eating too much of a Melon tho he was never tax'd for being guilty of any manner of intemperance in meat or drink but always esteem'd a severe punisher of drunkenness and gluttony 1493. Maximilian succeeded his Father Frideric having been before his Fathers death Crown'd King of the Romans in the year 1486. From his birth till he was almost nine years old he is said to have been utterly speechless but afterwards he gain'd the use of his tongue and prov'd one of the most eloquent and learned Emperors that Germany ever bred He married Mary the only Daughter and Heiress of Charles Duke of Burgundy upon which marriage all the Dukedoms Marquisats Earldoms and other Dominions of which the said Charles had been Lord were for ever annex'd to the Territories of the House of Austria The wars he was engag'd in against his neighbours on all hands especially the Venetians were almost innumerable tho for the most part he was forc'd to take up Arms in his own defence 'T is reported of him that he would never pass by a Gallows or Gibbet without a reverent salute in these words Salve sancta Justitia For five years before his death which happen'd in the twenty-fifth year of his reign he had his Coffin always by him and carried after him in every expedition he undertook which gave some of his retinue occasion to conjecture that he had some great treasure in it and that the pretence of its putting him in mind of mortality was only a false veil to blind the vulgar 1519. Charles V. Son to Philip King of Spain was elected Emperor and Crown'd with the greatest pomp imaginable at Aix la Chappel A puissant and brave Prince who well deserv'd the surname of Great conferr'd on him by Pope Paul III. The whole History of his Life seems to be nothing else but a Catalogue of his Conquests The writers of those times mention forty great victories obtain'd by him and seventy battels from which he came off the field a Conqueror The Pope of Rome and the French King were at the same time his prisoners He quash'd the League made by the Protestants at Schmalcade and took the Elector of Saxony and Landtgrave of Hassia prisoners He forced the Great Turk to relinquish Vienna and afterwards won the Kingdom of Tunis At last having reign'd thirty-eight years loaded with victories and honour he resign'd the Empire and betook himself to a Monastery where he was used to say That he had more pleasure and satisfaction in the retired and solitary enjoyment of one day in a Monk's Cell then ever he could perceive in all the fortunate Triumphs that attended the rest of his life 1558. Ferdinand I. upon the voluntary resignation of his Brother Charles V. was by an unanimous consent of the Electors declared Emperor tho Pope Pius IV. refused to pronounce the Election valid because Ferdinand had granted the Lutherans a toleration But some say the same Pope was afterwards so far reconciled to him as to grant him the priviledg of receiving the Sacrament of the Lords Supper in both kinds He was a mild peaceful and temperate Prince a hard student and perfect Master of the Latin tongue He was exceeding courteous to all even the meanest of his Subjects and had a certain hour in every day in which he attended the suits and complaints of poor men When some of his Courtiers objected to him the inconveniences that would follow upon the permission of so easie an access to all manner of supplicants he answer'd That himself could expect but harsh usage at Gods Throne if beggars were hinder'd from approaching his He dyed of a Catarrh in the sixty-first year of his age after he had reign'd six years 1564. Maximilian II. Ferdinand's Son and King of Bohemia was elected into his Fathers room being first proclaim'd King of the Romans at Francfurt and afterwards Crown'd King of Hungary This Emperor prov'd as great a favourer of the Protestants as his Father insomuch that some Roman Catholics have not stuck to call him the Lutheran Emperor He renewed the Articles of Peace agreed upon between the Protestant and Popish parties at Passaw and granted some of his Nobility and branches of the Austrian Family a free exercise of the Lutheran Religion Qui in conscientiis Imperium sibi sumunt conantur coeli arcem invadere is a saying which Historians know not whether to attribute to this Emperor or Maximilian I. but 't is most probable it was the former's since he is known to have been the greatest favourer of the Protestant perswasion that ever rul'd the German Empire He dyed at Ratisbon in the year 1576 having reign'd twelve years 1576. Rudolph Maximilian's Son was elected Emperor immediately upon his Father's death Some curious Chronologers have fancied his coming to the Imperial Crown in this year something ominous since the Numeral letters in RVdoLphVs IMperator AVgVstVs make up the number 1576. He was a Prince exceedingly addicted to the studies of all manner of Arts and Sciences especially the Mathematics and Mechanics In both which he receiv'd great assistance from the famous Astronomer Tycho Brahe who dyed in his Court where he had spent the greatest part of his banishment Several Cities and Provinces in Germany at his request