ERRATA.

Rulhire for _Rulhière_, pp. 176 & 177.

Philip II. for _III._, last line of p. 148.

CRIMES

OF

THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA

AGAINST MANKIND.

Frederic Schlegel, in that extraordinary piece of sophistry, called the

Philosophy of History, would have it “that the final cause of the

Universe was to build up the Romano-Germanic Empire as the Metropolis

and bulwark of _Christendom_.”

This work, the substance of a course of eighteen lectures, delivered in

Vienna, has little chance of making any great impression on mankind; for

the genius which in his younger days guided SCHLEGEL in surveying the

literatures of the world, and inspired his eloquent account of them,

seems naturally enough to have deserted him, when he yoked himself as a

drayhorse to the car of despotism and superstition. Nothing short of

imperial authority could have compelled any human audience to have

endured eighteen lectures of such dark metaphysics; but this, as we are

exultingly told, was abundantly exerted, even by example, for the

Imperial family attended in person!

That “Might makes Right” is a principle asserted not exclusively by the

House of Austria, or rather by the _House of Hapsburgh_; (for we must

not entirely absorb Austria in the House of Hapsburgh. Recent events

have shown that Austria also has an entity of its own, and that so far

as it exists, it has interests antagonistic to those of the reigning

family).

But the Imperial House makes pretensions which especially challenge

mankind to bring it to the bar for righteous judgment. From the day when

Rodolph the First wrote to Pope Gregory X. to confirm his election to

the Empire, even to the present hour, this family has professed to be

the elect Servant of the Most High, for the benefit of Mankind. Out of

its own mouth shall it be judged.

“_Conscious_,” says Rodolph, in that memorable document, “_of my own

deficiency, and trembling with astonishment and fear, I hesitated

whether I should accept so eminent a station_; until, at length,

_trusting in Him_, who in the high and ineffable decrees of his

Providence, changes as He wills the condition of mortals, _adds strength

to the feeble and gives eloquence to the simple, I assumed courage

sufficient to venture, weak as I am_, upon so laborious and difficult an

office, hoping that neither _the grace of God_, nor the favour _of His

Holy Church_, nor your paternal affection will be wanting to me.

_Turning, therefore, all my thoughts to Him_ under whose authority we

live, and placing all my expectations on you alone, I fall down before

the feet of your Holiness, beseeching you, with the most earnest

supplications, to favour me with your accustomed kindness in my present

undertaking; and that you will deign _by your mediation with the Most

High_ to support _my cause, which I may truly call the cause of the

whole German Empire, that He may condescend to direct my steps according

to His will, and lead me in the ways of His commandments_. That I may be

enabled therefore, successfully to perform _what is most acceptable to

Him and to His_ Holy Church, may it graciously please your Holiness to

crown me with the Imperial Diadem, for I trust I am both able and

willing to undertake and accomplish whatever you and the Holy Church

shall think proper to impose upon me.”

Such is the great and solemn pretension. And now in the first place

mankind asks, who art thou, Rodolph of Hapsburgh, professing thyself

humbly and unwillingly to be taking upon thyself the cares of Empire,

out of mere devotion to God and to the human race whom God would lead,

as a bridegroom leads his bride to the altar, giving himself to her and

for her? Has then the Christian Charity which is greater than Faith and

Hope and “_seeketh not her own_,” marked thy life’s conduct up to this

time? And what are the conditions of the compact between thyself and the

earthly representative of the Divine Providence? Are they that thou

shalt enquire into the genius and institutions of all the nations that

shall be united under thee, with a view to vindicate to every man the

liberty wherewith Christ would make him free; to give scope for the

perfect development of every material resource of the countries they

inhabit, and of every intellectual and moral opportunity that the Past,

the Present, and the Future shall present?

Thine own words challenge the enquiry; the pretensions of all thy

posterity, ever renewed, repeat the challenge. From the mountains of

Switzerland, from the plains of Italy, from the rocks of Catalonia, from

ruined and emasculated Bohemia, from partitioned Poland, from long

betrayed though ever generous Hungary, even from thine own Tyrol and

Styria, and Austria, come up the accusers, and impartial History gives

utterance in some small measure to the voice of their manifold

accusation.

The present volume will principally consist of a series of extracts from

different historical works, in which the crimes of the House of

Hapsburgh against liberty and law are _incidentally_ related. There

seems to be a call, just now, that the testimony of History upon this

subject should be laid before the American people. Their heart is

touched by the events of the last three years, and it is well that their

sensibility should have the support of their reason, enlightened by the

truth, that they may not be the victims of every newspaper paragraph

which venal partisans of the cause of legitimacy in Europe may have the

art to insinuate into the current periodicals; and which presume upon

the common ignorance in this country, of the details of European

history, that comes to us at best only through books written more or

less in the spirit of monarchy. A history of Europe written from the

republican point of view, a history of nations and not of their

governors, is the desideratum for the people of these United States. But

such a work requires both genius and integrity of soul to conceive, and

a vast industry properly to execute, the discovery of the exact truth

being infinitely the greatest part of the labor required. We may only

avail ourselves at this moment of such history as is written, and if

something of the force of the statement is lost by the fragmentary

nature of our work, on the other hand something will be gained to the

argument from the consideration, that the passages brought as witnesses

were not written primarily to serve the object to which we direct them.

They are largely taken from conservative writings. Archdeacon Coxe

gathered his materials in Vienna, and himself states that “to this

family Europe owes its preservation,” and that it has “formed the great

bulwark of political freedom!” To the tissue of violence and rapacity

which forms the life of each successive head of the family, he always

appends an EULOGY, sometimes ludicrously in contrast with the facts he

has related, but which is presumptive evidence that he would not make

those facts worse than they were. From the first chapter of his History

of the House of Austria we extract the origin of the family, with a

memoir which elucidates the personal character of the author of the

letter to the pope, quoted above. We abridge all we extract by making as

many omissions as possible; but the exploring of the sources from which

we make our extracts will show that the omissions in no instance falsify

the facts related. We purposely leave out the false coloring which the

author’s own remarks sometimes give to these facts, together with the

numerous episodes which make the narrative heavy, and weaken the moral

impression of it, by scattering and wearying the attention.

Ethico, Duke of Alsace in the seventh century, and Guntram, Count of

Alsace and Brisgau in the tenth century, were the most important

ancestors of the House of Hapsburgh. Guntram’s grandson Werner, bishop

of Strasburg, built the castle which gives name to the House, near

Windisch, the site of the Roman colony, Vindonessa; and a nephew of his,

likewise named Werner, took the title of Count of Hapsburgh in 1046. A

Count of Hapsburgh, called Albert IV., went on a crusade in 1232, and

died at Askalon in 1240. He was the father of the great founder of the

imperial power of the family.

“Rodolph was born in 1218, probably at the ancient castle of Limburgh,

or Limper in Brisgau, on the confines of Alsace, and was presented at

the font by the Emperor Frederic II., to whose house he was distantly

allied. Under the auspices of his warlike father he passed his youth in

the court and camp of Frederic II., and was initiated at an early age in

the use of arms. He was trained to wrestling and running, was skilled in

horsemanship, excelled in throwing the javelin, and being endowed with

great strength and vigor, gave eminent proofs of superiority over his

companions in all military exercises.

“On the death of his father, Rodolph inherited only the Landgraviate of

Upper Alsace, the Burgraviate of Rheinfelden, and in conjunction with

his brothers, succeeded to the County of Hapsburgh, the inhabitants of

which being free, were exempted from arbitrary taxes; to some scattered

domains in Suabia and Brisgau; and the advocacies or prefectureships of

a few of the neighboring towns and districts. Though in possession of

such confined territories, Rodolph followed the example of the German

princes, who considered peace as inglorious, _and sought to aggrandise

their fortunes by pillage or conquest_. He maintained a splendid

establishment, formed a chosen band of troops, collected adventurers

from all nations, more than his scanty revenues would support; and eager

to signalise himself in arms, gave full scope to his enterprising

genius. For some time he found no respite from war; he was either

engaged in protecting the surrounding states from the incursions of

banditti and depredations of the powerful barons, or _under various

pretences invading the possessions of others_, and defending his own

property from the encroachments of ambitious neighbours.

“The first of his exploits in his native country was in 1242, against

Hugh of Tuffenstein, a young baron, who had provoked his resentment by

contumelious expressions. Rodolph invested a fortress of considerable

strength belonging to his adversary, and having failed in attempting to

take it by storm, obtained entrance _by bribing the sentinels_, and made

himself master of the place, notwithstanding the desperate valour of

Hugh, who was killed in the defence.

“He next turned his arms against his uncle and guardian Rodolph of

Lauffenburg, whom he accused of embezzling a part of his patrimony. He

found, however, an intrepid and enterprising opponent in his cousin

Godfrey, the son of Rodolph: and after carrying havoc into each other’s

territories, the two relatives effected a reconciliation, by which

Rodolph obtained some compensation for his demands. This accommodation

was succeeded by an intimate friendship between the two youthful heroes,

who in this short contest had learned to admire and emulate each other.

“We next find Rodolph engaged in hostilities with his uncle Hartman,

count of Kyburgh. The dominions of the House of Kyburgh were at this

time jointly possessed by Hartman the elder, second son of Ulric, and

his nephew Hartman the younger. In order to find resources for the pay

of his retainers, Rodolph had obtained from his uncle a sum of money as

the arrears of his mother’s portion. Encouraged by the facility with

which he succeeded in this demand, and pressed by his necessities, he

made further exactions, and at length claimed a considerable part of the

territories belonging to the two Hartmans. This claim being rejected he

instantly invaded, in 1244, the dominions of Hartman the elder, occupied

Baden, Winterthur, and Mersburgh, extorted a considerable largess as the

price of their restoration, and a promise, that should his uncle and

cousin die without issue male, the possessions of the House of Kyburgh

should revert to him. _By this violence_ he indeed obtained a sum of

money for his immediate necessities; but forfeited the affections of his

uncle, and nearly lost the territories which he was entitled to inherit;

for Hartman, with the consent of his nephew, transferred to the bishop

of Strasburgh the counties of Baden, Lentzburgh, and Kyburgh, and

received them in return for himself and his nephew as fiefs of the see.

“The chronicles, which detail his minutest actions, scarcely again

mention him till the year 1253, when he, engaged with other nobles of

the Imperial or Ghibeline party against Bertold, bishop of Basle,

_penetrated into the suburbs of the city by night, and burnt a nunnery_,

for which he was excommunicated by Pope Innocent IV. It was probably to

obtain the revocation of this sentence, that we find him serving under

Ottocar, king of Bohemia, against the Prussians, a (Slavonian) people

then in a state of paganism, _who were defending their liberties_, in

opposition to the Teutonic knights, and against whom the pope had

published a crusade. He afterwards assisted Ottocar in his war with

Bela, king of Hungary; and perhaps had a share in the complete victory

which insured to the king of Bohemia the possession of Austria and

Styria, and confined Bela within the limits of Hungary.

