1.
Merseburg
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Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district and it had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg. The University of Merseburg is located within the town, czech, Merseburk, Meziboř French, Mersebourg German, Merseburg Latin, Merseburga Polish, Międzybórz Sorbian, Mjezybor Venenien was annexed into Merseburg on 1 January 1949. The parish Kötzschen followed on 1 July 1950, since 30 May 1994, Meuschau is part of Merseburg. Beuna was annexed on 1 January 2009, geusa is a part of Merseburg since 1 January 2010. Merseburg was first mentioned in 850, king Henry the Fowler built a royal palace at Merseburg, in the 933 Battle of Riade, he gained his great victory over the Hungarians in the vicinity. Thietmar of Merseburg, appointed in 973, became the first bishop of the newly created bishopric of Prague in Bohemia, Prague had been part of the archbishopric of Mainz for a hundred years before that. Fifteen diets were held here during the Middle Ages, during which time its fairs enjoyed the importance which was transferred to those of Leipzig. Merseburg was the site of an assassination attempt on Polish ruler Bolesław I Chrobry in 1002. The town suffered severely during the German Peasants War and also during the Thirty Years War, from 1657 to 1738 Merseburg was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Merseburg, after which it fell to the Electorate of Saxony. In 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars, the became part of the Prussian Province of Saxony. Merseburg is where the Merseburg Incantations were rediscovered in 1841, written down in Old High German, they are hitherto the only preserved German documents with a heathen theme. One of them is a charm to release warriors caught during battle, enterprises, too, blazed a trail in the course of the transformational process. Ultimately, a chemical park emerged at nearby Leuna which is one of the most modern sites of its kind in Europe with high ecological standards, Merseburg was badly damaged in World War II. In 23 air raids 6,200 dwellings were completely or partly destroyed, the historic town centre was almost completely destroyed. Briefly part of Saxony-Anhalt after the war, it was administered within the Bezirk Halle in East Germany. It became part of Saxony-Anhalt again after reunification of Germany, like many towns in the former East Germany, Merseburg has had a general decline in population since German Reunification despite annexing and merging with a number of smaller nearby villages. The cathedral-and-palace ensemble also features a palace garden, other attractions include the Merseburg House of Trades with a cultural stage and the German Museum of Chemistry, Merseburg
2.
Upper Saxon German
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Upper Saxon is an East Central German dialect spoken in much of the modern German State of Saxony and in the adjacent parts of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Though colloquially called Saxon, it is not to be confused with the Low Saxon dialect group in Northern Germany, Upper Saxon is closely linked to the Thuringian dialect spoken in the adjacent areas to the west. The Upper Saxon dialect evolved as a new variety in the course of the medieval German Ostsiedlung from about 1100 onwards. Settlers descending from the duchy of Saxony speaking Old Saxon. The importance of the Upper Saxon chancery German rose with establishment of the Saxon electorate, in the context of the Bible translation by Martin Luther, it played a large part in the development of the Early New High German language as a standard variety. The mildly derogatory verb sächseln means to speak/sound Saxon, the most notable distinguishing feature of the dialect is that the letters o and u are pronounced as centralized vowels. Speakers of other German dialects that do not have these sounds tend to perceive sounds as being ö and ü respectively. For example, they hear out as if written aüs and grandma as if written Öma, front rounded vowels are pronounced as non-rounded. Final -er is pronounced, which speakers of other German dialects tend to hear as, the Upper Saxon dialects outside the Ore Mountains can be easily recognized by the supposed softening of the voiceless stop consonants /p/, /t/ and /k/. Speakers of other dialects hear these as if they were b, d and g respectively, until the post-war expulsions it also included the Northwestern Bohemian language in the adjacent Sudetenland territories to the south, today part of the Czech Republic. It is also found in Lower Saxony in the Upper Harz, sorbian languages Upper Saxon at genealogienetz. de
3.
Roman Catholic
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
4.