began to make use of the Gregorian account tho many Ambassadors sent from the Electors to Rotenburg to treat of this particular rejected it The greatest war he engaged himself in was against the Turks with whom at last he concluded a Peace in the year 1600. But the truth is he minded his book more then Arts of Chivalry and was a greater Scholar then Soldier Which gave his Brother Matthias opportunity of undermining and cheating him of the Kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia and forcing him to content himself with the Arch-Dukedom of Austria and the Empire 1612. Matthias upon his Brother's death was Elected and Crown'd Emperor at Francfurt The Protestant Religion was as much persecuted by this Emperor as it was encouraged by his predecessor Which harshness and severity gave occasion to that bloody Civil-war which broke out first in Bohemia and had afterwards like to have set the whole Empire in a flame When the oppression which the Protestants lay under had occasioned some dangerous seditions in a great many considerable Cities and Market-Towns in the Kingdom of Bohemia the Emperor order'd a Synod to be call'd at Prague designing to allow the dissenting party as they term'd the Lutherans some small priviledges but such as should be far short of the large Charter given and confirm'd to them by his Brother Rudolph At this meeting the Emperors Ambassadors William Slabate and Jurislaw Bazius where thrown out of the window for their domineering carriage and so perished This mightily incensed the Emperor who endeavouring to be reveng'd had like to have ruin'd himself and his Empire He dyed without issue having reign'd seven years 1619. Ferdinand of Gratz Arch-Duke of Austria and Grandson to Ferdinand I. by
death Elected Emperor Whereupon he conferr'd the Marquisate of Brandenburg upon his Brother 17. Sigismund King of Hungary and Bohemia who succeeding his Brother in the Empire sold the Marquisate to Jodocus Duke of Moravia but afterwards having redeem'd it out of the hand of William Marquise of Misnia to whom Jodicus had mortgaged it conferr'd it upon Frideric Burggraf of Noremberg at the Council of Constance in the year 1417. From which time we may begin to reckon up the third and last Catalogue of the Marquises of Brandenburg as follows 1. Frideric Burggraf of Noremberg was in consideration of his good services done against the Rebels in Hungary and Bohemia created as before said Marquise of Brandenburg paying only for his Investiture 400000 Crowns His Son 2. Frideric II. succeeded his Father Surnamed for his peevish and cruel temper the Marquise with the Iron teeth He was made Duke of Pomeren by the Emperor Frideric III. but his Brother 3. Albert relinquished all but the bare Title in Pomeren leaving nothing to his Successors but the name which they have hitherto kept of Dukes of Pomeren However he is said to have been so remarkable at some acts of Chivalry that the usual Titles conferr'd on him by Pope Pius II. were Achilles Germanicus and Vlisses Teutonicus He died at Francfurt at the Election of the Emperor Maximilian in the year 1494. His Son 4. John is reported to have been a Prince as eloquent as his Father was valiant and therefore he is commonly stiled Cicero Germanicus He left the Marquisate in the year 1499 to his Son 5. Joachim As great a Lover as his Father was a Master of Eloquence Founder of the University at Francfurt and first authorizer of the Reform'd Religion in Brandenburg 6. Joachim II. succeeded his Father and in the year 1534 got himself and his followers no small credit in a brave Expedition against the Turks at that time the common Enemy of the German Empire His Son and Successor 7. John George govern'd a long time in peace and prosperity During his life his Son 8. Joachim Frideric was Administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg and after his Father's death govern'd the Marquisate of Brandenburg with the same peaceable meekness and piety He had the usual blessing of good and religious men the happiness to be a Father of many Children whereof the eldest 9. John Sigismund succeeded him He married Ann Daughter of Albert-Frideric Duke of Prussia and Mary Eleanor his Wife Daughter of William I. Duke of Cleve who married his Daughter to the said Duke as he did all the rest to other Princes with promise that upon the decease of her Brethren without issue she and her Heirs should succeed to all his Territories Upon this Title the present Elector of Brandenburg lays claim to the Dukedoms of Cleve Juliers and Bergen or the Mountains with the County of Ravensburg 10. George-William Son to John Sigismund and the Lady Ann beforemention'd claim'd in his Mother's right the Dukedoms aforesaid together with the Barony of Ravenstein All which were parted betwixt him and his Cousin-German Wolfgangus Palatine of Newburg and Son of Magdalen younger Sister to Mary-Eleanor But falling out at last about the division of their Territories they engaged their Friends and Allies in the broil the Palatine having call'd in to his assistance the Forces of Spain and the Elector John Sigismund in behalf of his Son the