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Ebook has 501 lines and 155485 words, and 11 pages

Transcriber's notes:

Characters following a carat were printed in superscript.

Side-notes were relocated to function as titles of their respective paragraphs.

Macrons and breves above letters and dots below letters were not inserted.

stands for the root symbol; , , etc. for greek letters.

The following typographical errors have been corrected:

ARTICLE GERMANY: "After Rupert's death two cousins, Jobst, margrave of Moravia, and Sigismund, king of Hungary, were in the autumn of 1410 both chosen to fill the vacant throne by opposing parties ..." 'After' amended from "After's".

ARTICLE GERMANY: "... others--like the landgraves of Hesse and the cities of Magdeburg and Strassburg--refused to sign it, and thus it served only to emphasize the divisions among the Protestants. Moreover ..." 'Magdeburg' amended from 'Madgeburg'.

ARTICLE GERMANY: "These Articles, embodying the more important terms, were included with slight verbal alterations in the treaty of peace signed at Prague on the 23rd of August." 'embodying' amended from 'enbodying'.

ARTICLE GERMANY: "... Die Entwicklung des gelehrten Richtertums in deutschen Territorien ..." 'Entwicklung' amended from 'Entwickelung'.

ARTICLE GETTYSBURG: "That no decisive success had been obtained by Lee was clear to all, but Ewell's men on Culp's Hill, and Longstreet's corps below Round Top, threatened to turn both flanks of the Federal position, which was no longer a compact horseshoe but had been considerably prolonged to the left ..." 'horseshoe' amended from 'horsehoe'.

ARTICLE GHAZNI: "In 997 Mahmud, son of Sabuktagin, succeeded to the government, and with his name Ghazni and the Ghaznevid dynasty have become perpetually associated. Issuing forth year after year from that capital ..." 'become' amended from 'beome'.

ARTICLE GHOST: "... on the other hand, the phrase 925 "ghostly man" for a clergyman is an archaism the use of which could only be justified by poetic licence, as in Tennyson's Elaine ." '1842' amended from '1094'.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA

A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE AND GENERAL INFORMATION

ELEVENTH EDITION

Germany to Gibson, William

ARTICLES IN THIS SLICE:

GERMANY GHADAMES GERMERSHEIM GHAT GERMISTON GHATS GERMONIUS, ANASTASIUS GHAZALI GERO GHAZI GEROLSTEIN GHAZIABAD G?R?ME, JEAN L?ON GHAZIPUR GERONA GHAZNI GERONA GHEE GEROUSIA GHEEL GERRESHEIM GHENT GERRHA GHETTO GERR?S GHIBERTI, LORENZO GERRY, ELBRIDGE GHICA GERRYMANDER GHILZAI GERS GHIRLANDAJO, DOMENICO GERSON, JOHN GHIRLANDAJO, RIDOLFO GERSONIDES GHOR GERSOPPA, FALLS OF GHOST GERST?CKER, FRIEDRICH GHOST DANCE GERSTENBERG, WILHELM VON GIACOMETTI, PAOLO G?RUZEZ, NICOLAS EUG?NE GIAMBELLI, FEDERIGO GERVAIS, PAUL GIANNONE, PIETRO GERVASE OF CANTERBURY GIANNUTRI GERVASE OF TILBURY GIANT GERVEX, HENRI GIANT'S CAUSEWAY GERVINUS, GEORG GOTTFRIED GIANT'S KETTLE GERYON GIAOUR GESENIUS, FRIEDRICH WILHELM GIB, ADAM GESNER, ABRAHAM GIBARA GESNER, JOHANN MATTHIAS GIBBON, EDWARD GESNER, KONRAD VON GIBBON GESSNER, SOLOMON GIBBONS, GRINLING GESSO GIBBONS, JAMES GESTA ROMANORUM GIBBONS, ORLANDO GETA, PUBLIUS SEPTIMIUS GIBBS, JOSIAH WILLARD GETAE GIBBS, OLIVER WOLCOTT GETHSEMANE GIBEON GETTYSBURG GIBEONITES GEULINCX, ARNOLD GIBRALTAR GEUM GIBSON, CHARLES DANA GEVELSBERG GIBSON, EDMUND GEX GIBSON, JOHN GEYSER GIBSON, THOMAS MILNER GEZER GIBSON, WILLIAM HAMILTON GFR?RER, AUGUST FRIEDRICH

GERMANY .

Decay of the royal power.

Nothing could indicate more clearly than this fact how much of their old power the German kings had lost. It was not past hope that even yet some of their former splendour might be restored, and for a brief period monarchy did again stand high. Still, its foundations were sapped. Incessant war, both at home and in Italy, had deprived it of its force; it had lost moral influence by humiliations, of which the scene at Canossa was an extreme type. Steadily, with unwearied energy, letting no opportunity escape, the princes had advanced towards independence, and they might well look forward to such a bearing in regard to the kings as the kings had formerly adopted in regard to them.

Bavaria and Saxony.

