the vacancie ibid. What every Electors Office is when the Emperor eats in Ceremony and who are their Deputies if they be absent 59. How the Electors lit in the Assemblies 304. What Electors and Bishops are usually chosen out of the Body of the Nobility 256. 257. Younger sons of Electoral Houses precede other Princes in the Assemblies 305. Where the Election of an Emperor or King of the Romans ought to be made 49. whether it be better that Kingdoms be Elective or Successive 53.54 The Emperor is a Monarch 31. Confers no Ecclesiastical Benefices 33. No Emperor crowned at Rome since Charles V. 34. How the Emperors lost the right of choosing Popes 35. The Emperor onely can create Kings 38. The Emperor ought to be of a German Family 52. Of what age a Prince should be when chosen Emperor 57. The difference between the Emperor and King of the Romans ibid. What Emperors have been excommunicated by Popes 288. Whether the Emperor can determine matters where the Estates of the Empire do not agree 310. When the Empire was successive 40. When it became Elective and why ibid. The Estates of the Empire and their priviledges 64. 65. At first all the Estates of the Empire chose the Emperor 41. The House of Este in Italy a branch of that of Brunswick 108. F. Faith to be kept with Heretiques 184. seq Ferdinand III. his several Elections and death 314. Fourteen bloody Fights in Germany from the time of the Swedes entrance till the Peace 322. The Fight of Furts 326 of Lignitz in Silesia ibid. of Rheimfeld ibid. of Wittenvayer in Brisgou ibid. of Kemnitz in Misnia 328. of Wolfenbottel ibid of St. Anthony ibid. of Schweinitz in Silesia ibid. of Dutlinguen in the Dutchy of Wirtemberg 329. of Fribourg in Brisgou ibid. of Merkendal in Franconia ibid. The twelfth thirteenth Fights 330. The Fight of Grawembrouck in the Countrey of Juliers 331. Other Fights lefs bloody 332. Barons of Flekenstein 239. Francfort why so called and wherein considerable 271. What Forces France had in Germany when the Peace was made 336. What recompence the French had by that peace 333. French Commanders in the war of Germany 335. Fridberg 272. Frisinguen a Bishoprick 190. The Fructifying Company its end and progress and by whom established 164. Barons of Fuggers 239. The Abbey of Fulda and its priviledges 193. Counts of Furstemberg their origin c. 231. seq G. Difference between a Gentleman and a Knight 242. Immediate Gentlemen of Germany who 251. Why the Emperor supports them Ibid. The order and government amongst those Gentlemen 252. Their priviledges and advantages 256. seq Causes of the War of Germany 315. seq Gluckstad and the King of Denmarks Fort there 274. Gostar called the Imperial Palace and Royal City 272. Descent of the Dukes of Gotta 88. Death of Mareshal de Guebriant 329. Guelnehausen 272. House of the Guelphes their antiquity and Territories 108. seq The voices branches and Fortresses of that House 111 H. Counts of Habspourg a Branch of the Dukes of Zeringuen 70. When and how Rodolph of Habspourg became Emperor ibid. Haguenau Bailliage in Alsatia given to the French 273. Salt-pits of Hal in Swaben 276. Hambourg its strength and Trade 273. seq Counts of Hanau 234. Hanse-towns and their Commerce 280. 281. Heilbrun 276. Helmestadt an University of the Dukes of Brunswick 113. Counts of Henneberg when they failed 92. How the House of Saxony inherited that of Henneberg ibid. Origin of the House of Hesse 129. Henry of Brabant first Landgrave of Hesse 131. Agreement between him and Henry Marquis of Misnia son the Principalities of Hesse and Thuringia ibid. Lewis Landgrave of Hesse refused the Empire ibid. The vertues and good qualities of the Landgraves of Hesse 132. The Religion and differences between Lewis and Maurce Heads of the two Branches of Hesse-Cassel and Darmstadt 133.139 Hesse-Cassel the elder the richer and hath the precedence 134. Alliances of both the Houses ibid. Frederick Landgrave of Hesse Grand Prior of Malta in Germany his Expedition at Carthage 193. The excellencies of Amelia Elizabeth Dowager of Hesse 134.136 Her Forces when the Peace was concluded 337. The advantages she and heâ— son had by that Peace 339. Hildesheim a Bishoprick of miraculous foundation 187. The Princes of Hochberg and Baden of the same House their agreement and reciprocal Testament 142. Lords of Hobenlohe 235. Counts of Hohenzolleren 169. Origin of the Houses of Holstein and Oldenbourg 148. Dutchy of Holstein its extent Revenues 155. Counts of Horne Subiects to the Dukes of Burgundy their origin 226. The benefits and advantages of Hunting 20.21 I. Assessors of the Imperial Chamber how many and by whom appointed 289. Functions of the Intendents and Superintendents over the Lutheran Pastors and Priests 205.206 Order of Justice in the time of Charlemagne 287. Jutland what quantity of Cattle and horses come yearly out of it 155. K. Kaufbegeren why so called 276. Kempten in Latine Campidunum 270. King of the Romans what authority he hath 49. The Arms and Titles of the King of the Romans 57. Kings should not make a Subject too great 159. Dangerous for Kings to execute their resolutions by halves 162. Difference between a Knight and a Gentleman 242.243 Knights Marianites why so called their progress and difference from the Templers 191.192 Example of Kings that have received Knighthood 243. The cause and Original of the Orders of Knighthood 245. seq How the Emperor makes Knights 246. L. Ladies not unfit to Govern 135. seq The taking of General Lamboy 420. Landau 276. Landgrave Judge of an Inland Province 210. How Landgraves became powerful 211. Landgraves Generals of Foot ibid. What Houses in Germany bear the title of Landgrave 213. Landgraveship no where but in Germany ibid. Usefulness of Foraine Languages 8. where the French Language in best spoken 18. What other Countries use it most 26. Where the Italian Language is the purest 17. Where it is most currant 26. Dukes of Lawembourg and Anhalt their origin and antiquity 157. Religion and titles of the Dukes of Lawembourg 166. Laws that oblige all Germany are made in the General Assemblies 62. League of the French Swedes Hollanders and Princes of Germany against the House of Austria 319. League of the Princes for and with the Emperor ibid. Whether a prince ought to be Learned 115. Counts of Leinneguen 234. The Tragical end of John of Leyden 188. Liege a Bishoprick ibid. Barons or Counts of Limbourg their titles and antiquity 235. Barons of Limbourg Deputies to the King of Bohemia as Great Cup-bearer of the Empire ibid. Lindau 276. Duke of Lorrain considerable for the situation of his Countrey 112. Lubeck its situation by whom built 275. Princes of Lunebourg and their Alliances 113. Who brought the Doctrine of Luther into Denmark 150. Lutheran Princes of Germany 208. Lutheran Cities ibid. Luther was born and died at Eiseliben 235. M. Counts of Mansfield
