logus made himself master of the capital, 25th July 1260. Some time previously, he had caused himself to be crowned emperor, and two years after put out the eyes of his ward, John III., in order to reign alone. Fearful of being attacked by Charles of Anjou, king of Naples, he sent to the council of Lyons two Greek bishops, who formed a treaty of union between the two churches, but which did not continue longer than the reign of Michael. The empire, indeed, was no sooner re-established than the priests were embroiled in quarrels, occasioned by discussions on obscure dogmas of the church. The controversy on the question, whether the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Son or by the Son, together with the disputes on the election of the patriarchs, was long the sole occupation of the sovereigns and their ministers. Palæologus was succeeded in 1283 by his son ANDRONICUS THE ELDER, who being constantly assailed by temporal and spiritual enemies, had little time to promote his own views or his people's happiness. He recovered many isles in the Archipelago from the Franks, but on his eastern frontier was unable to make head against the Ottomans. Though reputed the most learned prince of the age, he was the slave of degrading superstitions.

GERMANY.

Henry VI., who died of poison in 1197, left his son Frederick under the guardianship of Innocent III. This rival of Gregory VII. raised up antagonists to PHILIP of Swabia, the brother and successor of Henry, procured the election of OTHо IV. of Brunswick in his stead, and afterwards excommunicated him for refusing to restore the fiefs of the Countess Matilda. The pope now brought forward FREDERICK II., at the age of eighteen years, who was acknowledged by the greater part of the German princes, 1212. After various contests, and the defeat or death of all his competitors, he received the imperial crown at Aix-la-Chapelle, 1215. The greater part of his reign was spent in Italy and Sicily. His unwillingness to enter upon the crusades led to his excommunication by Gregory IX., which he retaliated by boldly ordering the ecclesiastics to continue the performance of their sacred functions, and by proceeding to Jerusalem, which surrendered at the terror of his name. The interval from 1230 to 1238 was occupied in the re-establishment of order in Germany, disturbed by the unruly vassals, by the ecclesiastics, and by a rebellious son. In the subsequent disputes with the papal see,

originating in charges of irreligion, Frederick appears to have caught some glimpses of pure Christianity. From a war of manifestoes the contending powers had recourse to arms; and those of the emperor were successful in every quarter. But his excommunication in 1239, the crusade published against him in the following year, and his solemn deposition by the council of Lyons, 1245, changed his fortunes. City after city revolted; and this great antagonist of the papacy expired in the castle of Fiorentino, near Lucera, in 1250.

INTERREGNUM.-With the death of Frederick began the great interregnum, from 1250 to 1272, during which Germany was in effect without any ruler; for, although there were several, none exercised any real authority. In 1250, two princes bore the title of King of the Romans,—Count William of Holland, the priests' king, as he was denominated, and Conrad IV., son of Frederick II. On the news of his father's death, Conrad, abandoning Germany, where the scantiness of his resources reduced him to an inglorious station, passed into Italy to receive the fairest portion of the paternal inheritance-the kingdom of the Two Sicilies; but his death, in 1254, which has been attributed to Manfred, prevented his return into Germany at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army. The demise of William of Holland happened shortly after. The title of emperor was next conferred on Richard, earl of Cornwall, brother to Henry III. of England, and, on his mother's side, nephew of Henry the Lion. Richard, whose wealth was his chief recommendation, had promised to the Archbishop of Mentz 8000 silver marks, 12,000 to the Archbishop of Cologne, and 18,000 to the Count Palatine; but the choice of the other electors fell on Alphonso X., King of Castile, who offered 20,000 marks for each vote. This double election was the first in which the grand dignitaries of the crown alone took a part, to the exclusion of all the other great vassals; or, in other words, it is the first time that we see appear the seven princely electors.

Alphonso never visited Germany; but his competitor undertook several journeys, in each of which he distributed enormous sums of money among the electors. Although greatly occupied with the internal affairs of his native country, Richard, in 1269, passed an important decree, by which the estates, assembled in diet at Worms, bound themselves mutually by oath to punish all who should exact illegal toll, trouble the security of commerce on the high road, or who

should in any way disturb the public tranquillity. In another of his visits he gave the investiture of Austria and Styria to Ottocar, king of Bohemia. In his last journey, he espoused the daughter of a baron named Falkenstein, and, returning to England, died in 1272.

In the midst of these petty wars between weak princes, the power and influence of the great commercial cities were slowly increasing; and from their alliances for mutual defence arose three sorts of confederation :-1st, The Teutonic or Hanseatic league, 1241; 2d, The confederation of the cities of the Rhine (Burgfrieden), about 1255; and, 3d, The Ganerbinates (GanErbschaften, or treaties of succession and mutual defence.

The long-continued anarchy at length wearied all parties, and it was determined to elect an emperor. The choice fell upon RODOLPH of Hapsburg in Switzerland, a prince whose scanty resources and limited influence seemed to give no cause for fear.