Confederate States of the Netherlands After the death of Bugislaus Duke of Pomeren 't was hoped he might succeed into that Dukedom also but how the Swede balk'd those expectations in the Treaty of Munster we have already inform'd the Reader This Marquise's Son 11. Frideric William is at present Elector of Brandenburg a Prince wise valiant religious temperate chast and in a word master of all the noble virtues without the least mixture of vices of his Countryand Family He was born in the year 1620 and upon his Father's death declared Elector in the year 1656. He has several Children by both his Wives before mention'd whereof the eldest Son or Electoral Prince Charles Emile was born the sixth of February in the year 1655. Tho the Elector of Saxony was formerly look'd upon as a much more potent Prince then the Marquise of Brandenburg Strength and for that reason has always taken place of him at the Elections of the Emperors yet certainly the case is much alter'd at present and the many accessions to the Elector of Brandenburg's Dominions whereof the present Marquise and his predecessors have made themselves Masters in these last ages have render'd him the most powerful and formidable Prince next to the Austrian Family in the German Empire Besides the Marquisate of Brandenburg he challenges the Dukedoms of Magdeburg Preussen Juliers Cleves Bergen Stetin Pomeren Casubia Vandalia Silesia Crossen and Jagerndorff Again he writes himself Duke of Rugen Prince of Halberstadt and Minden Earl of the Marck and Ravensberg and lastly Baron of Ravenstein The Marquise of Brandenburg's chief interest seems to consist in a firm adherence to the King of Denmark Interest who possibly is the only Prince can secure him from the encroachments of his neighbour the Swede Next to the Swedes he is most jealous of the Dukes of Saxony as having observed them more favoured by the House of Austria in the controversie about the Dukedoms of Juliers and Cleves then himself This obliged him to compose the differences betwixt himself and the Duke of Newburg upon easier terms then otherwise he would have been willing to have done The King of Poland is another terrible neighbour on the coasts of Prussia and therefore the Elector not daring to repose too great a confidence in a Prince who pretends a right to the Ducal as well as Regal Prussia is obliged to keep a constant and strong Army upon those coasts In the year 1657 this question was moved Whether the Elector of Brandenburg might lawfully be deprived of all the Territories which he held in Prussia as Dependances on the Crown of Poland upon his having enter'd into a League with the King of Sweden at that time declared Enemy to Poland The Polish Lawyers urged in the affirmative that the Elector was the King of Poland's Vassal and therefore forfeited his Lands by entering into a Confederacy with his Master's Enemies But certainly when we consider in what a miserable condition poor King Casimir was and how unable to defend either himself or his Subjects and again how probable 't was that in this conjuncture the Swedish Army would have swallow'd up the whole Dukedom of Prussia as it had already the greatest part of the Kingdom of Poland without being obliged to quit the field by such a Treaty the Poles had greater reason to thank the Elector for preserving by this expedient some part of their King's Dominions from the common destruction then to condemn him for wisely shunning the ruin which King Casimir had brought upon this Kingdom There are
Forreign Princes and their manners modell'd by different Laws The second great Epocha in the Swedish Chronicles is from the reign of 108. Ericus IX surnam'd the Saint a virtuous and pious Prince He never lay'd any Taxes or Impositions upon his Subjects but was content with the Crown-Patrimony and when Money was offer'd him by his people he refus'd to accept it He built the Cathedral Church at Vpsal and propagated Christianity to the Finlanders This King new modell'd all the Swedish Laws and expung'd those that any way favour'd Paganism He was murther'd by a Party of Rebels and in the very place where they cut off his head there presently issued out says Loccen a spring of pure water famous for curing diseases 109. Charles VII a peaceable and religious King who founded several Monasteries and had an Arch-bishops see granted him in his own Dominions 110. Canutus son to Ericus 111. Suercherus II. 112. Ericus X a quiet and peaceable King 113. John I surnam'd the Meek He propagated the Christian Religion amongst the Leiflanders 114. Ericus XI surnamed the Stammerer He rooted out Paganism in Tavastia and brought over the Inhabitants to the Christian Faith 115. Waldemarus son to Bergerus Jerl who upon the death of Ericus in his Fathers absence was clected King which his Father being dissatisfied with at his return declaring his displeasure that an unexperienc'd youth his Son should be advanc'd to the Crown and himself disregarded he was thereupon desir'd to take upon him the management of all publick affairs After his death Waldemarus had absolute power in his Kingdom and ruled by his own unfortunate commands