“On his return to his native country he was involved in a series of wars

in Alsace and Switzerland. Finding the bishop and citizens of Strasburgh

in open hostilities against each other, he assisted the bishop,

signalised himself by his valour and activity, and _compelled the

citizens_ to conclude a truce. At the same time he effected a

reconciliation with his uncle Hartman, who, pleased with his change of

conduct, and struck with his rising fame, endeavoured to recover from

the bishop of Strasburgh the deed of donation which he had made of his

territories. Rodolph urged the same request to the bishop during the

truce, recapitulated his services, and tendered his future assistance;

but meeting with a refusal, he replied, “Since you pay no regard to the

greatest services, and seem inclined rather to offend than conciliate

your friends, Rodolph of Hapsburgh, instead of your ally, is become your

most inveterate enemy.” Laying his hand on his sword, he added, “While I

am master of this weapon, neither you nor any other person shall wrest

from me those dominions, which I am to inherit by right of my mother;

and since, in contradiction to every principle of justice, you grasp at

the possessions of others, know that you shall shortly lose your own.”

Nor was this threat uttered in vain; for in 1259 the citizens of

Strasburgh, availing themselves of the breach, requested Rodolph to

accept the supremacy of their city, and the command of their troops. He

joyfully received this well-timed offer, and repairing to take

possession of his new charge, the inhabitants went out in crowds to meet

their deliverer, hailed him as a person sent by heaven, and considered

his presence as a sure omen of victory.

“By espousing the cause of the citizens, Rodolph acted with _equal

prudence and judgment_. The citizens in those days were mostly soldiers,

accustomed to defend their liberties against the vexations of their own

nobles, and of the neighboring barons. They were animated with an

undaunted spirit; from the nature of their governments, they were more

subject to control, and more obedient to military order than the lawless

retainers of the nobles; and their industry and commerce supplied the

means of supporting the burdens of war. From their instruction in public

schools, and from the force of example, their minds were more

enlightened, their comprehension keener, and they were more calculated

for those ambuscades, feints, and stratagems, of which the art of war at

that time principally consisted. Rodolph, in the character of their

captain, general, or advocate, won their confidence and esteem.

_Assisted by their spirit, and supported by their riches, he was enabled

to humble the rivals of his power._

“Among others the citizens of Zurich, in 1265, chose him as their

prefect, and invested him with the command of their troops; and this

appointment involved him in a war with the count of Regensberg, and a

formidable confederacy of the neighboring barons, _which highly

contributed to his subsequent greatness_.

“During the troubles of the interregnum in the German empire, the

burghers of Zurich, which was an imperial city, had gradually acquired

considerable privileges, and began to assume the administration of their

own affairs. In order to strengthen themselves against the power of the

nobles, they contracted alliances with the sister republics, and

endeavored to secure a protector among their neighboring princes. For

this purpose they despatched an embassy to Lutold, baron of Regensberg,

whose territories almost surrounded Zurich, and extended along the

eastern shore of the lake, as far as Rapperschwyl. Lutold answered the

messengers with scorn: ‘Tell your citizens that Zurich is surrounded by

my subjects as a fish in a net; let the inhabitants surrender themselves

to me, and I will govern them with mildness.’ In this strait the

citizens turned to Rodolph of Hapsburgh, who accepted their offer,

repaired to Zurich, and assumed the command. Undaunted by the

confederacy which Lutold had formed with the count of Tockenburgh, and

other neighboring barons, he placed his hopes of success in celerity and

decision. He collected his own troops and those of Zurich; drew

assistance from the cities of Alsace, and the circle of the Lower Rhine;

summoned to his standard the mountaineers of Uri, Schwyz, and

Underwalden, and marched against the enemy.”

We omit the details of his success in this instance, and of his

surprising the castles of Balder, and of Utleberg.

“After a series of similar stratagems, sieges, and other engagements,

his arms were crowned with repeated successes; and the confederate

barons, struck with terror, exclaimed, ‘All opposition is fruitless!

Rodolph is invincible!’”

It was when Rodolph was engaged in a war, growing out of his possession

of Kyburgh, whose details we omit, that having retired to his tent, he

was awakened at midnight by his nephew Frederic of Hohenzollern,

burgrave of Nuremberg, with the intelligence that he was unanimously

chosen King of the Romans by the electors of Germany. In the first

moments of surprise, Rodolph could not give credit to this unexpected

intelligence; and even expressed his indignation against the burgrave

for attempting to deceive and insult him. “Convinced, however, by his

solemn protestations, and by letters from the electors, he recovered

from his surprise, and _joyfully accepted the proffered dignity_. The

news of his election being quickly disseminated, the citizens of Basle

opened their gates, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the bishop. ‘We

have taken arms,’ they said, ‘against Rodolph, Count of Hapsburgh, and

not against the King of the Romans.’ The bishop acceded to terms of

peace, the prisoners on both sides were released, and Rodolph’s

followers admitted in triumph. The new sovereign was received amidst

general acclamations; the citizens took the oath of fidelity, and

presented him with a considerable largess towards defraying the expenses

of his coronation. The bishop, chagrined at the success and elevation of

his rival, struck his forehead with vexation, and profanely exclaimed,

“Sit fast, great God, or Rodolph will occupy thy throne!”

We omit the account which Coxe gives of the general state of Germany as

aside from our purpose. He proceeds to tell us that in an unfavorable

aspect of affairs, the electors met at Frankfort in September 1273, and

two candidates presented themselves, Alphonso King of Castile, and

Ottocar King of Bohemia; but, contrary to all expectation, the

nomination fell on Rodolph, Count of Hapsburgh.

“Many circumstances contributed to favor his advancement, among which

the most effectual were the views and interests of the seven electors,

by whom the right of nomination was at this time assumed; namely, the

Archbishops of Mentz, Cologne, and Treves, the King of Bohemia, Otho

Margrave of Brandenburgh, Albert Duke of Saxony, and Louis Duke of

Bavaria and Count Palatine, who seems to have possessed a joint vote

with his brother Henry. Of these, the most strenuous in the cause of

Rodolph was Werner of Eppenstein, Elector of Mentz. On his nomination to

the archiepiscopal see of Mentz, Werner had repaired to Rome, in order

to receive the confirmation of his office, and the pallium from the

hands of the Pope; and as the road was infested with banditti, he was

escorted by Rodolph himself across the Alps, and treated on his return

with equal cordiality and magnificence. Werner, captivated by his

attentions, character, and talents, expressed a wish that he might live

to repay the obligation. Such an opportunity now presented itself, and

Werner used all his influence to secure the nomination of Rodolph. He

secretly gained the Electors of Cologne and Treves; and found means to

influence the secular Electors, by the prospect of a matrimonial

alliance with their future chief, who had six daughters unmarried. His

intrigues and recommendation were strongly supported by Frederic of

Hohenzollern, the friend and relation of Rodolph, who had great

influence with the secular electors, contributed to remove all

obstacles, and concluded the negotiation in his name.

“The peculiar situation of Louis the Severe, Duke of Bavaria, induced

him to accept the hand of Matilda, eldest daughter of Rodolph. He had

espoused Mary, princess of Brabant, and on a vague suspicion of

infidelity had put her to death. Although he had received absolution

from Pope Alexander IV., on condition of founding a convent of

Chartreux, yet discontents still prevailing among the Bavarian nobles,

who were convinced of Mary’s innocence, rendered him apprehensive of the

interference of a future emperor. For this reason he received with joy

the proposal of Matilda in marriage; and agreed to support the

nomination of a prince, whose interests would be thus strongly connected

with his own. Two of the other secular Electors, Albert of Saxony and

Otho of Brandenburgh, were likewise gained by the hope of espousing

Agnes and Hedwig.

“The character and situation of the Count of Hapsburgh were admirably

suited for the emergency, and to the views of the Electors, who desired

an emperor, but dreaded a master. His great civil and military talents

rendered him a fit person to direct the reins of government, while from

the comparatively small extent of his possessions, he was not deemed

sufficiently powerful to wrest from the Electors those fiefs which they

had appropriated during the troubles of the empire, or to rule Germany

with the same despotic sway as the great chiefs of the Houses of

Franconia and Suabia.

“Werner having succeeded in obtaining six voices, artfully proposed that

the princes should abide by the nomination of Louis of Bavaria. He

either gained the consent of the Bohemian ambassadors to this

compromise, by insinuating that the choice would fall on Ottocar, or

prevailed on the other Electors to reject his vote, and to allow two

voices to the Bavarian princes. Louis accordingly nominated Rodolph of

Hapsburgh; the protests and remonstrances of the Bohemian ambassadors

were disregarded, and the election of Rodolph declared unanimous by the

concurrence of the seven Electors. The new King of the Romans was

inaugurated at Aix-la-Chapelle, with the ancient crown of Charlemagne;

and the ceremony was followed by the marriage of his two daughters,

Matilda and Agnes, with Louis of Bavaria and Albert Duke of Saxony,

which increased his weight and influence, and secured to him the

assistance of those powerful princes.

“His situation was full of difficulty and danger. He was threatened with

the vengeance of his disappointed rival Ottocar, and he was opposed by

the Anti-Cæsar, Alphonso of Castile; both of whom refused to acknowledge

his election, and sent ambassadors with large presents, to obtain the

countenance of the Pope. Fully sensible therefore of the perils with

which he was surrounded, Rodolph did not rely on the unanimity of his

election, nor on his coronation at Aix-la-Chapelle; but turned his first

and principal attention to secure the ratification of the reigning

pontiff. It was on this occasion he wrote the letter to Gregory X.

already quoted.

“The ambassadors of Rodolph were received with complacency by the Pope,

and obtained his sanction by agreeing in the name of their master to the

same conditions which Otho IV. and Frederic II. had sworn to observe,

_i. e._, by confirming all the donations of the emperors, his

predecessors, to the papal see; by promising to accept no office or

dignity in any of the papal territories, particularly in the city of

Rome, without the consent of the Pope; by agreeing not to disturb, nor

permit the house of Anjou to be disturbed in the possession of Naples

and Sicily, which they held as fiefs from the Roman see; and by engaging

to undertake in person a crusade against the infidels. In consequence of

these concessions, Gregory gave the new King of the Romans his most

cordial support, refused to listen to the overtures of Ottocar, and

after much difficulty finally succeeded in persuading Alphonso to

renounce his pretensions to the Imperial dignity.”

The foregoing extract is a commentary on the letter to the Pope first

quoted. We must now proceed to illustrate the career of Rodolph and his

successors, as _Emperors_, in order to show how the system of rapine

which had marked his private action, became the rule thereafter, in

spite of the prayers which he craved from the Pope, that the most High

_should lead him_ in the ways _of His commandments, to successfully

perform what is most acceptable to Him_!

And here we must draw a distinction. Rodolph contended in the spirit of

rapine with other kings animated by the same spirit, and his successors

do the same. We do not care to examine all these struggles of

selfishness with selfishness. What we wish to select from history, is

the contest of these rulers with the liberty and welfare of _the

nations_, the possession of which was the subject matter of dispute. It

is impossible by means of any history yet written, or indeed for any

thing short of the imagination of a humane heart, to conceive all the

sufferings and oppressions and injustice done to the people, whose

territories were the theatres of these struggles, whose laboriously

acquired property supported the combatants, and who themselves were

constrained to become combatants in battles where even victory brought

them no benefits. We shall especially dwell upon the direct invasion of

the Constitutions and natural rights of nations, and the most salient

calamities inflicted in these ever renewing wars of selfish ambition.

Rodolph’s first contest was with Ottocar, king of Bohemia, his old

friend, but who had been a rival for the imperial crown, and now refused

to accept Rodolph as Emperor.