HOUSE OF HAPSBURG, 1273.-Rodolph, the founder of the house of Austria, was a brave and just monarch, wisely devoting his attention to the internal affairs of Germany. The rebellion and defeat of Ottocar, king of Bohemia, enabled him to confer the dukedom of the Austrian provinces upon his son Albert, 1283. But he was not less a peacemaker than a conqueror. He visited all parts of his dominions with incredible activity, re-established the security of the highways, and destroyed a number of castles which were little else than retreats for brigands. His death in 1291 was followed by an interregnum of ten months,-for, in order to avoid the appearance of hereditary right to the imperial crown, the electors refused to appoint Albert, and their choice fell upon ADOLPHUS of Nassau, 1292. In a contest which ensued, Albert destroyed his rival in 1298, maintaining till 1308 his imperial dignity, notwithstanding the irregularity of his election and the determined hostility of Boniface VIII.

HANSE TOWNS.-These were a commercial league (hansa) formed of the most flourishing cities in the north and west of Europe. In 1241, Lubeck associated with some neighbouring places for mutual protection against the pirates of the Baltic; and by degrees it was joined by all the trading towns between the Rhine and the Vistula. Depots were established at London, 1250, Bruges, 1252, Novgorod, 1272, and Bergen, 1278. The administration of the league was intrusted to the four cities of Lubeck, Cologne, Brunswick, and Dantzic. During three centuries they maintained a degree of prosperity then unexam

pled, and by their navies commanded the narrow seas; but the discovery of the Indies was a fatal blow to their commerce. The town of Ghent dared to beard Charles V. of France in the very height of his glory, by putting one of his officers to the torture for having concealed the record which contained the ratification of the concessions they had extorted from former sovereigns. By the power of the league the King of Sweden was dethroned, and his crown bestowed on Albrecht of Mecklenburg. Such was the wealth of these merchants, that at a great ball at Bruges, the Queen of France retired in chagrin because six hundred of the wives of the citizens were more splendidly dressed than herself.

HOUSE OF HOHENSTAUFEN OR SWABIA.

This family, issuing from the castle of Wibelung, was ennobled in Frederick Hohenstaufen, who, for his eminent services, was rewarded with the hand of one of the daughters of the Emperor Henry IV.

Frederick, Count of Hohenstaufen, and created Duke of Swabia by Henry IV. in 1080, † 1105, m. Agnes, daughter of Henry IV.

18. CONRAD III.

emp. 1138, †1152.

Frederick, d. of Swabia,

m. Judith, d. of Henry the Black,

+1126.

Albert, Henry, Leopold, successively d. of Austria.

19. FREDERICK I., Barbarossa, emp. 1152, † 1190 = Beatrice, heiress of Burgundy.

This ancient and noble family descended, according to Muratori, from Adalbert I. marquis of Tuscany (847-875). It received new lustre from the marriage of Albert Azon II. with Cunegonda of Altorf. Albert died in 1097, leaving behind him

ITALY.

ITALIAN REPUBLICS.-The republics of Northern Italy refused to acknowledge Frederick II. as their sovereign, and their rebellious spirit was fomented by the popes. But the struggle that followed was not one of principle, but of faction, -Guelf against Ghibelline, the church against the empire. These states may be divided into four great clusters :-1. Central Lombardy, containing Milan, Cremona, Parma, Mantua, Lodi, and other towns. 2. The March of Verona, between the Adige and the German frontiers. 3. Romagna, containing Bologna, Modena, and Ferrara. 4. Tuscany. The first and third were principally Guelfs; the second, Ghibellines; while the fourth was balanced between the two parties.

The misfortunes which oppressed Frederick pursued all his family. A kind of fatality seemed to impend over his race; and it appeared as if the heroic house of Hohenstaufen was destined to astonish the world as much by its miseries as by its glory. His son Enzio died a prisoner at Bologna, after twenty years of captivity; his natural son Manfred was deprived of the kingdom of Naples by Charles of Anjou, and perished in battle; lastly, his grandson Conradin, who endeavoured to recover his heritage by arms, was defeated, taken prisoner, and judicially murdered.

LOMBARD LEAGUES.-The first Lombard league, 1167, against the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, succeeded in obtaining the objects for which it was formed. The alarming demonstrations of Frederick II. against the pope and the independence of the Italian cities aroused the fears of the Guelf party in that peninsula. The Milanese began the resistance by an appeal to the Lombard communities, fourteen of which adhered to the confederation. The departure of the emperor for the holy war was improved to the advantage of the revolted states; and although, on his return, he published a law on the public peace, which was supported by the eloquence of the preacher John of Vicenza, the suspension of hostilities was not of long duration. Frederick suddenly reappeared in Italy, in obedience to the call of Ezzelino, podestà of Verona and chief of the Ghibellines in Lombardy. After the victory of Corte Nuova, on the Oglio, in 1237, nearly all the towns made submission; but they were again driven to arms by the intrigues of the pope, who had conciliated the alliance of Venice and Genoa.