and tell me when it obtained the quality of Count and lastly of Prince G. The Counts of East-Friseland and those of Oldenbourg did always maintain great feuds and emulations between one another till the year 1656. At which time Antony Gunther dying without issue lawfully begotten left the King of Denmark and the Duke of Holstein for his Successors And I believe the cause of that mis-understanding might proceed from hence That Mary of Jeuer being married to Eno Count of East-Friseland and having children by him did yet make John Count of Oldenbourg her heir and again that the Counts of East-Friseland being less ancient then those of Oldenbourg are as rich as well or better allied then they and do also exercise Soverain Justice over their Subjects P. I know the Counts of Oldenbourg are the ancienter But when did those of East-Friseland begin G. Vlrick Sirxena Lord of Gietziel and other lands was made Count of East-Friseland by the Emperor Frederick III. A. D. 1454. That Lord married Folca who brought him in Dowry the Lordships of Escui and Stetendorf Of that marriage came Edzar l. of that name Father of Eno who married Mary of Ieuer by whom he had Edzar II. That Count aspired higher then his Predecessors and took to wife Catherine daughter to Gustavus I. King of Sweden of whom he begat Iohn from whom the Counts of Ritberg are descended and Eno II. who married Anne daughter to Adolph Duke of Holstein by whom he had Vlrick husband to Iuliana daughter to Lewis Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt This Princess remains a Widow and makes it her business to bring up her children well of whom Edzar Ferdinand is still travelling abroad George Christian is at home with her and Eno Lewis her eldest son having continued some time at the Imperial Court was there made Counsellor to the Emperor and Gentleman of his Chamber Afterward in the year 1653 he was raised unto the rank and dignity of Prince by the Emperor Ferdinand III. at the Diet of Ratisbon This Prince was contracted to Henrittta daughter to Frederick Henry of Nassau Prince of Orange while they were both children but the parties not liking one another the Artitles of marriage were broken and Eno Lewis married Iustina Sophia Countess of Barly November 7. 1656. I am told for certain that this Prince hath 150000. Crowns Revenue and thereby is well enabled to maintain the quality he bears which is annext to the eldest alone the other being no more then Counts and having no part in the Countrey P. We are at length arrived to the end of this journey Let us rest a while and afterwards we will take a view of the Ecclesiastical Princes G. I am content and shall in the mean time prepare my self to tell you how the Ecclesiastical Princes live in Germany how many they are what order of place they observe in the Assemblies by whom and how they were raised to their dignity to what Jurisdiction they are subject and all other necessary things that shall come into my head The end of the Fifth Dialogue Dialogue VI. Of the Ecclesiastical Princes of the Empire P. THe Princes Ecclesiastical hold the first rank in the Empire and you place them after the Seculars but it matters not much since it is neither for want of respect nor of knowing their due place Well then let us see whether the Empire be as venerable by the Mitres of its Prelates as it is formidable by the Sword of its Souldiers G. There is never a Countrey in Christendom where Prelates have so much power as in Germany They are almost all Great Princes and as absolute over the Temporalty of their Benefices as a Secular Elector is over his Lands These riches are now and then misapplied to bad uses and the debauches made by Church-men their great Train the dogs the horses they maintain the Jesters they keep for their pleasure and their dissolute life obliged our Predecessors to upbraid them with it and allow us to believe that they gave occasion to Doctor Luther to preach against their Doctrine as well as their evil conversation Yet still it is often seen that the same Prelate possesseth two three nay a greater number of huge Benefices of the Empire and spends the Revenue thereof without any scruple of conscience in worldly pomp continual debauches and other things unworthy of their rank and profession P. These Princes give themselves but little if at all to their studies misusing their riches and think it beneath their greatness to preach the word of God and do other Ecclesiastical functions But they do not all live alike G. Whatever is spoken against ungodly persons doth nothing concern the truly religious There are Prelates of sundry conditions and different humors some are voluptuous and others chast some love nothing but dogs and bouffons others make much of worthy persons Heretofore besides the three Ecclesiastical Electors there were five Archbishops and thirty Bishops that had seat and voice in the Assemblies of the Empire At this time there are not so many because the Archbishopricks of Magdebourg Bremen and Riga and the Bishopricks of Halberstad Minden and Verden have been changed into Secular Principalities as those also of Besanson Verdun Mets and Toul were dismembred from the Empire and inseparably united to the Lands of Spain and France by the last Treaty of Peace And those of Valesia Losanna and Chur have been abolished by the Suisses So that at present there is none but Saltzbourg that holds the rank of Archbishop in the Colledge of the Princes and about twenty Bishops P. The German Church must without question have lost very much by the last Treaty of Peace where three Archbishopricks and six Bishopricks were Secularized G. Riga was cut off from the Empire before and all those other Benefices were in the power of the Lutherans who had no mind to let them slip out of their fingers And so methinks the generality of the Protestant Princes hath lost more by this Treaty then the German Church seeing the Princes have now no more means to provide for their younger brethren as they had before For in real truth the Elector of Saxony had Magdebourg the King of Denmark Bremen and some other Lords the Bishopricks whereof we have last made mention P. The King of Spain having the Archbishopricks of Besanson and Cambray in his possession there is little likelyhood that those Archbishops should come to the Diets of the Empire G. I do not know whether those Prelates have lost the right they had to sit in the Assemblies of the Empire but it is certain that Cambray doth not challenge the place of an Archbishoprick there though it have gotten that name amongst the Prelates of the Low Countreys by the augmentation of Bishopricks in Flanders which King Philip II. made in the beginning of his Reign That Prelate keeps his ancient title and always qualifies himself Duke of Cambray Count of Cambresis and Prince of the
