e Regestum is not anything like so positive. Again and again Innocent protested that h e was not so much concerned with the intentions of the electors a s with the merits of the candidates. The pope anointed, consecrated, and crowned as emperor th e man whom the princes had chosen. Therefore, they were told, he had t o examin e hi m first, to se e whether h e deserve d th e honour . This was undoubtedly borrowed fro m th e canon and practice of ordination and consecration. Bu t Innocen t commente d o n th e electio n an d it s procedur e onl y obliquely - almos t incidentall y - i n a few famous sentence s which contain , indeed, the first clear evidence of a small group of specially privileged electors. 'Cum tot vel plures ex hiis ad quos principaliter [82] spectat imperatoris electio in eum [i.e. Otto] consensisse noscantur quot in alterum [i.e. Philip] consenser unt',10 and in a letter to Adolf of Altena, archbishop of Cologne,' elect o ab eorum part e maior i qu i vocem haber e i n imperatoris electione noscuntur 1.11 8

F. Kemp f (ed.) , Regestum Innocentii III papae super negotio Romani Imperil (Miscellanea Historiae Pontificia e 12 , Rome, 1947) , e.g. pp. 83ff . no . 29 , pp. 51ff . no. 18. 9 Ibid. , pp. 168ff.no . 62. 10 'Deliberati o domini pape Innocentii super facto imperii de tribus electis', ibid. p. 88, no. 29. 11 Ibid. , p. 148 , no. 55.


3

This is not th e 'canonis t doctrine o f the maior et sanior pars' (p . 126) , nor is it happily expresse d a s 'Innocent's insistence o n ethica l superiorit y amon g the electors' (i n M r Bayley' s words) , bu t i t refer s t o a simpl e majorit y fro m amongst a selec t grou p o f Germa n princes . No w Innocen t ha d alread y admitted in his Deliberatio super tribus electis that Philip had been chosen by a majority of the princes who included also the digniores. How could he come to assert in the same consistory that Otto' s supporters had held an equally goo d election? It seems a s if the leading spirit of the Welf s cause, Adolf of Altena , was als o it s constitutiona l lawyer , and furnishe d Innocen t wit h views which could mak e Otto's minority election loo k weightier. The pope himself appear s to hin t a t hi s indebtednes s i n certai n passage s o f hi s correspondenc e wit h Adolf.12 Here for the first time, then, there is talk of indispensable electors who could not be excluded fro m an election; as the archbishop o f Cologne ha d been when Philip wa s hurriedly chosen i n Thuringia by a large gathering of princes fro m the east an d south in 1198. Now , when Adolf changed sides in 1204, he had not been defeated and could therefore forc e Philip to submit to a new election and coronation at Aachen. In order t o be crowned a t last by the right man at the right place , th e Hohenstaufe n kin g had t o accep t hi s damaging views abou t indispensable electors . H e ha d t o allo w that th e archbisho p o f Cologne ha d never been wrong, and that without him he could not be properly king. For the formation o f the College of Electors this really mattered a great deal more tha n the writings of the canonists and perhaps even papal propaganda, which, afte r all, di d no t remai n unanswere d i n Germany . M r Bayle y ha s somewha t exaggerated thei r influence . Wa r an d briber y decide d th e struggl e fo r th e throne, and , althoug h Innocen t use d ecclesiastica l sanction s agains t Philip' s episcopal supporter s wit h grea t skill , h e coul d no t wi n acceptance fo r Ott o until the latter's rival had been murdere d in 1208 . The princes whose right s in the election were thought t o have been flouted by Philip' s supporter s i n 119 8 wer e th e archbisho p o f Cologn e [83 ] an d hi s colleague o f Trier , wh o wante d t o b e kingmaker s whil e th e archbisho p o f Mainz was away on crusade. Of the lay princes the count palatine of the Rhine, Otto's brother, was certainly one, but the duke of Saxony seems to have been included als o an d perhaps eve n the duke of Brabant, who did not become a n elector in the end. At first, Innocent III was not at all certain whether the Welf 12

'Multu m eteni m ecclesi e Roman e teneri s e x e o quo d ips a quas i iudiciu m tuu m sequens , reprobauit quod reprobauera s e t quod approbauera s approbauit...', ibid., p. 146 , no . 55, dated late October o r early November 1201 , and again: 'Nam quis crederet sane mentis quod . . . eum desereres et abiceres quern creasti et illi adherers parite r e t faueres, qui in Coloniensis ecclesi e ac tui persone contemptu m ad quam specialiter inter reliquos principes electio regis spectat....', ibid., p. 216 , no . 80 , dated betwee n Novembe r 120 2 and 1 3 January 1203 , whe n Adolf's desertio n t o Philip wa s alread y feare d a t Rome . Innocen t her e repeate d th e claim s of th e archbisho p of Cologne, but he also dwelt on their enormity : 'cu m pro tuenda Coloniensis ecclesi e dignitate e a feceris hactenus, ad quae nullus predecessorum tuorum ausus fuerat aspirare' , and: 'Preterea cum ecclesia Romana tuu m in hac parte iudiciu m sit secuta, lice t illud suum fecerit approbando', bot h quotations p. 217 .

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had a majorit y o f thi s privilege d set , a s th e word s to t vel plures i n th e Deliberatio show. Yet theirs had not yet become an exclusive right. In 1208 the archbishop o f Magdeburg, the duk e of Saxony, the margrave of Meissen, th e landgrave of Thuringia, and others once again elected Otto IV at Halberstadt . The archbisho p o f Magdeburg had the first voice and it would appear tha t he and the duke of Saxony set themselves up as rivals of the Rhenish archbishops, and threatene d t o becom e separatis t kingmaker s for th e easter n part s of Germany. The west could as little wish away the rights of the eastern princes as it could brook th e Saxon s holding the assembl y and dictating the choice of a king. I n 1252 , th e easter n an d norther n region s o f th e empir e woul d only accept Willia m of Hollan d i f he wa s chosen b y the duk e of Saxony and th e margrave of Brandenburg 'who have a vote in the election'.13 In this way stem feeling and even a trace of tribal organisation survived in the east and mingled with other difference s of interest which divided the growing territorial powers of the colonial area from the hierarchy and the lay dynasties of the west. In the end the College of Electors reflected the distribution of forces in the thirteenth century empir e quit e well. The three Rhenis h archbishops, especially Mainz and Cologne, with their wealt h and their ancien t right s in the government of the Reich, outweighed all the other metropolitans, including the archbishop of Magdeburg. Thei r suffragans had to follow them. Next to these prelates stood the coun t palatine of the Rhine, a Wittelsbach with far-flung possession s an d prerogatives in the south-west. Hi s predecessors, too, hel d a high place in the constitution o f the ol d Reich, wher e they looked afte r roya l rights, jurisdiction, and demesne i n the Franconian cor e of Salian and Hobenstaufen power . In the twelft h century , kinsmen of the roya l house by marriage had given the orders there. The duke of Saxony as an elector still stood for the whole Saxon region, although his possessions di d not match his title. Brandenburg was the greatest powe r i n the north , a triumph o f colonisation. He r Ascania n mar graves wer e amongs t th e firs t feudatorie s o f th e empir e an d i n th e twelft h century th e onl y serious rival s of the Welf s i n that region . The kingdo m of Bohemia overshadowe d everythin g in size and potential resources. Al l these could claim to be recognised as the first amongst the lay princes. One of them, the count palatine, seems to have held a position of precedence in elections of long standing ; th e other s had com e t o th e [84 ] fore mor e recently , namely, since th e fal l o f Henry th e Lio n i n 1180 . Thei r indispensabl e first voice an d special right s became establishe d i n th e firs t hal f o f the thirteent h century. Without thei r support , o r a t least consent , a valid electio n coul d not hence forth be held, as even Innocent IV discovered when promoting his anti-kings in the wa r with Frederick II . Th e la y electors mad e goo d thei r right of choice immediately after th e three Rhenish archbishops in order to cut out the great throng of the rest of the ecclesiastical princes. They were fortunate also in that some o f the rival s and equal s amongst the la y dynasties died ou t jus t at th e 13

'Qu i vocem habent in electione predicta', letter of the cardinal-legate Hugh to the bishops of Schwerin and Havelberg, MG H Const. 2, no. 459, p. 631 .

A Recent View of th e German College of Electors 18

5

critical tim e - th e Babenbergs of Austria and the house of the landgraves of Thuringia - whil e the surviving Welfs divided their patrimony. The estate of princes numbere d exceptionall y fe w members abou t th e middl e o f the thir teenth century , and alread y the righ t to elect was not onl y connected wit h a princely famil y an d it s hereditar y offic e a t th e imperia l court , bu t als o it s territory. Othe r princes seem to have dropped out because they lost interest. In 1257 the dukes of Brabant and upper Lotharingia, who had to compete with the arch-bishops o f Cologne and Trier, backed the far away Alfonso of Castile for the German throne. They began to drift awa y from th e empire; Brabant' s chief connexions la y beyond its frontiers i n the west. The en d o f the Hohenstaufe n rul e was a time for plundering the imperia l demesne, stil l rich, particularly in Suabia. The princes deserted the Reich; the towns ha d no t ye t becom e tru e member s o f it, an d dre w together fo r self defence rather tha n to save it. Without a king the demesne on which many of them stood had no protector. William of Holland had no right to possess it save his election b y the prince s who could elect. The y expected hi m to pay them handsomely ou t o f wha t h e ha d s o gratuitousl y gaine d an d th e Rhenis h archbishops als o authorise d som e o f hi s grant s to others. 14 Th e regim e of electoral control over all important royal acts had begun, if only in the form of legalised spoliation . One should agree with Mr Bayley that canon law swamped the procedure of the elections afte r 1237 , but it did not make electors, no r can it alone account for th e upheaval s of German society in the middle of the thirteent h century. Innocent IV , i t i s true , wen t muc h furthe r tha n Innocen t II I i n claiming control, and indeed controllin g the election s of anti-kings, to bring down his enemy Frederick I I and all the hated Hohenstaufen blood. The constitution of the old Reich could not cope with curial doctrines on kingship and the imperial office, an d ye t i t neve r quit e succumbe d t o the m either . T o explai n th e elections of 1246 and 1247, and the double election of 1257, Mr Bayley devotes rather more space to the analysis of papal literature, Innocent TV's Apparatus, Henry of Susa's Lectura and the ex pane [85] submissions of the draft bull Qui celum, tha n to the change s in German y wher e he see s onl y violenc e and selfishness a t work. Certainly the kingmakers, Siegfried o f Eppenstein, archbishop o f Mainz , Conra d o f Hochstaden , archbisho p o f Cologn e an d hi s associate o f 1257 , Louis , coun t palatin e o f th e Rhin e an d duk e o f uppe r Bavaria, wer e hard-headed men , but they also knew what was their due and believed i n thei r rights . Thei r creature , William , coun t o f Holland , wa s considering his status much more of an opportunist an d adventurer i n accepting th e offe r o f election . H e an d som e o f hi s successor s lik e Rudol f o f Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau were not even princes of the empire when they tendered their services. For these counts the throne was a gamble to raise their houses an d the y stake d thei r live s rightin g wit h th e additiona l resource s i t 14

J. Picker, 'Furstliche Willebrief e un d Mitbesiegelungen', MIOG, 3 (1882), pp. 1-62 , espe cially pp. 51ff.

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brought them . Willia m an d Adol f wer e kille d i n th e attempt . Rudol f o f Habsburg succeeded . Our autho r himself allows that the statements by the proctors of Richard of Cornwall and Alfonso of Castile in Qui celum did not settle for good the for m of future elections. Muc h remained uncertai n an d debatable. Th e draf t bull , however, and better still, Conrad of Hochstaden's proclamation of Richard of Cornwall's electio n i n 1257 , ar e certai n evidenc e fo r th e exclusiv e rights of seven elector s i n the choic e of a ruler. By now they alone coul d treat o f and then proceed to an election. Whether th e princes found a doom t o close the circle sometim e i n 1256 or whether no formal agreemen t was ever made, we may neve r know . M r Bayle y take s th e latte r view . The elector s hel d thei r position purel y d e facto. H e dwell s wit h jaunt y gust o o n thei r graspin g Realpolitik thoug h hi s exampl e t o prov e i t let s hi m down . Th e elector s o f Rudolf of Habsburg did not ignore the Bohemian vote in 1273 and would have been glad if King Ottocar I I had taken part in the election. Unable to prevent it, h e ough t t o hav e bowe d t o their choice and honoured th e ancien t rul e of unanimity. O n thi s occasion th e Wittelsbac h brothers , Henr y duk e of lower Bavaria, an d hi s elder brothe r Louis , wer e allowe d to giv e a Bavarian vote jointly and in addition to Louis's palatin e vox. Bu t Henry's attempt to attach the sevent h vot e permanently to himsel f an d his successors failed. I t did not altogether prospe r eve n during the years of Ottocar's outlawry , King Rudolfs charter t o Henr y i n 127 5 wa s not witnesse d b y any elector excep t hi s elder brother. Henr y himsel f doe s no t see m t o hav e bee n aske d t o issu e letter s expressing hi s consen t t o loya l act s (Willebriefe) , i n case s wher e electora l princes ha d t o d o so in order t o make the king' s grants legally impregnable. Bohemia wa s agai n assure d o f the vot e befor e Henr y die d i n 1290 . Neithe r Ottocar's protest no r Henry' s gate-crashin g undi d Rudolf' s election. 15 This story incidentally reveals the hol d of ancient Germanic custom over the most powerful princes . [86 ] Loui s coul d no t exclud e hi s younger brother fro m a share o f the Wittelsbac h seisin in the palatine vote of 1257. Two points remain fo r comment . Th e first is one o f method. I n German y from th e nint h century onwards the king' s jurisdiction was to some exten t a substitute fo r legislation. The author uses what he calls 'statistics' to assess the amount o f legislatio n i n th e tent h an d elevent h century . H e doe s thi s b y comparing th e numbe r o f survivin g royal diplomat a reig n b y reign . Eac h diploma, whethe r i t recorde d a n outrigh t gif t o f land s an d immunitie s o r documented th e settlement o f a plea, set up new or confirmed old rights. Much of thi s is not, strictl y speaking , legislatio n in any sense of the word . O n th e other hand some o f the most important dooms found i n the curia regis before the kin g wer e no t recorde d i n thi s wa y a t all . Moreover , th e Monumenta editions o f royal diplomata fro m whic h Mr Bayley counts, contain also royal letters an d precept s whic h canno t b e calle d legislatio n either . Pursuin g his 15

209.