Ottocar was then the most powerful prince of Europe. “For his dominions

extended from the confines of Bavaria to Raab in Hungary, and from the

Adriatic to the shores of the Baltic.” He had himself acquired Styria,

Austria, Carniola, and Carinthia. He had also the alliance of Henry of

Bavaria.

But Rodolph was not daunted by Ottocar’s power. He began upon Henry of

Bavaria, and forcing him to renounce his alliance with Ottocar, attached

him to himself by giving his daughter Hedwig to Otho, son of Henry,

promising a part of Upper Austria for her portion. He then conquered

Austria, while he employed Meinhard of Tyrol to conquer Styria and

Carinthia, and ended with himself laying siege to Vienna. The result of

all in the end was nothing less than that Ottocar renounced all his

claims to Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Windischmark, and

delivered up to the king of Hungary all the places he had formerly

wrested from him with Rodolph’s own assistance, doing homage to Rodolph,

kneeling, for Bohemia and Moravia, of which he obtained from him the

investiture.

Immediately after this Rodolph established his own family in the

Austrian dominions, by persuading the Archbishop of Saltzburgh and the

bishops of Passau, Freysinger, and Bamberg, to confer on his sons,

Albert, Hartman, and Rodolph, the ecclesiastical fiefs held by the duke

of Austria.

“In order to reward his retainers,” says Coxe, “_he was compelled to lay

considerable impositions on his new subjects_, and to obtain free gifts

from the bishops and clergy; and the discontents arising from this,

probably induced Ottocar to attempt the recovery of the territories

which he had lost. So desperate did Rodolph then find his affairs, and

so little had he gained of real power, or made his allies and new people

feel that their interests were identified with his success, that he

frequently exclaimed, says Coxe, “that there was not one in whom he

could confide, or on whose advice he could depend,” and, in the words of

a contemporary chronicle, “all his family ran to confessors, arranged

their affairs, forgave their enemies, and received the communion.”

In these desperate circumstances he roused himself to conciliate the

city of Vienna by declaring it an imperial city, and then, with the

assistance of the king of Hungary, at the battle of Marchfield, defeated

Ottocar, who was taken prisoner and killed in cold blood, (not, however,

by the hand or with the consent of Rodolph). A peace ensued, for Rodolph

was afraid to retain the Hungarian army in his dominions, and he could

not fight without it. He obtained Moravia for five years by the treaty

of peace; his son-in-law Otho became regent for the infant son of

Ottocar, while his son Rodolph married the Bohemian princess Agnes, and

his two daughters were affianced to the young king of Bohemia, and to

Otho the Less. After this, some time was spent in transferring the

Austrian territories to his family, in which operation he found many

difficulties; but at length he succeeded, and with the consent of the

States of Austria, declared that duchy and Styria an indivisible domain,

and vested its sole administration in his son Albert.

But even before the second war with Ottocar was over, we find Rodolph in

Italy. He had indeed yielded to the conditions made by Pope Gregory X.

not to interfere with the house of Anjou in Naples, or to claim any

authority over the papal territories; but in less than two years after

Gregory’s death, he attempted, the revival of the imperial authority in

Italy. The decided action of Nicholas III. who threatened him with

excommunication, induced him, however, to give up this enterprise; and

to reward his compliance, Nicholas induced Charles, King of Naples, to

resign the vicariate of Tuscany to Rodolph, receiving in exchange the

investiture of Provence and Tourcalquier _as fiefs of the_ EMPIRE, for

which acts of homage Rodolph, on the other hand, affianced his daughter

Clementia to Charles Martel of Naples. But, after all, Rodolph could not

revive the imperial authority in Tuscany, on account of the secret

action of Naples, and not being sure of success, he with great judgment

let the matter rest, “and indemnified himself,” says Coxe, “by drawing

considerable sums from Lucca and other cities, for the confirmation and

extension of their privileges;” thus making them pay for retaining their

own rights.

The rest of Rodolph’s life was taken up in what Coxe calls “establishing

the internal tranquillity of the empire,” for which he is much lauded:

for, in doing this, he put down the power of many oppressive barons. At

one time “he condemned to death nine and twenty nobles of the most

illustrious families in Thuringia, who had broken the public peace; and

he razed in one year seventy castles and strongholds, the habitation of

banditti, or of powerful nobles worse than banditti.” He was also

“zealous to wrest from the princes those fiefs which they had

appropriated during the troubles of the war.” Coxe gives an account of

these expeditions, and the circumstances of each particular case. We

extract one paragraph, which seems to indicate that, in all this action

for the “tranquillity of the empire,” Rodolph was animated by something

else than the pure motive of saving the people from the exactions of the

barons.

“With the view of extending his influence in Switzerland, Rodolph

endeavored to gain possession of Berne, which was built by the dukes of

Zæringen, but was afterwards declared an imperial city, and during the

interregnum had obtained the protection of the house of Savoy. Under the

pretext that the Bernese had assisted the house of Savoy, and oppressed

the Jews who were fiscals of the empire, he led, in 1288, an army of

30,000 men against the city. But this great man, who had humbled the

pride of Ottocar, and depressed the powerful house of Savoy and

Burgundy, was foiled by the firmness and spirit of this rising republic;

and after an ineffectual attempt to set fire to the town, he

relinquished his enterprise. Another expedition in the following year

under his son Albert, though made with the utmost secrecy and address,

was equally frustrated; and his aggrandisement was alone effectually

checked by a petty republic, on the borders of his own territories.”

The settling of the affairs of Bohemia, which had become intolerable

through the mal-administration of Otho, the regent whom Rodolph had

appointed, seems to have been for the advantage of Bohemia, or at least

of its king; who became distracted at that time (1290) by the contest

for the throne of Charles Martel with Ladislaus, proposed nothing better

for Hungary than his conferring the investiture of it, _as a fief of the

empire_, upon his son Albert! This, it is true, resulted in nothing, as

Albert was too much occupied in settling the dissensions in his own

dominions, to make good his claims (_if claims_ they could be called);

and Andrew III. maintained himself on the throne of his grandfather, to

which the Hungarians had called him.

It was in vain that Rodolph, when he saw his end approaching, assembled

the German Diet, to choose his son Albert Emperor. He died on the 15th

of July, 1291, with this purpose unfulfilled; having been himself

Emperor nineteen years. Coxe calls his reign glorious, and closes his

memoir of him with a description of his person, and anecdotes to

illustrate his chivalric character.

It may readily be conceded that Rodolph had the noble qualities and

manners possible to his position and circumstances. But we have given

his life to be judged by another standard than that usually applied to

measure princes; a standard, however, that _his own pretensions of

serving God and His Church_[1] make an equitable one. The House of

Hapsburgh can show nothing better than the life and actions of Rodolph,

its founder, on which to ground its pretensions of divine right. Does

mankind admit the _legitimacy_ of the claim? Does the God of humanity

admit it?

At the time of the death of Rodolph, Albert, his son, was engaged in

quelling an insurrection in Austria, which he had provoked, says Coxe,

“by his stern and unconciliating manners,” and by arbitrarily conferring

the principal offices of state, and the richest heiresses in the

country, upon his Suabian followers, rather than upon the magnates of

Austria and Styria. The details of the contest it is not worth while to

relate. The end was, that he besieged Vienna, and reduced the

inhabitants by famine “to propose a surrender, when he accepted their

submission.” We always quote the words of Coxe:—“_He commanded the

principal magistrates to repair bareheaded and barefooted to his camp

with their charters, tore them in pieces with his own hands, and

abrogated all those privileges which he deemed injurious to his

authority._” He then reduced the nobles to obedience by means of the

military succour he received from Alsace and Suabia. Immediately

afterwards he put down an insurrection in Styria, by similar means and

with similar success. Albert was, however, disappointed of the imperial

crown. “His splendid talents, powerful connections, and affinity to four

of the electors, seemed to insure the possession of it; but his

arrogance and rapacity, his unconciliating manners and despotic temper,

had alienated some of the electors, while his power excited the jealousy

and alarmed the apprehension of all.”

On the election of Adolphus of Nassau he was however prudent. The

disappointment disciplined his pride to his advantage, and it was by

means of the wisdom with which he then acted for his own future

interests rather than from his present angry passions that he was

enabled to take advantage of the faults and mistakes of Adolphus, and

form a confederacy of the Electors against him, by which that Emperor

was finally ruined. On the death of Adolphus, Albert was elected. In the

meanwhile he had subdued the first confederacy formed against him by the

Helvetian Republics. The details of this war is a tissue of violence and

cruelty,[2] which was only interrupted by the general amnesty proclaimed

by Adolphus, and which Albert was too prudent to openly defy, surrounded

as he then was by enemies within and without, who would easily have been

encouraged to combine against him.

The history of Albert next details the beginning of an intrigue made

against Pope Boniface VIII., who had not confirmed his election to the

Empire. This was an alliance with Philip the Handsome, of France, with

whom Boniface was at variance. On his return from the journey Albert

made to France, at this time, 1299, to negotiate this alliance, and

confirm it by affiancing his son Rodolph to Philip’s sister Blanche, he

was induced, by the death of the Count of Holland, to turn aside and

lead an army against the Low Countries, to make good a claim which he

laid to the counties of Holland, Zealand, and Friesland, that really

belonged to John de Avesdes. But the inveterate enmity of the Pope, and

the rising discontents of the Electors of the Rhine, called him to save

his authority in the Empire. He therefore, being defeated by John de

Avesdes, concluded an accommodation, and invested him with the

territories in dispute.

The promptness and energy with which he reduced the Electors of the

Rhine opened the way to a reconciliation with the Pope, who had asserted

that there was no other sovereign or King of the Romans but the

sovereign pontiff of Christendom. It is true Boniface at first not only

refused to confirm Albert’s authority, but inveighed against him as the

murderer of Adolphus, and released the electors, vassals, and subjects

of the Empire from their oath of allegiance; yet finding himself foiled

in his attempt to shake the authority of the King of France, he changed

his policy, to detach Albert from Philip, by making overtures that

Albert was glad to meet. In short his Boniface removed, by a sovereign

act, all the irregularities of election, and declared him a faithful son

of the Church; while Albert acknowledged on his side that the right of

the electors to choose an emperor was derived from the See of Rome; and

bound himself, by oath, to defend the supremacy of the Church against

all the world; to oppose its enemies, whether kings or emperors; to

renounce the alliances which he had contracted with powers inimical to

the Holy See, and to declare war against them at the orders of Boniface

or his successors. Boniface even excommunicated the King of France, and

gave his crown to Albert! We do not know to what lengths the Pope would

have induced the emperor to go against Philip, to make good this gift,

but the latter prevented any movement by seizing Boniface violently, and

treating him so harshly that he died.

Albert was now obliged to turn his attention to matters nearer home than

the crown of France. There had long been causes of misunderstanding with

Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia, who in 1300 was elected King of Poland,

where he had previous claims on the duchies of Cracow and Sandomir by

the gift of Griffina, widow of the late duke Lesko. As his first wife,

Albert’s sister, was dead, he married the daughter of Premislaus II. of

Poland, who had died in 1296. Hardly had he obtained this new throne

than his son Wenceslaus was chosen King of Hungary, over Charobert, who

had been invested with that kingdom by Pope Boniface VIII. as a fief of

the Roman see; an interference strongly resented by the Hungarians.