Prince-bishop
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A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty. If the episcopal see is an archbishopric, the term is prince-archbishop. A prince-bishop is usually considered an elected monarch, later relations between a prince-bishop and the burghers were invariably not cordial. As cities demanded charters from emperors, kings, or their prince-bishops and declared independent of the secular territorial magnates. The stem duchies of the German kingdom inside the Empire had strong and powerful dukes, unlike dukes they could not pass hereditary titles and lands to any descendants. This met with increasing opposition by the Popes, culminating in the fierce Investiture Controversy of 1076, nevertheless, the Emperors continued to grant major territories to the most important bishops. The immediate territory attached to the episcopal see then became a prince-diocese or bishopric, the German term Hochstift was often used to denote the form of secular authority held by bishops ruling a prince-bishopric with Erzstift being used for prince-archbishoprics. Emperor Charles IV by the Golden Bull of 1356 confirmed the status of the Prince-Archbishoprics of Mainz, Cologne. At the eve of the Protestant Reformation, the Imperial states comprised 53 ecclesiastical principalities, with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the title finally became defunct. The bishops of Vienna and Wiener Neustadt didnt control any territory, upon the incorporation of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1237, the territory of the Orders State largely corresponded with the Diocese of Riga. Bishop Albert of Riga in 1207 had received the lands of Livonia as an Imperial fief from the hands of German king Philip of Swabia, he however had to come to terms with the Brothers of the Sword. At the behest of Pope Innocent III the Terra Mariana confederation was established, by the 1234 Bull of Rieti, Pope Gregory IX stated that all lands acquired by the Teutonic Knights were no subject of any conveyancing by the Emperor. Within this larger conflict, the dualism of the autonomous Riga prince-bishop. The bishops pursued the conferment of the title by the Holy Roman Emperor to stress their sovereignty. In the original Prussian lands of the Teutonic Order, Willam of Modena established the suffragan bishoprics of Culm, Pomesania, Samland and Warmia. The bishops of Cetinje, Montenegro, who took the place of the earlier secular Voivodes in 1516 had a position of Slavonic. The title survived the union of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 until 1836, apart from territories formerly within the Holy Roman Empire, no French diocese had a principality of political significance linked to its see. However, a number of French bishops did hold a title, with a tiny territory usually about their seat, it was often a princely title
5.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
6.
Reformation
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The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
7.
Electorate of Saxony
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Upon the extinction of the House of Ascania, it was enfeoffed to the Margraves of Meissen from the Wettin dynasty in 1423, who moved the residence up the Elbe river to Dresden. After the Empires dissolution in 1806, the Wettin electors raised Saxony to a kingdom, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa deposed the Saxon duke Henry the Lion in 1180, the Wittenberg lands belonged to Alberts youngest son Count Bernhard of Anhalt, who assumed the Saxon ducal title. Bernards eldest son, Albert I, ceded Anhalt to his younger brother Henry, retained the ducal title and his sons divided the possessions into the duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg. Louis was succeeded by the Luxembourg king Charles of Bohemia, after being crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, Charles issued the Golden Bull of 1356, the fundamental law of the Empire settling the method of electing the German King by seven Prince-electors. In this way, the country, though small in area, the electoral dignity was connected with it the obligation of male primogeniture, that is, only the eldest son could succeed as ruler. This forbade the division of the territory among several heirs, preventing the disintegration of the country, the importance of this stipulation is shown by the history of most of the fragmented German principalities which were not electorates. Late Alberts Ascanian relative Duke Eric V of Saxe-Lauenburg protested in vain, thus, in 1423, Saxe-Wittenberg, the Margraviate of Meissen and Thuringia were united under one ruler, and the unified territory gradually received the name of Saxony. The partition decisively enfeebled the Wettin dynasty in the rivalry with the rising House of Hohenzollern, the Protestant movement of the 16th century was largely effected under the protection of the Saxon rulers. The Elector did not become at once an adherent of the new opinions, owing to his intervention, Pope Leo X decided against summoning Luther to Rome in 1518, and the Elector secured for Luther Imperial safe-conduct to the 1521 Diet of Worms. When Luther was declared to be under the ban of the empire by Emperor Charles V. Lutheran doctrines spread first in Ernestine Saxony, in 1525, Frederick died and was succeeded by his brother, John the Constant. John was followed in 1532 by his son, John Frederick the Magnanimous, in 1542, he seized the Diocese of Naumburg-Zeitz, and confiscated the secular possessions of the Dioceses of Meissen and Hildesheim. The Catholic faith was forcibly suppressed, after the outbreak of the Schmalkaldic War, Elector John Frederick was placed under the Imperial ban and finally defeated and captured by Emperor Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg on 24 April 1547. In the Capitulation of Wittenberg of May 19, he was obliged to yield former Saxe-Wittenberg with the dignity to his Albertine cousin Duke Maurice. The Saxon Electorate after the Wittenberg Capitulation consisted of former Saxe-Wittenberg and Meissen together, Maurice secretly shared in all the princely conspiracies against the Emperor, who only escaped capture by flight. During the same year, Charles V was obliged by the Peace of Passau to grant freedom of religion to the Protestant Estates, Maurice died in 1553 at the age of 32. His brother and successor Elector Augustus seized the Catholic dioceses of Merseburg, the last Bishop of Merseburg, Michael Helding called Sidonius, died at Vienna in 1561. In the same manner after the death of Julius von Pflug, the last Catholic Bishop of Naumburg, in 1564 and those cathedral canons who were still Catholic were only permitted to exercise their religion for ten years more
8.
