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Page 47
The prophecy of the King of Arles was soon verified. For five days after
leaving Canossa, Henry kept his oath; on the sixth he broke it, and,
with an armed band, prevented the Pope from appearing among the princes
at the Diet of Augsburg.
Before another week had passed, the lordships of Hers and Stramen seemed
almost deserted. Rodolph had passed into Saxony, to assemble an army
there, leaving Welf, the Duke of Bavaria, and the Lord Albert, to
collect the forces of Suabia. Rodolph had taken with him the Baron of
Stramen, with his son, and Gilbert de Hers. Father Omehr, who had been
secretly charged by the Pope to moderate the zeal of the King of Arles,
had also followed the duke, commuting his flock and the Lady Margaret to
the care of Herman. It was with a heavy heart that Gilbert saw the
towers of Stramen fading in the distance, and felt that he was leaving,
perhaps forever, a being to whom he was so deeply attached, without a
word, a glance, or even a look. He had, however, evinced his solicitude
for the Lady Margaret's welfare by solemnly charging Humbert to watch
over her in his absence and protect her with his life.
The knights and burghers of Suabia were now assembling at Ulm. Scarce a
man could be seen between the Danube and the Lake of Constance: mothers
were working in the fields, with their children about them, and here and
there some old or infirm vassal was seated at his cabin door. Little did
the Lady Margaret dream, as she gazed from her lattice over the
beautiful country, dipping down into the river, dotted all over with
thriving cottages, from which the quiet smoke of peace was
curling--little did she think, as she watched the green fields
struggling through the melting snow, and fixed her eyes upon the Church
of the Nativity, how soon those Cottages would flame, those fields be
red with human gore, and that church be polluted by a hireling soldiery.
Little did she think, when praying for the safety of her father and
brother, that her own paternal castle would be the first victim of the
war.
CHAPTER VII
The wild dog
Shall flesh his tooth in every innocent.
O my poor kingdom, sick with civil blows!
HENRY IV.
Shut out from Augsburg by the treachery of the emperor, Gregory VII
retired to Canossa, where he resolved to let the affairs of Germany
shape themselves for a time, while he awaited a more favorable moment
for action. Nor was his gigantic mind occupied with Germany alone, and
the movements there which menaced his life and the liberty and purity of
the Church. Dalmatia, Poland, and England claimed his constant
attention. With the most powerful monarch in Europe plotting his
downfall, he contrived to win the love and obedience of Zwonomir, to
force the rebellious Boleslaus from his throne, and to purify England
still more from simony and incontinency.
As Henry's submission to the Pope had disgusted the bold who were ready
to assist him, and repelled the timid who waited but a second call, so
his shameless perjury and fearless defiance of Gregory at Augsburg
reassembled his professional adherents, and inspired with new courage
those who secretly clung to his cause. The mitres of Luinar, Benno,
Burchardt of Lausanne, and Eppo of Ceitz again sparkled around him, and
Eberhard, Berthold, and Ulric of Cosheim displayed their lances to
confirm his resolution. In every country and in every age there must
exist a large and powerful party prone to pleasure and license, which is
easily arrayed against virtue, when the indulgence of their criminal
passions is threatened. This party is ever formidable, especially when
supported by a powerful king, nobly descended, and legally invested with
the crown. A natural sympathy, too, had been awakened for the emperor,
as numbed with cold he besought the pity of the Pontiff; and, with
proverbial fickleness, men, in ascribing humility to the king, imputed
arrogance to the Pope. Owing to these causes, it was not long before
Henry found himself stronger than ever. Inflamed with new ardor, he
loudly lamented his submission at Canossa, and cursing the hours of
misery passed there, swore speedy vengeance against the presumptuous son
of Bonizo the carpenter.
Rodolph had no sooner reached Forchheim, than it was announced that a
general diet would be held there for the discussion of matters of vital
importance to the Church and State, with the suggestion that the absence
of the king would facilitate their deliberations. The Count Mangold de
Veringen was despatched to the Pope, inviting him to sanction the diet
by his presence, to aid them by his wisdom and intrepidity, and to take
the helm of the tempest-tossed vessel of state. He was also commissioned
to inform His Holiness of their determination to elect a new king. The
Pope, in reply, conjured them not to be precipitate, and to wait his
arrival before they acted.
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