Boniface had thundered a bull of excommunication against the Hungarians

on this occasion; but it being despised, and his legate expelled, he

called on Albert to support Charobert’s cause, who was also his own

nephew. Albert eagerly listened to these overtures, and laid Wenceslaus

under the ban of the empire, seconding the act by arms. The death of

Wenceslaus II. and the accession of his inexperienced and feeble son,

enabled Albert to arrange this affair in his own way; and in a few

years, the death of Wenceslaus III. without issue, awakened in him new

aspirations for power, and he prepared to transfer the crown of Bohemia

into his own family.

“Like many other kingdoms of Europe, at that period, Bohemia was

considered as an elective monarchy, though the crown was always

continued in the same line, and the eldest son was chosen or confirmed

during the lifetime of the father. Wenceslaus being the last male of the

ancient dynasty, the throne was open to different pretenders. Henry of

Carinthia became a candidate in virtue of his marriage with Anne, eldest

sister of the deceased monarch; but Albert claimed the disposal of the

crown, both as a fief of the empire, and in virtue of the compact

between Rodolph and Wenceslaus II., which entailed Bohemia on the

Austrian family, in default of issue male. He accordingly proposed his

eldest son Rodolph, who strengthened his claims by promising to espouse

Elizabeth[3], widow of Wenceslaus II., and was supported by a powerful

party of the nobles.

“The States assembled at Prague, and the votes were divided between

Henry of Carinthia, and Rodolph of Austria. The sisters of the late king

came barefooted into the assembly, and supplicated with tears for Henry

of Carinthia; but their entreaties were disregarded, and Rodolph was

chosen on the 1st of April, 1306. Accompanied by his father, and at the

head of a considerable force, he entered Prague in triumph, and

fulfilled his promise of marrying the widowed queen. At the same time

Albert obtained the formal renewal of the compact, which seemed to

insure the succession of his own family.

“A mild and moderate system of conduct would have conciliated the

natives, and fulfilled the accomplishment of his wishes, but such a

conduct was not consonant to the character of Albert. By his influence

Rodolph, though naturally mild and amiable, imposed heavy taxes on his

subjects, disregarded their prejudices and customs, stripped the

churches of their costly ornaments, and prosecuted the bishop of Prague,

who remonstrated against this sacrilege. A large party of nobles broke

into open revolt, the spirit of discontent spread with rapidity, and the

whole nation seemed eager to take up arms against the Austrian

despotism. To quell these commotions, Rodolph collected an army; but

while he was besieging the fortress of Horazdovitz, he was hurried to

the grave by a dysentery, in July, 1307, at the age of twenty-two, and

before he had completed the first year of a precarious and disputed

sovereignty.

“On this event, Frederic, the second son of Albert, was proposed to the

states, who met in the episcopal palace of Prague. When Tobias of

Bechnia, a nobleman of high rank, named Frederic of Austria, the

assembly exclaimed, “We will have no Austrian king!” Bechnia tauntingly

observing, “You will perhaps again choose a peasant from the village of

Staditz, and marry him to the widowed queen,” a tumult arose; the most

violent drew their sabres; Bechnia, with two others of the Austrian

party were massacred, and Henry of Carinthia raised to the throne by

unanimous acclamation.

“The haughty spirit of Albert, affected with the loss of Bohemia, was

still more deeply wounded by the contemptuous rejection of his son. He

accordingly asserted his claims in arms, and accompanied by Frederic,

whom he declared King of Bohemia, led a powerful body of troops from

Germany into the kingdom, and laid siege to Kuttenberg and Colin. But

the approach of winter, the desultory attacks of the Bohemian forces,

the obstinate resistance of the garrisons, and the severity of the

season, at length compelled him to retire. He did not, however

relinquish his object, but placing garrisons in Königsgratz, and other

fortified towns, which had been yielded to him by Elizabeth, drew his

troops into Austria, and determined to return in spring with a still

more powerful army.

“Albert had availed himself of the short interval during which his son

held quiet possession of Bohemia, to support the pretensions of his

nephew Charles of Naples, in opposition to Otho of Bavaria, who was

lineally descended from Bela IV., and had been raised to the throne of

Hungary by the anti-papal party in 1306. He entered Hungary with a

considerable army, but did little more than devastate the country, till

he was called to defend his own territories against an irruption of the

Hungarians.

“He likewise engaged in a war for the possession of Misnia and

Thuringia, which he endeavoured to appropriate as fiefs of the empire.

“But at this juncture the insurrection of the Swiss called his attention

to another quarter.

“Helvetia, or, as it is now called, Switzerland, at this period was

divided into small sovereignties and baronial fiefs, the imperial cities

of Zurich, Berne, Basle, and Schaffhausen, the demesnes of the church,

and the small states or cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Underwalden, which,

though dependent on the empire, enjoyed a democratic form of government.

Among the sovereigns, the most conspicuous were the counts of Savoy, and

the house of Hapsburgh, which had considerably increased in power and

territory by the elevation of Rodolph and Albert, who, as chiefs of the

empire, possessed the right of appointing bailiffs in the imperial

cities and districts, for the purpose of administering the criminal

jurisdiction.

“At the suggestion of Albert, Rodolph seems to have formed the design of

acquiring the sovereignty of the ecclesiastical and baronial

territories, and having thus encompassed the free cities and democratic

states, either to obtain their voluntary submission, or compel the

refractory to acknowledge his authority. In consequence of this design,

Rodolph made considerable purchases, particularly of Friburgh from the

house of Kyburg, and of the town of Lucern from the abbey of Murbach,

with the seignorial rights in several villages of the district of

Schwyz. These acquisitions excited jealousies and discontent among the

natives of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, and gave birth to an

association by which they bound themselves not to submit to foreign

jurisdiction. The temperate spirit of Rodolph yielded to the opposition

of a people so jealous of their liberties, and from whom he had received

such essential services; he accordingly quieted their apprehensions by a

solemn confirmation of their privileges, as head of the empire, and this

act was confirmed by Adolphus.

“Soon after the death of Rodolph, Albert manifested his intention of

appropriating or subjugating the free districts of Helvetia. The natives

of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, justly apprehensive of his rapacious

character and powerful resources, held a general assembly to renew their

confederacy, and assert their independence. They also espoused the cause

of Adolphus, and assisted him with a small but chosen body of their

bravest troops. On the death of Adolphus, and the election of Albert, a

general panic spread through all the people of the Alps; and their

alarms were increased by the declaration of Albert to their deputies,

who requested him, as chief of the empire, to confirm their privileges,

that he intended to propose an alteration in their government.

“Before, however, he attempted to subjugate these brave and spirited

people, he increased his influence and acquisitions in Switzerland. He

pacified the citizens of Zurich by confirming their privileges, obtained

the advocacies of the abbeys of St. Gallen and Einsidlin, demolished the

castles of the petty lords in the district of Glarus, who had adhered to

Adolphus, and by purchase and intrigue, acquired the supreme authority

in various parts, from the lake of Thun, to the heart of the country

inhabited by the Grisons. Having thus nearly surrounded the Swiss by his

extensive domains, he summoned them to submit to his authority. His

haughty spirit was little affected by the simple answer of these free

mountaineers: “We are partial to the condition of our forefathers, and

only desire the confirmation of our privileges.” He disdained to listen

to their remonstrances, and placed over them governors, whose tyrannical

and capricious administration at length roused the natives to assert

their injured rights.

“Under the auspices of three patriots, Fürst, Melchthal, and

Stauffacher, the plan of a general insurrection was secretly formed, and

the revolution, which gave liberty to Switzerland burst forth in Uri,

Schwyz, and Underwalden, on the 13th of January, 1308. The governors

were expelled, their castles seized, and the whole people rose, as with

one accord, to defy the power of the house of Austria, and of the head

of the empire.

“Albert, confident of his superior force, rejoiced at this insurrection

as affording a pretext for subjugating the natives of a territory which

he had long coveted, postponed the intended invasion of Bohemia and

Thuringia, and was preparing to lead an army into Switzerland, when his

life and reign were closed by the hand of violence.”

The Austrian princes, Frederic and Leopold, were unquestionably

disappointed at the election of Henry of Luxembourg to the imperial

throne, instead of one of themselves; but, after some intrigues, they

concluded to accept quietly from him the investiture of their hereditary

dominions, and Leopold faithfully served the Emperor in Italy and

elsewhere. At his death there was a contested election, and both

Frederic of Austria and Louis of Bavaria were chosen. In the wars that

ensued between these rivals, Switzerland was again invaded by Leopold,

who commenced hostilities against the three Swiss cantons, who had

espoused the Bavarian party.

“Leopold seized the pretext of a dispute between the convent of

Einsidlin, of which he was advocate, and the natives of Schwyz, who had

surrounded the abbey, and seized four of the canons and the

schoolmaster, in revenge for an insult on some Swiss pilgrims. He

considered the reduction of this country as an easy task, and vain of

his military skill and superior force, boasted that he would trample the

audacious rustics under his feet. He assembled 20,000 men, and hastened

to put his threat in execution; 4,000 on the side of Oberhasli were to

pass by Mount Brunig into Underwalden; a body of 1000 from Lucern was to

make a diversion by Stantz, and he himself intended to march from Zug

with 15,000, and penetrate to Schwyz.

“The northern inlets of the country being fortified with strong

entrenchments and towers, only two passages led towards Schwyz. The

first was the pass of Art, along the foot of the crags which border the

lake of Zug, impracticable for armed cavalry; the other led through the

straits of Morgarten, about three miles in length, between the lake

Egeri and the heights rising above the village of Morgarten, from which

it derives its name.

“The Swiss, hardy and brave from their modes of life and forms of

government, disdained to submit to a foreign power, and beheld the

gathering of the storm without dismay, though with the interest due to

the importance of the cause in which they were engaged. Fourteen hundred

men, the flower of their youth, grasped their arms and assembled at the

town of Schwyz. A solemn fast being proclaimed, they passed the day in

religious exercises and chanting hymns and kneeling down in the open

air, petitioned “the God of heaven and earth to listen to their lowly

prayers, and humble the pride and arrogance of their enemies.” By the

advice of an experienced veteran they took post on the heights of

Morgarten, and with the same spirit which had animated the Greeks at the

strait of Thermopylæ, waited the approach of the enemy. Fifty outlaws

also, who had been expelled from Schwyz, petitioned the magistrates that

they might share the danger of the day with their countrymen; and,

though rejected, occupied an eminence commanding the entrance of the

pass.

“At the dawn of the morning (November 16.) the Austrians were seen

advancing in all the pomp of war, and flushed with the hope of certain

conquest. The cavalry, on whom the warriors of that day placed their

principal reliance, armed from head to foot, led the way, and were

followed by the infantry in a compact body. When they began to fill the

strait, and stretch along the borders of the lake, the fifty exiles

raised a sudden shout, and hurled among them huge blocks of timber,

heaps of stones, and fragments of rock. This unexpected assault threw

the column into confusion; and the confederates perceiving the

impression, rushed down from the heights, and charged the enemy in close

array with their clubs, halberts, and pikes. Cramped by the narrowness

of the defile, the Austrians were unable to make any evolution, and

their embarrassment was increased by the effects of a hoar frost. Many

of the horse leaped into the lake, and the remainder recoiled on their

infantry, who, unaware of the attack, and unable to open their files,

were run over, dispersed, or trampled to death; numbers were driven into

the lake, crushed by their companions, or fell by the hands of an

enraged enemy. Not less than fifteen hundred, most of whom were nobles

or knights, were slain in the rout, and Leopold himself with difficulty

escaped under the guidance of a peasant to Winterthur, where he arrived

in the evening, gloomy, exhausted, and dismayed.