Duchy of Saxony
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Upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun, Saxony was one of the five German stem duchies of East Francia, Duke Henry the Fowler was elected German king in 919. In 1296 the remaining lands were divided between the Ascanian dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg, the obtaining the title of Electors of Saxony by the Golden Bull of 1356. In the late 12th century, Duke Henry the Lion also occupied the adjacent area of Mecklenburg, more probably, Saxon tribes from Land Hadeln under the leadership of legendary Hengist and Horsa in the late days of the Roman Empire had invaded Britannia. In 747 their rebellious brother Grifo allied with Saxon tribes and temporarily conquered the duchy of Bavaria. Pepin, Frankish king from 750, again invaded Saxony and subdued several Westphalian tribes until 758, in 772 Pepins son Charlemagne started the final conquest of the Saxon lands. Widukind finally had to pledge allegiance in 785, having himself baptised, Saxon uprisings continued until 804, when the whole stem duchy had been incorporated into the Carolingian Empire. Afterwards, Saxony was ruled by Carolingian officials, e. g, among the installed dukes were already nobles of Saxon descent, like Walas successor Count Ekbert, husband of Saint Ida of Herzfeld, a close relative of Charlemagne. Subdued only a few decades earlier, the Saxons rose to one of the tribes in East Francia, it is however uncertain. Liudolfs elder son Bruno, progenitor of the Brunswick cadet branch of the Brunonen, was killed in a battle with invading Vikings under Godfrid in 880. He was succeeded by his younger brother Otto the Illustrious, mentioned as dux in the annals of Hersfeld Abbey. His position was enough to wed Hedwiga of Babenberg, daughter of mighty Duke Henry of Franconia. One year later, Ottos son Henry the Fowler succeeded his father as Duke of Saxony, Henrys eastern campaigns to Brandenburg and Meissen, the establishment of Saxon marches as well as the surrender of Duke Wenceslaus of Bohemia marked the beginning of the German eastward expansion. Upon Henrys death in 936 at Memleben, his son Otto I succeeded him, according to Widukind, he was crowned king at Aachen Cathedral, with the other German dukes Gilbert of Lorraine, Eberhard of Franconia, Arnulf of Bavaria and Herman of Swabia paying homage to him. He thereby disregarded the claims of Hermans elder brother Wichmann, who in turn joined the revolt by Ottos half-brother Thankmar. In 953 and again in 961 King Otto elevated Hermann Billung to a viceduke in Saxony,973, Otto I dies in Memleben, Otto II becomes Emperor. Hermann Billung dies in Quedlinburg, Bernhard I Billung becomes duke of Saxony,1002, The death of Otto III marks the end of the Saxon emperors. 1011, Duke Bernhard I Billung dies, his son Bernhard II becomes duke,1042, Ordulf Billung, son of Bernhard II, marries Wulfhild, the half-sister of King Magnus of Denmark and Norway. Danes and Saxons fight against the Wends,1059, Ordulf Billung becomes Duke after the death of his father
9.
Episcopal see
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An episcopal see is, in the usual meaning of the phrase, the area of a bishops ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the significance of the term. The word see is derived from Latin sedes, which in its original or proper sense denotes the seat or chair that, the word throne is also used, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, both for the seat and for the area of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The term see is also used of the town where the cathedral or the residence is located. Within Roman Catholicism, each diocese is considered to be a See unto itself with an allegiance to the See of Rome. The idea of a See as an entity is somewhat complicated due to the existence of the 23 Particular churches of the Roman Catholic Church. The Western Church and its Eastern Counterparts all reserve some level of autonomy within their particular See, the episcopal see of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is known as the Holy See or the Apostolic See, claiming Papal supremacy. The view of the Catholic Church contrasted by the Eastern Catholic idea of Pentarchy, followed by Eastern Orthodox opposition to papal supremacy
10.
