oâ— Saxony having taken Doctor Luther under hâ— protection left both his dignity and zeal entailed upon his son Iohn the Constant whâ— likewise transmitted them both to Iohn Frederick surnamed the Magnanimous Now it camâ— to pass that Charles V. moved with a zeal foâ— the Catholick Religion endeavoured to makâ— the Protestants submit to the doctrine of Rome which Iohn Frederick Duke of Saxony vigâ— rously opposed But on the other side Masrice son to Henry the Pious Cousin to this Elctor desiring to fish in troubled water anâ— do his own business took part with the Emperor and while that War lasted taking thâ— advantage of Iohn Fredericks absence entre-upon some of his Forts and Castles For which cause the Elector retreated out of Sueâ—ben and came to succour his own Territonâ— The Emperor pursued him beat him took him prisoner and stript him of his Electorship with which he invested Maurice Not long after a fear was awakened in Maurice his mind lest Germany might lose its liberty and the Protestants their Religion whereupon he asked leave of Philip Landgrave of Hesse and though he could not obtain it yet he made himself Head of a Confederacy which forced the Emperor to an accommodation of greater advantage to the Lutherans A little after Maurice died of the wounds he had received in a battel fought between him and Albert Marquiss of Brandenbourg This Prince was succeeded in the Electorship by Augustus his brother who having reigned till the first of October 1585. left the Electoral Cap to Christian I. Father to Christian II. and Iohn George the first of that name who died in the year 1656. and was succeeded by his eldest son P. So the Descendents of Iohn Frederick the Magnanimous lost the Electorship for his undertaking the defense of the Lutheran Religion G. So it was indeed and that Prince is so much the more to be admired that during his imprisonment and after he had lost all he exhorted every man to constancy and opened his purse liberally towards the relief of those that were persecuted for matter of Religion This great personage coming out of his captivity which had continued five years received his lands again which his Successors possess at this day and among others left two sons the elder of whom called by his Fathers name Iohn Frederick having entertained some Rebels in his Fortress of Gotta was besieged there taken and deprived of his estate which yet was restored to Iohn Casimir and Iohn Ernest his children The younger of the foresaid Electoâ— children called Iohn William bare arms for the assistance of Henry II. King of France and afterwards retired to Weymar where he married Dorothy Susan daughter to Frederick Ill. Elector Palatine by whom he had two sons from the elder of which comes Frederick William who resides at Altembourg and from the younger the Dukes of Weymar and Gotta are descended who are the only survivors of teâ— children that he had of whom the undaunted Bernard was the youngest P. I have heard say there is some dispute for precedency between the Duke of Altembourg and those of Weymar and Gotta his Cousins G. In this point there is no regard had to the proximity of blood because there is no yielding in part without losing all However this dispute was determined upon these terms That Duke Frederick William should precede as long as he lived and after his death the most aged should have that preference without respect had to any thing else For in the House of Saxony there being no right of Eldership all the Princes are equal and amongst persons of equal condition age only gives the precedency And it is to be understood that there is no regard had to the right of primogeniture but inasmuch as it concerns the Electorship in which case the nearest kinsman inherits it P. Iohn Casimir and Iohn Ernest sons of Iohn Frederick II. of that name who as you have mentioned above was kept prisoner in the Fortress of Gotta did they leave no children G. No and their Principalities were divided among their Cousins So as Duke Frederick William had the Dutchy of Cobourg and those of Weymar Gotta had that of Eiscnach By means whereof they are all well enough but as it is the custome of these Princes to share their lands equally the lots may chance to become very little for William Duke of Weymar hath four sons and Ernest residing at Gotta seven P. I perceive then that the Descendents of the Elector Iohn Frederick are divided into three branches and after the death of their Fathers they will be sub-divided into three times as many The Nephews of the Elector Augustus will do no less since they are four and likely to have more children I would willingly know out of what Houses they took their wives and what every one of them obtained for his part after the death of the Father G. Iohn George Elector of Saxony Father of another Iohn George and of Augustus Christian and Maurice died in the year 1656. and bequeathed by his last Will to Augustus Administrator of Magdebourg twelve Bailywicks about Hall and in Thuringia to Christian the Diocese of Marsbourg and some lands in Fordland Voidland and in the Mountains to Maurice besides the Dioceses of Naumbourg and Zeitz all that his Electoral Highness pretended to in the Principality of Henneberg and to Iohn George who is Elector besides the lands inseparable from the Electoral dignity he gave the upper and lower Lusatia with some Bailywicks about Dresden Ordering likewise that every one of these Princes should equally participate of the ready money Artillery and the Utensils and equipage of Hunting which he left P. Questionless those Princes must have found a vast Treasure for that Elector caused much money to be coined and so locked it up that very little of it was seen abroad Tell me now something of the marriage of these Princes and of their Sisters G. The Sisters of these Princes are still living and the eldest is married to George Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt the second to Frederick Duke of Holstein and the youngest to Frederick William Duke of Altembourg The Elector was married the 13. of November 1638. to Magdelen Sibyll daughter to Christian Marquiss of Brandenbourg and hath had one son by her of his own name born the 20. of June 1647. Augustus took to wife November 23. 1647. Anne Mary daughter to Adolph Frederick Duke of Meklebourg and hath three sons by her Christian and Maurice were married upon the same day the first to Christina and the second to Sophia Hedwig sisters and daughters to Philip Duke of Holstein by whom Christian hath two sons and one daughter and his brother hath had children but they are dead as is the Mother also These are all the Princes of Saxony who have their habitations at Dresden at Hall at Marsbourg and at Naumbourg that is all the Descendents of the Elector Augustus They of the other Line which