“At the close of evening the Unterwalders, apprised of the advance of

the body from Lucern, embarked with a hundred Swiss on the lake, and

landing at Buchs, attacked and dispersed the enemy. Notwithstanding the

exertions of this arduous day, the victorious troops, joined by a few of

their countrymen, hastened to Alpnach, where the four thousand had taken

a strong position. The Austrians, beholding the victorious banners of

the Swiss, and hearing the shouts of exultation, were panic struck, and

began to retreat; but were attacked by the confederates, and,

notwithstanding the exertions of their commander, driven back in

disorder over the mountains towards Lucern.

“The three cantons in a public assembly declared the anniversary of this

day, ‘in which the God of Hosts had visited his people, and given them

the victory over their enemies,’ a solemn festival, and ordered the

names and heroic deeds of those champions, who had fallen in defence of

their country, to be annually recited to the people. They also rendered

perpetual their ancient league, which had hitherto been renewed every

tenth year, and obtained a confirmation of their confederacy from the

head of the empire.”

We omit the rest of the history of these two brothers, on account of

their too great complication with the interests of other princes,

including the Pope, who pursued their objects with the same recklessness

of the welfare of the countries which were the theatre of the disputes,

that is the ever continued course of the House of Austria, and with no

shadow of a better purpose than family aggrandisement, ever manifested

by every one of them, whether in peace or war.

They both died before 1330, leaving their younger brothers, Albert II.

and Otho, heads of the family, who immediately concluded peace with the

Emperor Louis. Hardly was this effected before we find the brothers

engaged in war for the succession of Carinthia and the Tyrol. Being

invested with both by Louis, they took forcible possession of Carinthia,

but were obliged to renounce the Tyrol, so effectually were they opposed

by its nobles and magistrates.

“While Albert was thus on the whole extending his possessions, and

consolidating his power on the side of Austria his paternal domains and

influence in Switzerland were curtailed by the three petty republics of

the Alps, who had already resisted the efforts and humbled the pride of

his house.

“At the commencement of their administration, Albert, in conjunction

with his brother Otho, had made considerable acquisitions in the

neighborhood of the Rhine; they had obtained possession of Schaffhausen,

Rheinfelden, and Brisach; and had purchased from the House of

Lauffenburgh the feudal rights over the town and country of

Rapperschwyl. By these acquisitions, and by the extent of their paternal

inheritance, the Austrian princes almost surrounded and isolated the

three republics: they possessed nearly the whole of that part of the

canton of Berne which is now called the Argau; they were masters of the

Thurgau; they held the sovereignty of Zug and Lucern, including the

Entlibuch, and the towns of Sempach and Reichensee; and, as advocates of

the abbeys of Einsidlin and Seckingen, their authority was paramount in

the district to the south of the lake of Zurich, and over the town and

canton of Glarus.

“By the death of Otho, and of his two sons, who deceased in 1344, the

whole possessions and power of the House of Austria devolved on Albert.

But he was at first too much embarrassed in contests on the side of

Austria and the empire to give the necessary attention to the affairs of

Helvetia, where a concurrence of events had begun to diminish the

authority of his family.

“Since the battle of Morgarten, the power and influence of the Swiss had

increased with their success; and the spirit of that liberty which they

had so courageously defended was diffused over the neighboring Alps, and

among the towns and districts on the borders of Germany. The surrounding

people were eager to obtain an exemption from feudal despotism; and

panted for an equal participation of those rights which had raised the

three democratic cantons to such reputation and prosperity. Lucern set

the first example. In consequence of the unceasing disputes and contests

between the Austrian feudatories and the confederated republics, Lucern

was exposed to perpetual inroads; her commerce to Italy was interrupted,

her fairs deserted, and her citizens, continually under arms, were

unable to protect their territories from depredations, or their walls

from insult. In these depressing circumstances the flower of her youth

was summoned to the field under the Austrian standard, her citizens

loaded with excessive contributions, and, the authority of the Austrian

princes being supported by the nobles, the town was agitated with

discordant factions. At length the majority of the burghers obtained

from the emperor Louis the protection of the empire, and with his

approbation concluded an armistice of twenty years with the Swiss

cantons. The nobles applied to the baron of Ramschlag, the Austrian

castellan of Rotenburgh, who advanced with a body of 300 horse to

surprise the town; but this project being defeated by the vigilance and

firmness of the burghers, many of the Austrian partisans retired, and

the remaining inhabitants entered into an alliance with the Swiss

cantons. In forming this alliance, however, both parties observed the

most rigid dictates of justice, and confirmed all the rights and

prerogatives of the House of Austria. Albert and Otho, failing in their

attempts to recover Lucern by intrigue or arms, took advantage of their

reconciliation with Louis, and solicited him to dissolve the alliance of

Lucern with the Swiss cantons. The cause was accordingly submitted to

arbitrators, selected from Zurich, Berne, and Basle: but the confederacy

was confirmed, and a truce for thirty months concluded between the dukes

of Austria and Lucern, which was renewed at different intervals.

“The four cantons, which, from this period, are called the four Forest

Cantons, took an active share in the subsequent transactions, and, after

vindicating their own independence, assisted in extending and

maintaining the liberty of the neighboring towns and districts, who

sought their alliance and protection.

“Zurich next became a member of the Helvetic confederacy. The House of

Austria had more than once endeavoured in vain to annex Zurich to their

other territories; and in the peace of Hagenau, it was one of the four

imperial towns mortgaged by the emperor to Albert and Otho. But the

inhabitants claiming the privilege granted to them by Adolphus, of never

being separated from the empire, Louis yielded to their remonstrances,

and instead of Zurich ceded Brisach, a town of the Brisgau. The Austrian

princes, however, did not relinquish their purpose, and gained a

considerable party of the nobles, who had gradually acquired the

principal share in the administration of affairs. But their views were

thwarted by a revolution which annihilated the influence of the nobles,

and established a popular form of government; and Rodolph Brun, by whose

influence and intrigues this revolution was effected, under the title of

perpetual burgomaster, secured the chief authority. The nobles who

opposed the change were driven into exile, their estates confiscated,

and the severest measures were adopted to prevent the restoration of the

ancient government. The tyrannical proceedings of Brun having excited

great discontents, the exiles united with John of Hapsburgh, lord of

Rapperschwyl, who had afforded them an asylum, to recover their lost

ascendancy. In 1351 they succeeded in introducing a considerable body of

men into the town; but at midnight, when the explosion was about to take

place, the plot was accidentally discovered. The conspirators were put

to death, or dispersed; and John of Hapsburgh, with Ulrich of

Bonstetten, the two leaders, made prisoners. Many of their adherents

among the burghers were afterwards executed; and the authority of Brun

was more firmly established than ever. He led a party against

Rapperschwyl, made himself master of the town, expelled the inhabitants,

levelled every house to the ground, and demolished the walls of the

castle; but, aware that these proceedings would expose him to the

vengeance of Albert, he saw no other resource than the protection of the

Swiss cantons, and succeeded in procuring the admission of Zurich into

the Helvetic confederacy, which took place on the 7th of May, 1351.

“Albert, at length relieved from his embarassments in Germany, hastened

to recover his declining authority. He assembled at Bruck all his

governors, barons, and magistrates, from the Thurgau, Argau, Alsace, the

Black Forest, and Suabia, and roused their indignation by expatiating on

the flagitious conduct of Zurich. He then summoned the deputies of

Zurich, who came to congratulate him on his arrival, into his presence,

and, after rebuking them with severity, dismissed them with an order

that the towns of old and new Rapperschwyl should be rebuilt, the

marshes restored, and his people indemnified for their losses. On the

refusal of the burghers to comply with these conditions, he invested the

town with 16,000 men.

“On the first appearance of danger, the people of Zurich applied to the

Forest Cantons, and a body of Swiss prepared to march, without delay, to

the assistance of their new ally. The burghers, however, panic struck

with the force and menaces of the Austrians, requested an arbitration to

arrange the dispute, and yielded sixteen hostages as pledges for the

fulfilment of the award. The arbitrators chose Agnes, queen of Bohemia,

the sister of Albert, as final umpire, who decided in favour of her

brother. A treaty was accordingly concluded; but a dispute arising in

regard to the release of John of Hapsburgh, and the Swiss disapproving

the conditions, both parties had again recourse to arms.

“Among his allies, Albert summoned the people of Glarus to his standard;

but these husbandmen, who were animated with the same spirit as their

Alpine neighbours, refused to obey the summons; and when he despatched a

body of troops, as well to awe them into compliance as to annoy the

Forest Cantons, the Swiss, bursting in the depth of winter into the

valley, were joyfully received by the inhabitants, and expelled the

governor. The people, grateful for this deliverance, entered into a

treaty of alliance with the Forest Cantons, and 200 of their bravest

youth marched to the defence of Zurich. At the commencement of the

ensuing year they repulsed and defeated with great slaughter an Austrian

force in the field of Rutly, and soon after this event Glarus was

formally admitted into the Helvetic confederacy. In a similar manner the

Swiss expelled the Austrians from Zug, and the natives of that town and

district were received into the confederacy; the two cantons however did

not yet throw off their feudal subjection to the house of Austria, but

reserved, in their full latitude, all the rights and revenues of the

duke.

“During these transactions, four thousand Austrian troops had been

defeated by fifteen hundred burghers of Zurich, at Tatwyl, and a corps

of a thousand by forty-two Swiss at Kussnacht. Albert, unwilling to

continue this predatory warfare, in which all the advantage lay on the

side of the active and light-armed peasants of the Alps, and which

dispirited his own troops while it increased the courage and skill of

the enemy, collected from all quarters an army sufficient, as he

imagined, to humble the confederates by a single effort. He drew out the

whole force of his own hereditary dominions, and persuaded the nobles of

Burgundy, Suabia, and Helvetia that their interests were equally

concerned in punishing refractory subjects, and checking the progress of

the Helvetic union; he likewise succeeded in obtaining the support of

the elector of Brandenburgh, and many other princes of the empire; and

was assisted even by the republic of Berne, and its allies of Oberland,

Hasli, and the Pays de Vaud. Having in 1352 assembled 30,000 foot, and

4000 horse he intrusted the command to an experienced warrior, Everhard,

count of Wirtemberg, who laid siege to Zurich. Albert himself was

indefatigable in forwarding the siege, and either on a litter, or on

horseback, assiduously visited and encouraged the different posts; but

the invincible spirit of the burghers, assisted by a corps of the

confederates, baffled all his efforts. In consequence of an alarming

scarcity of provisions, his auxiliaries successively retired, and Albert

at length gladly accepted an accommodation, which was concluded by the

intervention of the elector of Brandenburgh, with the plenipotentiaries

of the confederates assembled at Lucern. All prisoners, conquests, and

hostages were to be restored on both sides; the prerogatives and

revenues of the duke in Lucern, Schwyz, and Underwalden were to be

preserved; Zug and Glarus agreed to render him due allegiance; and the

duke in return promised to be their friend. The confederates were to

conclude no alliance with an Austrian town or country; Zurich and Lucern

were to admit no Austrian subject into their burghership; John of

Hapsburgh was to be released; and all former alliances, immunities, and

established regulations to remain inviolate.