K . Zeumer , 'Di e bohmische und die bayrische Kur im 13. Jahrhundert', HZ, 5 8 (1905), p.


7

argument further, however, he lists an 'aggregiate' of 43 diplomata for Henry I reign - includin g two forgeries - an d 434 for Otto I, but only 317 for Otto II. 'The stream of legislation shrank further in volume under Conrad II and Henry III' we are told on p. 103 . One recalls that Otto I reigned for thirty-six years, but hi s son Ott o I I fo r only ten. If any conclusions can be drawn from thes e 'statistics', then the y must be the opposite to M r Bayley's. 509 items survive from the reign of Henry II who ruled for twenty-one years and has been passed over b y the author , bu t onl y 280 from tha t tough soldier-emperor Conrad I I who wa s parsimonious in his grants. He reigne d for nearl y fifteen years . His son Henry III has left us 381 diplomata covering just over seventeen years. On the othe r hand , for the long reign of Henry IV, whose legislation (Mr Bayley says) 'wa s contemptible i n quantity', well over 400 royal charters and letter s survive. By this unreal test therefore he should have ranked quite high. Here the use of a 'quantity theory' of legislation is particularly unfortunate because Henry IV gave to the empire its first general Landfriede i n 1103, and the futur e belonged to that form of imperial legislation. Lastly, the author has quoted one of Walther von der Vogelweide's political poems, which belongs t o the year s after the doubl e electon o f 1198. I t is the well-known lament o f the ange l over Constantine's al l too generous donatio n and the evil it had wrought in Christendom.16 alle fiirsten lebent nii mit eren wan der hoehste ist geswachet das hat der pfaffen wa l gemachet Mr Bayley interprets thi s (p. 125) : The priest' s electio n 'had diminishe d the dignity an d securit y o f ruler s everywhere' . Surel y these line s have a mor e poignant meaning. Walther really said: 'All princes live in high [87] estate now while the highes t [i.e. th e emperor ] is dishonoured. The priests' electio n has brought thi s about.' Th e poe t was , perhaps, thinkin g o f Philip Augustus of France an d the kings of England, who were masters in their own house when the empero r wh o ranked abov e them was put t o shame . Also, lin e 24, 'die pf affen wellen t leien reht verkeren ' cannot be related to Innocent III, a s the author wishes , or at least not to him alone. The pope is not spared by Walther elsewhere, but her e he seems t o strik e a t Adolf o f Cologne, his helpers an d perhaps the legat e Guid o o f Preneste wh o had solemnly published th e papa l declarations in favour of Otto and against Philip of Suabia. Compared wit h their neighbour s the Germans of the twelfth an d thirteenth centuries were , a s on e o f thei r ow n chroniclers ' wrote , 'gen s agresti s e t indomita'.17 I t i s indee d possibl e t o gathe r som e suc h impressio n o f thei r political lif e after reading this book; and this would be at least part of the truth. Yet at the same time Germany prospered, he r towns flourished and multiplied, 16

Di e Gedichte Walthers vo n de r Vogelweide, 6t h ed n b y K. Lachman n (Berlin, 1891), p. 25 lines llff . 17 Burchar d of Ursberg, Chronicon ed. O . Holder-Egge r and B. von Simson (MGH SRG 16, Hanover, 1916) , p. 65.

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and the eastward movement of colonisation and settlement reached its greatest momentum. Th e Reic h expande d there , despite its old-fashioned an d backward constitution. Invasions hardly troubled it. A levy of Silesian and Lusatian knights broke th e forc e of a Mongol onslaught in 1241 , thoug h few of them came away from th e battle alive . Perhaps the Ottonians had done their work too wel l whe n the y mad e thei r imperium a force i n contemporary Europ e which it took centuries to wear down, the political capital, as it were, on which Germany could live long after th e conditions that created it had passed .

11 Warfare in the Western European Middle Ages: The Moral Debate

To understand attitude s t o warfare and criticism of war and warriors, we must first of all understand it s place and its changing functions in the societies of the early and high middle ages, at least in western and central or southern Europe, those very regions which also became the heartlands of warlike practice i n all its more advanced forms at every stage of its development, the heartlands also of theor y an d philosophica l reflectio n abou t it , beginnin g with Carolingian historians an d theologians . I f among the Germani c peoples o f the continent war ha d originall y bee n th e mean s o f battlin g for place s i n th e su n o f th e Roman world , of winning desirable and fertile areas by conquest for exploitation and settlement, war also became th e most habitual means of competitio n between the victors in the struggles. Th e winners of this competition wer e the Franks, who , a s soo n a s a dynast y o f prove n utility , skil l an d relentles s aggressiveness engaged th e interest of their warlike aristocracy an d attracted a large enoug h warrio r following , once mor e embarke d o n massiv e war s of conquest. These , s o lon g as their momentu m could b e maintained , with its boundless flo w o f gain s in land , booty , tribute , lordshi p an d prestige , gav e some cohesio n an d disciplin e t o thei r warrio r society . I t wa s whe n th e momentum slackened off , when there were no more worthwhile objectives to attack becaus e th e distance s wer e to o grea t an d th e approache s becam e lengthier an d lengthier , tha t th e interna l crisi s o f thei r empir e bega n an d proved eventuall y insoluble , s o much had i t been th e outcom e o f offensive warfare.1 * Previousl y unpublishe d lecture give n at a conference hel d in Oxford in 1991. Th e text has been lightly edited fro m th e manuscript and the footnotes (more general than usual as befits th e nature o f the piece) are editorial . 1 R . Collins , Theodebert I, "Rex Magnu s Francorum" ', in Ideal and Reality in Prankish and Anglo-Saxon Society, ed . P . Wormal d (Oxford , 1983) , pp . 7-33 , her e pp . 13-15 , o n th e first Prankish empire; T. Reuter, 'Plunder and Tribute in the Carolingian Empire', TRHS, fifth series 35 (1985), pp . 75-94 , and idem, The En d o f Carolingian Military Expansion', in Charlemagne's Heir: New Perspectives o n the Reign of Louis the Pious, ed. P . Godman and R. Collin s (Oxford, 1990), pp. 391-405 on the second Prankish empire. Here and throughout reference should also be made to the ver y full bibliograph y in P. Contamine, La Guerre au moyen age (Nouvelle Clio 24, Paris, 1980), pp. 11-68 .

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The mora l debat e wa s not abou t whethe r wa r was desirable o r not ; th e Prankish aristocrac y an d it s rivals , an d thei r associate s i n Charlemagne' s empire did not question thei r essentially militar y role. Not a year passed bu t a military expedition was sent of f to ever more distant theatre s o f action; when occasionally none marche d ou t it was so unusual that the chronicles specially noted an d mentioned it. 2 The opposite o f warfare was otium, leisure, sitting at home an d doing nothing. Moralists thus often linke d leisure withe decay and even rottenness. 3 War was justifie d by succes s in it and the wealt h and aggrandisement of lordship it brought. Moral censure began with failure, and mismanagement o f campaigns , rarel y wit h their conduc t a s such . W e hea r about a malapugna, a bad combat, or a bellum incautum, a rash battle, but this does not mean that the critic was opposed to the armed encounter a s such.4 Let us return to the success stories. Nowhere in his Life o f Charlemagne does Einhard think it necessary t o justify the king's and his father's wars as such or in the round. The y were themselves th e justification of Carolingian kingshi p as against th e shamblin g and effete spectacle of latter-day Merovingia n rule. 5 It emerges pretty clearl y tha t the assaul t o n the Lombard kingdo m of Italy was the stif f bu t no t unprofitabl e pric e tha t ha d t o b e pai d t o th e papac y fo r authorising the Carolingian advance to kingship and clothing it with quite new sanctions, which in the end proved to be fraught an d dangerous to rulers.6 He did, however , see k t o explai n an d justif y individua l warlike enterprise s o f Charlemagne, no t least of all the massive and immensely taxing assault on the Old Saxons, which according to his own count occupied thirty-three years. The Saxons, h e set out, were, like nearly all the peoples inhabitin g Germany, by nature fierce, given to the cult of demons (they were heathen) and thus hostile to ou r religion , an d the y di d no t thin k i t wrong to soi l an d transgres s bot h divine an d human laws . There were, beside s these , othe r reason s fo r armed conflict: th e ope n frontier s betwee n th e tw o people s whic h mad e killing , robbery and arson endemic so that the Franks were in the end not content with 2

Leyser , 'Earl y Medieval Warfare' , Th e Carolingian and Ottoman Centuries, p. 30, nn. 4-5, discussing the years 790 and 792; for other notices of years without compaigning see Annales Regni Francorum s.a. 764 and 765, p. 23; Annales Fuldenses s.a. 847, p. 36. 3 Se e for example Annales Regni Francorum s.a. 790, p. 87 (E version): 'Hoc anno nullum iter exercitale a rege factum . . . Rex autem, ne quasi per otium torpere ac tempus terere videretur'; Notker, Gesta Karoli I I 5 , p . 53 : 'hom o torpen s oti o ne e utili s belli negotio ' (o f th e Gree k emperor); II17 , p. 86: 'Ne otio torpentes ad ignaviam perducamur '. 4 Leyser , 'Early Medieval Warfare' (a s n. 2), p. 43. 5 Einhard , Vita Karoli c. 1, pp. 2-3; for comment see A. Gauert, 'Noch einmal Einhard und die letzten Merowinger' , i n Institutionen, Kultur und Gesellschaft im Mittelalter: Festschrift fu r Josef Fleckenstein zu seinem 65. Geburtstag, ed. L. Fenske, W . Rosener und T. Zotz (Gottingen, 1984), pp. 59-72 . 6 Einhard , Vita Karoli c. 6, p. 8 ; see W. Affeldt, 'Da s Problem der Mitwirkung des Adels an politischen Entscheidungsprozesse s i m Frankenreic h vornehmlic h de s 8 . Jahrhunderts' , Aus Theorie und Praxis der Geschichtswissenschaft: Festschrift fur Hans Herzfeld zum 80. Geburtstag, ed. D . Kurz e (Veroffentlichungen de r historischen Kommission zu Berlin 37, Berlin, 1973), pp . 404-23, and W. Ullmann, The Carolingian Renaissance and the Idea o f Kingship (London , 1969), pp. 111-34 .

Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: Th e Moral Debate 19 1 taking reprisal s bu t deeme d i t righ t t o launc h open wa r against them. 7 Th e contrast between habitual frontier feuds as an endemic condition of existence, and formal , full-scale war is striking. The forme r needed n o special justifica tion; the latter, give n the sheer scale and ferocity of the Saxon wars, did. And some echoe s o f S t Augustine' s teaching s o n jus t wars , o n coercio n an d persecution out of charity, entered int o Einhard's reflections here. The Saxons inflicted injuries , they mocked the ius gentium and eve n if their heathenism was not the principium movens in Einhard's account , it underlay all the othe r factors h e marshalled . Ope n wa r wa s th e provinc e o f legitimat e princely authority an d o f it alone; it was not t o b e compare d wit h any act of privat e retribution.8 Yet if the Saxo n war s had a justification resting on Christian teachin g and going back also to classical traditions, elsewhere Einhard was less choosy and normative i n his description o f Charlemagne's fighting , th e larges t sectio n of the re s gesta (or majestas) par t of his biography. The secon d larges t military enterprise o f th e Prankis h king' s long reign was the wa r agains t the Avars , which laste d fo r eigh t years . A nomadi c steppe-peopl e tha t ha d becom e sedentary an d inert , th e Avar s ha d accumulate d a vas t treasure , mostl y Byzantine tributes , i n their Pannonia n hrings. 9 Thes e incited seizur e b y the Prankish king , eve r i n nee d o f th e wherewitha l to rewar d hi s greed y an d untrustworthy fideles, great nobles who had themselves warriors to reward and religious donation s t o finane with other good s than lands. 10 Here i t was the sheer size of the booty that justified it and the war. The Avars had come by this liquid wealt h unjustly ; the Frank s too k it off them by sheer effor t - thes e expeditions wer e over long distances and needed much planning, and this in itself mad e the outcome just . The completeness o f the victory - th e practical annihilation of the Avar nobility - onl y enlarged this conviction. Most startling about al l thi s tal e o f spoil s an d annihilation s wa s th e tota l secularit y o f Einhard's story and judgement. Divine dispensation and favour were nowhere brought to bear or gratefully invoked for the events, casualties and outcome of the Avar wars. Until then the Franks might have been deemed a poor people so Einhard's rhetori c - fo r in no other of their many wars had they been so enriched.11 The ruthless ethic behind this was certainly addressed t o Charles' s troubled an d conscience-stricken successor, Louis the Pious, whose inability to cope with the succession an d inheritance problems brought about by the birth of a son from a second marriag e led to the grea t crisis of his regime and th e 7

Einhard , Vita Karoli c. 7, pp. 9-10. Fo r the contrast see ibid. p. 9: 'Quibus adeo Franci sunt irritati, ut non iam vicissitudinem reddere, sed apertum contra eos bellum suscipere dignum iudicarent.' 9 W . Pohl , Die Awaren (Munich , 1988), especially pp . 306- 8 (on the Hring) 312-2 2 (on the campaigns of the 790s); J. Deer, 'Karl der GroBe und die Awaren', in Karlder Grofle; Lebenswerk undNachleben, \\Pers6nlichkeit und Geschichte, ed. H. Beumann (Diisseldorf, 1965), pp. 719-91. 10 Reuter , 'Plunder and Tribute' (as n.l) pp. 78, 81. 11 Einhard , Vita Karoli c. 13, pp. 15-17 , especially p. 16 ; but see Deer, 'Awaren' (as n. 9) for an interpretation of the Avar campaigns drawing on other Prankish sources, which saw them rather more in terms of holy war. 8

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wars afte r hi s deat h whic h made divisio n and severanc e within th e Reic h permanent.12 These wars, by their sheer magnitude and the weight of what was at stake, poignantly introduce d a n idea int o western warfare that was never again lost sight of during the middle ages, and determined the ways in which warfare was viewed and judged by theologians, canon and civil lawyers and historians, the chief sources for our theme throughout. This was to regard war and especially battle a s a trial, a n appeal to God' s justice , a collective ordeal.13 Of ordeals applied to individuals by the law, trial by combat was the most honourable and appropriate for aristocratic warrior societies, such as most of those in early and high medieval wester n an d central Europ e were . Onl y in Anglo-Saxon Eng land doe s this for m o f trial appea r t o have been unknow n or unpractised. 14 When th e armie s o f Loui s th e Germa n an d Charle s th e Bal d me t those of Lothar an d Pippi n a t Fonteno y o n 2 5 June 841 , the y di d s o afte r th e las t attempts at a peaceful, negotiated settlement had broken down. Our reporter, Nithard, was not impartial , bu t h e presented th e transitio n from a peaceful plea to action on the battlefield wholly and unequivocally as an appeal t o the judgement o f Almight y God . T o underlin e thi s ide a Loui s an d Charle s announced no t only the day but even the hour on which they would march up. They blamed Lothar for having left them no other choice. When it was all over and Lothar had been defeated, the idea of God's justice was anxiously adhered to and for each next step the bishops in the two kings' hosts were consulted as a group.15 Not everyone endorsed this representation of the battle of Fontenoy as a tria l befor e God , th e outcom e o f whic h manifeste d divin e justice . Hrabanus Maurus, for instance, a t the time no friend o f Louis the German's , rejected it. 16 The idea of trial by battle to see justice done and right prevail was harnessed also t o the Norman invasio n of 1066 an d the - a s it turned ou t - decisiv e encounter a t Hastings. Here William' s papa l banner was but anothe r sign of the church' s an d abov e al l the papacy' s increasin g commitment to warfare , regardless of all its risks and the chance s that God's justice might favour th e other side.17 This happened whe n Pope Leo IX was defeated and captured by 12 O n Einhard's work as apiece d'occasion see most recently H. Lowe, 'Die Enstehungszeit der Vita Karoli Einhards', D A 3 9 (1983), pp. 85-103 . 13 K.G . Cram , ludicium Belli: Zum Rechtscharakter de s Krieges im deutschen Mittelalter (Minister, 1955). 14 P . Hyams, Trial by Ordeal: The Key to Proof in the Early Common Law,' in On the Laws and Customs of England: Essays in Honor of Samuel E. Thome, ed . M.S. Arnold an d others (Chapel Hill, 1981), pp. 90-126, here p. Ill and n. Ill; R. Bartlett, Trial by Fire and Water: Th e Medieval Judicial Ordeal (Oxford, 1986) , p. 104 . 15 Nithard , Historiae II10, pp. 75/78; see also J.L. Nelson, Charles the Bald (London, 1992 ) pp. 117-18. 16 Hrabanu s Maurus, Poenitentiale, cited by Cram, ludicium Belli (as n. 13), p . 38. 17 C . Erdmann, Di e Entstehung des Kreuzzugsgedankens (Stuttgart , 1935) , pp . 172- 3 (English as The Origins of th e Idea o f Crusade, trans. M.W. Baldwin and W. Goffart (Philadelphia , 1977) , pp. 188-9) .

Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: The Moral Debate 19 3 the Norman s a t Civitat e i n 1053 , an d agai n whe n Rudolf o f Rheinfelden, Henry IV' s rival, the kin g elected agains t him by the irreconcilabl e princes, lost his right hand an d his life a t the Gron e i n 1080. 18 With the Normans the papacy coul d com e t o term s without too muc h loss of face, albeit a t a high territorial cost; with Henry IV it could not. But this made the war against him all the more just and turned its casualties on the papal side, among thefideles Sancti Petri, int o martyr s t o who m eterna l lif e wa s assured . Som e o f th e underlying features of the crusade , the holies t o f wars, were already in place before Urba n I I launche d hi s great enterpris e ha d announce d th e spiritua l benefits which the participants should enjoy. 19 The morality of the just war, as it emerged fro m ninth-centur y Carolingian pronouncements an d from th e pens of tenth-century historians, dictate d on e facet of European warfare throughout the latter middle ages. If was was waged to defen d onesel f agains t injur y o r t o vindicat e offende d rights , i t mus t necessarily be waged by the injured party and could not be entrusted wholly to mercenaries. T o many belligerents o f the hig h middle age s thi s presented a problem. Mercenaries, wholly professional troops , mounted or on foot, were often highl y effective and disciplined , an d thanks to thei r contracts an d pay they coul d b e fielde d whe n nobl e vassal s an d thei r contingent s serve d fo r briefer periods, had to be elaborately summoned , and duly sent home again. Mercenaries wer e useful als o as weapons of terror: the outrages they committed o r threatene d t o commi t ofte n persuade d me n t o submi t rathe r tha n experience these guests.20 Yet kings could not fight exclusively with mercenaries. Th e ver y wor d carrie d a pejorativ e meaning , force d hom e b y biblica l texts.21 The y mus t therefor e hav e a t leas t som e o f thei r baron s an d thes e barons' knights with them if their cause was to be deemed just and therefor e morally defensible befor e the worl d and befor e the clerica l arbiters of these matters on their own, the other, or neither side. It is characteristic that Richard I, a n outstandin g soldier , alway s insisted o n th e presenc e o f som e o f hi s servitium debitum, on the presence of grandees and their knights from England in his wars for the threatened Angevi n possessions in France. Some earls and 18 For Leo IX at Civitate see Erdmann, Entstehung (as n. 17) , pp. 109-1 2 (English translation pp. 120-4) ; for Rudolf see Leyser, 'Early Medieval Warfare' (as n. 2), p. 41 with nn. 63f. and 'On the Eve' (above p. 14). 19 'O n the Eve', above, p. 14. 20 H . Grundmann, 'Rotten und Brabanzonen', DA 5 (1942), pp. 419-92, is still the best account of the brutalitie s of the mercenarie s of the high middle ages; see especially pp. 466-8 for 'buying off mercenaries . See also J. Boussard, 'Les Mercenaires au Xlle siecle: Henri II Plantegenet et les origines d e 1'arme e de metier' , Bulletin de I'Ecole de s Chartes, 10 6 (1946), pp. 189-224 ; idem , 'Services feodaux, milice s et mercenaires dan s les armees, en France, au x Xe et Xle siecles', in Ordinamenti Militari in Occidente nell'alto Medioevo (Settiman e 15 , Spoleto, 1968) , pp. 130-68 ; S.D.B. Brown, 'Military Service and Monetary Reward in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries' , History, 74 (1989), pp 20-38; and for their late medieval counterparts the references given below at nn. 61ff. 21 Not e especially the contrast between the 'hireling' and the 'shepherd' in John 10: 12-13, but also Job 7:1-2 : 'Militi a es t vita hominis super terram; Et sicu t dies mercenarii, dies eius. Sicut servus desiderat umbram, et sicut mercenarius praestolatur finem operis sui.'

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bishops regularly had to be there, no t least of all to advise him and strengthen his proposals i n the frequent negotiations that straddled hostilities i n twelfthcentury warfare. I f they were wholly absent, and there were only professional paid troops about him, the king lacked secta (suit), that is legal support a t the trial of which his war was, as it were, the continuation. 22 It is at the same time worth noting that already in the early twelfth century King Henry I fought his Norman campaigns, whether he was there in person or not, with paid standing troops recruited respectabl y fro m his vassals. The Normans and Angevins thus found somethin g i n betwee n th e vassali c service s the y were owed an d th e mercenary wh o answere d militar y need s muc h better. 23 Amon g th e mos t notorious mercenaries o f the twelfth century were the Brabancpns, employed not onl y b y th e Angevin s bu t als o b y Frederic k Barbaross a an d Germa n princes like the archbishop of Cologne, to name only some of their customers. There were some 500 of them at the battl e o f Bouvines in 1214 on the side of Otto IV and King John. It is characteristic o f them that they did not join the flight of the imperialists and their allies, but stood their ground. They were cut down t o th e las t ma n i n th e fina l phas e o f th e battle . Th e questio n o f a negotiated surrender doe s not seem to have arisen.24 A morality o f war lay embedded i n the political an d social order of Europ e from the early middle ages onwards. It was twofold in that it justified violence and at the same time sought to control it by confining its use. Already the later Carolingian worl d had develope d coronatio n ritual s which vividly showed to the onlookers , clerics , nobles , fideles and populace, what duties kings had to perform.25 Suc h rituals and the injunctions and promises which accompanied them announce d th e principal one of the royal tasks: to do justice, favour the good an d meek an d punish the wicked. Investiture wit h a sword or a sceptr e often accompanie d such exhortations an d these insignia were the emblems of justice, o f punishmen t an d th e defenc e o f th e Christia n peopl e fro m thei r enemies.26 Not only pagans but also mali christani ('bad Christians') wer e the oft mentione d targets. 27 In the early and the high middle ages justice was seen as necessarily entailin g violence. Wh o wer e the wicked ? One's enemies , of course, and yet they too might fight because they thought they had justice on 22 Fo r warfare as a trial see above at n. 13; for suit see F. Pollock and F.W. Maitland, A History of English Law from the Earliest Times to the Reign of Edward /, 2nd edn by S.F.C. Milsom, 2 vols. (Cambridge, 1968) , vol. 1, pp. 537-50. 23 M . Chibnall, 'Mercenarie s and thefamilia regis under Henry F, History, 62 (1977), pp. 15-23 ; J. O. Prestwich, 'The Military Household o f the Norman Kings', EHR, 9 6 (1981), pp. 1-35 . 24 Grundmann , 'Rotten und Brabanzonen' (a s n. 20), p. 481. 25 Ullmann , Carolingian Renaissance (as n. 6); J.L. Nelson, Politics and Ritual in Early Medieval Europe (London , 1986) , especially chapter s 2 , 7, 10-17 ; J . Flori, L'Ideologie d u glaive (Geneva 1983). 26 To the works by Erdmann cited in n. 17 and by Ullmann, Nelson and Flori cited in n. 25 may be added P.E. Schramm , Kaiser, Konige und Papste: Gesammelte Aufsatze, 4 vols. in 5 (Stuttgart, 1968-71). 27 Fo r such formulae see e.g. Schramm, Kaiser, Konige und Papste (as n. 26), vol. 2, pp. 218 c. 8, 233 c. 9; for references in other sources see Leyser, 'Early Medieval Warfare' (as n. 2), p. 33, n.19

Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: Th e Moral Debate 19 5 their side . Th e participatio n o f bishop s an d roya l abbot s wa s a n essentia l ingredient of early and hig h medieval warfare , an d the mor e tha t war s wer e fought for the defence o f the church or churches the more likely it was that they could fall under th e heading o f being just, rather than being fought merely t o extend lordship , tak e boot y an d occup y a militar y societ y wit h needfu l employment t o keep it loyal and fit. 28 There wa s plenty of warfare of this kind, as Gregory VII bitterly complained in his letters calling for lay defenders of his embattled papacy. 29 But in the earlie r middle age s th e lay warrior foun d his justification, hi s rightful place in this world and also in the next in the duty to defend th e Christia n peopl e agains t it s enemies fro m outside , th e heathen s haunting Europe by sea and by land in the later nint h and the first half of the tenth century . Fighting Viking , Magyar an d Sarace n raider s wa s in a moral category tha t differed from the ceaseless internal feudin g that afflicted the Latin west, wher e structures of public authority were weak and disintegrating with the collapse of the west Prankish kingdom an d the growth of its new, strongly local lordships. The Ottonia n an d Salia n Reic h di d not share thi s development unti l the las t quarter o f the eleventh century , when Henry IV's breach with the papacy and its loca l supporter s le d t o simila r warfar e for provincial , regiona l o r loca l objectives. It is just here, in Germany, tha t the feud became an d remained a right, somethin g any knight could resort to if declared i n due form to remed y an injustice o r advanc e a lawful claim . It coul d of course becom e a means of subsistence fo r economically hard-presse d knight s and was thus open t o gross abuse.30 Elsewhere, i n England or France, suc h self-help was increasingly no longer tolerated, in England ideally not from the Conquest onwards . Histor ians of Henry IPs government slate d the reign of Stephen as a lapse, a fall from the blessing s o f th e pa x regis, befor e th e Angevin s no t onl y restore d th e omnipotence o f this peace but also gave it new dimensions and sanctions.31 In the Reich , wher e reliabl e judicia l institution s t o settl e th e quarrel s o f th e nobility failed to develop earl y enough, lawful feuding continued and only the 28

O n the clericalisation of warfare see Erdmann, Entstehung (as n. 17) ; Flori, Ideologic (a s n. 25); F . Prinz, Klerus und Krieg imfriihen Mittelalter (Monographie n zur Geschichte de s Mittelalters 2 , Stuttgart , 1971) ; E.- D Hehl , Klerus und Krieg i m 12. Jahrhundert (Monographien zur Geschichte de s Mittelalters 19, Stuttgart, 1980). 29 Fo r exampl e Gregor y VII , Registrum I I 37 , p . 173 : 'Itaque , fratre s karissimi , estote a d pugnandum fortissimi pro laude ilia et gloria qu§ omne desiderium superant, qui hactenus fortes fuistis pugnar e pro rebus, quas non potestis detinere nee sine dolore possidere. ' 30 O . Brunner, 'Land' an d Lordship , trans. H. Kaminsky and J. van Horn Melton (Philadelphia 1992), pp. 1-94 . Note, however, that 'legitimate' private warfare continued in France at least into the later middle ages; see M.H. Keen, The Laws of Wa r in the Later Middle Ages (London, 1965) , p. 80 ; R.W . Kaeuper , War, Justice, and Public Order: England and France i n the Later Middle Ages (Oxford , 1988), especiall y pp. 225-67. 31 Mos t recently by W.L. Warren, Henry I I (Londo n 1973), e.g. pp. 54-61 , 263, and idem The Governance o f Anglo-Norman England, 1086-1272 (Th e Governanc e o f Englan d 2 , London , 1987), pp . 95-104 . Fo r arguments that feud wa s not as absent from post-Conques t England as has sometimes bee n claimed , see P. Hyams, 'Feud in Medieval England', Haskins Society Journal, 3 (1991), pp. 1-21 : J. Gillingham, Th e Angevin Empire (London, 1984), pp. 39-40.

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consolidation of princely traditions i n the early sixteenth century, the growth of a new, bureaucratic lega l expertise eventually suppressed thi s form of selfhelp without deprivin g noble s o f countless othe r lega l privileges. 32 Germa n nobles could no t fight feud to right their ow n supposed wrongs . They coul d also avo w th e wrong s suffere d b y other s wh o di d no t posses s th e righ t of feuding. Here is an example from a small fifteenth-century Austrian lordship . A man struck his serving maid and then compelled her to swear off a feud. The danger wa s not that sh e could wage a feud hersel f agains t her master o r the town, but rather tha t she could take her complaint to the nearby castle where the lord, always on the lookout fo r such opportunities, coul d make it his own and begin operations b y driving the town's cattle awa y from it s pastures int o his ow n compound. 33 Ye t al l th e sam e ther e wer e restraint s o n feuding , especially o n arso n committe d i n the cours e of it, an d o n killin g at times of special peaces: peaces of God imposed by oaths which warriors had to swear, and Landfrieden whic h emperors and princes sought to impose to interdict and limit feuding for certai n times or season s an d which sough t to replac e pett y wars b y some kin d of effectiv e crimina l jurisdiction that migh t in the worst cases appl y also to the privileged. 34 Canon law , the church' s teachings, did not a t al l condone killing, even in rightful feuds or service to a prince in a just war, lightly. From the collection of Bishop Burchard of Worms c. 1020, it is clear that any individual who had slain another person, be it under the banner of his prince or fighting as an individual, was liable t o the church's penalties and had to do penance. Its severity varied with the circumstances, but the modern sense of immunity for killing in action by lawfu l comman d a t th e fron t wa s not there . Howeve r self-righteou s the victors of the battle o f Fontenoy may have been, they were liable to penance . Even fighting the heathen , th e pagan invader s who plundered churche s and carried of f women into captivity after killing their men, had to be done in the right spirit, for the sake of justice and obligation t o otherwise helpless victims rather tha n for gain, be it plunder o r ransom. Participation i n war against the heathen, b e the y Viking s o r Magyars , ha d a t th e sam e tim e a redemptiv e quality an d could help to purge heinous offences committed within Christian societies.35 Already in the ninth century, indeed long before the formulation of knightly ethos and status, the bearing of arms was seen as a mark of honour, of standing an d freedom . As suc h it could be forfeite d fo r particularly heinous offences, seriou s acts that severed a man from th e converse of his own social 32

Th e turning point was symbolised (rather than brought about) by the Ewiger Landfriede o f 1495, on which see H. Angermeier's article in Handworterbuch zur deutschen Rechtsgeschichte, 1: Aachen-Haussuchung, ed . A. Erler and others (Berlin, 1971) cols. 1030-32, with bibliography. 33 Brunner, 'Land' an d Lordship (a s n. 30), pp. 22-3. 34 O n thes e development s see J . Gernhuber , Die Landfriedensbewegung i n Deutschland bi s zum Mainzer Reichslandfrieden vo n 1235 (Bonner Rechtswissenschaftliche Abhandlunge n 44, Bonn, 1952), and Leyser, 'Frederick Barbarossa: Court and Country', above, pp. 151-3 . 35 K . Leyser , 'Early Medieval Canon Law and the Beginning s of Knighthood', in idem, The Carolingian and Ottonian Centuries, pp. 51-71; R. Kottje, Die Totung im Kriege. Ein moralisches und rechtliches Problem imfriihen Mittelalter (Beitrag e zur Friedensethik 11, Barsbiittel, 1991).

Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: Th e Moral Debate 19 7 equals. I n Carolingia n canonisti c legislatio n we rea d tha t fo r instanc e fo r killing a clerk, a bishop, or one's closest kin, or for certain particularly flagran t marital offences a man must not only embrace lifelong penance but also forfei t his marriage, i.e . hi s chances to enjoy the normal advantages of a layman and to procreate more offspring. He also forewent the right to bear arms. There is however on e frequent claus e o f exemption t o this forfeiture: the culprit might still bear his arms to fight the heathen ('nis i contra paganos'). The attacks of the Viking s an d th e nee d t o rais e ever y capabl e fighting man agains t the m spoke through thes e penal , penitentia l clauses. 36 Redemption coul d b e o f a differen t kin d also. I n th e earl y an d th e hig h middle age s certain situations , like bodily mutilations when suffered i n battle by exalted an d highly-placed persons, or being stripped of clothes and possessions in action, were deemed t o be disgraceful and dishonourable. That Rudolf of Rheinfelden los t his right hand - the hand with which he had sworn fealty to Henry IV - i n battle was such a disgrace. O n his deathbed h e sought to make light o f i t t o exal t th e caus e fo r whic h he ha d suffered. 37 Whe n a bishop of Regensburg took part in a battle against the Magyars he was struck down and remained for dea d o n th e field. When h e cam e to , h e foun d close t o hi m a Hungarian casualty , wh o likewise turned out t o b e fit and well. They bega n fighting at once; th e bisho p killed his man but lost an ear in the duel. As such this was a disgrace, but the occasion and the circumstances excused it so that he could boas t o f it rather tha n have it redound to his discredit. 38 An eleventhcentury bishop o f Merseburg, Werner , fought i n one of the frequent and very severe battles i n the wars against the excommunicated King Henry IV. Henry IV in the end lost, but not without having overrun one of his enemies' wings , where th e bisho p o f Mersebur g an d th e archbisho p o f Magdebur g wer e positioned. Th e bisho p o f Mersebur g wa s overwhelme d an d strippe d o f everything, but in the end he escaped an d fled homewards naked (this need not be taken literally) . Yet he boasted that he would not have missed the combat, the los s o f hi s possession s an d hi s fligh t al l the wa y back t o Mersebur g for anything i n the world . He wante d it to b e regarde d a s a kind of martyrdom endured fo r th e caus e of St Peter an d the libertas ecclesiae and of Saxony.39 Long before chivalr y and the growth of a body of laws governing warfare in the late r middle ages , partl y culle d fro m Roma n an d canon law , there wer e rules fo r th e conduc t o f war , restraint s upo n it , whic h warrio r enemie s respected. One such was the right to a decent buria l for great noble s who had been kille d i n action. Conveyin g them back to thei r house monasteries fro m the theatr e o f wa r wa s protecte d eve n i f th e militar y situation would have allowed th e annihilatio n of the escort. This mutual forbearance lent a certain 36

Leyser , 'Early Medieval Canon Law' (as n. 35), pp. 58, 62. Se e above a t n. 18. 38 Thietmar , Chronicon II 27, p. 72. 39 Brun , Bellum Saxonicum c. 96, p. 89: 'Quod illi me non ad contumeliam, quisquis hoc legit, sed dixiss e putet a d gloriam ; quia a b ipsiu s ore no n seme l audivi , quo d ipsam nuditatem no n tolerasse nollet pr o pondere quolibet auri vel argenti'. 37

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civility eve n t o th e fierce wars between the Empero r Henr y II an d Boleslas Chrobry o f Poland . I t wa s no t unusua l t o she d tear s ove r on e another' s casualties.40 Conversely, th e breac h o f suc h unwritten conventions expose d the perpetrators t o censure and inclined fellow warriors to shed very few tears if they cam e t o grief. Here the cas e o f a half-brother of Otto I, Thangmar, i s instructive. Widukind of Corvey, the Saxon historian an d exponent o f a tragic ethos o f both wa r and rebellion - tragi c becaus e bot h side s wer e righ t described Thangmar' s bearin g and censure d it : while a good warrior among the goo d warrior s h e lacke d a n essentia l self-restrain t and sens e o f sham e ('inter arma honesta minu s pudicitia usus') . Thi s meant that he soiled his , to Widukind, quit e understandabl e risin g an d bi d fo r a shar e i n th e kingshi p against Ott o I , b y act s o f plunde r an d pett y robbery , lootin g an d arso n committed by his band of warriors that, to Widukind, had nothing to do with the possibl y jus t causes for th e risin g and could only undermine them. That Thangmar may have needed t o launch them to maintain his warbands and fire them for greater enterprises Widukind did not pause to ask. 41 Even before w e first encounter th e celebrated theor y of the three estates in Christian society, the profession o f the warrior and the functions of warfare to maintain o r advanc e a desirabl e an d righ t mora l order , wer e deepl y entrenched an d no t jus t warfar e a s such , bu t clerica l warfare. 42 War s conducted b y the episcopat e an d royal abbots were defended and even extolled. The most telling example here is the Life o f Archbishop Brun of Cologne, who died in 965, written by his cleric Ruotger. Brun had been advanced to the see of Cologne and the ducatus over Lotharingia i n 953 by his brother, Kin g Otto I, during the severest crisis that he had to undergo in the defence of his kingship. As archbishop , Bru n ha d t o tak e a leadin g part i n containin g the risin g in Lotharingia agains t its head, Duke Conrad, who was Otto I's son-in-law. The biographer justifie d the archbishop's participation against his critics. He acted both politically an d militarily for the sak e o f peace, a good almos t unknown hitherto in Lotharingia. Ruotge r als o contended tha t Brun's regime, including warfare, wa s no t ne w o r unusua l o r withou t exampl e an d a commentato r hastened t o ad d tha t Samue l an d othe r priest s an d the prophe t Danie l ha d condemned fals e priest s to death. 43 It was the sheddin g of blood b y prelates that offende d and arouse d doubt s abou t th e episcopate' s warlik e role i n the Ottoman period . Everythin g tha t Bru n di d wa s goo d an d usefu l fo r 'ou r

