The Historians' History of the World 07

The Pope, Gregory V, expired suddenly in 999 A.D. His death was, with great justice, ascribed to poison. Gerbert became his successor, under the name of Silvester II. His deep science and learning caused him to be generally regarded as a wizard.

The death of Gregory, the friend of his youth, caused a deep dejection to prey upon the mind of the emperor, which was also worked upon by the exhortations of two Italian enthusiasts, the saints Romwald and Nilus, who gained great power over him, and who, being the fellow-countrymen of Crescentius, reproved him most particularly for the severity with which he had treated that traitor, which severity they denounced as a crime.

The emperor was at length induced to do penance for fourteen days in a cavern sacred to the archangel Michael, on the Monte Gargano, in Apulia, and to perform a pilgrimage to the bones of St. Adalbert at Gnesen, in Poland. He nevertheless reappeared here in his character as emperor, by more strongly cementing the amicable relations that already subsisted between Germany and Poland. He bestowed the title of king on Boleslaw Chrobry, the son of Miseko and the Bohemian Dhobrowa.d

A German Archer

Otto acted in regard to the Hungarians in precisely the same way that his brother-in-law had shortly before this done at Constantinople with regard to the Russians. We perceive that the house of the Porphyrogeniti, to which Otto belonged on his mother’s side, appears closely connected with the spread of Christianity, both towards the east from Constantinople and in the Western Empire from Rome. It was fated that one kingdom should unite itself with eastern, and that the other should unite itself with western christendom. Both were in the hands of the purple-born (Porphyrogeniti) family, and a fresh division between the Eastern and the Western empires on the old lines resulted, as the Byzantines extended their influence neither to Hungary nor to Poland, but left both these countries to the Western imperium.

The noteworthy event of this epoch is the chronological coincidence of the conversion of the Hungarians, Russians, and Poles to Christianity. But the personality that welds the whole mass together is still that of the young emperor.b

[1000-1014 A.D.]

On a visit to Aachen, Otto caused the tomb of Charlemagne to be opened. That monarch was discovered seated on his throne. On Otto’s return to Rome, he announced his intention of making her the capital of the modern, as she had been that of the ancient world, but the Romans were incapable either of comprehending his grand projects or of perceiving the advantage that must have accrued to them had their city once more become an imperial residence. The senseless and brutal populace again rose in open insurrection. On one occasion Otto, addressing them from a tower, upbraided them for their folly, and induced them to disperse. His death, which took place in 1002, was ascribed to poison, but was more probably caused by smallpox. In the following year, Pope Silvester also expired, and with him every hope that had been raised for the reformation of the church, which again fell under Italian influence.d

The remembrance of a young emperor with so wonderful a sense of phantasy, and with so sad a fate, could not easily disappear from out the world. Poetic tales grew up out of Otto’s early grave and preserved his memory among the people longer than the sober accounts of history. It was related that Otto met his death through a betrayal of love; this glowing heart, so sensitive to friendship, could not be conceived of as untouched by the magic of love. Stephania, a beautiful but proud and heartless Roman lady, the widow of Crescentius—so runs the most widespread tradition—enchained the emperor by her charms and, when he had wholly given himself up to her, poisoned him, in order to avenge the death of her husband. There is a deep truth in this tale, but it was not a daughter of Rome but Rome herself who, with her imperishable charms, enchained, betrayed, and killed the youth who had been adorned with the imperial crown.c

HENRY (II) THE SAINT (1002-1024 A.D.)