“The signal proofs of spirit, valor, and perseverance, displayed by the

confederates in this arduous and apparently unequal contest, increased

their former reputation; and before the close of 1352, their union was

strengthened by the accession of Berne, the most powerful republic in

Helvetia, which, by purchase or arms, had enlarged her frontiers, and

acquired a considerable domain; but was still more formidable from the

military skill and prowess of her warlike citizens.

“The treaty which Albert, from his necessities rather than from

inclination, had concluded with the confederate cantons, was a

suspension of arms instead of a solid peace; for disputes soon arose

relative to the interpretation of the articles. Albert insisted that the

engagements of Glarus and Zug to pay him due allegiance dissolved their

alliance with the Swiss cantons; and the Swiss urged that the article in

which the maintenance of all former alliances was stipulated

comprehended the Helvetic union. Albert had recourse to the mediation of

the emperor, who was anxious to compose the troubles of the empire, that

he might receive the crown from the hands of the Pope at Rome. Charles

repaired to Zurich, and endeavoured to effect an accommodation; but as

he displayed an evident partiality in favour of Albert, the Swiss

cantons declared their resolution to reject any award before their

confederacy was acknowledged; and at the same time they tendered a

compensation for the ducal prerogatives, which was to be fixed by the

emperor. Charles, irritated by this mark of disrespect, declared the

Helvetic union null and void, and all confederacies illegal, which were

formed without the consent of the head of the empire.

“In consequence of the unshaken resolution displayed by the Swiss, an

Austrian force passed the Glatt, and fortified Rapperschwyl, which

Albert had purchased from the house of Lauffenburgh; and from that

central post annoyed both the Swiss and the town of Zurich. Soon

afterwards Charles himself summoned the contingents of the empire, and,

accompanied by all his princes, spiritual and temporal, joined the army

of Albert, which was encamped before Zurich. But the hopes of Albert

were again frustrated; the garrison, though amounting to only four

thousand men, were all animated by the same undaunted spirit; while the

heterogeneous and unwieldy mass of the besieging army was agitated with

disputes and jealousies. The imperial cities were unwilling to assist in

reducing another city of the empire; the princes and states were jealous

of the increasing power of Austria, and averse to enforce the maxims

promulgated by Charles, that all confederacies were illegal which were

concluded without the consent of their chief; Charles himself also was

disinclined to support so unpopular a cause, and to waste his time in

aggrandising a family, of which he dreaded the ascendancy. A frivolous

dispute about precedence in the assault afforded a pretext for retiring;

the besiegers struck their tents, and withdrew in such haste and

disorder that, according to the expressions of an ancient chronicle,

none knew who went first, or who last, and Albert was left to prosecute

the war with his own forces.

“Albert, thus deserted, changed his plan of operations, devastated the

country in the neighbourhood of Zurich, and let loose a lawless band of

Hungarian auxiliaries, who, like the Croats and Pandours of modern

times, committed the most horrible excesses, and spared neither friend

nor foe. At length his own subjects, and the neighbouring barons,

harassed and exhausted with perpetual depredations, unanimously

clamoured for peace, and testified a resolution to terminate

hostilities, even without his consent. Albert was reduced to make

overtures of accommodation, and admitted, at the diet of Ratisbon, that

the reservation of the Swiss league should be a preliminary of the

future award, which was left to the decision of the emperor. He

endeavoured, however, to gain by artifice what he could not effect by

force. At his instigation the emperor drew up articles of accommodation,

containing an ambiguous clause, which virtually annulled the alliance,

and would have ultimately again subjected Zug and Glarus to the

domination of the house of Austria. With this view the Austrian

commissaries, instead of presenting the instrument to a general assembly

of the confederates, endeavoured to divide them, and to extort their

separate concurrence. Brun, bribed by Albert, exerted his powerful

influence; and Zurich, which had been the principal cause of the war,

not only ratified the imperial award, but entered into a defensive

alliance with Austria, to enforce the execution even against the

confederates.

“The people of Schwyz, however, refused to ratify the obnoxious clause,

and resisted with firmness and indignation the urgent representations of

Albert, and the mandates of the emperor. Nor did their firmness forsake

them on the arrival of an Austrian commissary to demand the homage of

Zug and Glarus, although Zurich remained neuter, and even Lucern, Uri,

and Underwalden seemed inclined to shrink from the contest. A body of

troops marched from Schwyz under the banner of their forefathers, which

had triumphed at Morgarten, entered the two cantons, drove out the

Austrian commissary, and renewed the reciprocal engagements of perpetual

amity and mutual defence.

“At length Albert, worn out with age, afflicted by the increase of his

paralytic disorder, which was aggravated by arthritic complaints, and

the disappointment of his hopes, returned in disgust to Vienna, where he

fell into such a state of despondency, that the very name of a Swiss was

never mentioned in his presence. His son Rodolph, who was intrusted with

the administration of the Suabian territories, agreed to an armistice of

eleven years, which was mediated by the baron of Thorberg, the Austrian

commissary in Helvetia, and thus terminated a ruinous and fruitless

contest.

“This event was soon followed by the decease of Albert, who died on the

16th of August, 1358, after a reign of twenty-eight years.”

The successor of Albert II. was his son Rodolph IV., who had a fancy for

antiquities; a fancy made important by his undertaking to assume all the

titles which had ever pertained to his family, among the rest that of

the Archduke Palatine; but the most important acquisition that marked

his own reign was that of the Tyrol, ceded by Margaret Maultasch, whom

he had laid under obligation to himself, by procuring from the Pope the

legitimation of her son Meinhard. He also obtained various advantages in

a contest with the patriarch of Aquilea; but, in the midst of his

attempts to aggrandise his family, he died untimely, aged 26, in 1365.

As his brother Frederic had died immediately before this time, the

administration of the family interests fell upon a younger brother,

Albert III., who was only seventeen years of age. He also had a brother

Leopold, two years younger than himself, and it was his ambition that

divided the hitherto united territories of the family. With the sanction

of the Emperor, Leopold II. took possession of all the provinces except

Austria, and he then proceeded to add to his possessions from the world

without. He succeeded in getting Trieste by taking part with Francis of

Carrara against the Venetians, but he was disappointed of his hopes of

procuring the crown of Poland for his son William, and he sunk into a

depression of spirits which incapacitated him for bodily or mental

exertion. “He neglected the administration of affairs, and his bailiffs

and feudal chiefs, who were freed from his control, were guilty of great

tyranny and excessive exactions. Symptoms of discontent soon broke out

in Suabia, of which Leopold was imperial bailiff; above forty of the

towns renewed the confederacy which they had formerly established

against the oppressions of the princes and nobles, and were joined by

Strasburgh, Mentz, and the principal cities on the Rhine. To strengthen

their league, and to secure allies in the heart of the Austrian

possessions, they sought the accession of the Helvetic confederates,

whom they considered as the enemies of the House of Austria, from

prejudice, interest, and situation.

“Many causes of misunderstanding had contributed to aggravate the

natural jealousy between the House of Austria and the Helvetic states.

Leopold had evinced an inclination to recover the authority of his

ancestors, and had recently shackled the commerce of the Forest Cantons

and Zurich, by the imposition of additional tolls at Rapperschwyl and

Rotemberg; he had likewise taken part in a contest between Berne and a

collateral branch of the family of Hapsburgh. The interference of

Leopold in this instance disgusted the confederates, and Berne, Zurich,

and Zug, with the town of Soleure, joined the union of the Suabian

cities, and warmly solicited the accession of the other cantons.

“Alarmed with this formidable league, Leopold roused himself from his

lethargy, and repaired to Zurich, pacified the people of Schwyz, by

abolishing the tolls imposed at Rapperschwyl, and by their means gained

the three other Forest Cantons; he also conciliated the burghers of

Zurich, and detached them from the confederacy. He then appeased the

discontents in Suabia, by repressing the exactions of the bailiffs, and

by threats and promises dissolved the league of the cities on the Rhine.

During these events he had smoothed and _amused the Swiss by offers of

perpetual peace, and splendid promises_, but having pacified the

imperial cities, he became less compliant, and his governors and

bailiffs renewed their oppressions. The inveterate aversion which the

Swiss people had fostered against the Austrian family again revived, and

a trifling dispute soon occasioned an open rupture. Leopold had pledged

the castle and town of Wolhausen, with the Entlibuch, to Peter of

Thorberg, and Rotemberg to Herman of Graunberg. These lords oppressing

the inhabitants, the latter, instead of appealing to the duke their

sovereign, sent their deputies to seek the protection of Lucern, and

were admitted into the co-burghership. The citizens of Lucern, also, who

were aggrieved by imposition of heavy tolls at Rotemberg, seized this

opportunity to attack and raze the castle and the walls of the town;

and, instead of giving satisfaction for the outrage, admitted into their

burghership the Entlibuch, with the Austrian towns of Sempach and

Richensee.

“Leopold, irritated by the defection of his subjects and the loss of his

territories, was still further exasperated by the clamors of the

neighboring princes and nobles, who, being _alarmed lest their vassals

should follow the example of those of Austria_, offered to assist in

crushing so dangerous a confederacy. Both parties prepared for

hostilities; and although Berne declined engaging in the contest, and

the Suabian cities refused their assistance, Zurich, Zug, and the three

Forest Cantons, armed in defence of Lucern. A desultory but sanguinary

warfare took place; the confederates anticipated their enemies by razing

the castles of Wolhausen, Meyenburgh, and Caffenberg, and placed

garrisons in Sempach and Richensee; and, on the other side, the

Austrians having recovered Richensee, sated their vengeance by

demolishing the town, and putting the inhabitants to the sword, without

distinction of sex or age.

“The crisis now rapidly approached, and twenty successive messengers

arrived in one day, with the declarations of war from different lords

against the confederates. Leopold soon collected a considerable army at

Baden, and detached John de Bonstetten with a corps to Bruck, as if he

meditated an attack on Zurich; but his views were in reality directed to

penetrate by Sempach and Rotemberg, and make himself master of Lucern.

The Forest Cantons, deceived by his dispositions, at first despatched

1,400 men for the defence of Zurich; but, being apprised of his plan,

they prevailed on the burghers to undertake their own defence; and the

greater part of the auxiliaries crossing the Reuss, directed their march

towards Sempach. In their progress they were joined by bodies from

Glarus, the Entlibuch, and the villages through which they passed, and

on the 9th of July, 1396, arriving at Sempach, took post in the woods

which skirt the lake and crown the neighboring eminences, with a force

of only 1,300 men.

“On the evening of the preceding day, Leopold had occupied Sursee, and

early in the morning advanced with a corps of 4000 horse and 1,400 foot,

with the hope of surprising Sempach. Confident of success, his troops

rode up to the walls, and insulted the citizens with taunts and threats.

One held up a halter, exclaiming, ‘This is for your Avoyer!’ and others,

alluding to the stragglers who were lying waste the fields, cried, ‘Send

a breakfast to the reapers.’ The burgomaster, pointing to the woods,

replied, ‘My masters of Lucern, and their allies, will bring it.’

“The duke, surprised at the appearance of the confederates, instantly

held a council of war, to decide whether the attack should be postponed

till the arrival of the other forces. But the nobles unanimously

exclaimed, ‘God has delivered these peasants into our hands; it would be

shameful, armed as we are, to wait for succors against an ill-armed and

almost naked rabble.’ The baron de Hasenberg, an experienced veteran,

who had often witnessed the prowess of the Swiss, in vain represented

the folly of despising the enemy, expatiated on the uncertainty of the

fortune of war, and urged the duke to wait the arrival of Bonstetten.