40

Leyser , 'Early Medieval Warfare' (a s n. 2), pp. 38-9. Widukind , Res gestae Saxonicae II11, p. 76 42 Se e the references given above, n. 28. 43 Ruotger , Vita Brunonls c. 24, pp. 24- 6 (Lotharingian duchy), 24 (gloss with Old Testament references). On Ruotger and his work see Prinz, Klerus und Krieg (as n. 28) pp. 175-95 , and most recently H . Mayr-Harting , 'Ruotger , th e Lif e o f Bruno , an d Cologn e Cathedra l Library' , i n Intellectual Life i n the Middle Ages: Essays Presented t o Margaret Gibson, ed. L . Smit h and B . Ward (London, 1992) , pp . 33-60 . 41

Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: Th e Moral Debate 19 9 common weal' , anticipatin g here th e languag e of Aquinas himself as a good reason for warfare. 44 That bishop s migh t b e warriors , despit e thei r clerica l status , coul d b e justified b y the situation in the Reic h and the lack of control by its rulers over the la y aristocracy. Their service s wit h efficient mounte d militar y manpowe r could be counted o n where those of lay princes were much more uncertain and depended o n consen t eac h time . No r wa s thi s mobilisatio n o f th e churc h peculiar t o the Empire. I t became par t and parcel also of the Anglo-Norman, then Angevin an d Capetian kingdoms and lordship.45 The church, moreover , not only justified and employed the warrior for its own and the kingdom's uses, it eve n ha d a shar e i n ennoblin g the busines s of fighting . Th e fifth-centur y warrior saint, on e s o widely worshipped a s St Martin, wa s no outsider i n its celestial hierarch y an d tha t precisel y becaus e o f th e stresses , shockin g misdeeds an d indisciplin e o f th e aristocrati c la y warrior s o f tenth-centur y France.46 On the eve of knighthood, it created a model lay warrior in the Life of Gerald of Aurillac, from the hand of none other tha n Odo of Cluny.47 That Odo shoul d have charged himself with the biography of a warrior who took no booty and ransom, released prisoners and avoided bloodshed, onl y underlined the importance of the subject an d the task, to instill an ethic of conduct in the mounted warriors , who , howeve r recruite d an d levied , thu s becam e th e decisive elemen t i n Europea n warfare . Withou t the m th e massiv e western enterprises that go t under wa y in the eleventh centur y - th e Norman Con quest, the reconquista, th e Norman conquest of southern Italy and Sicily, the crusade itsel f - wer e unthinkable. 48 The aristocratic la y warrior, then, was the man to whom the church and the multitude looke d for protection an d defence. H e needed muc h educating and persuading. Hi s role , however , was securely enshrine d an d articulate d in a social philosoph y o f which we begi n to hea r somethin g in th e nint h century from none other than King Alfred and more still in the tenth and early eleventh from tw o norther n Frenc h authors , Bisho p Adalber o o f Lao n an d th e

44

Ruotge r Vita Brunonis c. 37, p. 38 : 'ad communis bonorum omnium utilitatis fe,dus' . T . Reuter , 'Episcopi cu m sua militia: the Prelat e a s Warrior in th e Earl y Staufe r Era' , in Warriors an d Churchmen in the High Middle Ages: Essays Presented to Karl Leyser ed. T . Reuter (London, 1992) , pp. 79-94, gives a comparative survey of the twelft h century. 46 Ther e appear s to be little direct evidence for an enhanced cult of St Martin in tenth-century France; but the tenth century did see a great rise in the significance o f the other warrior-saint par excellence, Maurice/Mauritius. 47 Od o o f Cluny, Vita S. Geraldi Auriliacensis comitis Migne PL 133 , cols. 639-703; see on this text mos t recentl y S . Airlie , Th e Anxiet y o f Sanctity : S t Gerald o f Aurillac an d hi s Maker', JEccH, 4 3 (1992), pp. 372-95 48 R . Bartlett , Th e Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonisation and Cultural Change, 950-1350 (London, 1993) , discusses the ideological and technological background to this expansion. 45

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unknown writer of the Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensium. 49 Warriors were led b y kings and prince s but thei r ultimat e tasks and functio n i n relation t o other member s of society - peasants , merchant s and servants, and of course their betters , th e men of prayer - belonge d t o a timeless, divinel y ordained scheme of things which entailed, almost prescribed warfare, however much the clergy and the men of the plough needed, wanted and professed peace. Peac e needed enforcing on evil-doers, men of the warriors' ow n class, and this again called fo r campaigning. 50 Eve n th e best-intentione d teachin g thus ra n int o inconsistencies an d s o th e mora l debat e o n wha t constitute d a jus t war, whether waged by the church or for the church never arrived at unquestionable answers and certainties. The savage fighting launched by Pope Gregory VII for what he called justitia but his enemies regarded as the overthrow of a hallowed or at least tolerable order, handed on a legacy of doubt to the theologians and canonists o f th e twelft h an d thirteent h centuries , no t leas t o f al l becaus e neither th e papacy not its allies, nor of course the Salian emperors, won. 51 A just cause, due authority and rightful intentions on the part of the fighting men were bu t ver y inadequat e criteri a t o explain , le t alon e justif y o r measur e against th e sam e standar d al l the countles s situations in the twelft h an d th e thirteenth centuries which led to a resort to arms. A story from the Albigensian wars may serve to illustrate the dilemmas of fighting men engaged in what was on the fac e of it so authoritative and unequivocal a cause. The crusaders were about t o stor m a southern Frenc h city, a stronghold of the heretics, many of whose inhabitants, however, were still orthodox Catholics. There would be an assault and then slaughter. Whe n it was pointed out that this might lead to the

49 G . Duby , Les trois Ordres ou I'imaginaire dufeodalisme (Paris , 1978), English as The Three Orders: Feudal Society Imagined, trans , by A. Goldhammer (Chicago, 1980). See J. Le Goff, 'Les trois Fonctions indoeuropeennes , I'historien et 1'Europ e f6odale', Annales ESC, 34 (1979), pp . 1187-1215; O.G. Oexle, 'Die funktionale Dreiteilung der Gesellschaft be i Adalbero von Laon' , Friihmittelalterliche Studien 12 (1978), pp. 1-54, idem, 'Die Wirklichkeit und das Wissen: Bin Blick auf da s sozialgeschichtliche (Euvr e von Georges Duby' , HZ, 23 2 (1981), pp. 61-91, idem, Tria genera hominum: Zur Geschichte eines Deutungsschemas der sozialen Wirklichkeit in Antike und Mittelalter' in Institutionen, Kultur und Gesellschaft im Mittelalter: Festschrift fur Josef Fleckenstein z u seinem 65 . Geburstag, ed. L . Fenske , W . Rosene r an d T . Zot z (Sigmaringen : Jan Thorbecke Verlag , 1984), pp. 483-500, for a critical appraisal. 50 A s was pointed out by Gerard of Cambrai, according to the anonymous author of the Gesta Episcoporum Cameracensium III 53, MGH SS 7, p. 487: 'Collegerat duo superius dicta: caedibus, quibus pastu s fuerat , silentiu m daretur , e t extun c licentius , null o ferent e arma , assueti s mali s frueretur.' O n th e Peac e o f God se e H . Hoffmann , Gottesfriede un d Treuga De i (Schriften de r MGH 20 , Stuttgart, 1964) and Th e Peace of God: Social Violence and Religious Response in France around th e Year 1000, ed. T. Head and R. Lande s (Ithaca, 1992). 51 Se e Hehl, Klerus and Krieg (a s n. 28 ) and F.H. Russsell, The Just Wa r in the Middle Ages (Cambridge Studie s i n Medieval Life and Thought, thir d series 10 , Cambridge, 1975), especiall y p. 34 and n.73 on Gregory VII.

Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: Th e Moral Debate 20 1 deaths o f countles s innocen t victims , the leader s merel y hoped, an d sai d as much, that God would no doubt sort out his own.52 Yet som e positiv e development s ther e were , an d a fe w usefu l principle s governing warfar e evolve d an d wer e hande d o n fro m th e twelft h an d thir teenth centurie s no t only to the later middle ages but became part of permanent Europea n usage , howeve r w e asses s thei r moral . T o se t ou t th e hig h medieval positio n we could d o no better than sum it up as did the greatest of the theologian s i n th e thirteent h century , S t Thoma s Aquinas . H e wrote , having elsewhere distinguished externa l enmitie s from mer e brawls: 53 There are thre e conditions o f a just war . First, the authorit y o f the sovereig n b y whose command the wa r i s to b e waged . Fo r i t is not th e busines s of the privat e individual t o declar e wa r or t o summo n the nation . The secon d conditio n is that hostilities should begin because of some crime on the part of the enemy. Wherefore St Augustine observes tha t a just war is wont to be described a s one that avenges wrongs when a nation or state has to be punished for refusing t o make amends for the injuries done by its people or to restore what has been seized unjustly. The third condition is a rightful intention, the advancement of good or the avoidance of evil. It may happen tha t a war declared b y legitimate authorit y for a just cause may yet be rendered unlawful through a wicked intention, henc e Augustin e declare s tha t the passion of inflicting harm, the cruel thirst of vengeance, a plundering and implacable spirit, th e feve r o f turmoil , th e lus t o f powe r an d suc h like , al l these ar e justly condemned i n war.

It is worthwhile to pause an d gasp at the extent to which Christianity from St Augustine onward s and indeed much earlier had been able not only to live with the phenomeno n o f wa r whic h profoundl y contradicte d it s imperative s o f peace but even t o endorse it, both fo r the punishment of the wicked and the coercion o f heretic s an d i n th e secula r sphere s o f kingdom s an d people s fighting to avenge wrongs. 54 Aristotle's Politics here spoke with a louder voic e than the passivity of the Gospels; at least Aquinas had received and incorporated th e teachin g o f th e stat e a s a natural , self-sufficient an d eve n ethically positive institution , no t just as a punishment for sin. The essentia l principle , however, whic h became necessaril y all-pervasive, was that war was properly not a matter between private individuals but could only be conducted by or was the exclusive province of the highest public powers, especially kings, who had no earthly superiors. T o them belonged a n exclusive right to declare war , and this became very much the condicio sine qua non for a true war, one with which we are, mutatis mutandis, still familiar or were until quite recently. The issue of 52 Caesariu s of Heisterbach, Dalogus Miraculorum V 21, ed. J. Strange (Cologne, 1851), vol. 1 pp. 300-3 . The anecdote is analysed by J. Berlioz, 'Exemplum e t histoire: Cesaire de Heisterbach (v. 1180-v . 1240 ) et la croisade albigeoise' , Bulletin de l'£cole des Charles 14 7 (1989), pp. 49-86 , who shows that Caesarius had better sources than he has usually been credited with. 53 Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica 2 a 2e, 40, art. 1, obj. 1 . The translation used has not been identified. 54 Fo r the New Testament precepts see notably St John the Baptist to the soldiers, Luke 3:14: 'ut neminem concutiatis , nequ e calumnia m faciatis: e t content i estot e stipendii s vestris' , cite d b y Aquinas to show that this advice could not imply a prohibition of military service; see Russell, Just War (a s n. 51), p . 260 .

202 Th


sovereign power went hand in hand with this precept.55 It is worth recalling, however, tha t eve n i n th e tent h centur y writer s had alread y distinguished between helium publicum an d the feud s tha t ren t their societies. 56 That war was the ac t of public power an d no t o f private individuals became axiomatic whenever th e kingship or other kind s of regime - one thinks here of Venice or even o f Medicean Florenc e - gaine d overridin g interna l juridica l supremac y and control of frontiers. This happened slowl y in Germany as well, within the larger territoria l principalities . Eve n ther e distinction s bega n t o b e mad e between legitimate act s performed in the pursuit of one's right and mord und brand, murder an d arson.57 It would be mistaken to idealise the medieval debate abou t warfare with its ardent search fo r the just war. It became fro m the twelfth century onwards an ever mor e professionalise d search , becaus e theologians , cano n an d Roma n lawyers were engage d i n it with increasing casuistr y t o accommodat e al l the commonplace incident s o f warfare, itsel f advancin g in technology an d exper tise, not least of all in the great Italia n cities , the homes als o of the foremos t lawyers.58 To contrast thi s body of opinion-making and counselling too sharply with the worlds of Macchiavelli's Prince and Hobbes's Leviathan would also be an error. In any case, during the later middle ages war was waged above all for profit b y everyon e fro m commanders-in-chie f dow n to th e captai n o f petty fortresses in France and Normandy, their gens d'armes, archers and crossbowmen.59 Law s o f Arm s controlle d th e distributio n o f th e swag , abov e al l ransoms.60 In Italy the condottieri - a condotta was a contract - wer e a trade union ben t o n preservin g and increasin g their assets , no t leas t o f al l at th e expense o f their employers . I n France , durin g the penultimat e phase o f the Hundred Year s War, the armed bands, nominally the king of France's, wer e for the most part out of control, marching to and fro, plundering and blackmailing supplies an d abov e al l money out o f their ow n countryside which they were meant t o liberate from th e English, who operated, perhap s more systematically, a simila r regim e o f levie s an d extortion. 61 Thes e Frenc h ecorcheures (skinners-alive, one might translate) had eventually to be turned into properly 55