He was depos'd by his people and his Crown given to 116. Magnus I surnam'd Ladulaus i. e. the Lock to Granaries because he made such severe Laws against stealing Corn and breaking up Granaries that in his reign the people used neither Lock nor Key his Laws being sufficien to secure them from Thieves and Robber He built many Churches and made several wholsom Laws ordering that all Offenders instead of paying mulcts should be obliged to assist in building some Tower or Fort. 117. Birgerus son to Magnus in his time and by his means Carelia received the Gospel He manag'd affairs imprudently and thereupon was depos'd and banish'd by his Subjects and his Kingdom conferr'd on 118. Magnus II. surnam'd Smeek i. e. the flatter'd or cocker'd Prince In the former part of his reign he ruled peaceably and had the affections of his people but falling into sottishness and following strange women he lost the love of his Subjects and was in a Senate at Stockholm publickly arraign'd for his misdemeanors call'd for to answer for himself and not appearing in his own defence by them depos'd Ericus XII son to Magnus sometime during his Fathers reign manag'd all business of State and therefore he is by some reckon'd amongst the Kings of Sweden though without good reason for he was only an assistant to the King in Council not a Partner in the Government The fourth Swedish Epocha is reckon'd from the remarkable alteration of affairs under 119. Albertus of Mecklebourg elected by the Suffrages of the people For some time he rul'd well but preferring Germans to the chief places of trust in his Kingdom he thereupon lost the love of his Subjects and his Crown to boot After he was depos'd he retir'd into a Monastery The person who succeeded was 120. Margaretta Queen of Denmark and Norway She vex'd her Subjects with intolerable Taxes admitted Danes English-men and Italians into publick Offices and was thereupon assaulted by the Nobles of the Kingdom who had certainly slain her had she not given them fair promises and propos'd to them one to succeed her viz. 121. Ericus XIII her Nephew son to Wartislavus Duke of Pomeren He was King of Denmark Norway and Sweden at the same time He marryed Philippa Daughter to Henry IV. then King of England for some time he reigned happily but breaking the Laws of the Kingdom and not observing his Coronation-Oath he fell into great troubles and at last after he had enjoy'd three Crowns for five and forty years was dethron'd by his Subjects this King after he was depos'd is said to have turn'd Pirat and very much infested the Brittish Coasts his Kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden were given to 122. Christophorus Duke of Bavaria This King revis'd and corrected the municipal Laws of Sweden and caus'd them to be promulgated from him call'd Christopher's Laws He dyed suddenly at Helsinburg as he was going to consult with his Nobles at Jenecopia After this Kings death there was an Interregnum for some small time during which all publick business was manag'd by one Benedictus Bielke and Nicolaus Baner two Principal Officers of State in the time of King Christophorus The fifth Epocha is reckon'd from the ending of the Interregnum which was when the Government was undertaken by 123. Carolus VIII Canuti Marshal of the Kingdom who was descended from the Stock of the ancient Gothish Kings As soon as he was setled in the Throne he pretended Title to Gotlandia which the Danes then possess'd and thereupon made war with Christianus I King of Denmark but with small success He lay'd upon his Subjects heavy and grievous Taxes and attempting to take away Church Lands and pious Donations lost the favour of his Subjects and was by them expell'd or rather by the Danish forces driven out of his Dominions His friend whom he in his Banishment trusted himself with was Casimirus King of Poland who entertain'd him nobly for seven years during which time Sweden was govern'd by 124. Christiernus I. King of Denmark call'd hither by the prevailing Faction but seizing the publick Treasure of the Kingdom and committing many cruelties he was shortly after deposed from being King and 125. Carolus Canuti recall'd from Dantzick and restor'd to the Throne but being troubled with civil Commotions at home chiefly manag'd by the Arch-bishop of Vpsal and endanger'd by the Danish Forces from abroad commanded by the depos'd King Christiernus I. he voluntarily left the Government of the Kingdom and appointed for his Successor his Nephew 126. Steno Sture Senior who was receiv'd by the Senate at Stockholm rather as a Protector then an absolute Governour of the Kingdom he manag'd all publick affairs very happily and with great satisfaction to the people for a long time till in the year 1491 at which time he was accus'd by the Senate for acting in several matters without their knowledg and advice for making a League with the Inhabitants of Riga against the Teutonick Order of which the Russes taking advantage had made some inrodes into Livonia and Finland and such-like Crimes and thereupon by them turn'd out of all office the Kingdom was conferr'd on 127. John II. son to Christiern I. King of Denmark He took Steno Sture into favour and going as was then the custom to visit his dominions left him Vice-roy at Stockholm to manage all the affairs of
