Barbarossa; An Historical Novel of the XII Century. Read online

  Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by the Web Archive

  Transcriber's notes: 1. Page scan source: https://www.archive.org/details/barbarossaanhis00bolagoog 2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe]

  BARBAROSSA;

  AN

  HISTORICAL NOVEL

  OF THE

  XII Century.

  BY

  Conrad Von Bolanden

  _PHILADELPHIA_: Eugene Cummisky PUBLISHER, 1037 Chestnut Street. 1867.

  * * * * *

  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by EUGENE CUMMISKEY, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

  * * * * *

  J. FAGAN & SON, STEREOTYPERS, PHILAD'A.

  PREFACE

  TO THE

  AMERICAN EDITION.

  The pleasant historical novel which is now offered to the Americanpublic, refers to a period of history very much misrepresented, thoughvery frequently written about, or at least referred to by popularwriters. In the contest between Pope Alexander III. and the EmperorFrederic Barbarossa, we see a very important phase of the long strugglebetween the spiritual and civil power; a struggle, in which was foughtthe battle of real liberty, and real Christian civilization, againstbrute force and Pagan tyranny. Perhaps nothing has been so badlyunderstood as the real _casus belli_ in this struggle of centuries.Most non-Catholics firmly believe that the conflict arose from aneffort of the Church to obtain universal dominion; to make princes andpeople bow to her behests on all matters; to reduce the civil ruler tothe condition of a mere lieutenant of the Pontiff, to be removed atwill by that spiritual autocrat, and, of course, to improve thecondition of her own officials; securing for them the choicest andfairest portions of all the good things of the earth. The Emperors andKings who were hostile to the Church are painted, on the other hand, asthe assertors of civil liberty, the William Tells that refused tosalute the tyrant's cap, even though it were called a tiara; theheroes, that in a superstitious age braved the terrors ofexcommunication, rather than sink into a degraded servitude, to theheartless ambition of churchmen.

  Nothing can be farther from the truth than this view of the subject. Inreality, what the Church fought for during this long struggle was--notpower, but--liberty. She refused to admit that she was a corporationexisting by the permission, or the creation of the State. She claimedto be a spiritual society, existing by the fiat of the will of God,entirely independent in her own sphere, having a government of her own;executive, legislative, and judicial rights and duties of her own; anend of her own, far above and beyond the affairs of this world. It wasfor this liberty and independence that her martyrs had died, herconfessors languished in prison, her saints prayed and suffered. Whenthe rulers of the world became Christian, the difficulties in the wayof her liberty did not cease; they only assumed a new form. Openopposition became oppression, under the specious name of protection;and the State made every effort to restrain and shackle a power, theindomitable energy and dauntless courage of which it imagined it hadreason to fear.

  This was, indeed, one of the "empty" things which the sons of men,crafty in their own generation, allow themselves to say when they speakof spiritual things. The unrestrained power of the city of God on earthcannot hinder, or in any way interfere with the true development of theearthly commonwealth. Truth, morality, justice, are the surestfoundations of civil peace, liberty, and prosperity. Under the pretenceof defending their rights and those of their people, civil rulers haveendeavored to subjugate the Church, enslave her ministers, make her, ina word, merely a piece of government machinery, to register theirdecrees, and enforce them with her anathemas. Had they succeeded, theonly bulwark of freedom would have been swept away; for as man has noright higher or holier than freedom of conscience, that is, freedom toserve God rather than man, had this right been sacrificed to theimperious demands of the civil power, other rights less important, suchas those which constitute civil liberty, would have been lost with it.

  Thus the medieval Pontiffs--living in exile, wandering from one city toanother, often in prison, rarely suffered to live in peace--were themartyrs of the highest and truest freedom. To their indomitablecourage, untiring perseverance, and clear-sighted intelligence, we owewhatever idea of true freedom (that is of the existence of the rightsof man independently of the permission, toleration, or concession ofthe civil power) still survives in modern society.

  These fundamental truths are well illustrated in the following pages.The special period of history chosen, serves to show clearly the realpoints of dispute. Even Voltaire acknowledged that it was the "wisdom"of Alexander III. that triumphed over the "violence" of Barbarossa. Asthe same writer observes:--"Alexander revived the rights of the peopleand suppressed the crimes of Kings." A Pontiff to whom such testimonyis borne by Voltaire, cannot fairly be accused of ambitious designs. Inhis contest with Frederic, from the beginning to the end, he simplyasserted the independence of the Church. Antipope after antipope wasopposed to him, all of them were puppets of the Emperor; but in theend, even Frederic was obliged to yield, and to acknowledge the patientbut determined Alexander as the Vicar of Christ.

  The subserviency of these pretended Pontiffs is well described by ourauthor. There is no exaggeration here. These men were merely Vicars ofthe Emperor, existing by his favor, the creatures of his breath. Theycared little for the ratification of their decrees in Heaven; so thatthey knew that they pleased the rulers of this world! What the Emperorwished bound, they did bind, and what he wished loosed, they did loose,even the holy bonds of matrimony. Their degradation and that of thecourtier bishops, so graphically depicted in these pages, is apractical proof of the great truth, that while there is no humangreatness more exalted than the dignity of the ecclesiasticalcharacter, there is no fall lower than that of a churchman who,forgetful of his calling, makes himself the slave of the world's power,be it wielded by a crowned King or by an uncrowned mob.

  The heartless repudiation of his wife by Henry the Lion, after the mocksentence of the miserable Victor, and the recourse of Constance toAlexander, himself a fugitive, and persecuted, is a touching instanceof the manners of the times, and of the protection the Church and herreal Pontiffs ever gave to the sanctity of marriage. Little do women inour day think how much they owe to the Popes, who so bravely and soconstantly fought their battles in those rude and licentious ages,protecting their innocence, defending their rights, making them thecompanions, not the servants of those rough warriors. There was morethan one Constance in those ages: but never did any of them appeal tothe Head of Christendom, that her demand for justice was not heard, andher rights courageously vindicated.

  The simple threads of the love-story of Erwin and Hermengarde servepleasantly to connect together the other more important events of thetale, and serve to illustrate on the one hand the finest type offeminine affection and constancy, and on the other that of manlynobility and courage. We think the author can fairly lay claim tohistorical accuracy in the main events of his tale. Every matter ofpublic interest, e
ven the wonderful pestilence which checked Fredericin his victorious career at Rome, is related as given by contemporarywriters.

  We venture to bespeak for BARBAROSSA a kind and gracious reception fromthe American public. It is a well told tale, which will afford realinstruction, as well as pleasant amusement. It will serve to give trueideas about medieval history, and to make Catholics more interested inlearning the truth about those real Pontiffs, who did battle forreligion and the rights of man against the Kings and rulers of the day.We consider it a valuable contribution to our lighter literature, andwe hope to see it followed by many others of the same purpose andobject. The translator has done his work well, and we trust BARBAROSSA inits English dress will become a universal favorite.

  J. K. PHILADELPHIA,_Ascension Day_, 1867.