of Brandenbourg and widow to Christopher the last King of Denmark That Prince having Reigned happily 33. years in Denmark 32. in Norway and 25. in Sweden dyed afterwards A. D. 1482. leaving two sons who succeeded him in this manner John his eldest was King of those three Kingdoms after his Father and gave his brother Frederick the moyety of his Hereditary lands Then having reigned peaceably he dyed A. D. 1513. leaving his son Christian II. to be his Successor That Prince was born A. D. 1481. and married Isabel sister to the Emperor Charles V. by whom he had Dorothy Electoress of Brandenbourg Christina Dutchess of Milan and afterwards of Lorraine and John who dyed bearing arms under the Emperor Charles his Unkle by the Mothers side in the year 1532. Christiern otherwise Christian II. forsook the way of his Father and Grandfather and became so cruel a Tyrant that the Swedes drove him out of their Countrey and placed upon the Throne Gustavus Vasc son to Erick a Swedish Knight A. D. 1523. And nine years after the Danes cast him in prison where he ended his dayes in five more P. Men seem to be of a worse condition then beasts inasmuch as Eagles do not ingender pigeons nor Lions Stags yet Heroical persons rarely beget their like The greatest men are subject to the misfortune of seeing their children unworthy to succeed them But what came to pass after the imprisonment of Christiern G. We will speak in another place of what followed in Sweden In Denmark the Nobility had an honourable memory and high esteem of the virtues of Christian I. and of Iohn wherefore instead of the Tyrant who was prisoner at Sunderbourg they placed Frederick his Unkle by the Fathers side upon the Throne who was very aged and yet he introduced the Doctrine of Luther into Denmark and his own hereditary Principalities That Frederick was the first Duke of Holstein which is held in Fee of the Empire as Schleswick is of Denmark but neither he nor his son Christian III. durst send any body to the Diets fearing they should be but ill used for having assumed the place of a brother-in-law to two Emperors P. It may be those Princes not daring to send their Deputies to the Diets lost the Rank they held there G. Frederick I. of that name King of Denmark was Duke of Holstein before he came to the Crown yet I cannot tell whether he had taken place in the Assemblies of the Empire But to pursue the discourse we have begun that Prince left two sons the elder of whom was King after him by the name of Christian III. and Adolph his younger son Duke of Holstein They had both children from whom all the Princes of this House are descended For Christian was Father to King Frederick II. and to Iohn the younger and Adolph to Iohn Adolph and to Frederick Archbishop of Bremen and Bishop of Lubeck P. I pray draw out this Genealogy a little more at length G. Frederick II. husband to Sophia daughter to Vlrick Duke of Meklebourg had one son and four daughters very worthy of your knowledge For as much as Elizabeth the eldest was married to Henry Iulius Duke of Brunswick Anne to Iames VI. King of Scotland who afterwards got all Great Britain by the death and Testament of Elizabeth Queen of England Augusta to Iohn Adolph Duke of Holstein and Hedwig to Christian II. Elector of Saxony His Son and Successor to the Crown was Christian IV. a great King both in time of peace and war That Prince who admiring the worth of Henry the Great King of France made him his pattern in every thing and had at the least as many sons as he as well Legitimate as Natural But there remains no more of the lawfully begotten then his Successor Frederick III. who hath already many children and may have more P. This King is esteemed throughout all Europe for a knowing Prince and one that sets a value upon good men Let us see the Descendents of Iohn the younger G. That Prince was even goodness it self and God blessed him exceedingly for he had 23. children by Elizabeth Dutchess of Brunswick and Agnes Hedwig Princess of Anhalt his wives Two of those Princes dyed in Hungary one at the illustrious Colledge of Tubing two departed in their infancy and four lived to be married who are fathers of many Lords either residing at Sunderbourg Nortbourg Glugsbourg and Plone or else seeking their fortune in the Wars The daughters were thus married the eldest to a Duke of Lignitz three of the youngest to three Dukes of Pomerania Anne Sabina to a Duke of Wirtemberg Eleonor Sophia to a Prince of Anhalt and Margaret to John Count of Nassau The rest dyed in their Cradle except Eleonor who is still unmarried and leads an exemplary life she is 67. years old yet very lovely for her age and worthy to be visited by Kings for she hath a marvellous way of entertaining those Princes and Ladies that do her the honour to see her And I can assure you I never saw better sweet-meats served any where then at her house nor strangers received with greater civility P. Tell me I pray a little more particularly who are the Descendents of John the younger brother to King Frederick II. G. Alexander his eldest son had six sons whereof the eldest married a Countess of Delmenhorst and at his death left one son and two daughters by her Frederick Philip and Joachim Ernest brethren to Alexander are yet living the first hath three sons and as many daughters the second hath but two sons alive five Princesses married and one to marry the third hath four Princes two whereof have command in the King of Spains service and three Princesses still maids all beautiful and witty and brought up in the School of a Father inferior to none in the Empire for prudence and of a Mother that hath but few equals in all kind of vertues P. Do not forget the Descendents of Adolph younger brother to Christian III. of that name G. Adolph had many sons that dyed young one that was Archbishop of Bremen and John Adolph his eldest married Augusta daughter to Frederick II. King of Denmark These two had issue John Bishop of Lubeck a comely and liberal Prince who dying left his son John Augustus still very young but pretty and exceeding hopeful Frederick this Bishops elder brother hath the moyety of the Dutchies of Schleswick Holstein Stormar and Dithmarsh and takes turns with the King of Denmark in the administration of Justice in having place and voice in the Assemblies of the Empire and in all other Rights of Regality This Prince great in knowledge and magnanimity hath for a partner in his bed and felicity Mary Elizabeth daughter to John George Elector of Saxony by whom he hath still living three sons and five daughters four whereof are married to John Prince of Anhalt Gustavus Adolph Duke of Meklebourg Lewis Landgrave of Darmstadt and Charles Gustavus
inferior to the Dukes P. There are some that presume to say that heretofore Counts were greater then Dukes G. Gariban a diligent Spanish Historiographer following the opinion of Vasco affirms that Counts were greater then Dukes and endeavours to prove it from that which is found in the Councils held at Toledo where some that subscribed them styled themselves Comites Proceres and Comites Duces And the reason whereupon they ground that assertion is because all those that have many titles set the greatest in the first place Which nevertheless is not alwayes true for the Cardinals of the Church of Rome when they sign any thing write Deacon Cardinal Priest Cardinal or Bishop Cardinal not to perswade us that the dignity of Deacon Priest or Bishop is above that of Cardinal but to inform us that they are not barely Deacons or Priests but Deacon Cardinals that is the most eminent Princes of the Church And so it was with the Lords that subscribed those Councils they styled themselves Counts and for a distinction from others they added Duke as the more eminent P. You will confess that the sons and brethren of Kings and the greatest Officers of the Imperial and Royal Houses have anciently contented themselves with the title of Count and if the Ducal dignity had been greater they would without question have desired sought for and obtained it G. The titles which Kings have formerly given to their children as also those of Count of the Palace Comes Stabuli or Constable and others which satisfied the principal Officers of the Imperial Court do in no wise derogate from the quality of Duke For at last those Princes better bethought themselves and acknowledging that the name