Ovo offered battle at the head of an immense army. The German king had not yet collected all his troops, many of them having been delayed by the way. Nevertheless Henry boldly crossed the Raab under the eyes of the Hungarians, made a furious onslaught on the enemy’s lines with his handful of troops, and won a victory as complete as it was brilliant. As a result of this success Peter was reinstated as king and received the crown of Hungary as a fief of the German Empire. After these great achievements Henry swiftly turned his arms against the rebel duke Gottfried of Lorraine. The struggle did not long hang in the balance; Gottfried soon realised the king’s superior power, submitted, and was punished with incarceration in the fortress of Giebichenstein. Thus by a solemn act of justice the emperor of the Germans ratified the political principle that the dukes were responsible officers of the state. To confirm by practice the royal prerogative of nominating such officers, the dukedom of Swabia was conferred on Count Otto of the Rhenish palatinate in the year 1045; and in 1046 Frederick, brother of the duke of Bavaria, was installed in Upper Lorraine, in place of Gozelo. In the same spirit Henry guarded against usurpations on the part of other great nobles. Thus, in the year 1046, he punished Margrave Dietrich of Vlärdingen in Holland, for having taken wrongful possession of what was not his own.
THE PAPACY SUBORDINATED TO HENRY
[1046-1047 A.D.]
The affairs of Italy next attracted the attention of the German king. There the utmost disorder had crept, not only into political affairs, but also into those of the church. Ecclesiastical preferment was openly bought and sold, church dignitaries strove among themselves for power by intrigues of every sort, while, to crown all, three popes were quarrelling for the authority of supreme pontiff. Scenes of this kind confirmed Henry in his determination to inaugurate a reformation of the church. He therefore made preparations to proceed to Italy forthwith, but before starting he released Duke Gottfried from his captivity at Giebichenstein, and magnanimously reinstated him in his high office. He then crossed the Alps with a vast army in the autumn of 1046. On his arrival in Italy he found a council of bishops who had assembled at his command at Sutri to decide first of all the scandalous dispute between pope and rival popes. The king of Germany refused to tolerate any one of the antagonists, but required that they should all three be deposed. By the mingled energy and wisdom of his conduct he succeeded in carrying his point, and a German prelate, Bishop Suidger of Bamberg, was appointed head of the church at his wish. Suidger assumed the title of Clement II, and Henry received the imperial crown from his hand in St. Peter’s church at Rome, in the year 1047. One important step had now been taken towards the accomplishment of the king’s great designs, and having seen the new pope firmly established in his office, Henry III returned that same year to Germany.
There the beneficial results of the Diet of Constance were gratifyingly evident, for such order prevailed throughout the country “as no man ever experienced before.” Margrave Dietrich of Vlärdingen had indeed attempted to avail himself of the king’s absence to renew his arrogant pretensions, and Duke Gottfried of Lorraine still nourished thoughts of sedition; the two had even formed a secret confederacy against the emperor, together with Count Baldwin of Flanders. But they had but short-lived successes; Henry III promptly deposed the rebellious duke from his office, and deprived him of all authority. Dietrich lost not only his dominions, but his life into the bargain, and the whole of his territory was brought under the emperor’s sway. The credit of the imperial authority was completely restored.
German Warrior of the Eleventh Century
Meanwhile the king displayed the most commendable vigour in the conduct of domestic politics. During the disturbances in Lorraine and Holland, which he left to his great officers to quell, he had been making progress through all parts of Germany and had despatched important affairs of state at various places. Everywhere the king’s keen glance watched over the course of justice, and the interior of Germany attained a notable degree of prosperity and contentment. This we can perceive from the fact that the cities were rising by degrees to the position of an independent element in the state. In the wars against Gottfried of Lorraine and Dietrich of Vlärdingen, the citizens, admonished by the bishops, often took up arms themselves in defence of their cities, which is evidence not only of the advance which those communities had made both in wealth and population, but also of the political importance they had acquired. It is worthy of note, also, that even then the cities were on the side of imperial authority against rebellious counts and dukes.
[1047-1048 A.D.]
Henry III was now strong enough to carry through the long-contemplated reformation of the church. In the press of business which had occupied him he had never lost sight of ecclesiastical affairs; on the contrary, he had steadily made preparations with a view to his purpose in this respect, displaying a vigour which commands admiration. The pope had previously claimed the right to nominate the emperor; the third Henry, on the contrary, exercised a decisive influence over the election of the pope, and it became almost customary that this office should be conferred by the king of Germany. The elevation of Clement II to the papacy had taken place by Henry’s desire; Clement died nine months after, and the king of Germany nominated the bishop of Brixen as his successor. This pope, who took the name of Damasus II, died a few weeks after his arrival at Rome; and Henry again filled the vacancy in the apostolic see, this time elevating a relative of his own, Bishop Bruno of Toul, to the position of head of the church. The manner in which the chroniclers speak of these important proceedings is remarkable. With them there is no longer any question of the right of the king of Germany to nominate the pope; they mention it as a matter that calls for no explanation. “Poppo, bishop of Brixen,” says Hermann,f “was chosen pope by the emperor and sent to Rome, where he was received with great honour.” The same thing is said of the nomination of the bishop of Toul. Lambert of Aschaffenburg,g who confirms this testimony, adds that on the death of the pope the Romans always sent an embassy to the king of Germany to request him to nominate a new supreme pontiff. Such a state of things was wholly without precedent, and by means of it Henry exalted, more highly than any of his predecessors, the power of the empire.
In the completion of the reformation of the church in the year 1050, one of the emperor’s chief aims was fulfilled. The effect of the measure on the country was most salutary, morals were purified and a higher standard of seriousness and industry prevailed. The system of law and order was consolidated by the subjugation of the great nobles. But it was not only the dukes and counts whom Henry kept within bounds; he inflicted sharp chastisement on members of the lesser nobility also, by confiscating their property or by other methods, if they committed any act of wanton injustice. By this means he imposed a strong restraint upon the abuse of self-help, and the towns throve and increased so rapidly that they presently began to take direct part in the affairs of the empire.
For several years Henry’s relations with foreign countries were friendly; but this peace was disturbed from 1051 onwards by the joint attempt of the Poles and Hungarians to shake off German dominion. The Hungarians invaded the empire, and in the year 1051 the emperor took the field against them in person. He advanced into Hungary itself with a great force; and though obliged to withdraw by inclement weather, his retreat was marked by valiant feats of arms on the part of the German army. In the following year, 1052, a second expedition was undertaken against Hungary. Henry III invested Pressburg, but at the intercession of Pope Leo IX he raised the siege and returned to Germany. But a genuine peace could not be brought about merely by the mediation of the pontiff; the enmity continued.