1607. at which time the Burgers endeavouring to hinder the Catholiques from burying a Corps with the ceremonies of the Church of Rome it incurred the Imperial Ban or Proscription which was executed by the Duke of Bavaria who brought it into subjection and holds it still under his Laws Dunkelspiel hath been so often taken and re-taken in the last Wars that it will carry the marks thereof a great while Eslinguen is a pretty Town upon the Neckar within the Dutchy and under the protection of the Duke of Wirtemberg to whom it sends every first day of the year a hundred Florins of gold in a green velvet purse for the honour he doth them in being their Protector P. If I be not mistaken this City hath been honoured with the celebration of some Turnament G Not with a Turnament only but also with an Imperial Diet And produces great store of excellent Wine Francfort which was anciently called Tentoburgum and Hellenopolis signifies the passage or Ford of the Franks and was so termed because it served them for a retreat when they went into and came back from Gaule This City is renowned for its Fairs for the Article of the Golden Bull which ordains that the King of the Romans should be chosen there for its Fortress and for the river of Mein which parts it into two Towns whereof one retains the old name and the other is called Saxenhausen P. You have told me elsewhere that that clause of the Golden Bull is not observed and that many Kings of the Romans have been elected in other places G. That is true but yet the Town is very considerable for all that The Religion professed there is of two sorts and the Jews drive a great Trade amongst them Fridberg a very small City in Wetteravia had not above 60. Burgers when I passed that way but it hath great priviledges There is a Castle near it the Lords whereof are called Burgraves Guemunde which seems to signifie Gaudia Mundi the joys of the world in regard of the Turnaments or other pastimes which the Lords of Swaben have heretofore given their friends there is entirely Catholique and an Imperial City since the death of Conradine who was beheaded at Naples Gostar a City of Hircynia was fortified in the year 1207. The Castle is called the Imperial Palace and the Town the Royal City because the Kings of Germany were wont to make their aboad there and some Emperors have honoured it with their residence Guelnehausen after the same manner as Fridberg hath City and Castle and place in the Assemblies though the Electors Palatine use their utter most endeavour to bring it under their subjection P. I wonder how these petty places are able to maintain their liberty G. They are supported by others and the Emperor would not willingly see Princes make themselves Masters of them Haguenau a City of Alsatiâ— is Head of a Bailywick that comprehends the Imperial Cities of Colmar Selestad Weissembourg Landau Oberhenheim Rosherim Munster in the valley of St. Gregory Keichersberg and Turgkeim This Bailywick was given to the most Christian King with its appurtenances and the right which the House of Austria had to it heretofore This City was very much a favourite to the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa who caused it to be walled about after he had built a house there for himself and six for the principal Gentlemen belonging to his Hunting which the Lords of Flekenstein Durcheim and some others do still hold in Fee of the Empire P. I think the Lords of Durcheim are your kinsmen G. Margaret of Rottembourg a Gentlewoman of a very ancient family in Lower Alsatia was married to John Albert of Anweil of which marriage came Anne Margaret of Anweil my wife by whose means I find my self allied to the Houses of Anweil Rottembourg Scheling Welward Spest Durcheim Stursel Dalbourg Bernehausen Flekenstein Stein and many others But this is besides our purpose Hambourg situate upon the Elbe where the reflux of the Sea makes a good Port is one of the richest Cities in Germany the greatest in Vandalia and the best fortified in Europe It doth ordinarily maintain a thousand Souldiers and for a time of necessity it hath 15000. Burgers listed in fifty Companies Trade is exceeding quick there by reason of the river which joyns it to the Sea and a multitude of Portuguese Jews who have liberty of conscience there This City hath been subject to several Lords but at last it is become free notwithstanding all that the Duke of Holstein could do or the King of Denmark who hath built Glugstadt and a Fort in the river to annoy and incommodate the City of Hambourg P. The neighbourhood of the Swedes may entrench much upon their liberty G. The Crown of Sweden hath the possession of Stade near the river of Elbe and the King of Denmark hath Glugstadt on the other side of the same river So that if those two Kings should conspire to ruine Hambourg it would be in great danger but it is sheltered under the jealousie that is between those two Crowns Although this City be indeed so prodigiously rich that if the Kings should agree together it is probable the Senat would be able to guard themselves and preserve their liberty by the expense of their Treasure And questionless if Hambourg make good use of its own strength and the friendship of those that are concerned for its preservation it hath no cause to fear For the King of Denmark and the Duke of Holstein apprehending the Swedes will be always glad to fortifie themselves by the good affection and forces of Hambourg and Lubeck which are as so many Bulwarks to their States P. Is Lubeck also in the entrance of the Cimbrique Chersonese G. These Cities are not far distant from one another They have the same interest and are powerful Hambourg upon the Ocean and Lubeck upon the Balthique Sea in the entrance of the Cimbrique Chersonese which contains the Dutchies of Holstein Schleswick Stormar and Dithmarsh with the Countrey of Jutland The City of Lubeck was built by Adolph Count of Holstein in the time of the Emperor Conrade III. and a little after it was taken by Henry Leo Duke of Bavaria and Saxony who founded a Bishoprick there as I have read over the Gates of the Castle of Eutin the place where the Bishop resides After the death of that Henry it returned to its first Master and passed from him into the power of Canute King of Denmark but the Danes being overcome in the time of the Emperor Frederick II. it became an Imperial City and enjoys that priviledge to this day When it began it was of no great consequence but now it is large fair and potent by land and by water too the river Drave encreasing its Trade and giving it opportunity to put great store of shipping to Sea P. If the King of Denmark had the command of these two Cities it would enable him to attempt upon his neighbours