The promise that Bavaria should be granted to Henry the Lion was not easily fulfilled, as Henry Jasomirgott refused to give up the duchy. At last, however, in 1156, after his return from his first expedition to Italy, Frederick reconciled the latter prince by making Austria into a duchy with certain special privileges, an important step in the process by which that country became the centre of a powerful state. Henry Jasomirgott then renounced Bavaria, and Henry the Lion became its duke. It was, however, in his other duchy of Saxony that the latter duke's most important work was done. Although he often gave offence by his haughty and aggressive disposition, few German princes have earned so thoroughly the goodwill of posterity. Since the death of Otto the Great the Slavonic lands to the east of the Elbe had been very imperfectly held in subjection by the Germans. Devoting himself to the conquest of the lands lying along the shore of the Baltic, Henry succeeded as no one before him had ever done. But he was not only a conqueror. He built towns and encouraged those which already existed; he founded and restored bishoprics in his new territories; and between the Elbe and the Oder he planted bodies of industrious colonists. While he was thus at work a similar task was being performed to the south-east of Saxony by Albert the Bear, the first margrave of Brandenburg, who, by his energetic rule was preparing this country for its great destinies.

Frederick in Poland and Germany.

Frederick and Henry the Lion.

In the later years of his reign the emperor's chief enemy was Henry the Lion. Rendered arrogant by success and confident that his interests were in northern, and not in southern Europe, the Saxon duke refused to assist Frederick in the campaign which ended so disastrously at Legnano. Ascribing his defeat to Henry's defection, Frederick returned to Germany full of anger against the Saxon duke and firmly resolved to punish him. The immediate cause of Henry's downfall, however, was not his failure to appear in Italy, but his refusal to restore some lands to the bishop of Halberstadt, and it was on this charge that he was summoned before the diet. Three times he refused to appear, and early in 1180 sentence was pronounced against him; he was condemned to lose all his lands and to go into banishment. For some time he resisted, but at length the emperor in person marched against him and he was forced to submit; the only favour he could secure when peace was made at Erfurt in November 1181 was permission to retain Brunswick and L?neburg, which have remained in the possession of his descendants until our own day. Bavaria was granted to Otto of Wittelsbach, but it lost some of its importance because Styria was taken from it and made into a separate duchy. The extensive duchy of Saxony was completely dismembered. The name was taken by the small portion of the former duchy which was given to Bernard, son of Albert the Bear, the founder of a new Saxon line, and the extensive western part was added to the archbishopric of Cologne. The chief prelates of Saxony and many of the late duke's most important feudatories were made virtually independent of all control save that of the crown. Frederick's object in thus breaking up the two greatest duchies in his kingdom was doubtless to strengthen the imperial authority. But in reality he made it certain that the princes would one day shake off the imperial power altogether; for it was perhaps more difficult for the sovereign to contend with scores of petty nobles than with two or three great princes.

Frederick and Philip of Heinsberg.

Frederick's death.

Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick.

Germany in Frederick's absence.

Rebellion of King Henry.

Frederick in Germany.

Frederick and the pope.

The interregnum.

The Teutonic Order in Prussia.

Period of Hohenstaufen dynasty.

Political character of Germany settled.

Classes of the population.

The electors.

Divisions of the princely lands.

The cities.

The consolidation of the power of the princes was contemporary with the rise of the cities into new importance. Several of them, especially Mainz, Worms and Spires, had received valuable rights from the kings and other lords; they were becoming self-governing and to some extent independent communities and an important and growing element in the state. The increase of trade and a system of taxation provided the governing body with funds, which were used to fortify the city and in other ways to make life and property more secure. The destruction of imperial authority compelled them to organize their resources, so as to be at all times prepared against ambitious neighbours. They began to form leagues which the greatest princes and combinations of princes could not afford to despise. Of these leagues the chief at this time was the Rhenish Confederation, which has been already mentioned. Great importance was also acquired by the Hanseatic League, which had originated during the interregnum in a treaty of alliance between L?beck and Hamburg. It ultimately included more than eighty cities and became one of the greatest commercial powers in Europe .

Rudolph of Habsburg.

His reign.

The Habsburg family.

Rudolph had all the sympathies and prejudices of the noble class, and the supreme object of his life was not to increase the power of the state but to add to the greatness of his own family, a policy which was perhaps justified by the condition of the German kingdom, the ruler of which had practically no strength save that which he derived from his hereditary lands. In this he was very successful. Four years after the fall of Ottakar he obtained from the princes a tardy and reluctant assent to the granting of Austria, Styria and Carniola to his own sons, Rudolph and Albert. In 1286 Carinthia was given to Meinhard, count of Tirol, on condition that when his male line became extinct it should pass to the Habsburgs. Thus Rudolph made himself memorable as the real founder of the house of Habsburg.

Adolph of Nassau.

Louis the Bavarian and Frederick of Austria.

Causes of the success of Louis.

The success of Louis in his war with Frederick was to some extent due to the imperial cities, which supported him from the first. Not only did they pay high taxes, but they made splendid voluntary contributions, thus enabling the sovereign of their choice to continue the fight. But Louis was perhaps still more indebted for his victory to the memorable conflict between the Swiss and the Habsburgs, the defeat of Leopold of Austria at Morgarten in 1315 striking a heavy blow at his position. Thus this struggle for freedom, although belonging properly to the history of Switzerland, exercised much influence on the course of German history.

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