But his prudence only drew from the younger knights the censure of

cowardice: one of them, calling him a hare in heart, as in name, turned

to the duke, and exultingly said, ‘This very noon we will deliver up to

you this handful of rustics.’ His petulancy was received with applause,

and preparations were made for an immediate attack.

“As the horses were fatigued by the march, and the woods were

impracticable for cavalry, the knights dismounted, ordered the foot into

the rear, and formed themselves into a solid and compact body. At this

moment the Swiss, according to their custom, threw themselves on their

knees, and with uplifted hands, implored the assistance of the Most

High. Some of the Austrians observing this action, exclaimed, ‘They are

supplicating for pardon!’ but they were soon undeceived, for the

confederate troops instantly quitted the woods, and with shouts and

exclamations poured down into the plain. A few only were in armour; some

brandished the halberts which their forefathers had wielded at

Morgarten; others bore two-handed swords and battle-axes, and instead of

shields, wore boards fastened to their left arms; the Austrian host, on

the contrary, covered from head to foot with blazing armour, presented a

solid range of shields, and a horrent front of projecting spears.

“The Swiss drew up in the form of a wedge, and rushed with their usual

impetuosity to the attack, but made no impression on this formidable

phalanx; the banner of Lucern was exposed to imminent danger, and the

landamman, with sixty of their most adventurous warriors, fell before a

single enemy received a wound. They hesitated for a moment, regarding

their enemies with a mixture of indignation and despair; while the

flanks of the phalanx advancing in a crescent, endeavoured to close on

their rear. At this awful crisis, Arnold de Winkelried, a knight of

Underwalden, bursting from the ranks, exclaimed ‘I will open a passage

into the line; protect, dear countrymen and confederates, my wife and

children!’ Then throwing himself on the enemy, he seized as many pikes

as he could grasp, and burying them in his bosom, bore them by his

weight to the ground. His companions rushed over his expiring body, and

forced themselves into the heart of the line, others with equal

intrepidity penetrated into the intervals occasioned by the shock, and

the whole unwieldy mass was thrown into confusion and dismay. The

knights, oppressed with their ponderous armour, and incumbered with

their long spears, were unable to withstand the impetuous assault of the

Swiss, or to recover from their disorder; and their servants, perceiving

the general consternation, mounted the horses of their masters, and left

them no hope of safety by flight. The fight was for a while sustained by

the efforts of personal valour, and the undaunted spirit of chivalry;

but the havoc soon became general; numbers fell by the sword of the

enemy; many perished by the pressure of their companions and the intense

heat, and not less than 2,000, of whom almost one third were counts,

barons, and knights, were numbered among the slain.

“Two hundred only of the confederates fell in this memorable battle,

among whom were their most distinguished chiefs. Fatigued with

slaughter, and the excessive heat, they did not pursue the fugitives;

but returned their usual thanksgiving to Heaven on the field, and the

following day agreed to an armistice for burying the dead. The remains

of Leopold and twenty-seven of his most illustrious followers were

conveyed to the abbey of Königsfelden, and the bodies of the lords of

Argau were deposited in the tombs of their ancestors. Those of inferior

note were buried on the spot; the two hundred confederates received

funeral honours at Lucern, and as at Morgarten a solemn anniversary was

established in commemoration of the victory.

“The defeat of Leopold and the battle of Sempach did not terminate the

war, or depress the courage of the Austrian princes and their allies;

for six days after the battle, not less than fifty nobles, among whom

was the burgrave of Nuremberg, the archbishop of Mentz, and the bishop

of Bamberg, sent declarations of war to the victorious confederates; and

Leopold, second son of the late duke, though scarcely fifteen, hastened

to superintend the preparations, to avenge the death of his father, and

retrieve the honour of his family. A desultory war was continued in

various parts of Helvetia; the Swiss, encouraged by their astonishing

success, prosecuted hostilities with spirit and vigour, and by the

accession of Bern, acquired additional strength. The important post of

Wesen on the lake of Wallenstadt, which commanded the passes into the

cantons of Glarus, and cut off the communication with Zurich, was

surprised and garrisoned by the Swiss; and the men of Gaster and

Sargens, subjects of Austria, accepted the protection of Glarus. The

citizens of Bern repelled the aggressions of the people of Kyburgh, who

had continued invariably attached to their sovereigns, and took several

forts in the vicinity belonging to the vassals of the House of Austria.

The sons of the deceased Leopold being dispirited by these reverses,

distressed for the means of supporting the war, and weakened by the loss

of their principal nobility at the battle of Sempach, concluded an

armistice of eighteen months.

“During this interval of tranquillity, both parties employed their

efforts in fortifying and securing the strong places, and preparing for

the renewal of hostilities. The people of Glarus acknowledged the

supreme authority of the abbess of Seckingen, and the rights of the

family of Austria, as advocates of that abbey; but emulating the example

of the Swiss, they established regulations which greatly reduced their

power and influence. The innovation displeased the Austrian princes, and

the truce was scarcely expired, before they renewed hostilities, and

directed their principal efforts against Glarus. Early in the spring of

1388 their troops surprised the town of Wesen, massacred the garrison,

and in April an army of 8000 men, commanded by the count of Tockenburgh,

forced the intrenchments which protected the frontier, and devastating

the country with fire and sword, penetrated as far as Naefels. Here only

350 men of Glarus, with 50 of Schwyz, who had crossed the mountains by

night, waited their approach, on the hill of Ruti. Despising so

inconsiderable a body, part of the Austrian troops dispersed themselves

to plunder, and burnt Naefels; the remainder attacked the Swiss, and

experienced the same fate as their forefathers at Morgarten. The Swiss

hurled down on them large stones and fragments of rock, and having

thrown the horse into confusion, rushed from the heights, and attacked

them with their characteristic impetuosity. At this critical juncture,

the mountains resounded with shouts of exultation, and a band of

warriors descending from the Upper Valley, assailed the Austrians,

already in confusion. Seized with a panic, they fled in all directions,

and were pursued by the assailants with redoubled ardor; many were slain

in the flight, and more drowned in the lake of Wallenstadt, by the

breaking of the bridge of Wesen. One hundred and eighty knights, and two

thousand soldiers perished in the conflict, or the flight; and eleven

banners, with a thousand suits of armor, were preserved as trophies of

the victory. The conquerors, after their customary devotions, passed the

night on the field of battle, and advancing the next morning, sacked and

burnt Wesen.

“The troops of Zurich, which had assembled too late for the succor of

Glarus, joined the victors, and besieged Rapperschwyl: on the other

side, Berne took the Austrian towns of Nidau, Buren, and Unterseven, and

extended her conquest as far as Bruck, and the valley of Frick on the

Rhine. The counts of Tockenburgh made a separate peace with the Swiss;

and at length the dukes of Austria, apprehensive of the defection of the

Thurgau, which was agitated with discontents, and dreading the loss of

the Argau, which was threatened by the arms of Berne and Zurich, engaged

in wars and troubles on the side of Austria, and disunited by family

quarrels, concluded, in 1388, a truce for seven years. The Swiss were to

maintain their alliances, and preserve their possessions during the

continuance of the truce, with all their conquests, except Wesen; the

dukes of Austria agreed to establish no fresh tolls or imposts, and the

confederates were not to admit any subjects of Austria, not residing

within their boundaries, into their co-burghership. Future disputes were

to be adjusted by arbitration.

“This trace was prolonged in 1394, for twenty years, at the request of

Leopold, who had succeeded to the dominions of his father in Helvetia;

and on this occasion he renounced all claims to the conquests of the

confederates, promised not to fortify Wesen, limited the contributions

of Zug and Glarus, and confirmed their league with the Swiss, together

with that of Entlibuch, and Sempach with Lucern.”

The children of Albert II. and Leopold II. made no additions to the

family territories. But the consequences of the division of these

territories between the two branches of the family were frightful for

the Austrians.

“Both parties, by a species of legal tyranny, sated their vengeance and

avidity with the treasures and lives of their opponents, and alternately

sacrificed the adherents of each other as they gained the ascendancy.

The nobles availed themselves of these contests to indulge the spirit of

misrule and licentiousness, which had been repressed by the preceding

sovereigns; robbers and banditti again infested the highways, insulted

the towns and villages with impunity, and the whole country became a

scene of pillage, devastation, and carnage.

“Such was the deplorable state of Austria, till the death of Leopold in

1411, at the age of forty.”

Albert V. procured the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, by marrying the

daughter of the Emperor Sigismond, who was also King of these nations,

and of whom he had gained the favor, by the effectual assistance he had

given him in the Hussite war. He was crowned in Hungary by the Diet,

after having promised by oath never to accept the imperial diadem. In

Bohemia he was acknowledged by the capital and by the town of

Kuttenburg; but the Hussites refused their assent, and falling back upon

the privileges of the Bohemian constitution, they sent to Poland for

Kasimir, brother of the Polish King. Albert nevertheless proceeded to

Prague, and was crowned in the cathedral by the Catholic party. Then,

assisted by some of the princes of the empire, he led an army of 30,000

men against the Hussites and Poles, and besieged Tabor.

“He would have compelled the fortress to surrender, had not George

Podiebrad, who first distinguished himself on this occasion, by a

successful sally, forced him to raise the siege, and retire to Prague,

while Uladislaus made an irruption into Silesia. Notwithstanding this

check, the margrave of Brandenburgh drove the king of Poland from

Silesia; and the auxiliary Poles, after killing their horses for food,

returned to their country on foot. In consequence of this success a

congress was held at Breslau, and a truce concluded with Uladislaus; the

Hussites agreed to a cessation of arms, and peace was once more restored

to Bohemia.

“In the midst of these conflicts, Albert was chosen king of the Romans,

as a prince who, by his extensive possessions and distinguished talents,

was most capable of allaying the dissentions of Germany, and arresting

the alarming progress of the Turks. He at first declined the proffered

dignity from a regard to his oath, but being liberated from his

engagements by the Hungarian states, and absolved by the council of

Basle, he yielded to the exhortations of his relatives and the instances

of the electors; and, though never crowned, obtained and deserved a

place among the emperors.”

Albert V. died of the dysentery, caught in an expedition against the

Turks, which he made in 1439; and a long period of distraction followed

in Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary, while his posthumous son Ladislaus was

growing up. These troubles were in 1452, somewhat composed, by the queen

mother’s giving the administration of Hungary to John Hunniades; that of

Bohemia to George Podiebrad; and that of Austria to Count Cilli; until

the young king should reach his majority. It is not within the scope of

our purpose to enter into the details of the events of this period,

rendered a brilliant page of history, by the splendid administration of

John Hunniades, and his victories over the Turks, by which he saved not

only his native Hungary, but all the rest of the dominions of Ladislaus.

Yet we can hardly resist giving the whole chapter of Coxe (XIV.), since

it shows one of those great services which Hungary did for the house of

Austria, and even for all Europe.

Ladislaus Posthumus died before his marriage, and thus one branch of the

Hapsburgh family became extinct. Within the same century the line of

Tyrol also ended with Sigismond, son of Frederic IV., fourth son of

Leopold II.

“From the circumstances of his sudden decease, and the doubtful nature

of his disorder, his death was attributed to poison, and Podiebrad was

charged with the atrocious crime. This imputation, which arose from the

reports of the Germans, and obtained credit only from the accession of

Podiebrad to the throne, has, however, been ably refuted by the Bohemian

historians, who incontestably prove that the death of Ladislaus was

occasioned by the plague.