coming of the Asians into these parts says Odin or Woden the great Captain of the Asae spread his language over Saxony as well as Denmark Sweden and Norway Adding further That within awhile the Asian tongue was generally spoken in all the neighbouring Countries The strongest argument to prove a difference between this tongue and the old Teutonic may be had from a diligent enquiry into the various phrases and proprieties of speech used in both of them But when we consider how much the idioms of the High and Low Dutch differ and how vastly the Syntax of our English Language is alter'd from the Danish and German we shall have reason to confess before we pronounce these last two distinct primitive languages that time is able strangely to alter the physiognomy of tongues as well as men However the dispute is like shortly to have an end and the Danes will in a little while if they do not already speak good Dutch For the German tongue is now ordinarily spoken in Copenhagen and most of the chief trading Cities in Denmark To let pass the stories of King Dan Government whom some Historians make to reign in this Kingdom three hundred years before the birth of our Saviour it is manifest from the unquestionable testimonies of the best Roman writers that Denmark was a Monarchy in the Consulship of Catulus and Marius near an hundred years before Christ Afterwards we have a certain account of Gothric King of the Danes in the days of the Emperor Charles the Great from whom the present Kings of Denmark are descended in a lineal succession except what Pontanus seems not to allow of the line of the ancient Kings failed upon the death of King Christopher III. A. D. 1448 The power of the Danish Nobility in Council is exceeding great but not so large as to make the supreme Government Aristocratical Some would argue That the Nobles are above the King since 't is well known they denied to Crown Frederic II. in the year 1559 till he had sworn never to pretend to be able by his own authority to put any Nobleman to death From this and some other like instances Bodinus endeavours to prove the Kings of Denmark petty Princes rather then absolute Monarchs not remembring that even in France it self as well as all other Kingdoms of Europe it has always been thought requisite for the satisfaction of the people that every King at his Coronation should make some solemn Vow to maintain the ancient Laws and Priviledges of his Country and Subjects And if in the case mentioned the Nobility of Denmark required their King to lay a stricter obligation on himself then was usual the performance was arbitrary and not constrain'd The Subjects might possibly upon the Kings refusal to gratifie them have rebell'd against their lawful Sovereign but could not justly have compell'd him to a compliance Before the year 1660 King the Kingdom of Denmark was not as Norway Hereditary but Elective yet so that the Senators usually chose the eldest son of their King who thenceforward was styled the Prince The rest of the Kings sons had the Titles of Dukes and Heirs of Norway The Election in ancient times was commonly had in this solemn manner As many of the Nobles as were Senators and had power to give their voices agreed upon some convenient place in the fields where seating themselves in a circle upon so many great stones they gave their votes This done they placed their new elected Monarch in the middle upon a stone higher then the rest and saluted him King In Seland to this day there is such a company of stones which bear the name of Kongstolen or the Kings seat And Olaus Magnus tells us the same story of a great stone call'd by the Vicenage Morastaen near Vpsal in Sweden Near St. Buriens in Cornwall in a place which the Cornish-men call Biscow-Woune are to be seen nineteen stones set in a round circle distant every one about twelve foot from the other and in the very center one pitched far higher and greater then the rest This Cambden fancies to have been some Trophee erected by the Romans under the later Emperors or else by Athelstane the Saxon when he had subdued Cornwal and brought it under his dominion But Wormius more probably guesses that in this place some Danish or Saxon King was elected by his followers And I conceive the same may be said of Long Meg and her daughters near little Salkeld in Cumberland But to return to Denmark of later years the Danes in their elections have follow'd the customs of other Countries till Frederic III. in the year 1660 who was the first that ventur'd to exercise the authority of an absolute Prince and to shake off the dependance his Ancestors were wont to have upon the good will of their Subjects procuring with fair words and threats a Law to be established That for the future the Kingdom of Denmark should immediately upon the Kings death descend upon his lawful Heir Whereupon the present King Christian V. was the same night his Father dyed without any previous election or consent asked of the