money and the Grisons with money and ammunition to enable them to enter into the Valteline that means should be used to make peace between the Turk and the Persian to the end the first should invade Germany through Hungary and Bethlehem Gabor through Transylvania that the Hollanders should furnish Canon and Canoneers to the Moores of Africa to besiege Mamora and Larache Yet that whirlwind was scattered by the breath of God by the prudence of the Catholique King and by the counsel of the Conde Duke for that Lord sent a Fleet to Brasile which recovered the Bay of Todos los Santos that the Hollanders had taken Genoa and the Valteline were relieved by two Armies which rescued the first when it was brought to the last gasp and preserved the Catholique Religion in the second the English were forced to let Cadiz be quiet after they had lost 5000. men there the Hollanders lost Breda the Africans were repelled from Mamora and Larache with notable loss and after the King of Denmark was beaten at the Battel of Lutter and many other encounters he was finally shut up into a corner within his Isles P. It is true that Christian IV. King of Denmark did his business but ill in Germany and that after the defeat of Frederick V. Elector Palatine of Charles Count of Mansfeld of Christian of Brunswick Bishop of Halberstadt of George Frederick Marquiss of Dourlach and of that King the Emperor was at a high point of prosperity and power G. After all those victories the greatest part of the World thought Ferdinand II. unconquerable as well as he had been unconquered before Now all Europe looking with an evil eye upon the too flourishing condition of the House of Austria and the Emperor endeavouring to re-plant the Monks in their Cloysters from which they had been long excluded and it may be to force all the Members of the Empire to go to Mass Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden animated with the desire or at least with the pretense of maintaining the Protestant Religion and Lewis XIII King of France fearing that the oppression of Germany might bring both the Empire and Europe into slavery they confederated with the Stares of Holland and some German Princes So the Emperor had his hands full on one side with the valiantest Prince that ever wore sword for many years past and on the other the wisest Cardinal that ever was honoured with the Purple And then Ferdinand knew that be had not fastened and secured the instability of Fortunes wheel P. Hercules had not been strong enough to resist so many powerful enemies then it is no marvel if both the counsel and courage of the Emperor were shaken G. The Emperor was not alone to bear that shock For having honoured Maximilian Duke of Bavaria with the Dignity of Frederick V. Elector Palatine he found him ready to follow his fortune and serve him with all the strength of his mind body and estates Ferdinand Elector of Collen brother to Maximilian did the same and the Duke of Lorraine forgeting his own Interest embraced that of the House of Austria the Prelates and some other Princes of the Empire did the like and entred into a Confederacy for that purpose P. Those were strong parties indeed especially being amongst Nations that do not easily take Arms and when they are once taken do more hardly lay them down G. When the Forces of two Enemies are equal if piety employ them to preserve liberty of Conscience or vain-glory to get more Crowns they produce sad and dismal effects and bring destruction upon many Provinces And so it hapned here where love to Religion having united the Protestants of Germany to the King of Sweden the current of his prosperities was so great and so sudden that if death had not put a stop to his victories without doubt his best friends would have had cause to entertain both jealousie and fear of him But when that Mars had shot like thunder from the four corners and through the midst of the Empire so that neither powerful Armies deep Rivers thick Forests nor impregnable Forts could stop the Torrent of his good success he was slain at last the sixth of November 1632. That death did somewhat slacken those unparalleled prosperities but a little after the Generals that succeeded him being assisted with the counsel and good instructions of Cardinal Richelieu and with the Treasure of France laid the foundations of a longer and bloodier War Which obliged the Elector of Saxony and some other Princes to change Interest and endeavour to keep up the greatness of the House of Austria So the Emperor being supported by the Catholique King some Electors and other Potentates of Germany and Italy and the Swedes assisted by the Forces of France Holland and some Protestant Princes the match became so equal that the War held on sometimes with gain sometimes with loss from the year 1630. till 1648. P. It is said that the last War of Germany continued 30. years without intermission G. It is true that the Bohemians being perswaded that the Emperor Matthias derogated from their priviledges and the liberty of their Religion when he gave judgement for the Catholiques in the case concerning some Churches which the Protestants had built at Brunaw and Clostergrab conceived strange designs of revenge and trusting to their own Forces and those of their Confederates they threw the principal Officers of the Realm headlong down from a Tower created a new King and took the field so suddenly that Ferdinand II. their lawful King and new Emperor had cause to say that Crowns have as much sharpness from their thorns as lustre from their precious stones But all that the Elector Palatine the Counts de la Tour and Mansfeld the Marquiss of Dourlach and the King of Denmark attempted did but serve to augment and improve the Forces glory and confidence of the Emperor I count here only from the King of Swedens entring into Germany till the Peace in which time there were fought within the Empire seven pitcht Battels fourteen exceeding bloody Fights and divers others of less note which have reduced our Countrey unto so miserable a condition that one can hardly find a whole unruined house in the Campania nor one Province throughout all the Empire that hath half so much people in it as it had before the last troubles P. Famine and Plague those usual attendants of War came also into play and rifled a world of people But since the relation of past evils is pleasant to those that have gone through them it will not be troublesome to you to tell me at what time in what place and by whom those Battels and Combats were fought and who had the better or the worse in them G. The first Battel was given at Leipsick in Misnia between Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden of glorious memory on the one part and the Imperialists with their Confederates under the command of Count Tilly on the other
