Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 10.djvu/267

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NOTES AND QUERIES.

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NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.

Germany in the Early Middle Ages, 476-1250 A.D. By William Stubbs, D.D., formerly Bishop of Oxford and Regius Professor of Modern History in the University of Oxford. (Longmans & Co.) WE have here a volume of considerable value, the more so as satisfactory histories of Germany in English are remarkable for their scarcity. It originated in a series of lectures delivered at Oxford, and endeavours to indicate the national and feudal history of the Germans in the character of a separate entity, rather than as a component part of the Holy Roman Empire, beginning with the final fall of Imperial Rome before the Goths, Huns, and Vandals, and ending with the close of the reign of the Emperor Frederick II. in 1250.

Side by side with the story of the formation and erowth of the German people, masterly sketches are drawn of the characters of the various emperors who successively swayed the destinies of the Ger- man people and the Holy Roman Empire. The growth of the national spirit and the initiation of the feudal idea, coupled with the insistent striving for empire on the part of the rulers, are treated in a concise fashion. Although this volume seeks to show the Imperial relations of Germany in so far as they concerned the interior of German adminis- tration, it is extremely difficult to dissociate the history of Germany during the earliest period of the Middle Ages from that of France, and during the later period from that of Italy. To quote the

author : " The history of Italy has been avoided

Italian history cannot be learned without the pre- vious understanding of German-French history. The relations of the Empire and Papacy and of the

Italian Republics is not the history of Italy

North Italy must be studied in the light of German history, and South Italy in the light of French history."

We regret, having regard to the scope of the present work and the foregoing extract, that we have not a history of Italy in the early Middle Ages from the same pen. To the student the two in conjunction would have been of much value. The portion of the work dealing with the reign of Charles the Great deserves special study : Bishop Stubbs has drawn the character of the noble de- scendant of Charles Martel with conscientious care, neither exaggerating his merits, nor glossing over his faults as a conquering monarch. Charles has been well likened to King Arthur, inasmuch as his achievements have been softened and idealized by a halo of romance and mystery. His position as Emperor is dealt with as follows : " From the year A.D. 768 to 800 Charles, the son of Pipin, governed the states which he inherited as king of the Franks, and those which he had conquered as king of the

nations that composed them From the year 800

to his death he governed as emperor most serene of the Romans, as Caesar and Augustus, ' as crowned by God,' the great pacific emperor governing the Roman empire. Into this eminence he had entered

by default of the Csesars of Byzantium To a man

at once so politic, so honest as Charles was, the title of Emperor could bring little access of power.

it was but the crowning of the supreme power

by the supreme title."

The character of Charles also merits quotation :

What was the real character of the German diigdom before the assumption of the empire, and with the imperial title, some shadow of the imperial iorm and principle of government ? Charles has been called a German of the Germans, in opposition bo his forefathers, who were rather Franks than Grermans in the broad sense. It may seem fanciful to do this, but whatever the truth of the theory may be in itself, so far as the opinion and fame of after ages goes, such he was. His grand, stern, rugged figure stands out Titanic throughout the

iddle Ages : there was no one like him after him, tew enough like him before, and none so great as he. Not free from the pride, lust, and cruelty of a conqueror, he was yet singularly free from the errors, misfortunes and crimes into which such passions lead conquerors. A persecutor he was perhaps, when a king who was a missionary and a civilizer could hardly fail to persecute ; an oppressor, perhaps, when oppression was the only guarantee of order. In many respects he might have been a better man, and if a better man, then also a greater ; but he was both better and greater than those who came before or after. We cannot wonder that he is the hero of two mighty nations the hero of their mythical as well as of their true history, the central figure of their Pantheon and Walhalla."

Bishop Stubbs is in direct opposition to Hallam in his criticism of Henry III., the various charges made by that learned authority against certain illegal acts adjudged to have been committed by Henry being minutely traversed. Principally the dispute centres itself on the alleged extraordinary acquisition of feifs by himself or members of his family, and the appointment of dukes without the consent of the Diet. The controversy is interesting ; but when two such eminent authorities differ widely, it is difficult to arrive at a correct estimate of the actual situation. Bishop Stubbs concludes his case as follows : "I have dwelt thus long upon the view of Hallam, and I am sure if it is true, then my whole conception of the history of Germany is a mistake ; but I am sure Hallam has been misled by an ex parte view of some of his German authorities ; and that the influences which I have already pointed out are quite enough to account for the events of the next reign ; the antagonism of the northern and southern German races, the rivalry between the German and Roman churches, and the enmity between the empire and the Papacy."

The condition of England and Germany in the early years of the tenth century, when Charles the Great assumed the title and dignity of Emperor (a period also marked by the accession of Egbert, who was eventually to unite all the kingdoms of the English under the supremacy of Wessex), and the comparison drawn between the two countries, are of special interest to the student, Points of simi- larity and dissimilarity in principles of govern- ment, difference in size, and systems of develop- ment, are all dealt with in a style which leaves little to be desired. As this work is, however, presumably educational, we think that it would have been better had some further explanation been vouchsafed of the following statement : " In the third place, Germany was from the beginning leavened with a Roman element from which Eng- land was free, and which of course assumed greater proportions after the Imperial dignity was sealed to Germany."