Nobility proclaimed King The Rites of Coronation are usually perform'd at Copenhagen where the King is anointed by the Bishop of Roschild The Chronicles of the Kings of Denmark which have hitherto been publish'd Catalogue of their Kings are so imperfect and contradictory one to another that 't is utterly impossible to give an exact Catalogue of their Kings Saxo Grammaticus who liv'd saith Stephanus in the twelfth Century has made a shift to collect a great many stories out of the scatter'd fragments of old Runic Inscriptions and ancient Ballads and to relate them in a better method and stile then could be well expected from the age he liv'd in But when we consider that the best he met with could not possibly be of more authority then such venerable scraps of Chronicles as are published by Wormius at the end of his Monumenta Danica and see how these two run counter it is hard to rest satisfied with the relation he gives us and yet as difficult to provide our selves of a better The first rational account given us of any of the Danish Kings which we may safely rely upon for truth is in our English Chronicles which as the Learned Sir Henry Spelman in an Epistle to Ol. Rosecrantz formerly Danish Ambassador in England treat more fully and clearly of the affairs of Denmark then any of the Danish Historians Wherefore omitting the relations given of Dan Humblus and the rest of their Heathen Kings as either false or frivolous we shall content our selves with a short Register of the Kings of Denmark since the first planting of Christianity in that Kingdom And 1. Harald being beaten out of his Kingdom by his brother Reinferd's accomplices fled to the Emperor Ludowic for help who assisted him in regaining of his Crown upon condition he would forsake his Idolatry and turn
the Ocean in some of whose Isles several considerable Kingdoms have of late years been discover'd However notwithstanding this assertion of Tacitus making the Rhine the utmost bounds of Germany on the borders of Gallia 't is certain That long before his time in the days of the Emperors Julius and Augustus several Colonies of the Germans had seated themselves in the Gallic Territories and inhabited a large plat of ground on the South side of the Rhine And 't is well known that both Germania Prima and Secunda so often mentioned by ancient and modern Geographers lay on the same side of that River Wympheling in his little Tract De Rebus Germanicis demonstrates that all those Cities which stand on the Southern bank of the Rhine did always belong to the Germans notwithstanding the pretensions of several French Kings to the contrary 'T is true Lewis XI King of France before he came to the Crown made several incursions into Alsatia upon pretence of recovering the ancient Rights which his Ancestors had challenged upon the Rhine But this pretended jurisdiction never spred it self so wide as to reach beyond the banks of that River on either side For as Freherus shews the ancient Gauls always claim'd a right to the River Rhine altho the Germans were Lords of the Soil on both sides Besides the Hermunduri Marcomanni and Quadi who were all of them Germans extended the bounds of their Nation beyond the Danow and seated themselves on the South side of that River Whence in process of time the name of Illyricum which formerly was a word used to signifie a fifth part of the Celtish Nation containing the Territories of Liburnia Dalmatia Noricum Vindelicia and Pannonia was by the Roman writers limited to Liburnia and Dalmatia only and the other three Provinces reckon'd parts of Germany as being almost quite overrun with the people of that Nation Aeneas Sylvius and his followers fancy that Germany is at this day a Country much larger then it was ever thought to be by the Ancients But he that shall consider that the three Northern Kingdoms of Denmark Norway and Sweden with their several Dependences and all Belgium as is still evident from the Languages of these people which are only so many distinct Dialects of the High-Dutch were formerly branches of the German Nation will be apt to conclude with Cluverius that New Germany is scarce a third part so big as the Old At present Germany is bounded on the South with the Mountains of Italy beyond the Danow Modern Bounds on the East with Poland and Hungary on the West with the French Provinces of Picardy and Champagne on the North with the Baltic Sea and British Ocean Monsieur de Pibrac is of opinion that La Germanie est presque trois fois aussi grande que la France i. e. Germany is near three times as big as France And most Geographers make that Kingdom thrice as large as Italy So that if we should tho there is little reason for so doing deny the Netherlands to be any part of Germany at this day yet this Nation will still continue to be incomparably the largest in Europe The length of it from East to West amounts to 840 Italian miles and the breadth from North to South to about 745 according to the computation of Sansovine in his Treatise Del governo di diversi Regni Which account if we reckon as is usual five Italian for one German mile comes near Winthers relation which