Russel l Just Wa r (as n. 51), pp. 259-69. Leyser , 'Early Medieval Warfare' (a s n. 2), p. 37. 57 Brunner , Land an d Lordship (a s n . 30) , passim , especiall y pp . 67-86 ; E . Kaufmann , 'Mordbrand', Handworterbuch zur deutschen Rechtsgeschichte, 3: List-Protonotar, ed. A . Erle r and others, (Berlin , 1984) , cols . 675-6 . 58 Russell , Just Wa r (as n. 51), p. 300. 59 K.B . McFarlane, The Nobility o f Later Medieval England (Oxford, 1973), ch. 2, pp. 19-41 ; idem, The Investmen t of Sir John Fastolf s Profits of War', TRHS, fifth series 7 (1957), pp. 91-116; idem, 'War and Society , 1300-1600. Englan d and the Hundred Years War', Past and Present, 22 (1962), p. 3-13 . Se e for this and the followin g note s the excellen t bibliographies i n Contamine , Guerre (as n. 1) and C.T. Allmand, The Hundred Years War: England and France at War c. 1350 c. 1450 (Cambridge, 1988) . 60 Keen , Laws of Wa r (as n . 30) , pp. 157-88 ; D. Hay , 'The Division of the Spoil s of War in Fourteenth-Century England', TRHS, fifth series 4 (1954), pp. 91-109. 61 A . Tuetay , Le s Ecorcheurs sous Charles VI I (Montbeliard , 1874) , 2 vols ; M . Mallett , Mercenaries an d their Masters: Warfare i n Renaissance Italy (London , 1974). 56

Warfare i n the Western European Middle Ages: Th e Moral Debate 20 3 paid an d arme d roya l troop s wit h th e wors t an d mos t crimina l element s discharged. I t wa s the condicio sine qua non for expelling the English , and it was done, beginning in 1444-45. Something like a standing army oicompagnies d'ordonnance, mustere d o r inspecte d an d pai d fo r ou t o f regula r taxatio n imposed by the king at will, on non-nobles and the non-privileged, emerged . The corollar y o f this standin g arm y was royal absolutism. They conditione d one another , th e taille levied a t th e king' s order s an d th e troop s marchin g where h e ordere d the m to march. Louis XI employed these forces, from th e start equippe d als o wit h good artiller y both sieg e an d field , ruthlessl y as a weapon o f terror . The y ha d no t forgotte n thei r ecorcheur pas t whe n they invaded the lands of the duke of Burgundy after the battle of Nancy in 1477. In Louis's last year s bodie s o f standing, paid infantr y wer e establishe d a s well, and they were no t disbanded whe n he died.62 Europe learne d t o learn to live with this until worse succeede d it , the levee en masse. The conflic t betwee n th e mora l debate an d shee r militar y expedience i n western Europe durin g the middle ages thus ended on a sombre note. During the fourteenth an d fifteenth centuries there was much more and more savage warfare tha n w e encounter earlier . A profoun d economic and demographic crisis underlay the Hundred Year s War , the peacelessness i n the empire, th e Hussite wars, the Ottoman Turks' appearance i n south-eastern Europe and the wars of the debris of power in a fragmented fourteenth century Italy, which the papacy a t firs t an d vainl y sought t o contro l fro m Avignon , later eve n mor e vainly from Rom e o r Avignon, thanks to schism. 63 Well before that began in 1378, th e quie t optimism and cal m of Aquinas's discussion had give n way to the bitternes s and pessimism of Marsilio of Padua. Europe, and Italy particularly, were in a mess. It called almost for a culprit, and Marsilio in his Defensor Pads foun d it precisely i n the papacy, whose claims to supreme authority and indeed power, secular as well as spiritual, he blamed for the ceaseless wars, the abuse of crusading ideas and the wilful dissolution of the rival super-power, the empire, a might-have-been cour t of appeal fo r peace and order such as Dante had dreamed of. 64 In the search for a new, simple, secular ethic to restore self determination an d indeed sanity to a humanity led astray and contaminated by false beliefs , Marsilio may have cried for th e moo n an d stake d his hopes o n abstractions that could not possibly be turned into political and social realities. Yet a t leas t h e fel t th e nee d fo r a secular moral arbite r t o who m the futur e might again belong. I t was a pretty long bid.

62 P . Contamine, Guerre, etat et societe a la fin du moyen age: Etudes sur les armees des rois de France, 1337-1494 (Paris, 1972) , pp . 277-530 . 63 N . Houseley , Th e Mercenar y Companies , th e Papac y an d th e Crusades , 1356-1378' , Traditio, 38 (1982), pp. 253-8 0 64 Fo r these aspect s of Marsilio and Dante's political theories see now J.A. Watt, 'Spiritual and Temporal Powers ' in Th e Cambridge History o f Medieval Political Thought, c. 350-c. 1450, ed. J.H. Burns (Cambridge, 1988), pp. 367-423, especially pp. 415-22, and the bibliographies pp. 665, 680.


Index

Adalbero, bishop of Laon, on three orders 12,199-200 Adalbero, bisho p of Wiirzburg 24, 72 Adalbert, archbisho p of Bremen 43, 47 Adalbert, archbishop o f Mainz 102,117,181 Adalbert, bisho p of Worms 24 Adam of Bremen, on Saxon freedom 54 Adam o f Eynsham, biographer o f Hugh of Lincoln 158f f —, as hagiographer 16 3 —, trustworthiness o f 161 Adela, daughter of William the Conqueror 99 Adelgoz o f Schwabegg, Suabia n noble 131 Adelheid, abbess o f Gandersheim 60 Adeliza o f Lotharingia, second wife o f Henry I of England 97, 107 —, coronation 9 8 Ademar, bishop of Le Puy 87 —, commends followin g to Raymond of Saint-Gilles 92-3 —, on poor 82, 95 —, sermons 9 3 Ademar o f Chabannes, o n popular religiosity 17 Adolf o f Altena, archbisho p o f Cologn e 181-3, 187 Adolf o f Nassau, king of Germany 48, 185-6 Agnes, empress , regenc y of 43 Albert, bishop of Freising, Frederic k Barbarossa addresses manifesto to 125 Albigensian crusad e 200 Albrecht I , empero r 48 Alexis Comnenos, Byzantin e emperor 84 —, and siege of Nicaea 88 Alfonso of Castile, candidate for German kingship 185- 6 Altmann, bishop of Passau 72 Amalric, king of Jerusalem, William of Tyre condemns fo r laughing 165 Andreas, abbot o f Strumi 2

Andrew of Fleury, on lay religiosity 12 —, on self-interestedness of peasantry 15 Annalista Saxo 32, 74-5 Anno, archbishop of Cologne 26, 43, 62 —, deals with revolt by citizens 13 —, provokes revolt by citizens 11 Anonymous, author of Gesta Francorum, and Bohemund 90 —, not a close follower of a crusade leader 89 —, on importance of rations 81, 82, 86 —, unhorsing of 90 Anselm of Liege, historian 4ff, 7 , 10 —, condemns clerical service at court 5 —, radical judgement on Henry III 6-7 Antioch, siege of, absenc e of spoils following 91 —, importance of food supplie s at 94-5 —, shortages at 90-1 Aquinas, Thomas, St , on conditions for a just war 201 Aragon, government of 146 arengae 124 Ariald, Patarene leader, organisationa l methods 2 aristocracy, Saxon, ix-x, 31 —, extinction of leading families 32 Aristotle, on politics 201 armies, divided march by crusading 87 —, standing 202-3 arms, bearing of a sign of honour 196-7 —, crusaders use captured Turkish 91 —, development of 85-6 assemblies, role of within German politics 147 Augustine, St, on just war 191, 201 Baldwin of Ford, archbisho p of Canterbury 163, 174 Baldwin VII, count of Flanders, and William Clito 107 Ballenstedt, counts of 31

206

The Gregorian Revolution and Beyond

Bartholomew o f Fame, hermit 157 Basle 122 —, bishop of 102 Beatrix of Burgundy, wife o f Frederick Barbarossa, dowr y of 128 Becket, Thomas, S t 161,174-5 —, martyrdom of 144 Benno, bishop of Osnabriick 35, 74 —, loyalty to Henry IV 27 Bernhard, abbot of St Victor, Marseilles 72 Bernhard, cardinal deacon 72 Bernold, historian, o n lay religiosity 12 Bernward, bishop of Hildesheim 32 —, supports Ekkehard o f Meissen 37 Bertha of Turin, wife of Henry IV 21 Berthold of Zahringen, duke of Carinthia 65 Besanc,on, assembly at (1157) 125 Billungs, Saxon noble family 31 , 32, 46, 55, 70,123 Bohemians, defea t Saxons in 936 79 Bohemond, and crusading army in Balkans 82-3 —, as meat-eater 8 6 —, foraging raids 95 —, organises supplies at Nicaea 88 Boleslas Chrobry, duke of Poland 198 —, seen by Thietmar o f Merseburg as threat to Saxon freedom 57 Bonaparte, Napoleon, military techniques of 78,81 bookland 3 6 booty 81ff , 191 Bourgtherolde, battle of (1124) 88-9 —, link with Henry V's invasio n of France 111 Bouvines, battl e of (1214) 194 Brabanc,ons 194 Brandenburg, margrave of 184 Breisach, siege of (1002) 79 Brun, archbishop o f Cologne, a s warrior 198 Brun, historian 29 , 69f f —, on Saxo n freedom 60f f Bruno, archbisho p o f Trier, guardian of Mathilda 101 , 10 3 Bruno, bishop of Wiirzburg 6 Brunones, Saxon noble family 41 —, see also Ekbert, margrave Brunswick, as ducal court 118 buffaloes 8 6 Bulgaria, crusading army in 83 Burchard, bisho p o f Halberstadt 33 , 47, 62, 66, 69 —, hostility to Henry IV 26-7 Burchard, bishop of Worms, on killing in warfare 196

Burchard, chaplain of Frederick Barbaross a 147 Burchard of Ursberg, historian 130ff, 14 8 Burckhardt, Jakob, definition o f crisis 23, 26 Byzantium, and Ottoman Reich xi Calixtus II, pop e 104 cannibalism, on first crusade 82 and n. 24 Canossa 26, 71 Capetians 180 —, and local government 146 cattle 86 —, as food on the hoo f for armies 83, 85 —, diseases affect campaignin g 85 Charlemagne, emperor 178 —, and Saxons 52-3, 67, 74 Charles the Bald, king of west Francia 192 Charles the Good, count of Flanders, prevents Mathilda crossing to England 106 Christina of Markyate 157 church property, lay rights over 1, 18-19, 26 Clarendon, assise of (1166) 15 3 —, constitutions o f (1164) 165 Clausewitz, Karl von, on attacker's supply problems 80 —, on differen t way s of provisioning troops 80 —, on supplies in warfare 77-8 coinage 116-1 7 Conrad, archbishop of Salzburg, and parish churches 13 Conrad, count palatine of the Rhine 129-30 , 139 Conrad, son of Frederick Barbarossa, bad reputation o f 139 Conrad II, emperor 6, 43, 44,179,187 —, confirms Saxo n law and liberties 59 —, confiscations by 42f f —, election o f 59,180 —, kingship legitimised by support fro m Ottonian princesses 60 —, unmourned 46 Conrad III, kin g of Germany 48,129 —, opposition to 133 Conrad of Hochstaden, archbishop of Cologne 185 Conrad the Red, duke of Lotharingia 198 —, rebellion against Otto I 29 Constantine, as Christian emperor 4 Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Byzantine emperor x coronation rituals 194 counts, German, nature of authority of 153 Crema, siege of 128

Index crowd, a t Limoges 17 —, participation in church life 16-1 7 Dahlum, royal estate 37 Dante Alighieri 203 De ordinando pontifice 3-4 , 7 dearth and plenty, on first crusade 81 Dedi, Saxon margrave 34, 45, 62, 69-70 Dietrich, count of Katlenburg 63 diplomata, royal, as 'legislation' 186- 7 Dodico, count of the Warburg 10-11 donkeys 83 —, substitute for horses 91 Dorylaeum, battle of 87 duels, judicial 47 earthquakes 94 Eberhard, archbishop of Salzburg 117, 128 ecorcheurs 202 Edessa, seized by Baldwin 87 Einhard, o n Charlemagne's warfare 190 —, on Prankish conquest o f Saxony 52-3, 190-1 —, on Prankish war with Avars 191 Ekbert, margrave of Meissen 28 , 32 Ekkehard I , margrave of Meissen, bid for kingship 29, 37, 40, 44, 57 Ekkehard II, margrav e of Meissen 59 —, Henry III inherits from 44 —, nature of wealth of 44-5 electors, German colleg e of 177f f Elster, battle at 70, 73 England, twelfth-century governmen t of 148 Esico, count, family and inheritance of 39ff —, Henry II declares himself heir of 40 feud, allowed by Barbarossa's legislation 152 —, attitudes to 195 —, importance of in Germany 195-6 fideles sancti Petri 14 fiefs, reversion s of 120 Flanders 106- 7 Flarchheim, battle of 70, 74 Fontenoy, battle at (843) 196 —, as judgement of God 192 Fontrevault 99 , 173 food, pric e of 88, 90 and n. 58, 91 foot-soldiers 8 8 —, on first crusade 81, 82 Forchheim, assembl y at 71-2 foreign service 171 Francia, school s of 7 Frederick, count palatine 63 Frederick, so n of Frederick Barbaross a 126 —, acquires land s in Suabia 135, 137

