The Historians' History of the World 07

The election hung undecided between them for some time longer, till the elder Conrad, calculating the effect such a step would have upon the people, approached the younger with an amicable proposal that each of them should do his best to prevent a quarrel over the election; and to that end they should both undertake to yield sincere allegiance to whichever should be nominated by a majority of the princes with the assent of the people. When the younger Conrad had agreed to this, the archbishop of Mainz solemnly proposed the elder Conrad as head of the empire, setting forth his superior claims in a brief oration. The proposition was strongly supported by a majority of the bishops, and secured the assent of many of the princes; and when the empress Kunigunde, the widow of Henry II, handed over the insignia of royalty with all speed to Conrad the Elder, the assembly hailed him king of the Germans, and the election was ratified by the solemn plaudits of the nation. Conrad the Younger himself had given his vote for his cousin when he saw the way the election was tending, and a quarrel was thus avoided. The duke of Lorraine and the archbishop of Cologne both expressed their dissatisfaction at the result of the election, but no more serious consequences ensued; and Conrad the Elder was recognised by all parties as king of the Germans, the second of that name. This circumstance conduced greatly to the furtherance of the national interests of Germany, as did the result of the election itself; for the new king was a man well fitted to impart fresh strength and consequence to the empire.

Conrad II, it is true, was not animated by the noble spirit which leads through pure patriotism to a self-denying devotion to public affairs; on the contrary, he zealously pursued his own selfish ends, and was often led astray by motives of mere self-interest. Nevertheless, as it happened, his wishes coincided with the interests of the nation; for he strove to enhance the power of his own house, and seeking to attain this end by establishing a hereditary monarchy, he bent all his endeavours to increasing the imperial authority and, as a natural consequence, cementing national unity. Nor was he deficient in the qualities required for at least approximate success in his schemes, though we miss in him the nobler endowments for success, which advance openly to gain the object they have in view, by the help of genius, force of character, and inflexible will. But in place of these qualities he possessed a political sagacity so keen and subtle that he could carry through the most difficult schemes by covert measures. With this sagacity he combined energy, courage, and skill in arms. Indeed for the greater part of his life he had been engaged in military pursuits, but he nevertheless was possessed of so remarkable an aptitude for politics, that, being as clear-headed as he was adroit, he directed the affairs of the state with altogether exceptional skill.

CONRAD II INCREASES HIS POWER

In the year 1024 a gifted and vigorous king had at length been elected; to such a man a thorough reform of political conditions would certainly appear an imperative necessity in view of the condition to which the empire had been reduced. Conrad II had first to try to increase the property of the crown before he could venture upon a struggle against the usurpations of the nobles. This was not to be effected either easily or speedily, and he therefore endeavoured in the first place to gain time for confirming his power by friendly behaviour towards the great nobles. For this reason, after his consort Gisela had also been crowned at Cologne, he determined to begin by making a progress through Germany, for the double purpose of securing general recognition and investigating the condition of the crown lands of the head of the empire. He first went to Aachen, where an assembly of the nobles of Lorraine had been convened. The king’s most formidable enemies were the seigneurs of the higher nobility; and in order to counterbalance them Conrad was obliged to rely on the middle classes, represented at this time by the lesser nobles, the commons not having yet attained a sufficient degree of power.

German Woman of Quality of the Tenth Century

During his stay in Aachen, the king won the favour of the lesser nobility by a very well calculated political measure. Most families of this class had already fallen, by the spread of feudalism, into the position of vassals to some great noble; and disputes frequently arose between them and their feudal lords, because in certain cases the latter would not allow the fief to be transmitted to the descendants of the vassal. Conrad II, who was well aware of this state of things and eager for any means of weakening the power of the great nobles, promulgated during his stay in Aachen a decree to the effect that the descendants of a vassal were entitled to succeed to the fief in perpetuity.