of Duke was alwayes a higher quality then that of Count they desired to be honoured with the same I know very well that the Counties of Castille Portugal Flanders Tyrol Tolouse Provence and Wirtemberg were very illustrious but I know also that the Countreys of Burgundy Bavaria and Lorraine did anciently bear sometimes the title of Kingdom sometimes of Dukedom and that the latter imported no less authority then the other The Princes of Poland Hungary and Bohemia who are at this time great Kings did for many ages bear no more then the quality of Duke Nay some Provinces in Spain were governed by Dukes a thousand years before the birth of Christ and when that Countrey was assaulted by the Carthaginians and afterwards by the Romans it was vigorously defended by the same Dukes who were Soverain and independent From whence you may judge that the title of Duke was almost equal to that of King before ever there were any Counts and so conclude that albeit in certain Countreys and times the title of Duke hath been somewhat abased yet it was never inferior to that of Count but alwayes greater P. The Counts Palatine and the Marquisses of Brandenburg are nevertheless as much or more then the greatest Dukes in Germany G. I agree with you but that derogates nothing from the title of Duke in general forasmuch as those Princes are not barely Counts but Counts Palatine Margraves and Electors and as such placed amongst the first Princes of the Empire P. I am satisfied and having seen that a Duke is and alwayes was greater then a Count I beseech you declare unto me those of the Empire But before we go any further tell me whether you think that true which some Writers affirm that a Duke should have four Counts under him G. I have just now demonstrated unto you that a Count was alwayes less then a Duke But I esteem it a mere dream and a folly below a discoursing soul to resolve that an Emperor should have under him four Kingdoms a King four Dutchies a Duke four Counties a Count four Baronies a Baron four Castellanies and a Castellan four Fiefs Those maxims of Quaternions should be expelled out of your thoughts as ridiculous Otherwise all they that have four Kingdoms would be Emperors and the Emperor losing one of those four which he had would cease to be Emperor Besides all Kingdoms are not equal and it would require a great many such Kingdoms as Valencia Murcia Grenada Algarvia Majorca Minorca Ivica and Yuetot to make one great King And on the other side if any one could have three Kingdoms equal to that of France in richness of soil abundance of People and number of Nobility he might equalize the greatest Emperors and the Count of Champagne to whom seven other Counts did homage would almost double the proportion of a Duke P. Having seen in your former discourse the force of the Latin word Comes and the Dutch Grave together with all its compounds and other things which I desired to know concerning the Counts in general you will oblige me now to come in particular to the Counts of the Empire and tell me what was their original what their power is at present and what their dignity G. Stephanus Paschalis a famous searcher of Antiquity saith there were as many nay more Counts then Cities in Gaule when the French made themselves masters of it and that the Conquerors desiring to use their new Kingdom favourably and give a subdued People no cause of complaint kept up all the offices and commands which the Romans had introduced amongst them The Laws of Charlemagne and of his son Lewis the Debonaire are full of the order which the Counts were to observe in the administration of justice From whence you may gather that the Counts of those times were not raised to such a height of Dignity as they are now P. If the Counts were but Judges who usually are such no longer then their Prince pleaseth how came it to pass that they made themselves masters of the lands which were under their Jurisdiction G. Though the Emperors had power to deprive the Counts of their Offices yet for the most part they let them enjoy them during their lives and if they had any sons capable to succeed them they were preferred before any other And that they might be the better enabled to attend upon the administration of Justice and defend the People when need should require the Emperors granted them Fiefs within the Territory of their Jurisdiction which Fiefs gave them opportunity to make themselves Masters of all the rest and to transmit the same unto their heirs P. Is it long since the Counts made their Counties hereditary G. It is hard to say under what Emperor that remarkable change hapned in the Empire but it is probable that it was under the Descendants of Charlemagne in the time when Charles the Bald and his son Lewis the Stammerer made their residence in France and were at variance with the sons of Lewis Germanicus their kinsmen who said the Imperial dignity belonged to them P. By what you have hitherto said I can sufficiently comprehend what was the power of the ancient Counts Do me the kindness to tell me what that is they have at present G.
Mares which he had in his grounds dyed without children lawfully begotten in the year 1656. at least if I may believe the Gazette where I read it though some men do not agree to it The King of Denmark and the Duke of Holstein inherited his Counties Iohn Prince of Anhalt the Lordship of Iever and Antony Count of Oldenbourg his natural son all the rest of his lands Those of Erbach find their original in the affection which a daughter of Charlemagnes bore to a Gentleman in her Fathers Court who being recommended by his own merit as much as he was favoured by the generosity of Charles had the honour to marry her after he had had that of being carried upon her back through the Court of the Palace The Counts of Hanau have as large an estate as a great Prince and in that a Justice from which their Subjects cannot appeal And having often both given and taken daughters to and from the best Houses of the Empire they have been so happy as to see a noble Lady of their family steer the State of Hesse and bring it succesfully into the Port during the most dreadful storm that ever blew upon the Empire for many ages P. You pass many Houses over in silence G. Those of which I say nothing are unknown to me The Counts of Helfenstein having flourished above a thousand years expired some years since Those of Leininguen judge their Subjects causes without any Appeal The House of Hohenlohe would be very mighty if it had not divided its lands into many portions The Lords thereof are naturally Souldiers brave well made both in body and mind and glorious as well through their own merit as for that of their Ancestors The Barons of Limbourg whom all Writers place amongst the Counts have a title of Semperfrey always free that no body bears but they They are so ancient that they know not their own beginning and so well known in Germany that their priviledge of being Vicars to the King of Bohemia Great Cup-bearer of the Empire is obvious to every one They of Mansfeld are of different Religions One of the Catholiques is Governor of Raab in Hungary the other is Master of the Horse to the Emperor Of the Lutherans Iohn George is travelling to enable himself to answer the hopes which hâ—s Countrey conceives of his vertue This County is plentiful in Copper and other Minerals and famous for many things but especially for Eiseliben where Doctor Luther was born in the year 1484. and dyed there 63. years after The Counts of Montfort have nothing common with those in France but the name they are certainly very noble very