tells us Germany is 686 English or about 171 Dutch miles long measuring from the mountains of Italy to the British Ocean All this tract of Land or so much of it at least as lies from the Rhine Northwards was by the Ancients look'd upon as a barren Nature of the Soil uninhabited and solitary Wilderness destitute of Cities Villages Houses Fruit and all other things either requisite or convenient for the sustenance of any other kind of inhabitants then such as they fancied the Germans to be a sort of savage wood-men little different from the beasts of the field either in education or diet But the improvements or discoveries rather of later Ages have exceedingly alter'd the case and our modern Historians and Geographers in spight of Tacitus's cavils and envious Epithets have been forc'd to confess that the Germans are a numerous and industrious people and their Country both wonderfully pleasant and fruitful A more signal instance of the plenty of Corn in this Country cannot be given then we meet with in the stories which the German writers tell us of the Emperor Charles the Fifth who maintain'd an Army for a considerable while against the Turks consisting of 90000 Footmen and 35000 Horse Besides the same Emperor for some years together waged a continual war with most of the Northern German Princes during which the Armies on both sides are said to have consisted of above 150000 men Now altho Germany alone provided all necessaries of food and provender for these vast multitudes of men and horses yet we do not read that any the least famine or scarcity of bread ensued hereupon in any part of the Dutch Territories The chief Rivers in GERMANY THere is hardly any Nation in the World comparable to this for the multitude of its noble Rivers several of which carry Vessels of a vast burthen for some hundreds of English miles The most principal of these are I. Danubius Danow or the Danow Brietius says that this River was anciently call'd Matoas which in the old Scythian language signifies harmless because they fancied it was pretty secure sailing upon its waters Afterwards when a great company of strangers unacquainted with this Torrent had here unluckily suffer'd shipwrack and lost their lives its name was changed into 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which word some Critics derive from the Macedonian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying as Plutarch tells us as much as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Death Cato thinks 't was first call'd Danubius from the Danes whom he confounds with the Dacians Our modern Geographers embrace Pliny's opinion and derive the word by a Metathesis a jugis Adnobiis whence it has its first source The Hungarians call it Duna the Polanders Donay and the Germans die Thonaw The head of this great River is in Swaben near a small Village named from the Danow Tone-Eschingen which is situated in a part of the Hercynian Wood call'd by the inhabitants Schwartz-wald or Black-forrest Within a few furlongs of this Fountain it receives into it two more small Rivolets soon after which dividing it self into two branches it encircles the City Vlm with two fair streams both admirably large considering the short course of the River Afterwards it passes by several brave Cities in Germany and Hungary as Regensburg Passaw Vienna Presburg c. being largely augmented in its passage by the accession of many Navigable Rivers Insomuch that it seems to challenge the character which Ovid
CUCULLUM In which last word we have as many Numeral Letters as will give us the year 1315. 1318. Ludowic Duke of Bavaria after an Interregnum of some years was Elected and Crowned Emperor by a majority of the Electors but was oppos'd by Frideric Duke of Austria the Emperor Albert's Son who was set up by another faction and Crown'd at Bonna a small Town in the Territories of the Archbishop of Colen For some time the dispute was managed with equal success betwixt the two Emperors but at the last the victory went on Ludowic's side who having utterly routed Frideric's Army got the whole Empire into his own hands He was a great opposer of the Pope's authority insomuch that in a public Oration spoken by him at Francfurt he declared openly Quod nihil Juris Pontifici Romano sit in Imperium i. e. That the Bishop of Rome had no reason to pretend to any Jurisdiction over the Empire He deposed Pope John XXII and set up Nicolas V. in his stead He sleighted the Popes Excommunications which were daily denounc'd against him being encouraged thereto by Occam and some others who came in with him for a share in the Curse Occam's continual advice to him was O mi Imperator Tu me gladio defende ego Te verbis scriptis defendam i. e. Do you my Liege guard me with your Sword and I 'll protect you with words and writing 1346. Upon the death of Ludowic Charles IV. Son of John King of Bohemia was elected and proclaim'd Emperor by a Gang which he had corrupted with large sums of money He is blam'd by some Historians for taking much more care of the public affairs of France and Bohemia then those of the Empire for being more solicitous in promoting