Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1917-05-10
MORE ANCIENT
GERMAN HISTORY
This narrative connects with page
3 of the Journal of the 10Th inst.
GERMANY TORN BY FEUDS.

u
GERMANY TORN BY FEUDS.
In the 18th century the jealous
les and wars of the rival Saxon
and Hohenstauffen families resulted
in the historic and prolonged feuds
of the Guelphs and Ghibellines,
which made up most of the history
of Germany and Italy for three
centuries. These feuds We're largely
religious. The German rulers began
to deny and defy the power of the
pope, and there was endless trouble.
The Guelphs took sides with the
pope, and the Ghibelline faction up
held Germany.
Frederick Barbarossa, or Red
beard, who rose to the German
leadership in the 18th century, won
great fame as a fighter, especially
by his triumphs in Italy He and
his successors carried the German
arms clear into Sicily and estab-
lished kingdom in that island.
However, until about the year
1900 the German nation had no
real head.
Austria, which was then a part
of Germany, then became dominant
and remained so for several. Cen
turies. Rudolf OF Hapsburg, the
founder of the royal family which
still rules in Austria-Hungary, was
chosen emperor and he used drastic
measures to break up the separate
German tribes or clans and unite
them into a single power He des-
troyed the castles of nearly a humid
red of the great robber chieftains
who had long terrorized the coun-
try and kept the people in state
of feudal bondage.
Itis the tyranny of that house
which Schiller portrays in William
Tell" Switzerland was at that time
a part of the Austrian domain, but
the Swiss rebelled early in the
{
pendence which they have con-
trived to maintain, with some slight
Interruptions, till this day
Since early times, the diets"
Or parliaments of the people had eX-
ercised a great deal of power These
diets were variously composed; in
<many cases the free cities" were
represented. AT first the diets were
held at any point and time that
was agreed on, but later the meet
ings became more regular. Laws
We're passed, treaties adopted and
wars declared by these bodies
Part of the time the emperor
was chosen by electors, or princes;
but eventually the crown came to
be practically hereditary. The found
ers OF our government got the sug-
gestion for our electoral college
partly from the electoral system of
old Germany Austria usually de-
termined who should be made rul-
er, as she had the deciding vote in
The diet
Austria Was to Rule All.
Frederick 3 was the emperor who
got up the famous vowel motto of
the Hapsburg, house, "a. e. i. o.
u standing for, "Austriae est inn
perare orbi universe" meaning. in
Latin 1T is Austria's part to rule
the whole world
We can readily trace from this
motto, adopted nearly five centuries
ago. the idea that the Teuton cult
ure and system were destined to
dominate the other nations. The
Hapsburgs especially have always
acted ON that theory.
The history of Germany took a
new turn when Emperor MaXimilian,
at the diet OF Worms, in 1895;
consented to- the establishment of
a fixed tribunal called the imperial
chamber chosen by the MOBILES;
Sllo was NUiiS UCSlllllluS VI lHG pow =
er OF the state, as distinguished from
the mere whim of the emperor
Under Charles V, who also rul-
ed over Spain, the German power
in the 9th century was developed
in a brilliant way, in wars and
otherwise. However, Germany at
that time had to surrender to
France the important frontier fort
ress cities of Metz and Verdun.
The Germans recovered Metz as
a result of the Franco-Prussian war
of 1870. and We have seen how
in the present war they wasted thou
sands of lives in trying to recover
Verdun, under Crown Prince Fried
rick Wilhelm. We can thus under
stand the sentimental reason which