ancient and very vertuous P. If you say nothing of the Counts of Ottinguen and of the Rhingraves I will tell you what I know of them G. I speak of the Counts in an Alphabetical method not always suitable to their merit otherwise many should have come behind those Houses so abounding in extraordinary personages That of Ottinguen is divided into two principal Branches That of Waldenstein is Catholique that of Ottinguen Lutheran and both perfectly well allied but specially Ieachim Ernest who having already had one Countess of Solmes and another of Hehenlobe is in the last place married to a Princess Palatine and had of the two former besides many sweet children Sophia Margaret and Mary Dorothy Sophia Princesses whose graces and endowments of body and mind have acquired to the first the chast love and conjugal bed of Albert Marquiss of Brandenbourg of Anspach to the second that of Eberhard Duke of Wirtemberg and to the Father two Sons-in-law equal in Grandeur piety and magnificence The Rhingraves have furnished matter to so many Histories ancient and modern that no body is a stranger to their vertue nobility and generosity The Counts of Schwartzbourg are great in riches vertue and alliances When I passed through their Countrey Clara Dutchess of Brunswick and Sophia Agnes Princess of Anhalt were widows to two Lords of that House and Antony Gunther had a Princess Palatine Many believe the Counts of Solmes are issued out of those of Nassau They are not rich but you will meet with few Lords so well allyed Frederick Henry Prince of Orange the honour of the Captains of our age had the generous Amelia Joachim Ernest Marquis of Brandenbourg had the Phenix of beauty and chastity Sophia Frederick Marquis of Dourlach the incomparable Eleonor Augustus Prince of Anhalt the pious Sibyll Vlrick Duke of Wirtemberg the amiable Sophia Dorothy Maurice Landgrave of Hesse the fair Agnes and Ernest his son hath at this time Mary Eleonor all Countesses of Solmes From whence we may conclude that this House is fruitful in beautiful and vertuous Ladies P. I would willingly have heard a word of the Counts of Salme and Stolberg but if you find it difficult pass on to the consideration of the Barons of the Empire G. The Counts of Salme were raised to the rank of Princes though their lands be held of the Duke of Lorraine They are Rhingraves and all the Rhingraves bear the name and Arms of Salme They of Stolberg are inferior to none either in antiquity of Nobility or greatness of Alliances or priviledges They coyn money both of gold and silver and bear for their Arms a Stag Sable because one of the ancient Counts of that House giving an entertainment of hunting to the Emperor Conrade of Franconia a black Stag was taken and the Emperor would transmit the memory thereof to posterity by that change of Arms. As to the Barons you ought to know that they who are Estates of the Empire do hardly differ from the Counts but in name In all things else they are equal they marry their daughters they are in the same Classe at the Diets of the Empire they give their Suffrages there after the same manner and enjoy the same immunities lastly they are both alike styled Illustrious P. Methinks we have a great many Barons in Germany G. There are but few Barons of the Empire To be such an one it is necessary to be Matriculated and contribute to the necessities of the State which belongs not to any one of those whom the Emperor creates upon a new score in his hereditary Countreys how rich and potent soever they be And for that cause they have neither voice nor place in the Assemblies of the Empire Many of the ancient Barons have taken the quality of Count those which remain are Creange Fleckenstein Fugger Hohengeroldseck Konigseck Limbourg Maxelrein Perlestein Plaven Rapolstein Schombourg Scheuk of Tautemberg Wolfenstein Winemberg Walbot and it may be some others that are not come to my knowledge Part of those of Creange are Counts but the others are not inferior to them being allyed even to Princes and very near to the Houses of Nassau and the Rhingraves They of Fleckenstein have signalized themselves in the last War where they got honour and served in the quality of Generals The Fuggers are not
that a Christian is less bound to make good his word then a Heathen or that keeping faith should be thought convenient among all other Nations and inconvenient to those that profess the Faith as if the People that are enlightned by the brightness of the Gospel ought to be less just then those that are immerst and mudded in the darkness of error and idolatry P. You conclude then that it is requisite to keep faith even with Infidels and Heretiques and I am of the same opinion And in very truth a Prince that should have Subjects of a Religion which would teach the contrary could have no confidence in them no more then they in him if he had no regard to keep his word with them upon pretense that he believed them Heretiques But let us turn into our Road again G. Constance having shewn us the inconstancy of humane promises hath drawn us a little out of our way yet it is no hard matter to strike into it again Ferdinand Count Palatine of the Rhine Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Collen held the Bishopricks of Hildesheim Paderborne Verden Munster and Liege all together by means whereof he might have given himself much ease and enjoyed his pleasure if the War had not engaged him in great disquiet and excessive expenses The Jesuits have heretofore told me that the two first of these Bishopricks had a miraculous foundation after this manner while Lewis the Debouaire was at Hildesheim it snowed so much all night that on the morrow the snow was a foot deep every where except in the place where the Cathedral Church was afterwards built And Charlemagne desiring to encamp on that ground where Paderborne stands wherein there was want of water the first pin that was struck into the earth to fasten his Pavillion gave issue to a plentiful spring that drives some water-mills Upon which source the Emperor caused the Church to be built and endowed it with a Revenue necessary for the maintenance of a Bishop Liege is known to all those that have read the History of Charles the Brave Duke of Burgundy who lay very heavy upon it at divers times and upon sundry occasions This Bishoprick and that of Hildesheim are still in the possession of the Elector of Collen but Verden and Minden were Secularized P. I knew before that those two Bishopricks were given to the King of Sweden and the Elector of Brandenbourg Tell me something of Munster G. That City is of special note because its Bishop is the Head of the Circle of Westphalia and because it was the place of the Assembly wherein many Bishopricks altered their property but much more for having been the seat of John of Leyden that petty King and seditious Anabaptist who for some years carried the Sceptre and Ball for marks of his Royalty At last he was besieged taken and put on the top of a Steeple in an iron Cage where he was eaten up by flyes and wasps together with two of his companions who were placed a little lower after they had been carried in triumph and mockery unto several Princes That punishment fit for their Rebellion and other crimes of theirs was inflicted upon them A. D. 1536. P. You said ere whiles that Ferdinand Archbishop of Collen held many Bishopricks together and I would willingly know whether the Church of Rome permit one single person to have so many Benefices every one requiring residence G. The Canon Law is directly against plurality of Benefices and according to the