“The reign of Sigismond is memorable in the history of the House of

Austria, for the loss of all the dominions which yet remained to his

family in Switzerland, and which were reduced to Lower Sargans, Kyburgh,

Winterthur, and Rapperschwyl. As he inherited the claims of his family

to their former territories, he naturally fostered an antipathy to the

Helvetic confederates; he was still further irritated by the loss of

Rapperschwyl, the inhabitants of which town throwing off their

allegiance, were received under the protection of Schwyz, Uri,

Underwalden, and Glarus. He therefore augmented the garrison of

Winterthur, and seemed inclined to seize the first opportunity of

attacking the confederates, when he was involved in disputes with

Nicholas de Cusa, cardinal archbishop of Brixen, for the possession of

some silver mines recently discovered at Schwartz; hostilities

commenced, but were suspended by the intervention of Pius II., who in

1460 summoned both parties before his tribunal. Before the decision of

the cause, however, the war was renewed, and Sigismond investing the

castle of Brunic, took the bishop prisoner. The pope irritated by this

contempt of his authority, fulminated a sentence of excommunication

against Sigismond, and instigated the Swiss to invade his territories.

They eagerly obeyed the summons, overran the Thurgau without opposition,

received the voluntary allegiance of the natives at Frauenfield,

besieged Winterthur, and made incursions into the Austrian territories

in the vicinity of the lake of Constance. Sigismond, unable to resist

the forces of the confederates, obtained a peace by the cession of the

conquered territories; and being stripped of the greater part of his

possessions, sold Kyburgh and Winterthur to Zurich, and thus alienated

the remnant of the Austrian inheritance in Switzerland.

“In imitation of his father, he was no sooner emancipated from his

guardians than he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he received

the order of Cyprus, and of the Holy Sepulchre. So eager was he to

gratify his curiosity, that he accompanied some Jew merchants, in

disguise, into the Turkish territories, examined with attention the

manners and customs of a people so different from the Christian world,

and collected jewels and other valuable curiosities. Of this pilgrimage

the celebrated Æneas Sylvius thus speaks in his oration to Pope Nicholas

V., when he was recommending a crusade against the infidels:—‘The

princes of the sublime house of Austria, which ranks among its members

many kings and emperors, deemed themselves secure of success only when

they served the Supreme Being with fidelity and constancy. Frederic,

following their example, was no sooner delivered from the care of his

guardians than, despising the dangers and tempests of the deep, he

repaired to Jerusalem, anxious to kiss the earth sanctified by the

footsteps of our blessed Redeemer. He visited the sepulchre of our Lord,

beheld Mount Calvary, and the palace of Pilate, and ascended the Mount

of Olives. He entered the desert; crossed the river Jordan; reached

Bethlehem; penetrated into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and, by the sight

of these sacred places, was inspired with an incredible and ardent

devotion.’

“At the age of twenty, Frederic assumed the reins of government as duke

of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, in conjunction with his brother

Albert. On the death of his uncle Frederic of Tyrol, in 1435, he became

guardian of Sigismond, and, on the decease of the emperor Albert, was

appointed regent by the states of Austria, and guardian of Ladislaus

Posthumus.

“The imperial throne being vacant by the death of Albert II., the

electors nominated Louis landgrave of Hesse; and that prince declining

the crown, their choice unanimously fell on Frederic, as the eldest

member of his illustrious house; but he hesitated to accept a dignity,

however exalted, which was surrounded by difficulties and dangers.”

After the death of Sigismond, the house of Austria was reduced to the

Styrian line, founded by Ernest, third son of Leopold I., who was killed

at the battle of Sempach. This Ernest had married a niece of Ladislas

Jagellon, king of Poland. She was remarkable for her beauty and

accomplishments; yet, says Coxe, “historians record that Cymburga was

endowed with such masculine strength, that she could crack nuts with her

fingers, and with her hand drive a nail as far as others with a hammer!

She was the mother of several children, some of whom died in their

infancy, and from her are said to have been derived the thick lips—the

characteristic feature of the Austrian family.”

“During his continuance at Frankfort, Frederic endeavored to avail

himself of the divisions subsisting among the Swiss Cantons, to attempt

the recovery of the dominions which had been wrested from the house of

Austria. The contest which had arisen for the succession to the

Tockenburgh, had terminated unfavorably for Zurich; for Schwyz and

Glarus had gained the widow and the collateral heirs of the count, and,

by intrigue or persuasion, had finally succeeded in obtaining the

support of the other confederates; Zurich, invested and pressed on all

sides, was reduced to accept their mediation, and submit to the award of

the five remaining cantons.

“The burghers of Zurich, irritated by the loss of their territories, and

the disgrace to which they had been reduced, were eager to avenge

themselves; they sent ambassadors to Frederic to apologise for their

incursions into the county of Sargans during the war, and offered to

purchase his alliance, by restoring the county of Kyburgh. Frederic

eagerly accepted the offer; as head of the house of Austria, he

concluded an alliance with them on the very day of his coronation, and

secretly promised to assist them in recovering a part of the Tockenburgh

inheritance.

“The confederates, jealous of his intentions, and suspicious of his new

connection, required Zurich to renounce her alliance with the house of

Austria, as contrary to an article of the union, stipulating that no

connection was to be formed by any canton with other powers, except by

common consent. The refusal was the signal for war, which raged for four

years with a degree of fury and animosity which is only displayed in

civil broils; till both parties, fatigued with their exertions, and

recoiling from the enormities which they had committed, equally panted

for the termination of the contest. The dispute being submitted to

arbitration, a peace was arranged in May, 1447, between the house of

Austria, Zurich, and the other Swiss confederates. Affairs on both sides

were to be restored to the same situation as before the renewal of

hostilities; but Zurich renounced her alliance with the house of

Austria; and thus the grand principle of the Helvetic confederacy, that

no league was valid unless concluded with the consent of the other

cantons, was acknowledged and established. At the same time, arbitrators

were chosen to the dispute between the house of Austria and Basle; but

the war was prolonged by the refusal of the burghers to dismiss the

council. They at length yielded to the threats of Frederic, who menaced

them with the ban of the empire; and after various skirmishes, and the

recovery of Rheinfelden by the Austrians, an accommodation was effected

in 1449, which placed both parties in the same situation as before the

commencement of hostilities.”

The most important act of Frederic III., so far as our purpose is

concerned, was his confirmation to the family, by means of the imperial

powers of the archducal title, which had first been assumed by Rodolph

IV; and which “raised the house of Austria to a dignity only inferior to

that of the electors, and invested it with privileges greater than those

possessed by any other prince of the empire. The grant was capriciously

founded on letters patent of Julius Cæsar and Nero, and the diplomas of

Frederic I., Henry VI., and Frederic II., in favor of the Bamberg line,

confirmed by Rodolph of Hapsburgh, when he invested his two sons with

the Austrian territories. In virtue of these privileges, the archdukes

of Austria were to be considered as having obtained the investiture of

their dominions, if they did not receive it after thrice demanding it

from the emperor. They were not to be required to pass the limits of

their territories, but were to be invested within the borders of Austria

on horseback, clad in a regal mantle, wearing a ducal coronet surmounted

with the imperial diadem and cross, and holding a staff of command. The

archdukes were declared by birth privy-counsellors of the emperor, and

their territories could not be put under the ban of the empire. All

attempts against their persons were to be punished as crimes of high

treason; and they could not be challenged to single combat: they were

exempted from the necessity of attending at the diet, and from all

contributions and public charges, except the maintenance of twelve

men-at-arms for one month against the Turks in Hungary; they were

empowered to levy taxes, to grant letters of legitimation, and to create

counts, barons, and other inferior titles; in failure of issue male, the

females were to enjoy the right of succession, and in failure of heirs,

the archdukes were allowed to dispose of their territories by will. Any

lands of the empire might be alienated in their favor, and their

subjects could not be summoned out of their territories on account of

lawsuits, to give testimony, or to receive the investiture of fiefs.”

The death of Ladislaus Posthumus, of whom Frederic had been guardian,

had involved him in many disputes and contests, one of which was for the

crown of Bohemia; but this he lost in favor of the Bohemian nobleman,

George Podiebrad; another was for the crown of Hungary, to which he

urged his right as possessor of the crown of St. Stephen, that he had

had in safe keeping for eighteen years. But this also he lost to

Matthias Corvinus, although he gained a victory over him at Kormund in

Styria, for he could not follow up that advantage on account of a civil

war with his brother Albert in Austria.

“The terms which had been concluded between Frederic and Albert, for the

partition of Austria, and their joint residence at Vienna, gave rise to

disputes. Frederic soon became unpopular to the citizens, and the

haughty nobles of Austria displayed that turbulence and discontent

natural to feudal governments under an indolent sovereign. These

discontents being fomented by Albert, soon broke out into open war; and

although a temporary reconciliation was effected by the king of Bohemia,

neither party was sincerely desirous of peace; the emperor was indignant

at the restraints imposed on his authority; and the rapacity of Albert

was not gratified by his share of the Austrian possessions. Another and

more dreadful contest ensued; the whole country became a scene of

intestine discord, and the capital itself was divided into hostile

factions; the senate and the most moderate of the burghers, adhered to

the emperor; while the populace, headed by the burgomaster Hulzer, a

restless demagogue, espoused the cause of Albert.

“Frederic, alarmed for the safety of the empress, and his infant son

Maximilian, who were in the citadel, appeared before the gates at the

head of a body of Styrian horse. By his eloquence and address, he

succeeded in conciliating the most violent of his opponents, and after

an altercation which lasted three days, was admitted into the city.

Refusing, however, to accede to all the demands of the disaffected, the

populace again rose, pillaged the houses of his adherents, compelled him

to take refuge in the citadel, and after a formal declaration of war,

invested that fortress. At the same time Albert repairing to Vienna,

concluded a treaty with the insurgents, and was intrusted with the

conduct of the siege. But Frederic, though at the head of only two

hundred men, held out with great firmness, and evinced a resolution

rather to be buried under the ruins of the fortress, than surrender to

his rebellious subjects. He appealed to the states of the empire, and

when they were assembled at Nuremberg, a messenger arrived announcing

that he was reduced to only three weeks provisions. The states

displayed, indeed, a readiness to rescue him from his danger; but the

proverbial tardiness of their succours would have rendered their

resolutions ineffectual, had not Frederic been relieved by the king of

Bohemia, who promptly despatched his son with 5000 men, and followed, in

person, with an additional force of 8000. The advance of this timely

succour relieved the emperor; both parties submitted their dispute to

the arbitration of the Bohemian monarch, and the terms of an

accommodation were adjusted. Both were to liberate their prisoners;

Albert was to restore the towns, fortresses, and countries which he had

occupied, and to enjoy the government of Lower Austria for eight years,

on condition of paying the annual sum of 4000 ducats to the emperor.

“On the conclusion of this agreement, Frederic, escorted by a thousand

Bohemian horse, met his deliverer at Corn-Neuburgh; he gratefully

conferred several privileges on the kingdom of Bohemia, raised the two

sons of Podiebrad to the dignity of princes of the empire, and in

recompence to the inhabitants of Prague, who had furnished troops on

this occasion, he granted them an exemption from the tolls at Vienna,

and every part of the imperial territories.