the interest of his own private Family then the good of the Commonwealth and lastly they represent him as a miserable penurious wretch that minded more the scraping together an Estate and great Portions for his Children rather then the administring of Justice and the grand concerns of his Empire and people However 't is commendation enough to say that he was the first contriver and establisher of the Aurea Bulla which contains a register of all the Rites and Ceremonies which for ever are to be observ'd by the German Princes in the Election of their Emperors of which more hereafter He was doubtless a prudent and learned Prince one that took great delight in the reading of Books and enjoying the company of Scholars There were three more Emperors elected against him at several times but none of them contended with him for the Crown The first of these was Edward III. King of England whose brave exploits in France had made him famous all Europe over But he finding employment enough in the management of his own Dominions at home very generously refus'd the Imperial Diadem when it was offer'd to him The second was Frideric Landtgrave of Thuringen who for a good sum of money very willingly quitted his pretensions Gunther Earl of Schwartzburgh was the third who was Crown'd at Aix la Chappelle and drew up his Forces near Francfurt intending to have given his Rival battel But Charles was loath to encounter so great a Soldier and hazard an Empire at one engagement which had cost him such large sums as he was obliged to pay to some of his Votaries He still fancied his Gold was the best weapon he had to trust to and so indeed it prov'd For therewith he hired a Physitian to poyson Gunther's body which made him unfit for government That done he compounded with his Children and a small piece of money bought off their Title He reign'd thirty-two years 1378. Wenceslaus Charles the Fourth's Son succeeded his Father upon his earnest entreaty for there was nothing in himself that could deserve a Crown In the beginning of his reign he gave himself up to all manner of vicious practices and towards the later end proved a cruel but unfortunate Tyrant He was twice taken prisoner but made his escape At last the Electors weary of so sordid an Emperor deposed him after he had reign'd twenty-two years Frideric Duke of Brunswic was elected into the room of Wenceslaus but never liv'd to enjoy the Imperial Crown For returning from the Election he was barbarously slain by Henry Count Waldeck who with a company of Ruffians lay in ambush for him near Fritzlar Whereupon the Electors immediately return'd to Francfurt and chose 1400. Rupert Elector Palatine of the Rhine A Prince of great valour tho never engag'd in any war but by constraint The greatest enterprize he ever set upon was the recovery of the Dukedom of Millain which his predecessor Wenceslaus had sold But John Galeazzes at that time Duke of Millain quickly routed his Army and forc'd him to retire back into Germany He dyed in peace after he had reign'd nine years and ten months and was buried at Spire 1410. Jodocus Barbatus Marquess of Moravia and the Emperor Charles the Fourth's Nephew succeeded Rupert He reign'd no longer then five months being no way qualified for an Emperor and having nothing remarkable in him but his beard which surnam'd him Barbatus 1411. Sigismund Wenceslaus's brother King of Hungary and Bohemia was chosen into Jodocus's place by an unanimous consent of all the Electors Historians represent this Emperor as a Prince of incomparable piety learning and valour who wanted nothing but success in his undertakings to make him compleatly happy He was a great promoter of the Council of Constance held in the year 1415 wherein John Huss and Jerom of Prague notwithstanding the Emperors Pass and promise that they should return safe to Bohemia were condemn'd to be burnt alive for Heretics This so incensed the Hussites that they immediately rebell'd against Sigismund under the command of their General Zysca who had been bred up in the Emperors Court This Zysca prov'd so fortunate in the field that he vanquish'd the Emperors Army fourteen several times He was a Captain of that courage that after his death his Soldiers cover'd a Drum with his skin imagining that the noise thereof would strike terror into the hearts of the stoutest of their enemies Sigismund having reign'd twenty-seven years most of which time was spent in a continual war with the Hussites dyed and left his Empire to his Son-in-law 1440. Frideric III. or IV. if we reckon the Duke of Brunswic who was slain at Fritzlar for one Duke of Austria was unanimously elected into the Imperial Throne upon the decease of the Emperor Albert and was Crown'd Emperor at Rome by Pope Nicolas V. He made it his whole business to procure and establish an universal peace in Christendom and to that end procured the calling of the Council of Basil He married Leonora daughter of Alphonsus King of Portugal whence the Houses of Spain and Austria were united into one Family He reign'd fifty and three years the longest of any of the German Emperors and dyed as some say of a Surfet by