as we have said was the principal are Frederick William Duke of Altembourg husband to Magdelen Sibyll daughter to John George Elector of Saxony by whom he hath a son and a daughter William Duke of Weymar Cousin to the former husband to Eleonor Dorothy daughter to John George Prince of Anhalt and Ernest his brother residing at Gotta who married Octob. 24.1636 Elizabeth Sophia daughter to Iohn Philip Duke of Saxony By which you see the alliances of these Princes as heretofore you learnt the number of their children For what concerns the voices they have in the Assemblies besides that of the Elector the Administrator of Magdebourg hath one the Duke of Altembourg two they of Weymar and Gotta each of them one and all together one for the Principality of Henneberg P. How did the Saxons come to inherit that Principality G. The Counts of Henneberg having flourished for above 800. years the Emperor offered them the quality of Prince which they accepted But as things of this world are of short continuance that House failed totally in the year 1583. and that of Saxony took possession of the estate by vertue of a Confraternity made between those Princes in the year 1554. This Principality is situated partly upon the mountain and forest of Thuringia partly on this side towards Franconia It remains undivided still because the Elector who hath five eighth shares in it hath not been willing to make partitions in severalty as the Dukes of Altembourg Weymar and Gotta desired him to do This Countrey lies very commodiously for the Princes of Saxony because it joyns their Landgraveship of Thuringia with the lands they hold in Franconia and gives them a passage of great difficulty in that mountain To conclude this House is potent by the extent and fertility of its lands by the great number of Nobility there inhabiting by its good mines of Silver and Copper and by the excellent Fortresses of Leipsick Wittenberg Dresden Konigstein and many others which put these Princes above parallel as well as that Soverain Justice they all exercise upon their own lands from which no man is allowed to appeal P. By what I understand these Princes are to be reckoned amongst the first and greatest of the Empire as well because the most illustrious think themselves happy if they can derive their Origin from this House as also because they are very highly priviledged And if I be not mistaken the Marquisses of Brandenbourg have no great cause to envy them G. I do not know of any King that comes in a direct male Line from the Marquisses of Brandenbourg Nevertheless this House is allied to all the great ones of Christendom and is no less potent those that are the most esteemed in the Empire It hath the Dutchies of Prussia and Cleve the Principalities of Halberstad Minden Sculemberg and Anspach the moyety of Pomerania the expectance or next reversion of the Dutchy of Magdebourg the Marquisate of Brandenbourg whereto the Electoral dignity is annexed in a word it hath so much land that to put it beyond comparison in Germany there remains nothing to be wisht but that the Estates thereof were contiguous P. Are these lands very distant one from another G. They are not so far off but that a Courier setting out from Cleve to ride to this Elector in the furthest parts of Prussia may lye almost every night in his Masters Territories from the Countrey of Cleve into that of Iuliers from thence into the County of the Mark so to Ravensbourg out of which he enters into the Diocese of Minden and from thence into the Principality of Halberstad from whence he reacheth the New Marquisate at night and so of the rest passing on through Pomerania All which voyage is two hundred German leagues long wherein he is not to be equalled by any Prince in Germany P. The Reformed Religion whereof this Elector makes profession differing from that of his Subjects he is thereby less powerful in my opinion and if he would embrace the Lutheran which his Grandfather forsook and as many believe only out of worldly considerations he would enlarge his power and if I be not deceived his Subjects would have more confidence in him G. This Prince is Reformed and all his Subjects except those of Cleve follow the doctrine of Luther but that abates not either the Princes love toward his Subjects or the Subjects obedience toward their Prince His Electoral Highness hath Preaching within his Palace after his way and permits the Lutherans to teach their doctrine through all his Estates Now the diversity of Religion between Kings and their Subjects is little prejudicial to a State except when they would lay violence upon consciences and force men in that which ought to be free P. I am of another opinion and am perswaded that difference in Religion hath poured out those deluges of blood which our Fathers and we have seen with horror in France and Germany G. It is most certain that Religion hath cost many thousand mens lives that it were to be wisht there were but one Religion in a State and that Philip the Prudent II. of that name King of Spain did many times say he had rather not have a Countrey then have it infected with Heresie I do also grant that France and Germany were in danger to perish in their blood by reason of different Religions but it was only when endeavors were used to force men to go to Mass against their will or to deprive Princes of the means to maintain their Subjects in the liberty of their conscience Otherwise Religion is a strong bulwark for the preservation of both those States and the Spanyard did not lose his hope of attaining to the Monarchy of Europe till he saw the Reformation stop the passage against his Gold as well as against his Armies P. I have heard it said that when Henry the Great came to the Crown of France all the Catholicks of Europe bandied their power to hinder him from sitting upon the Throne and that he had not arrived thither but by his valour accompanied with his Right and with the services which he received from the Protestants but I do not see wherein diversity of Religion is beneficial to Germany since the miseries of the last War proceeded from no other source but that G. Germany receives no less advantage from the Reformation of Luther then France from that of Calvin The Empire had been Hereditary before this time and the Princes become Subjects if the Reformation and the desire of maintaining Religion had not opened our eyes The Italians who are very clear-sighted in matters of State have perceived this long since and Bocalini when he brings in Apollo making answer to Sir Thomas Moore that all people will be Catholicks when the King of Spain will be content with Castile and the Emperor with the County of Habspourg shows manifestly that Religion defends us from slavery P. This digression hath not been unpleasant
