Page:A General Sketch of Political History from the Earlist Times.djvu/219

 THE CLOSE: MIDDLE EUROPE 207 exceedingly distasteful both to France itself and to Charles of Sicily. A severe struggle was impending when Henry died suddenly. With him died his Imperial scheme. A contest for the Imperial Crown followed between Frederick of Austria and Lewis of Bavaria. In this contest the Bavarian was successful. It was during his rule that the German Diet Lewis of definitely asserted the claim that the sole authority Bavaria, 1322. in appointing a German king lay in the electors of the empire, whose choice carried with it the title to the Imperial Crown. The attitude of Lewis and the popes was mutually hostile. Hostile to Lewis also was the house of Luxemburg, which had now acquired the kingdom of Bohemia by marriage. Con- sequently, when Charles of Bohemia secured his own election in place of Lewis, who was deposed, he appeared almost as the vassal of the pope. He won the election, and thus became Charles iv. Charles did not secure his position without some trouble and many concessions, which further increased the power of the German princes as against the emperor. These Charles IV., concessions were embodied in the charter known 1347. as the Golden Bull. Charles was endeavouring to compensate himself and his family for anything they might have lost by the extension of their own dominions. He had betrothed his son Wenzel or Wenceslaus to a Hungarian princess, and not without a good deal of difficulty procured his election as King of the Romans in accordance with the custom of the earlier emperors. Not Wenzel, but Wenzel's brother Sigismund got possession of the kingdom of Hungary, by marrying the queen ; and it was Sigismund's intention ultimately to win for himself the Imperial position in place of his brother. Wenzel was an incompetent person, who made no attempt to act up to the responsibility of his position. He was deposed in a meeting of some of the electors, and another German king was named in his place. In fact, the state of Germany was again becoming chaotic, almost as chaotic as the affairs of the papacy, in which the Great Schism was now at its most extravagant stage.