207

—, as duke of Suabia 139, 145 Frederick I, duk e of Suabia 110, 112 Frederick II, duk e of Suabia 48, 129, 153 Frederick II, emperor , dispute with papacy 184 Frederick Barbarossa, emperor, and incipient German territories 150 —, advocate of Hohenstaufen family monasteries 153 —, and Isaac Angelos 116 —, and local government 122 —, and monastery of Neuburg 136, 140- 1 —, and third crusade 140-1 —, as head of aristocratic polity 140-1 —, as paterfamilias 14 1 —, assemblies of 126 —, besieges Alessandria 150 —, chancery of 120ff , 14 7 —, characteristics of government of 123 —, children of 128- 9 —, contemporary reputation of 115-16, 143 —, diplomata of 116, 118-19 , 122-3 —, disclaims personal interest i n Italian campaigns 128f f —, effects o f on German polity 140-1, 154 —, eloquence of 155 —, entourage of 146-7 —, family policy of 128, 136-9 —, heir of other magnates 130ff —, itinerant rulership of 146 —, Landfriede 151ff , 15 5 —, law against arsonists 151ff —, legislation contrasted with that of Henry II 152- 3 —, mandates issued by 154 —, manifesto against Lombard cities 125- 6 —, nature of rule of 154-5 —, notaries of 121 —, number of mandates issued by 148 —, on nature of German royal election 181 —, orders sworn inquests 149ff —, policies of 115 —, rebuilds Harzburg 48, 67 —, reconciled wit h Alexander III 144 —, relations with Henry the Lion 121, 127-8 , 134 —, Sicilian expedition of 115 7 110 —, Suabian opposition t o 138 —, territorial policy of 135-6 —, use of mercenaries 194 —, view of empire 124-5 —, visits to Constance 144 Frederick d e Monte, Saxon rebel 62

208


Frederick of Rothenburg, so n of Conrad II I 129,148 —, church fiefs of 132 freedom, a s freedom to sin 58 freedom, Saxo n 24, 51 —, as freedom from tribute-payments 53-4, 61-2 —, as untroubled exercise of power 56, 63 —, endangered by power of kings 58 —, guaranteed b y Charlemagne 53 —, identified with power 56-7 —, in later Saxon historiography 66 —, lay princes' conception of 67 —, measured i n exaction of tribute 56-7 Fritzlar 22 Fulcher of Chartres, chaplain of Count Baldwin 89 Fulk, count of Anjou, allianc e with William Clito 99 Gandersheim 3 7 Gebhard, archbisho p of Salzburg 24,28, 70 Gebhard, coun t of Sulzbach, lands inherited by Frederick Barbaross a 132- 3 Gelnhausen, assembly at (1180) 121,138 Genoese, supply of crusading army 80 Geoffrey, coun t of Anjou 98 Gerald o f Aurillac, Life o f by Odo of Cluny 199 Gerald of Wales 143 —, biography of Hugh of Lincoln 159,161 —, on Hugh of Lincoln's adjustmen t t o English ways 165 Gerard de la Pucelle, cano n lawyer 117 Germany, economic growth of in twelft h century 116 —, lacks uniform governmental institutions in twelfth century 120 —, nature of aristocratic land-tenur e in 132 —, nature of polity 140,147,178,187-8 —, north-south divid e 48-9 —, political divisions of 152 Gero, margrave, conquers Lausitzi 56 Gerstungen, debat e a t (1085) 25 Gibbon xiii gifts 84 —, forfeiture o f 37f f —, nature of royal 25ff —, obligations associated with 36-7 —, reversion o f 37f f Gisela, wife of Conrad II41,102 Gisulf of Salerno 74 Godebald, bishop of Utrecht, imprisoned by Henry V 108

—, reconciled with Henry V by Mathilda 109 Godfrey, duk e of Lotharingia, and Henry III 8 Godfrey, duk e of lower Lotharingia 97 —, pardoned by Henry V 102 Godfrey of Bouillon, crusade leader 87, 91, 94 —, agreement with Alexis 84 —, short of funds afte r Antioc h 93 Godfrey of Viterbo, chaplain and historian 148 Godric of Finchale, St, hermit 157 Golden Bull 178 Goseck, count s of 31 Goslar21,26,33-4,46,61,65 —, SS. Simon and Jude 42-3 government, royal, forms taken in twelfth century 123 grain 86 Gregory VII, pope xii, 14,15, 28, 66 —, and German kingship 182 —, and Henry IV 18,23, 69-70,71 —, and justice 72 —, and Rudolf of Rheinfelden 73 —, and Saxons 69, 71-2 —, episcopal supporters o f 24 —, legates of in Germany 72 —, letter t o Hermann of Metz 58 —, on justitia 200 —, on Saxony as papal possession 74 —, on secular warfare 195 —, willingness to compromise 19 Hadrian IV, pope 149,181 Hagenau, centre of Hohenstaufen government 122,140 Haimerad, hermit, as saint of social protest 11 —, biography of 10-1 1 —, canonised 11 Harold, king, shortage of supplies of 80 Hartmann, count of Dillingen, reduced t o poverty on first crusade 92 Hartwig, archbishop of Magdeburg 32 Harz, centre of German royal power 33-4 Harzburg21,48, 65,67 —, sack of 30, 55 heirs, lack of 38 Helias of Saint-Saens, goe s into exile for William Clito 99-100 Henry I, king of England, contacts with Mathilda in 1122 106 —, harshness of regime of 99, 111 —, succession problem s of 97ff 113-1 4 —, use of mercenaries 194

209

Index Henry I, king of France, designs on Lotharingia 8 Henry I, kin g of Germany xiv, 179 —, fortress-policy of 33, 60 —, subjugation of Slavs 56 Henry II, emperor 3 , 37,198 —, backs bishops agains t lay nobles 27-8 —, childlessness o f 10, 57 —, death o f 59 —, descent of 164 —, disposes of Esico's inheritance 40 —, election o f 59, 60 —, grants of reverted land s 39 —, promises to respect Saxo n liberties 59 Henry II, kin g of England, and king's peace 195 —, diplomata of 118 —, doubtful reputation o f 144 —, gifts to Hugh of Lincoln 161 —, lacks sacrality 161 —, makes gift t o Christina of Markyate 157 Henry III, empero r 6, 43, 44,187 —, and Wazo of Liege 4 —, Anselm of Liege refers to as layman 7 —, confiscations by 42ff —, dismisses comedian s fro m marriag e celebrations 6 —, intervention i n Rome 18 —, marries Agnes of Poitou 6,101 —, nequissimus 3 —, self-doubts of 8 Henry IV, emperor xii , 24,195, 197 —, accusations o f sexual misconduct against 70 —, and Saxon opposition 3 2 —, breach wit h Gregory VII1 8 —, campaign against Saxons 78 —, castle-building of 21, 35, 60-1, 66 —, confiscations by 33-4, 35 —, dies at Liege 7 —, eastern policy of 21 —, excommunications o f 26, 69, 72-3 —, forced to flee from Gosla r 21-2, 65 —, kingship challenged i n 1057 46-7 —, Landfriede o f 187 —, legitimacy of rule denied 28 —, losses of royal lands during minority of 47 —, proposes son Conrad a s king of Saxony 30 —, revolutionary natur e of Saxon campaigning 13-14, 24 —, Saxon campaigns of xii, 13-14, 24-5 —, second depositio n of 73-4 —, seizure of Liineburg 45 —, taxation 33

Henry V, emperor, and investitures 105 —, and papacy 104-5 —, betrays father 22, 30-1 —, childlessness of 113-14,129 —, contemporary reputation of 113 —, English succession 100-1,106- 7 —, interventions in diplomata of 102 —, invades France in 1124 xiv, 110-11 —, military expeditions by 104,109,110 —, proposes general taxation 11 2 —, relations with Saxons 14, 22, 32, 67,104, 106 —, seeks control of Utrecht and lower Lotharingia 106,108-9,112 —, see also Mathilda, daughter of Henry I Henry VI, empero r 126 , 139 —, conquest of Sicily 140 —, effects o f death of 23 Henry of Ascha, reduced t o poverty on first crusade 92 Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony and Bavaria 67

—, coalition agains t 127 —, daughter marries Frederick of Rothenburg 131 —, fails to secure Welf VI's inheritance 133- 4 —, fall o f 115 —, lands of 126-7 —, potential heir to Frederick Barbaross a 129 —, process agains t 136f f —, writes to Louis VII of France 117-18 Henry the Wrangler, duke of Bavaria 179 Herbert l e Poor, bishop of Salisbury 167-8 , 170-1 hereditas 36 Hermann, archbishop of Cologne 6 Hermann Billung, Saxon count 34, 62, 63 Hermann, bishop of Metz 28, 58 Hermann, duke of Suabia 79 Hermann II, duke of Carinthia, Frederic k Barbarossa issue s mandate to 151 Hermann of Salm, antiking 29 hermits 157 Herrand, bishop of Halberstadt 28 —, hostility to Henry IV 27 Hersfeld 10 , 22, 63 Hezilo, bishop of Hildesheim 47 Historia Welforum 130f f historiography, Ottoman 52, 55-6 —, twelfth-century Saxon 32, 48, 66, 74-5 Hodo, margrav e 31, 58 holy man, function o f 157f f —, in late Roman and Byzantine empires 158 honor imperil 125- 6

210


horses, captured by crusading armie s 86, 90 —, shortage of in crusading host 90-1 and n. 61 —, weight of food for 78 Hosed, Saxon warrior 55 Hotensleben, assembly a t 30, 34, 45, 51, 60, 67 —, oaths taken a t 63 —, participation i n 61 households, military 88 Hrabanus Maurus, archbishop o f Mainz 52, 117 —, on battle of Fontenoy 19 2 Hubert Walter, archbisho p o f Canterbury 171 —, at Oxford assembly 166- 7 hue an d cry 152 Hugh, bisho p of Lincoln, adjusts to Englis h practices 165 —, and barons o f the exchequer 17 2 —, and John 161- 2 —, and the unclean 159 —, asceticism of 164 —, authenticity of 159 —, becomes prior of Witham 163 —, canonised 174 —, curse of 159,166 —, denies wishing to thwart royal government 168 —, dispute wit h Henry II164 —, election of 162 —, excommunicates roya l official 164 —, familiaritas wit h Henry II160 —, holy man 158,175 —, magnanimitas of 170 —, moderates and legitimises Angevin government 160 —, noble birth of 163- 4 —, opposes grant of knight service at Oxford assembly 166- 7 —, outsider 159 —, papal judge-delegate 174 —, pays scutage 171 —, praises Richard 117 3 —, prophet 161- 2 —, refuses demands of Hubert Walte r 172 —, relations with rulers 174- 5 —, responsibility fo r bishopric 165,17 2 —, royal service b y 174 Humbert o f Moyenmoutier 7,19, 25 —, Adversus simoniacos 3 —, on Ottoman church policy 24 Hundred Years' War 202-3 Innocent III , pope , 181,183,187

—, and German kingship 182 —, on electoral procedure in Germany 182-3 Innocent IV , pope 184 —, on German royal election 185 investiture contes t 1 investiture, la y 15,104-5 —, in England an d France 105 —, special importanc e o f in Germany 105 Jaffa 8 0 Jerusalem 16 2 —, campaign against (1099) 79 John, king of England 194 —, asks Hugh of Lincoln to accompany him to England 170 John of Salisbury 115 justice, medieval, embedded in procedure 72 Kamba, Saxon assembley at (1024) 59 Kherboga, emir of Mosul, battle agains t 92, 93,95 —, on diet of Franks 86 kingship xii —, Saxons see themselves a s conferring 59 —, English, and shires 145-6 —, German, elective nature of 179 —, role of coronation in 180 —, twelfth-century, an d local government 145 Kuckenburg, royal fortress 40 laboratores 13 —, consciousness o f 15 Lampert of Hersfeld, historian, goes on pilgrimage after becomin g monk 8-9 —, on Saxons 29, 64f f lance, hol y 85 lands, royal, reversion of to fisc 131 Latakieh 80 laughter, king s not to indulge in immoderately 165 lawyers, professional 122 Lechfeld, battle a t xiv Leo IV, pope 55 Leo IX, pope, a t council of Rheims 16 —, campaign against the Normans 192-3 libertas ecdesiae 1 3 Liemar, archbisho p of Bremen, loyalty to Henry IV 27 Limoges, popular participatio n i n elections a t 17-18 Liudolf, son of Otto I, rebellio n 2 9 Liuthar of Walbeck x Liutizi 21 Lombard cities , uprisin g of 125 Lombardy, Prankish conquest of 190