their tranquillity depends upon the equal counterpoise of those two Kings and therefore use their endeavours to hinder the one from bringing the other too much under but I dare not affirm that either of them have such high thoughts True it is that every one ought to fear it and that the wisest Princes seeing the balance too heavy on one side help to make weight on the other The King of Sweden who is prudent in Counsel and valiant in fight will not be the last to apply a remedy when he sees the danger And if he should forget his own and the Empires Interest the Venetians Hollanders and Swisses would employ their money and power for the preservation of theirs and our Liberty P. Europe breeds a people so ingenuous knowing valiant and so opposite to servitude that it seems impossible for it ever to come under the obedience of one only person Let us then leave the Ambitious to rack and torture their minds with imaginary conquests and let us look upon the House of the Guelphes which heretofore possest a great part of Germany And if you will oblige me speak as distinctly of it as possibly you can G. This House which without dispute held the first rank after the Electors before the Archbishopricks of Magdebourg and Bremen were converted into Secular Dignities is put back those two degrees Nevertheless it comes not behind any one in antiquity and had its Territories all along the Elbe in the Countrey of Saxony when it followed the fortune of Albovin King of the Lombards first into Pannonia and afterwards into Italy where these people fixt their seat having driven the Goths out of it and gave their name to the Province anciently called Gallia Cisalpina about 200. years before the time of Charlemagne Then it was that this family acquired the Dutchy of Modena which it possesseth even at this day P. Do you think then that the House of Este which still holds the Dutchy of Modena and lost that of Ferrara in the time of Pope Clement VIII after the death of Duke Alphonso is a branch of this of Brunswick G. I make no doubt of it and when the Kingdom of the Lombards was destroyed in Italy by the arms of Charlemagne some Princes of this House came back into their own Countrey where they had still so large an estate and authority that the Emperor Lewis the Debonaire married Iudith a Princess of that family and had by her Charles the Bald who was King of France and Emperor This Empress had a brother named Henry to whom Lewis his Son-in-law son to Lewis Germanicus gave those lands which are now called Bavaria P. These indeed are fair and advantagious alliances which having made those Princes Brothers-in-law and Fathers-in-law to Kings brought them so considerable a Principality G. The Descendents of Henry did not long possess this Countrey for his line failing in Guelphe IV. his Nephews son the Emperor Henry IV. gave his inheritance to Guelphe V. son to the Duke of Ferrara who as we have said was of the same House And in process of time Henry the Proud Duke of Bavaria descended from Guelphe V. married Gertrude daughter to the Emperor Lotharius II. who brought him the Dutchy of Saxony for her Dowry The issue of that marriage was Henry Leo who together with Bavaria and Saxony possessed many great Principalities lying upon the Elbe and elsewhere P. How comes it then to pass that the Successors of Henry Leo have their Estate confined within the Dutchies of Brunswick and Luntbourg G. That Prince being of a high spirrit and not able to comply with the Emperor Frederick Barbarossâ— his Unkle was proscribed and expelled the Empire and when he was thâ—s driven out of his Estates he made his retreat into England to King Henry II. who gave him his daughter Matildis or Mawd to wife and procured his reconciliation with the Emperoâ— But because he had in the mean time disposed of the Dutchy of Bavaria in favor of the Count of Schieren whose posterity enjoys it at this day Henry Leo was restored to no more then the Dutchy of Saxony which Principality past a little after into the House of Saxon-Lawembourg by the marriage of Helen daughter to the Emperor Otho IV. and grandchild to Henry Leo with Albert I. of that name Elector of Saxony At that time Frederick II. gave the title of Duke of Brunswick and Lunebourg to Otho a prince of that House P. The misfortune of Henry Leo should serve for a lesson to Great ones and make all men see that it is necessary to honor Superiors and not to provoke ones Masters G. Many great Princes desiring to shake off the yoke of their due obedience have forfeited their right and lost that which they would not acknowledge to hold of their Soverain That was the quarrel against the King of England who was devested of the Provinces of Normandy and Guyenne by Charles VII King of France And if the Guelphes had husbanded their strength better and paid the Emperor the respect they ought him they had still been the most potent Princes in Germany P. They are far less at present then they were in the time of Henry Leo and yet they seem to be very considerable by their own forces and by their alliances G. All the Houses that have admitted the right of Primogeniture are better kept up then others This having a large Estate and four voices in the Assemblies is divided but into two principal branches which are equal in dignity but the elder in years of the two Chiefs precedes the other in the general and particular Assemblies They all bear the same title and if one branch happen to fail the other shall succeed it They have both of them good Fortresses Wolfenbottel Cel Hanover Lunebourg and Giffhorne are strong places under the command of these Princes Brunswick hath never submitted to their power still enjoying the right of a Free City though the Duke hath often used skill as well as force to bring it under his obedience These Princes can raise and maintain great numbers of Souldiers within their Territories And the neighborhood of Denmark and Sweden may yet make them more considerable the Emperor being always willing to gratifie them to keep them to him and strangers to gain them to their side P. It is certain that a Prince whose lands border upon a Forain State may easily make himself more valuable then if they lay in the heart of the Empire but there is a great deal of prudence to be used in such cases G. The Dukes of Lorraine and Savoye have always been very much considered for the situation of their Estates and the need that neighboring Monarchs had of their assistance For which cause Bocalini having brought them to be weighed at Laurence de Medicis his Scales finds them as heavy as Kings Yet if these Princes be not very quick and expert as well as valiant and resolute they may hazard the
