The German Question, Part Seven

So we're now in the era circa 1000 A.D. and the term "German" is more appropriate for the Germanic peoples living in what are now modern Holland (The Netherlands), two-thirds of Belgium, Alsace, a part of Lorraine, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and about two-thirds of Switzerland. (See this article for more info on Germanic/German meanings:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-do-we-call-them-these-names.html )

As we've seen, following Charlemagne's death, his vast holdings had been divided, thus bringing a demise to his original empire. In 962 A.D., under Otto I, the eastern region of the original empire was revived with the name, "Holy Roman Empire." The name was chosen to show that the mantle of the Roman Empire had been picked up once again, and that the empire would be a protector of Christendom. The Crusades had the Germans sending substantial contingents of men to the Middle East as part of the German-led "Holy Roman Empire." The Crusades brought many heroes to Christendom, including to the Germans. Many warriors returned home and were rewarded for their services with land and noble titles. It was during this general time frame that "feudalism" developed. (See Word History below)

Feudalism was an important part of the history of many European countries, and it certainly had a major impact on the historical development of the Germans, more so to the negative side. Feudalism is a complicated subject, but an important part of it was basically a system where "lords" ruled their lands by providing land to some number of men, "vassals," who then vowed to provide military aid to that ruler. Typically, the land was not granted outright, but "leased" to the vassal, who had the right to earn whatever income he could from that land. With the Germans, the system actually was in place regarding the emperor, as he was dependent upon a large network of "lords" to provide him with military forces. This dependency weakened the role of the emperor, although the power of the emperor, in some cases, was certainly tied to his own personality. Some emperors had forceful personalities that garnered them support, others were much weaker, with the latter being the rule, not the exception. On the other hand, the power of the local and regional nobles increased with this situation, thus forming the basis for a number of "states" within the empire. Some of these "states" eventually came to be called kingdoms (and were thus ruled by "kings"), others were called principalities (ruled by princes), duchies (ruled by "dukes") or arch duchies (ruled by archdukes).* Collectively these various regional rulers came to be called "the German princes," regardless of their specific titles. Throughout this struggle for power, the Papacy was always looming large, looking to expand its power, too. All of this led to a very fragmented power structure, seldom with a central authority.

Otto I and his immediate successors were Saxon emperors and they were followed by Frankish emperors through much of the 11th Century and into the 12th Century, when another Saxon became the emperor. Then followed the Hohenstaufen dynasty, which had developed in Swabia, in southwestern Germany (now known as the home of Mercedes, the famous auto company, which is in the city of Stuttgart). Frederick I, a Hohenstaufen, is perhaps best remembered for his nickname, Barbarossa, which was used later by Hitler as a code name for his invasion of the Soviet Union. The Hohenstaufens eventually came to be deeply involved in Italy, much of which had been a part of the empire. Ever so gradually, however, the Papacy eroded German control over Italy. Due to marriages, some of the Hohenstaufens spent far more time in Italy, namely Sicily, than in the German areas. This further weakened imperial power within the German lands, as governing authority was essentially turned over to the increasingly powerful rulers of the "states."

* Just for the sake of example, Bavaria was a kingdom, while Austria was an arch duchy. The number of these "states" constantly changed, but frequently they numbered in the hundreds, and occasionally in the thousands!!! It was no wonder the Germans remained so divided for centuries, with so many local/regional rulers.

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Feudal-Like the word "fee," covered in "The German Question, Part Four," this word goes back to Indo European "peku," which meant "cattle" and ultimately "property." Latin got the word from Germanic (presumably from Frankish) as "feudum," which meant a type of "estate provided in exchange for service." From this developed Latin "feudalis," which English seems to have acquired in the early 1600s as "feudal." People in the Middle Ages did not see "feudalism" as a form of societal structure, and that term was not applied to the system in those times, but rather came along much later and was used by historians. Feudal is much connected with "fee," and for those interested, here is the link to that article, with the Word History at the end:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/03/german-question-part-four.html