doctrine of the Casuists just as Christians are forbidden to have many wives at one time so are Priests to have many such Benefices together For where the Scripture ordains that a Bishop should be the husband of one wife they say it is meant of one Bishoprick But the Pope doth easily dispense when the Bishop is of high extraction and at this time there are some great Lords that hold more then two of the best Bishopricks in Germany P. I wonder Dispensations are granted in that case seeing by how much the Prelate is of greater condition by so much is he the better enabled to support his Dignity with the estate of his House But the Pope is to answer for those Dispensations and it may be he that is subject to no Law here will find himself much to seek when he is to give an account of his actions before the Tribunal of a Judge that hath no respect to Mitres and shows no more favour to the great then to the little to the rich then to the poor Let us go on to the Bishopricks that remain G. Being I have no intention to speak of those that lye within the Hereditary Countreys of the House of Austria because they sit not in the Diets of the Empire it remains only that we say something concerning those of Frisinguen Brix Basile and Trent The first is possessed by Albert Sigismond son to Albert brother to the late Maximilian Elector of Bavaria The second is so ancient that they say it hath had Bishops ever since the year of Our Lord 360. The third hath no power over the City and the Bishop hath his seat and residence at Poirentrus The last is known throughout all Christendom by reason of the Council which was held there under five Popes and brought to an end under Pius IV. A. D. 1563. In that Council some conclusions passed which strike at the Liberties and Priviledges of the most Christian King the Spaniards also disputed the precedence with him which the Kings of France had enjoyed till that time without contest and enjoy it still in despite of their adversary You may here remark that Gabriel Bucelin a Monk of Weingart having said that Henry of Bourbon is Bishop of Metz makes a great exclamation thereupon that France hath bestowed a Bishoprick upon a Natural son of King Henry IV. yet speaks not a word of the abuses committed in other places only as I think because the French King hath the nomination of the great Benefices of his Kingdom but that Monk doth not take notice that there be more learned and pious Prelates in France then in all Christendom besides P. Is there never an Ecclesiastical Prince in Germany that is not a Bishop G. The Great Master of the Teutonick Order the Abbots of Fulda Hirsesfeld Murbach Kempten Corbay Prum Stabel and Luders the Grand Prior of Malta the Provosts of Eluang and Beressolagaden are Princes and have place in the Diets of the Empire the first immediately after the Archbishop of Saltzbourg and the rest after the Bishops P. Tell me what you know of these Princes G. The Knights Templers and of St. John having fought prosperously against the Infidels raised an emulation in some German Gentlemen who waited upon the Emperor Frederick I. in his expedition to the Holy Land to take the Croisado and because they were installed in the Church and Hospital of St. Mary at Ierusalem they were called Marianites Their Order differed nothing from
Charles V. 291. 292. Kingdom of Bohemia made hereditary to the House of Austria by the Peace of Munster 340. Schemia erected into a Kingdom 38. King of Bohemia the first secular Elector 46. hath neither voice nor place in the general Assemblies of the Empire and why 51. How Sigismond of Luxembourg King of Bohemia named himself to be Emperor 51. Why the Bohemians revolted from the Emperor and chose a new King 321. What Books are fit for a Princes reading 24.25 Extent of the Elector of Brandenbourgs lands 93. Religion of his Subjects 94. Origin of the House of Brandenbourg 97. How it got title to the inheritance of Pomerania 98. How the Lords of Brandenbourg attained to the honours and Lands they possess ibid. What the House of Brandenbourg hath in lieu of Pomerania which was taken from it by the Peace of Munster 99. What disadvantages it receives by the loss of Lower Pomerania ibid. In what quality the Elector of Brandenbourg hath voices in the Assemblies of the Empire ibid. He alternates with the King of Sweden in the Direction of Lower Saxony 100. Differences between the Houses of Brandenbourg and Newbourg concerning the Dutchies of Juliers Cleve and Berg 101. 102. Brandenbourg the last but one of the Electors 102. The number of the present Princes of Brandenbourg and their children 103. Forces and Forts of the Elector of Brandenbourg and of his Cousins of Culembach and Anspach 104. Why the Elector of Brandenbourg is not yet put into possession of the Dutchy of Magdebourg 100. Origin of the Counts of Breda 228. The taking of Brisac 327. Brix a Bishoprick 190. Brunswick a free City 111. Estates of the Dukes of Brunswick Lunebourg wherein considerable ibid. The Princes alliances Origin and Religion of the Branches of Brâ—nswick and Limebourg 113 Golden Bull what it contains when published and why so called 342. The inscription upon the seal of the Golden Bull 344. Whether the Golden Bull may be abrogated and what alterations have been made in it 344. 345. Burgrave what and from whence so called 210. Who bear the title of Burgrave in Germany 214. C. Calvinist Princes in Germany who 208. Archbishop of Cambray his titles and whether he have place in the Assemblies of the Empire 175. 176. Canonries of Strasbourg belonging to Protestant Princes 184. How Hugh Capet born in France but originally a Saâ—on came to be King 16. Catholick Princes in Germany who 208. The power of the Imperial Chambers depends on the Emperor 68. How long the Imperial Chamber was ambulatory when made sedentary and where 67. What the Imperial Chamber takes cognizance of 68. No Appeal from the Judgement of that Chamber 69. Charlemagne a German by extraction 14. When and why proclaimed Emperor by the Pope ibid. Why the Empire and the Kingdom of France continued so short a time in the race of Charlemagne 15. How it made room for the Saxons in Germany and the Capetians in France ibid. Charles V. his voyages by sea and land his voluntary leaving the Government and his death 47. seq Why Charles Duke of Lorraine Uncle to Lewis V. was declared unworthy to succeed unto the Crown of France 15. Circles of Germany and their several Directors 182. Circles of Sawben Franconia and the Rhine divided into quarters a kind of Commonwealth 253. Cities of Germany 263. seq their beauty and magnificence 265. Classes of Assemblies in the Diets their division and order 304. 305. Elector of Collen third Ecclesiastical Elector 46. Collen why called Colonia Agrippina 269. Form of Homage which the Burgers of Collen make to their Bishop ibid. The Bishops confirmation of their priviledges 270. Colmar ibid. Peter Colonna from whom descended 97. Mixture of Conditions detested in Germany 249. Constance a Citty for what remarkable 184. What every Elector bears at the Coronation of the Emperor what Elector crowns him 60. Counts anciently no more then Judges of Cities and Provinces 210. How the Counts Palatine appropriated their several Provinces 211. Counts of Office Counts of Dignity 218. Whether Counts were greater then Dukes ibid. seq How Counts became Proprietors of their Lands and made them hereditary 222. The present Counts what place they have in the Assemblies and how they give their voices there 223. Immediate Counts and their prerogatives 225. Counts of Schwartzbourg Waldek Salme and Morange of what Princes they hold 226. Courage and prudence seldome meet 326. The Lombard and Roman Crowns not essential to the Imperial Dignity 14.15 Crowns of the Emperor and where he receives them 60. Marquisses of Culembach 103. D. Landgraves of Darmstadt and Hesse-Cassel their Religion differences and alliances 132. seq Counts of Delmenhorst extinguished in Antony Gunther and who inherited his Lands 233. 