appearance there then his fellow it hapned at the three and twentieth Turnament which was held at Darmstadt in the year 1403. that the Gentlemen of Franconia and those of Hesse drew so much blood upon one another that there remained dead upon the place seventeen of the former and nine of the latter And yet some have been celebrated since but either that jealousie or the wars which suffer not men to think on such pastimes or other causes to me unknown have absolutely banisht those Exercises by means whereof the Nobility was powerfully attracted to vertue and obliged to accomplish and perfect themselves in all kind of Chivalry P. I believe that as none but Illustrious or Noble persons entred into those Turnaments the number also of the Knights and Squires was limited G. They confined the number of parties allowed to appear for fear it might otherwise grow too great and to avoid the confusion which would arise from too many Masters and Servants For that cause and in regard every mans charges were born there besides that they would admit no new Nobility no Bastard no Usurer none guilty of High Treason no Oppressor of Widows and Orphans none born of Parents whereof one was of base extraction and ignoble no Heretique Murderer Traytor no Coward that had run away from the Battel nor indiscreet person that had given offence to Ladies by word or deed they did also refuse to admit more then one of the same Family at a time Princes came into the Lists with four Squires apiece Counts and Barons with three a Knight with two and a Gentleman with one P. It may be those Exercises will be set up again in their pristine honour and in case that should come to pass I would gladly know what a man should do to be admitted thereunto and how he ought to behave himself being come into the Lists G. The place and hour for the Turnament being resolved they that had a desire to break a Lance there came thither at the time appointed and went to the Presidents Lodging to have their names written down which was done in the presence of three Heralds to whom the Champion delivered his Helmet and Sword and after he had been at Confession he presented himself in the Lists with one two three or four Squires according to the quality of the persons The horses of the Combatants were to be without fault or exception the Caparisons and furniture such as to give no offence their Saddles without any extraordinary raising before or behind and all equal After which they performed all kind of exercises on horseback and when the Jousts were ended every man repaired to the President of his Nation to wait for the sentence of the Judges And he that had best deserved the Prize received it either from the hand of some Lady or from the Prince that gave it P. If the Emperor should ever have a desire to see the skill and sufficiency of his Nobility in that way I would endeavour to make one there and though that should never come to pass I will howsoever take pains to make my self a good Horseman Now since we have discoursed enough concerning Turnaments tell me what you know of the Cities of the Empire G. All the Cities of Germany are either free or subject or partly free and partly subject Those of the first sort acknowledge none but the Emperor are Estates of the Empire and participate in the right of Soverainty the second depend upon Princes Lords and Gentlemen give respect to their Orders and obedience to their Justice the last are those which having been subject have obtained some priviledges from the Emperor from their Princes or by their swords And though they be almost Free yet have they neither voice nor place in the Assemblies nor do they quietly enjoy their pretended priviledges These Cities being rich and potent make bad use of their power endeavouring to shake off the yoke of obedience which they owe to their Masters to whom they give very little respect but try their uttermost to make themselves Imperial Cities Such are Brunswick Erfort and Embden which have evermore some matter or other of dispute the first with the Duke of Brunswick the second with the Elector of Mentz and Embden with the Princes of East-Friseland P. I imagine that the Cities belonging to Princes are neither so wealthy nor so fair as the Imperial G. That rule doth not alwayes hold There are some Imperial Cities to he found of no great consequence as Fridberg Aalen Weiler Gueminde Biberac Dunkelspiel and several others on the the contrary there are divers Cities subject to Princes surpassing in beauty magnificent in buildings and considerable for riches as Munchen Ingolstadt Dresden Wirsbourg Mentz Magdebourg Bamberg Stutgards and Lunebourg but they have not the same right which those lesser places we last mentioned enjoy P. I have often heard say that the Cities of Germany are neither so ancient nor of so fair structure as in other Countreys G. Many good Antiquaries assure us that the Cities on the East-side of the Rhine were built about the time of the Emperor Henry I. but those very Authors say that the City of Trier is one of the Ancientest in Europe and that Strasbourg Wormes and Spire flourished before the time of Julius Caesar As for the beauty and number of Cities our Germany yields to no Province in Europe The Italians who for the most part undervalue all that is on the other side of the Alpes from them cannot deny us that prerogative anst John Botero confesses that for that matter we may give them fifteen and a bisque using these words to that purpose I Thedeschi avanzano di gran lungai Romani And I am sure that the Constable of Castille who to disgrace the greatness and magnificence of Paris told Mareschal d'Ornano that he had left behind him the fairest Cities in Christendom would have changed his opinion if he had seen Germany and been forced to acknowledge in his heart though according to the Spanish vapours he would not have exprest it with his mouth that there is nothing in Spain equal to Antwerp Amsterdam Hambourg Collen Nuremberg Strasbourg Erfort and Augsbourg P. If the Cities of Germany excell all others in beauty then they are inferior to them in nothing for Bocalini esteems them without comparison richer then those in other places when he saith that Laurence de Medicis going about to weigh them the balance wherein he had already weighed all the Estates of Christendom broke not being able to bear so great a burthen But I suppose the houses of Great men are not so embellished in Germany as in Forain Countreys G. I pray be of another mind for when you have seen all Europe you will confess that the Cities and Castles where the Princes and Prelates of Germany make their residence are so stately in buildings so delicious in gardens so artificial in Grots so abounding in Fountains flowers fruits and