Index Lothar o f Siipplingenburg, emperor 29 , 32, 54-5, 109 , 192 —, and Henry V 104 —, and surrender of Hohenstaufen rebels 48 —, election of 181 —, position i n Saxony 22, 32, 106 Lotharingia, an d Reich 7 —, schools of 7-8 Louis I, landgrave of Thuringia 28 —, family of 31 —, imprisoned b y Henry V 102 Louis II, landgrav e of Thuringia, Frederic k Barbarossa write s to 151 —, sons educated in France 11 8 and n. 13 Louis VI, kin g of France xiv, 111, 146 —, and Henry I 99 —, and S t Denis in campaign of 1124 110-11 Louis VII, kin g of France, diplomata of 118 Louis XI, kin g of France, armies of 203 Louis the German, king of east Francia 54-5, 192 Louis the Pious, emperor 4 —, unsuccessful as warrior 191-2 Lucan 58 Lupus, abbot of Ferrieres 117 —, on difficultie s o f travel 79 Liineburg 62-3 Macchiavelli 202 Magnus Billung, an d Henry IV 45 Mainz, archbishop of 180, 181 , 183 —, assembly at (1184) 126,148 Manegold of Lautenbach, preaches in support of popes 12 Markward of Grumbach 147 Marra, siege of 94 marriage, clerical 1-2 , 19 Marsilio o f Padua, on need fo r supreme authority 203 Martin, St 199 Mathilda, daughter of Henry I of England 164 —, and English succession 100 —, and Lotharingia 104 —, dower lands of 104 —, Henry V dismisses Norman entourage of 113 —, interventions in royal diplomata lOlf f —, marriage to Geoffrey o f Anjou 98, 103 —, marriage t o Henry V 101 —, returns from German y 98, 100 —, role in Italy 103-4 Mathilda, daughter of Otto II 60 Mauss, Marcel , on gifts 36 meat, importance of for warriors 85- 6

211

—, Ottonian court's consumption of 86 Meerssen, lands of 149 Meginher, abbot of Hersfeld, piety of 8-9 Meginzo, Saxon warrior 55 Meinwerk, bishop of Paderborn 10-11 , 27 —, and Abdinghof 39 —, and Conrad I I 44 —, fines Thietmar Billung 28 Mellrichstadt, battle of 70 Mercadier, mercenary leader 158 mercenaries, rol e of in medieval warfare 193-4 merchants 83 Merseburg, Henry II elected a t 59 Miesco I, duke of Poland 57-8 Milan 2 —, class struggles at 11 —, surrender of (1162) 126 ministeriales 21, 26, 60, 108 , 124 , 127, 147 —, role of 150, 154 monasticism, reformed, and aristocrati c family consciousness 124 money, role of on first crusade 82ff Nancy, battle of 203 Neckar, battle at 14 Nicaea, not sacked following surrender 88 —, supply of crusading army at 87-8 —, surrender of 87 Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine emperor, on gluttony of Ottonian warriors 86 Nithard, on Stellinga uprising 54-5 Nithard, bishop of Liege 5 Northampton, assise of 153 Notker, bishop of Liege 4-5 nutrimentum 88 Otto, bishop of Freising 125, 148 —, education of 117 Otto, so n of Frederick Barbarossa , mad e lord of Burgundy 137 —, bad reputation of 139 Otto I, empero r 43, 179, 187 Otto II, empero r 39, 187 —, campaign in France (978 ) xiv —, election an d coronation o f 179 Otto III, empero r 37, 39 —, election of 179 —, funeral o f 40 —, Thietmar of Merseburg criticises 57 Otto IV, emperor 139 , 181-3 , 187 , 194 —, second election of at Halberstadt 184 Otto of Northeim 32, 34, 43, 45, 47, 62, 66, 71 —, accusations against Henry IV at Hotensleben 30, 51, 60, 61, 64

212


Otto of St Blasien 130ff , 148 Ottocar, king of Bohemia 186 Ottonian church , socio-political role of 9 Ottomans 179 —, church policy of 3 —, nature of land-gifts by 35f f —, nature of rebellions against 29 Oxford, assembly at (1197) 170 paganism, Saxo n 32 pagans, warfare against 196 Pascal II, pope 25,105 —, captured by Henry V 113 —, intervenes jointl y with Mathilda 101 pasture, for horses 79 Patarenes, link s with Rome 2 pauperes, on first crusade 81-2,90 peace, enforcement of 200 peace movement, la y participation i n 15-1 6 peasantry, military activities o f 14,16 pedites 90, 91 pepper, as form of wealth 91 and n. 63 Peter, cardina l bishop of Albano 73-4 Peter Bartholomew , quit s siege of Antioch 94 —, visions directed a t poor 93 Peter th e Hermit, crusade leader 94 Philip Augustus, kin g of France 146,174,18 7 —, contemporary reputation of 144 Philip of Heinsberg, archbisho p o f Cologne 117,127 —, feud with Frederick Barbaross a 138 Philip of Suabia, kin g of Germany 182-3,187 —, justifies actions to Innocent III 139-4 0 pilgrimage 9, 85 Placidus o f Nonantula 25 plunder 198 Poeta Saxo 53, 67 polemics o f papal revolution 14-1 5 Pontius, abbo t o f Cluny 105 poor, as conscience of crusade 93 —, hunger of on first crusade 94 primogeniture 17 7 proffers, t o rulers for good-will 5, 6 pseudo-Isidore 4 pseudo-Liudprand 74 Quedlinburg, synod at 26-7 queens, rol e of in reconciling ruler's enemie s 102 Rahewin, historian 148 Rainald of Dassel, archbishop of Cologne 117,126,127 Rainbald, coun t of Treviso, sons reconciled with Henry V 102

Ralph, archbishop of Canterbury 98 Rangerius of Lucca 25 Ranulf, earl of Chester 89 Raymond, count of Saint-Gilles 83 —, and Alexis Comnenos 84-5 —, foraging raids to feed poor 94 —, forms brotherhood a t Antioch 90 —, leadership of on crusade 94 —, provides horses for other princes 93 —, seeking new principality in east 93 —, siege-tower at Jerusalem 82 Raymond of Aguilers, chaplai n of Raymond of Saint-Gilles 81 , 89 regalia 25 Reinhard, bishop of Halberstadt, hostilit y to Henry V 27 religiosity, lay 12,19 revolutions 1 , 3,14-15,18 Rheims, council (1049) 16 —, council (1119) 15 Richard FitzNeal, bishop of London 166 Richard I, king of England 158 —, asks bishops for grant of knight service 166 —, death of 173 —, grants to bishopric of Lincoln 173 —, needs Hugh of Lincoln's blessing 170 —, needs military support fro m barons 193-4 —, orders vexation of Hugh of Lincoln by royal agents 167 —, reconciled with Hugh of Lincoln 168 Richard of Cornwall, candidate for German kingship 186 Richard of the Principality, crusade leader 83 ritual xi i Robert, count of Flanders 87, 94, 95 — and Henry V 107 Robert, ear l of Gloucester, custodia n of Robert Curthose 100 Robert Curthose , duke of Normandy 87, 94, 98 Robert of Knaresborough, hermit 157 Robert th e Pious, king of France 17 Roncaglia, assembly at (1158) 126 Rudolf, count of Pfullendorf 134-5 —, makes Barbarossa his heir 144-5 Rudolf o f Habsburg, king of Germany 185-6 Rudolf of Rheinfelden, king of Germany 24, 28-9, 30, 47, 69, 72 —, as king 70 —, campaigns by 14 —, death of 73,193,197 —, elected kin g 71,182 Ruthard, archbishop of Mainz 25,181

Index Salians 59 —, and Ottonian land-grants 41- 2 —, more state-like conceptio n o f kingship than Ottomans 44 —, Saxon hostility t o before 107 3 46 —, Saxon power-bas e of 41-2 Sallust29,51,56,61-5 Saxons, a s conquered peopl e 52 —, conversion of 52-3, 55 Saxony, as kingdom 69 —, marches of 38 —, position withi n Reich 41-2,184 —, see also freedom; uprisin g schools 7 self-doubt, characteristic of eleventh-century sensibility 8 Selz, peace of 53 sheriffs 14 5 shires 120,14 5 Sicily, Norman kingdo m of 146 — royal chancery of 119 siege-tower, paymen t for building of 92 Siegfried, abbo t o f Gorze, letter t o Poppo of Stavelot 7-8 Siegfried, archbisho p of Mainz 24, 33, 66, 72 Siegfried I I of Eppenstein, archbishop of Mainz 185 silk, as booty 95 silver, Harz 41 simony 1-3,16,19, 75 Sindelsberg, nuns of 151 Socrates, o n qualities of good commander 77 Sommerschenburg, counts of 31 Sophia, abbess of Gandersheim 6 0 St Maximin, Trier 102-3 , 112 St Symeon 80 Stabilis, ser f turned knight 13 Stade, counts o f 31 Stellinga uprising 54-5 Stephen, coun t of Blois 87, 97 —, on cold in Asia Mino r 79 —, on sieg e of Nicaea 88 Stephen, king of England, as count of Mortain and Bologne 100 —, diplomata o f 118-19 strangers, rule by 10, 57 Strasbourg, negotiations about investitures at (1119) 105 subadvocates, ambivalen t status of 153-4 Suger, abbot o f Saint-Denis, on campaign of 1124 110-1 1 supplies, crusader s depen d on looting for 86 —, importance of in warfare 77 —, organisation of within crusading army 87

213

—, provided by Byzantines 83-4 —, taken with them by armies 83 swords, investiture with 194 Tafelgiiterverzeichnis 119-2 0 Tagino, archbishop of Magdeburg 58 Tancred, crusading leader, 83, 87, 94 —, and Alexis Comnenos 84 —, as meat-eater 8 6 —, erects fortres s at siege of Antioch 95 —, feeds members of household at Antioch 92 Tarsus, seized by Baldwin and Tancred 87 Thangmar, brother of Otto 1198 Theodore o f Sykeon, St 168 Thiel, merchant guild of 11 Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg, and Henry II 10 —, and margraves of Meissen 1 0 —, audience of 58-9 —, on Henry I 60 —, on Saxon freedom 57-8 —, world view of 9-10 Thietmar Billung 28, 46 Thuringia, landgraves of 18 5 treasure 84 Tribur, assembly at (1076 ) 71 Udalrich, bishop of Padua 73 Udo, bishop of Hildesheim 32 uprising, Saxon (1073) xii-xiii, 21f f —, and church reformers 25, 49 —, and episcopate 27-8, 63, 66 —, and Gregory VII14, 23, 66, 69 —, contemporary view of 22-3 —, eliminates royal power from norther n Germany 48-9 —, grievances behind 33, 42, 61ff —, historiographical legacy of 48 —, ideological maturit y of 29-30 —, social composition of 64 Urban II, pope , adherents of 12 —, as cardinal and legate i n Germany 26 —, preaches crusade 193 vassals, provisioned b y lords 88-9 Walbodo, bishop of Liege, offends Henr y II 5 Waleran of Meulan, captured by Henry I 111 Walter Map 143 and n. 2 Walther von der Vogelweide, on German royal election 187 warfare xiii —, attitudes to 189f f —, clerical participation in 195, 198-9

214


—, dependence o n harvests 78-9 —, dietary requirements for Western practic e of 85- 6 —, distinguished fro m feu d 195 , 201 —, Franks and 189 , 190 —, holy 14 —, late medieval 202 —, morality of 190,194, 200-1 —, problems of crusading 78 —, rules governin g conduct of 197- 8 water, shortage o f 78 Wavell, Field-Marshal Lord Archibald , o n commander's qualitie s 77 Wazo, bishop o f Liege 4 —, as capellanus 6 —, dispute wit h Henry III over military service 6-7 —, election o f 5-6 —, emergency measure s during famine 11-1 2 —, resists French invasio n 8 Weimar, count s o f 32 Welf IV , duk e of Bavaria 73 Welf VI135 —, approves Hohenstaufen famil y settlemen t 137 —, career o f 133 —, death o f 130 —, feast at Gunzenlee 127,134 —, makes Barbarossa hi s heir 145 Welfesholz, battle of (1115) 22, 24 and n . 11 , 32,48 Welfs 123 , 184 Werner, archbishop of Magdeburg 27 , 33, 47, 66,69 —, complaints against Henr y I V 62 Werner, bisho p of Merseburg 27,197 Werner, bisho p o f Strasbourg 85 Wessex, and Ottoman Reic h xi

White Ship, loss of 97 , 113 Wibald, abbot of Stavelot 149 Widukind of Corvey, Beumann's study of xiv-xv —, modification of Einhard 5 2 —, on coronation of 936 179 —, on Saxon freedom 55- 6 —, on Saxon-Slav relations 56 Wildeshausen, relics needed for 55 William, son of Henry I, dies in White Ship 97,100 William V, duke of Aquitaine, and episcopal elections 18 —, and relic translations 1 7 William Clito, claim to Henry I's succession 107 —, claim to Normandy 98-9, 111 William Marshal, intervenes with Richard I for Hug h of Lincoln 169 William of Champeaux, bishop of Chalons 105 William of Holland, king of Germany 185-6 William of Lodersleben 62 William the Carpenter 94 William the Conqueror , kin g of England 164 —, organisation of campaign of 1066 80 —, papal banner 192 Wipo 59 —, on election of 1024 180- 1 Wiprecht of Groitsch 31 , 32, 70 women, Saxon xi Worms, assembl y at 136- 7 —, concordat of 106 —, siege of 102 Wulfric o f Haselbury, hermit 157 Wiirzburg, bishop of, enjoys ducal jurisdiction 127- 8

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