234. Genealogie of the Kings of Denmark and Dukes of Holstein 151. When and how the Kingdom of Denmark was severed from that of Sweden 149. Assemblies of Deputation who have place voice there 309. The Emperors Diademe what anciently and what now 60. Diets called by the Emperor but with consent of the Electors 294. Time necessity and place of Diets 295. Not to be appointed out of Germany 296. First Diet after the Election of an Emperor where held 295. What persons the Emperor calls to the Diets 296. The office and power of the Vice-Marshal at the Diets 297. Cities and Abbesses appear in the Diets by their deputies 299. Order observed in the Diets 300. seq How they proceed upon debates in the Diets 305. seq What matters are treated on in the Diets 307. How conclusions are made in the Diets 308. Directors of each Circle 182. 183. The Ecclesiastical Discipline of Protestant Lords within their Territories 205. 206. Donavert how it became subject to the Duke of Bavaria 270. Lands and alliances of the Marquisses of Dourlach 144 145. Religion of the Branches of Dourlach and Baden their voices and places in the Assemblies 146. Duke of the Grisons the ancientest Duke 216. Why Dukes were sent to the Frontiers ibid. German Dukes all Princes and more considerable then those of France and Spain ibid. How Dukes became so great etymology of the name 217. The Princes of Poland Hungary and Bohemia anciently Dukes 219. Title of Duke anciently equal to that of King 220. E. Counts of East-Friseland 170. seq Ecclesiastical Princes not Bishops that sit in the Diets of the Empire 191. How the Ecclesiâ—sticks grew so rich 196. What Ecclesiastical Government among the Protestants in Germany 205. Counts of Egmont subject to the Duke of Burgundy 226. Eichstedt a Bishoprick in Franconia by whom founded 181. The Electors three Ecclesiastiques and five Seculars with their respective Offices 39. Electors have right to choose and depose an Emperor 40. The number of Electors why seven 50. Why they are Eight now 44. Dignity of Electors as to precedence 44. The Ecclesiastical Electors precede the Seculars 46. The Electors Palatine and of Saxony are Vicars of the Empire during
who was born Princess of Hohenzolleren he hath yet living Leopold William who serves the Emperor with great zeal and reputation Herman Canon of Collen with some others who are yet but young and Ferdinand Maximilian the eldest who knowing that Mary daughter to Amedeus IX Duke of Savoy had been married into his House was desirous to renew that alliance and to that purpose married Loüyse of Savoy daughter to Thomas Prince of Carignan A. D. 1653. by whom he hath one son Herman brother to William makes a Branch apart and hath children of both sexes marriageable P. Hath not this Prince Herman some land◠in the Countrey of Luxembourg and a son Canon of Collen G. Yes Ernest brother to Bernard and son to Christopher who had for his share the Marquisates of Hochberg Pfortzen Weiemberg Baden Vsysiler and Rhetel took to wife Elizabeth daughter to Frederick V. Marquiss of Brandenbourg His son Charles married Anne daughter to Robert Prince Palatine by whom he had many children who all died young except George Frederick He was not to be paralleled for valour and magnanimity yet was beaten at Wimpfen by the misfortune of his powder taking fire while the Battel was fighting which he thereupon lost when he was half-assured of the victory This Prince had two Wives Juliana Vrsula daughter to the Rhingrave Frederick and Agatha daughter to George Count of Erbach Of the latter there remain but Anne and Elizabeth Princesses no less knowing then vertuous and of the former by whom he had 15. children Catherine Vrsula Anne Amelia and Sibyll Magdalen who are thus married the first to Otho eldest son to the Landgrave Maurice and the other two to two Counts of Nassau Sarbruck Ernestine is for her rare vertue and admirable knowledge worthy of an eminent fortune and Frederick their eldest brother the present Prince of Dourlach an incomparable man for his skill in Mathematicks and Opticks hath had five Wives and many children the eldest whereof called by his Fathers name hath married Christina Magdalen the worthy sister of Charles Gustavus King of Sweden and daughter to John Casimir Prince Palatine of Deux-ponts who in his life-time knew better then any man how to get a powerful ascendent over the hearts of all that looked upon him He hath very fine children by her both for outward features and inward faculties The youngest called Charlemagne is eminent for vertue merit and military experience he is married to Mary Juliana Countess of Hohenloch and hath by her one son who will equal his courage and one daughter who will not be inferior to her Mother in comelyness of body and sincerity of heart Gustavus Adolph a younger brother of this House is serving his apprentiship in the school of the King of Sweden and of his brethren whom he will equal or surpass if God give him life and health as I wish him P. You tell me nothing of the controversie between these two Branches nor of the sentence which Edward Fortunatus his Successors obtained against the Marquis George Frederick and his son G. It is not good to rub old sores that are skin'd over nor to speak of differences that are silenced by a determination for fear of grieving those persons whom we respect It is sufficient for you to know that these Princes are good friends that they have forgotten all that is past and endeavour to oblige one another to the uttermost of their power The branch of Baden is Catholique that of Dourlach Lutheran and both zealous in their Religion but that zeal will not hinder them from being kind to one another as to their persons though their interest keep them asunder as to their party Each branch hath one voice in the Assemblies and the Marquis Frederick shall have precedence there as long as he lives but after his death the two Branches shall take their turns that is shall precede alternatively according to the resolution made at Munster by the last Treaty of Peace P. Since we have spoken of Houses in Germany that take their turns successively do me the favour to tell me the manner how that alternation is observed G. You may see in this figure how they sit for ten dayes together after which they begin again and continue as they were before every letter denoting the name of one of the five Houses that take their turns P M W H B M W B P H W H B P M H W M P B B P H M W P M W B H M P W H B W B H M P H P W B M B W M H P The five alternating Houses are Pomerania Meklebourg Wirtemberg Hesse Baden P. I wonder the Houses of Saxon Lawembourg and Anhalt do not precede these five or at least alternate with them seeing they hare had the Electorships of Saxony and Branderbourg at the same time G. The Houses you last mentioned are so far from preceding those five that they follow that of Holstein which comes behind the said five 'T is not that those two Houses are not ancient on the contrary I think their antiquity and greatness hath done them wrong for as we have elsewhere seen the Emperor Sigismond deprived them of the Electoral Dignity to give it to the Marquis of Misnia and the Burgrave