wait upon the Emperor to his Lodging P. Are all these formalities absolutely necessary G. They are all so necessary that without them the Recesse or Act would not have the power of a Law nor oblige any one to the observation of it But I should have told you that two Originals are drawn Signed and Sealed in the same manner one of which is laid up in the Chancery of the Empire whereof the Elector of Mentz hath the custody and the other in the Chancery of the Emperor There is also a Copy sent to the Chamber of Spirt Here you must take notice that these Acts are framed and written in the German Tongue to the end that all the Subjects of the Empire may understand them neither can they be in any other Language by an Edict which the Emperor Rodolph made to that purpose in the year 1274. The end of the Ninth Dialogue Dialogue X. In what condition the Empire was when the peace was concluded at Munster 1648. And of the Golden Bull. P. WHen the unwelcome news of the Emperor Ferdinand III. his deplorable death had sounded in the ears of all Germany it struck a sensible sorrow upon the hearts of all those that love peace which he had procured for us and fear the disorders which usually happen in the time of an Interregnum I am one of that number and that fear carrying my thoughts back to the sad and calamitous times of his Reign I desire you to tell me something of it G. Ferdinand III. Son to Ferdinand II. Nephew to Charles Archduke of Gratz and great Nephew to the Emperor Ferdinand I. being born the 13. of July 1608. was placed upon the Throne of Hungary in the year 1625. and two years after upon that of Bohemia Then having given proof of his valour prudence and piety he was chosen King of the Romans at Ratisbon in the year 1636. and on the 9. of July 1637. when his Father dyed he took the Reins of the Empire into his hand and was effectually Emperor though his Enemies refused to give him the title till the beginning of the Treaty of Peace which was concluded at Munster the 24. of October 1648. That Prince having enjoyed but little health and less quietness upon earth entred into the fruition of Eternal rest in Heaven the second of April in the year 1657. which was the 20. of his Reign and the 49. of his Age. P. The decease of that pious Prince was the innocent cause of the dispute which is at this day between the Electors of Bavaria and Palatine the first pretending that the Vicarship of the Empire is inseparably annext to his Electorship and the other to the possession of the Lower Palatinate And I remember I have heard you say that Frederick V. Father of this Palatine accepted the Crown of Bohemia which Charles Emanuel Duke of Savoy Bethlelem Gabor Prince of Transylvania John George Elector of Saxony and Maximilian Duke of Bavaria had justly refused when the Bohemians desirous of novelty rejected their King out of which temerarious engagement grew that War which hath afflicted Our Countrey for a long time Now being I hold it more necessary to know the condition wherein Germany was at the beginning and end of our troubles then to learn in what state Rome was at the time when Julius Cesar broke and dissolved the Triumvirate I pray tell me what you know of it G. It is good to know ancient Histories but much better not to be ignorant in the modern I therefore commend your curiosity and for the satisfaction thereof shall tell you it is worth your observation that the peace of many years had filled Germany with riches debauchery and evil humours which could not let Great men be quiet in the enjoyment of their superabundant happiness I do not know whether it be that our nature is always longing for new things or that God usually punishes our excesses even in this life But so it was that the Head and principal Members of the Empire entred into a misunderstanding and distrust of one another while the first endeavouring to enlarge his authority found himself in danger to lose it and the latter desiring to preserve their priviledges filled their states with misery desolation and infinite mortalities P. Some think that the House of Austria being arrived to a formidable greatness projected designs proportioned to its strength and would have made it self absolute as well in Germany as in its Estates of Spain and Italy the apprehension whereof possessing our Nation made it resolve upon the dangeroufest way of preserving it self which is to call in Strangers G. As in eating one bit whets the stomach for another so it is in rule and Government where every addition creates a desire of enlargement Yet I do not believe the House of Austria which is naturally pious and just had ever a design to enrich it self out of the spoils of another but the affection it bears to the Religion of Rome doth easily perswade me that it would willingly have leaped over any other consideration to see the Protestants under the yoke of the Pope P. Do you think that the zeal of Religion which is remarked in those Princes was the cause of our Civil Wars G. It is not impossible but that zeal might have carried the pious disposition of Ferdinand II. upon some enterprize which might clash with that liberty of Religion which was tolerated by the Edicts of his Predecessors and if you adde thereunto with what ease he dissipated the dreadful Forces which Frederick V. Elector Palatine Bethlehem Gabor and his other Confederates had drawn together you will make no further doubt but that his good success inflamed and heightned that zeal of his and that the same great Prince believing his victories to be visible evidences that God called him to humble and bring down every thing that did not acknowledge the See of Rome would have endeavoured to force consciences and make Rome to be reverenced in every place where his Sceptre was obeyed P. Malvezzi pretending to show that the House of Austria took up Arms only in its own defence says that the greatest part of the world conspired its ruine in the year 1625. G. That Marquiss desiring to raise beyond all comparison the merit of Don Gaspar de Gusman Count of Olivares and Duke of Saint Lucar favourite to Philip IV. King of Spain says that by vertue of a League made at Avignon Europe and Africa laid their heads and joyned their hands together against the House of Austria and that the felicity and prudence of that Favourite was such that the King his Master remained victorious every where For says he when it was resolved that the Hollanders should set upon Brasile the Armies of France and Savoy should assault Genoa the King of England should send a Fleet to Cadiz the King of Denmark with the Protestants of Germany should trouble the Empire Venice should assist the Duke of Savoy with