The kings commonly made the mistake of trying to gain the adherence or friendship of the great nobles by presents made at the expense of the property of the empire; and therefore Conrad II acted not only wisely but honourably when, amidst the greatest dangers, he adopted the opposite course; for it was nobler to perish than to reduce the office of head of the state to a shadow, by purchasing the favour of the great nobles. The salutary effect of his firmness was quickly manifest; for after he had gained his object in Bavaria the king took vigorous measures to put an end to the agitation in Swabia. For this purpose he promptly convened a diet at Ulm to sit in judgment upon Duke Ernst in Alamannia. The duke collected an army and marched against the king, but the firm attitude of the latter had already made a great impression upon the nobles. Two counts deserted the duke, others of the conspirators followed, and within a short time Ernst’s forces were so diminished that he was obliged to submit to the king’s mercy. Conrad had his stepson conveyed in custody to the fortress of Giebichenstein near Halle, and then reduced the whole of Swabia to allegiance to the head of the empire. These proceedings added greatly to his reputation, open and secret foes now courted the king’s favour, and by the fifth year of his reign Conrad II had materially increased the authority of the empire.
[1030-1032 A.D.]
He now determined to take in hand the expedition against the Slavs, which had been postponed on account of the urgency of Italian affairs; but it proved abortive, and he was forced to return into Saxony with great loss. A quarrel with the Hungarians arose at the same time, and Duke Ernst renewed his attempt at rebellion. Conrad had recalled him from Giebichenstein and offered to reinstate him in his duchy under certain conditions; but the negotiations came to nothing, Ernst escaped from his stepfather’s court and with his faithful adherent, Count von Kyburg, essayed the fortune of war. Both were outlawed, and soon afterwards slain in a fight in the Black Forest.[147]
Conrad’s safety was consequently assured in that quarter, and he immediately invaded Hungary with an army. Here again he soon found it preferable to restore peace by the methods of political sagacity rather than by force of arms, and negotiations were therefore adroitly set on foot and brought to a successful issue. Stephen, king of Hungary, sued for peace and it was concluded on terms honourable to Germany. During the duke of Swabia’s second revolt the Slavs, against whom Conrad’s arms had proved so unfortunate, had invaded and ravaged Saxony and Thuringia.
A German Warrior
Little could be done to oppose them, on account of the war with the Hungarians, but as soon as that was ended the German king resolved to exact satisfaction. Once more, however, he was desirous of courting success by policy rather than by arms. Mieczyslaw, the son of Duke Boleslaw, was involved in a war (as has already been stated) with his brother Otto. Now, in Conrad’s unlucky campaign against Mieczyslaw, Otto, who inclined to the side of the Germans, had been driven out of the country. With him Conrad again entered into negotiations, and in consequence Otto (who was also favoured by the Russians) appeared once more in the district between the Elbe and the Oder, occupied by Slavonic tribes, who even then were styled Poles. Conrad sent an army from Saxony to support his protégé, and the civil war began afresh among the Poles. Mieczyslaw was thus brought to a more yielding temper, and, although Otto was slain soon after, he endeavoured to establish a permanent peace with the king of Germany. A peace was actually brought about, the Polish prince submitting to tribute and to give part of the country between the Elbe and the Oder to the Germans.
[1032-1036 A.D.]
During the war and the negotiations with Mieczyslaw (in the year 1032) King Rudolf of Burgundy died. Conrad II had long laid claim to the succession, and as a certain count of Champagne, Eudes by name, opposed his pretensions, he was obliged to turn his arms westwards after concluding peace with the Poles. The count of Champagne had already occupied Neuenburg (Neuchâtel) and Murten (Morat); but by the winter of 1032 he had been forced into a somewhat disadvantageous position in Switzerland, and when, in the year 1033, Conrad II invaded Champagne itself to compel his rival to evacuate Burgundy, the latter submitted at discretion and promised the king of the Germans that he would leave the country, confirming his promise with a solemn oath. Conrad was obliged to hurry back to Germany, as another Slavonic tribe on the Elbe, the Liutizi this time, was disquieting Germany, and Othelric, duke of Bohemia, was threatening rebellion. Othelric was deposed, and Conrad was on the point of attacking the Liutizi when tidings came that Eudes of Champagne had broken his word and was again endeavouring to acquire the sovereignty of Burgundy. In the spring of 1034 the German king marched for the second time through Bavaria and Swabia to Burgundy, while another army invaded it at his command, crossing over the St. Bernard from Lombardy. From this time forward Eudes could offer but a futile resistance. Conrad was acknowledged king by the whole of Burgundy, and the country was solemnly incorporated with the German Empire. Switzerland was thereby also brought into complete union with the mother-country, and the full extent of German nationality restored. Thereupon Conrad brought the Liutizi once more into subjection to the empire, but in this war such cruelties were perpetrated that he entailed upon himself the curses of the unhappy Slavs and the reprobation of history.
Nevertheless his outward position was brilliant. Not only had he considerably extended the borders of the empire, but he had exalted the royal office to power and dignity. Tranquillity prevailed in the interior of Germany; in Italy, on the contrary, a commotion arose more serious than the disorders common in that country. There, as in Germany, the sway of the great nobles was oppressive, but in Italy disaffection was rife among the vassals, and they determined to resist the arrogant pretensions of their lords, sword in hand. The storm broke out first in Milan, and between that city and Lodi a great battle was fought which practically left matters as they had been. The emperor allowed himself to be drawn into the quarrel, and undertook a second military expedition to Italy in the year 1036.
In Italy the emperor promulgated a famous edict on the subject of estates in fee (Edictum de beneficiis), by which he directed that a vassal should not be deprived of such an estate except for certain offences, and then only by the sentence of the law pronounced by a court of his peers.
The appeal to the king or his deputy had a place in these legal proceedings—another clear proof of the purpose of Conrad’s policy, which aimed at weakening the power of the great nobles.
[1035-1039 A.D.]
On the other hand there are many evidences to show how greatly the royal authority had increased. For one thing, Conrad deposed Duke Adalbert of Carinthia from his high office in 1035, because he had not borne himself worthily in the Lombard disturbances; and Italy itself witnessed a deed wholly without precedent, for Archbishop Heribert of Milan, a powerful prince and highly respected dignitary of the church, who occupied almost the first place after the pope, was arrested for disloyalty by the German king.
Heribert saved himself from imprisonment by flight, and Conrad, whom he then openly defied, could hardly take any effective action against him; nevertheless the occurrence produced a profound impression. After two years’ absence from home the king returned to Germany, where he occupied himself principally with the affairs of Burgundy, and ultimately delegated the government of that country to his son Henry. In the year 1038 he proceeded to North Germany and there endeavoured to consolidate the empire by paving the way for settled legal order. In the year 1039 he fell sick at Utrecht, and died at that place on the 3rd of July in the same year.