of Nuremberg which so morrified those Princes that it made them neglect to appear in the Assemblies and gave opportunity to others to take their place P. I have read that those Princes kept the title of Elector long after they had lost the Electoral Dignity and when they could not have place in the Electoral Colledge they cared but little for taking it among the Princes But tell me something of the House of Holstein before we speak more fully of the other two G. I think I have told you already that the House of Holstein and that of Oldembourg are but one that it was derived from Witikind of Saxony and that after the death of Christopher III. King of Denmark the Danes chose Christian Count of Oldembourg into his place at the intreaty of Adolph Duke of Schleswick his Unkle by the Mothers side who leaving no issue behind him made this Nephew of his heir of a great part of the Cimbrick Chersonese and from that Christian it is that all the Princes are descended who have Reigned in Denmark Norway Schleswick and Holstein ever since that time P. The Kingdom of Sweden having been sever'd from that of Denmark under the Reign of the Princes of the House of Oldembourg it is fit you shew me when and how that came to pass G. I shall do it with all my heart both because you desire it and because I shall be glad in doing that to give some testimony of my gratitude to those Princes who have almost all of them obliged me You must know then that Christian the first of that name being 23. years of age was chosen King of Denmark A. D. 1448. A year after he married Dorothy daughter to John Marquis
at Lubeck to take their measures and resolve their affairs there but now that Confederation is of little use to the advancement of Trade since every City doth their own business apart The end of the Eighth Dialogue Dialogue IX Of the Vniversities the Justice and the Diets of the Empire P. LEarning being one of the principal ornaments of man and one of the pillars of the Commonwealth I beseech you tell me whether it be esteemed in Germany as it was heretofore in Greece and Italy G. There were never so many learned men in the world as at this time and there is never a Countrey in Europe where there are more nor more famous Universities then we have in Germany All Princes have founded some and strive who should maintain them the best because they know them to be the Universal remedies against an infinite number of evils which ignorance and idleness bring into the World They are not so ancient in this Countrey as in England France and Italy but they are more magnificent better ordered and fitted with Doctors and furnished with Scholars We read that Charles IV. Emperor and King of Bohemia having founded the University of Prague gave equal priviledges to the Bohemians Polanders and Germans and when he would retrench his favours towards strangers there went out of the Town in a weeks time 24000. Scholars and a little after 16000. more Whereby you may judge that there were more Scholars in Prague then other persons in some great City P. If I did not know that you flatter no body but love truth above all things I should hardly believe there were ever so many Scholars in Germany as you say there went out of Prague G. The last War hath so drained our Empire of men and money that I do not believe all Germany maintains so many Students at this time as there were at Prague in the year 1409. when they reckoned 44000. Scholars under the Rectorship of John Hus. Neither would it be thought strange that a War of 30. years during which time the Muses durst not appear any where should have exhausted the Empire both of Masters and Scholars Yet the Chairs of 32. Universities resound every day with the most sacred notions of Divinity the most equitable of Civil Law the most salubrious of physick the most sublime of Metaphysicks the most solid of Natural Philosophy the most recreative of Mathematicks the most prudential of Politicks the most subtile of Logick the most perswasive of Rhetorick and the most pleasing of Poetry P. Is it possible there should be so many Universities in Germany G. There are no less For Princes seeing that riches had infected the Cloysters with laziness and that the Sciences which heretofore seemed to be wholly confined within them were banished from them being desirous to preserve that Treasure which doth marvellously contribute to the glory of God the honour of the Prince and the peace of the Provinces they founded so many of them that Justus Lipsius saith there are more Universities in Germany then in all Christendom beside P. You believe that Learning is useful to keep the people in quiet and many men think that the Study of Divinity hath occasioned the growth of Heresies as that of the Law hath produced multitudes of Controversies and Suits which were unknown in the time of our Ancestors and that of Physick serves but to shorten our lives G. As an evil stomach turns the best food into putrifaction so a corrupt soul changes vertue into vice and light into darkness Divinity is a sacred Science which fights with and overcomes Heresies the Civil Law is the rule of Right which maintains Justice and banishes quarrels from amongst men and Physick teaches the vertues of Minerals and vegetables whereby the sound may preserve the health they enjoy and the sick recover that which they have lost If then Divines breed Heresies Lawyers processes and Physicians diseases it is not the fault of the Profession but of the Professors who abusing their knowledge do convert the goodness thereof into evil P. You will confess there were fewer Heresies Law-suits and diseases when there were not so many Universities in Europe G. The world growing old becomes so much worse and worse that if the Ancients should live again they would be astonished to see the corruption of our age The Heresies and suits in Law which you see are the fruits of humane malice and diseases are the effects of Navigations and avarice which have made men despise and hazard their lives to find out Sugar Pepper Cloves Nutmegs Cinnamon and other Spices that were unknown to the ancients who through that ignorance lived more piously more healthfully and longer then we do Ascribe then if you please the Original of Heresies Law-suits and diseases to mans covetousness which hath discovered the Indies and not to Universities which oppose them and had destroyed them too if impiety gluttony and drunkenness did not entertain and keep them amongst us P. I suppose you count the Universities of the Low Countreys among those of Germany otherwise there would not be so many and yet the Germans make scruple to acknowledge them for Doctors who have taken their degree at Leyden Franeker Groninguen and Vtrecht G. The Low Countreys being part of Germany it is reasonable that I rank their Universities among those of the Empire and I think they have good title to that honour because that of Doway was founded by Philip II. King of Spain A. D. 1562. that of Leyden was instituted by the States of Holland and by William Prince of Orange 1575. That of Franeker was established by the States of Friseland 1581. That of Groninguen 1614. and lastly that of Vtrecht 1636. As for the first there is no doubt but a King of Spain hath right to found Universities and the others having been founded in a time when the Soverainty of the States was still under dispute some question might jnstly be made whether they had power to give those priviledges which accompany the honour of Doctorship But now that all Europe acknowledges them for Soverains no man can make any more question of it And indeed the States General have so great care to procure eminent Professors for their Universities that Youth cannot but learn all kind of vertues there and ought to repair thither though they could not receive the Doctoral Cap in those places P. The Universities of Swisserland of Marpurg Altorf and Strasbourg are of no greater antiquity then those of the Low Countreys But because those men that administer Justice are commonly taken out of the Universities I think it not amiss that you tell me something of those in the Empire G. All the Universities in the Low Countreys are not so new That of Lovain began in the year 926. Afterwards John Duke of Brabant bestowed great priviledges upon it then it was confirmed by Pope Martin V. and at this time in the judgement of Iohn Becanus there are none in France
Spain and Italy that are so magnificent and send forth so many excellent personages As to your question I shall tell you that in the Empire every Prince Count and Lord hath within his own Lands High Middle and Low Justice which in some Principalities passes a definitive sentence without Appeal and in others unto a certain sum above which they may appeal to the Imperial Chamber P. I know that every Lord administers Justice to his own subjects within his Territories but I would learn of you where addresses were made heretofore and where they are made now to obtain right against Illustrious persons as well touching Ecclesiastical as Secular affairs G. In the time of Charlemagne and some of his Successors the Bishops and Officers of the Crown joyntly with the Emperor decided all Ecclesiastical causes The Prelates Counts and other persons of quality were convented at the first instance before the Imperial Court the Secular Princes could not be judged but in the Diets where the Emperor presides If there were any complaints to be made against the administrations of the Emperors it was done in the same Assemblies and when the matter deserved it they might depose them but only with the general consent of all those that had right to sit there So it happened to Lewis the Debonaire in the year 838. to Charles the Grosse 887. and some ages after to Henry IV. Otho IV. and Frederick II. P. I remember you have said somewhere else that the Electors only have the right of choosing and deposing the Emperors G. Things here below do never continue in the same state and the Electors being arrived to a very great power assumed to themselves alone the authority of Electing and deposing the Emperors though in the beginning it were not so But all dignities run in the same strain Popes heretofore acknowledged they held their greatness of the liberality of Pepin and Charlemagne yet a little after the death of the latter they lifted up their hornes Gregory IV. would have excommunicated Lewis the Debonaire Nicholas I. would have done as much to the Emperor Lotharius and Adrian to Charles the Bald and they had done it if they had not found the Clergy and People resolved to oppose their unjust proceedings But in process of time Gregory VII surpassed all his Predecessors in resolution and finding a good game put into his hands by the ill will of the Emperors Subjects towards their Soverain he excommunicated Henry IV. and afterwards by the same presumption Henry V. Frederick I. Philip Frederick II. and Lewis V. were excommunicated by the Popes P. We have seen elsewhere that the Counts administred Justice to the People within the Provinces and that appeals might be made from their sentence to the Count Palatine So that I have nothing more to enquire after but when why the Parliament of the Empire became fixt and sedentary how many Judges there be of what matters they take cognizance G. Law-shits growing numerous in proportion to the malice of men the Court of the Empire was alwayes full of Clients For which cause Maximilian I. having compassion on them and desiring to spare both their labour and money setled a sedentary Parliament at Worms or at Francfort in the year 1495. which was soon after removed to Spire and cannot be withdrawn from thence but by the consent of all the Estates except in time of Plague or War The Assessors were but 16. at the first but the number of them hath been encreased to 50 who are nominated by the Head and the principal Members of the Empire The Emperor names the Judge and four of the principall Officers The Judge ought to be a Prince or Count and well skilled in the Civil and Municipal Laws Every Elector names one Assessor and all therest are preferred to that employment by the Circles All these personages ought to be Gentlemen or Doctors and as they that name them are Catholiques or protestants so are the Assessors of different Religions and judge of all cases that are in the power of the Emperor P. Doth all the Empire make application to this Parliament for justice G. All appeals go thither but at the first instance none go but priviledged persons and they too as seldom as they can the greatest part taking Arbitrators to determine their differences for as much as justice is so very slowly administred there as well because there is no other place of Judicature in all the Empire but this Parliament and that of the Imperial Court as also because there is such an infinite number of old suits to dispatch P. I find in History that many Controversies of great importance wherein Princes were the parties have been judged by the Emperors without taking the advice of that Parliament nay without summoning the parties to the Diets G. The first of a Family that gets upon the Throne cannot have so little authority but he esteems it great and when Princes of the same House bear the Sceptre for a long time together the greatest authority seems but little to them From hence it comes to pass that the present Emperors do no more take or expect the consent of the Estates when they have a mind to act or determine against the Princes Charles V. did alone proscribe and by his own authority condemn Iohn Frederick Elector of Saxony and Philip Landgrave of Hesse The same Emperor did alone decide the controversie between the same Landgrave and the Count of Nassau Rodolph II. took upon himself alone the cognizance of the difference that happened betwixt the Pretenders to the Dutchies of Iâ—liers Cleve and Berg. Matthias rejected the claim and request of the Landgrave Mâ—rice who at the Diet of Ratisbon in the year 1613. prayed his Majesty to allow him Princes for his Judges in the cause between him and the Landgrave Lewis his Cousin And Ferdinand II. did alone decide the business between George Frederick Marquiss of Baden and the heirs of Edward Fortunatus So that matters of great weight are no more decided either at Spire or in the Imperial Diets but of right they ought to be decided there P. Let us see if you please to what Justice Church-men are subject G. Their Principalities are subject to the Justice of the Emperors and their persons and Dignities did heretofore acknowledge none but the Pope but now it is otherwise For although since the time of Frederick II. till the last age no Emperor durst undertake to depose a Bishop and many Popes have attempted it and brought it to pass with ease yet Charles V. and his Successors seem to have resumed their power When that incomparable Prince had proscribed John Bishop of Hildesheim the Pope Paul III. exprest his displeasure by protesting against it but it was answered that it belonged neither to him nor the See of Rome to judge of the validity or invalidity of the Imperial Edict or Proclamation called the Ban and that the Emperor did not care a straw for