Merseburg Cathedral
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Merseburg Cathedral is the proto-cathedral of the former Bishopric of Merseburg in Merseburg, Germany. The mostly Gothic church is considered an artistic and historical highlight in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Merseburg acquired importance beyond the immediate region in the 10th century when it came to King Heinrich I by marriage. He built a Kaiserpfalz there overlooking the Saale and founded a church next to it and his son and successor, Otto I swore an oath on 10 August 955 to establish a diocese at Merseburg if God would grant him victory at the upcoming Battle of Lechfeld. In 968, the Diocese of Merseburg was established but dissolved in 981, in 1004 it was reestablished by King Heinrich II. Construction of the early Romanesque cathedral was begun by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg in 1015 and it was consecrated on 1 October 1021 in the presence of Emperor Heinrich II and his wife, Kunigunde. However, the part of the building collapsed twice within a few years and had to be rebuilt. It was only on 29 June 1042 that the cathedral was formally opened, despite later construction, this early Romanesque structure still influences the appearance of todays cathedral. The lower parts of sanctuary, transept and western towers remain Romanesque as do the eastern towers almost to their roofs, only the crypt still maintains the original spatial impression, however. The hall crypt is one of the oldest mostly unchanged structures of type in Germany. Around the middle of the 12th century the western towers were rebuilt, the earlier quarry stone masonry was replaced by worked stones. The shape of the windows was later changed to Gothic style, at the same time, western façade, western towers and the part in between including transept and sanctuary were mostly reconstructed under Bishop Ekkehard Rabils. It is also likely that the nave was changed substantially and largely attained its final form, two vestries accessible from the sanctuary were likely also added during this period. The southern one today houses the treasury and the manuscript collection, finally, the eastern towers were raised around the middle of the 13th century. One of them retains a Gothic roof, the other is topped by a Baroque roof, under Bishop Thilo von Trotha the nave was rebuilt, due to the building of the adjacent Schloss/palace. The old nave was demolished in 1510 and the new nave built between 1510 and 1514, von Trothas successor, Adolf von Anhalt completed the work. In 1515 the west portal was added, from 1535-7 the porch was redesigned as the burial chapel of Bishop Sigismund von Lindenau. The rood screen was demolished in 1588, since the Reformation the cathedral has not been the seat of a bishop. Martin Luther gave a sermon here in August 1545, renovations aimed at restoring the original look of the church took place in 1839, 1844/5 and 1883-6, Baroque elements were mostly removed
11.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto I, traditionally known as Otto I the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his fathers death in 936. He continued his fathers work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdoms most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. After putting down a brief civil war among the duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom, by 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realms borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called Ottonian Renaissance of arts, following the example of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Ottos later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy, reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realms further expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married his son Otto II in April 972, Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor, Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon count in Westphalia. Otto had four siblings, Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry. On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, although Conrad and Henry had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king since 915. Furthermore, Conrads repeated battles with German dukes, most recently with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, after several months of hesitation, Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank reigned over the kingdom, Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but Arnulf of Bavaria did not recognize Henrys position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, in 921, Henry besieged Arnulfs residence at Ratisbon and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henrys sovereignty, Bavaria retained some autonomy, Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 929, Ottos illegitimate son William, with Henrys dominion over the entire kingdom secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first called king in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau, while Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto
12.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen
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The Diocese of Dresden-Meissen is a Diocese of Catholic Church in Germany with its seat in Dresden. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Berlin, founded as the Bishopric of Meissen in 968, it was dissolved in 1539 during the Protestant Reformation. The diocese was reestablished in 1921 and renamed Dresden-Meissen in 1980, the modern city of Meissen owes its origin to a castle built by King Henry I the Fowler about 928 to protect German colonists among the pagan Wends. To insure the success of the Christian missions, Otto I suggested at the Roman Synod of 962 the creation of a see at Magdeburg. The year in which the Diocese of Meissen was established is disputed, as the oldest extant records may be forgeries, however, the first bishop, Burchard, established a foundation which in the course of the 11th century developed a chapter of canons. Poorly endowed in the beginning, it appears to have acquired later large estates under Otto III, on the death of Gregory, Benno made peace with Henry, was reappointed to his former see in 1086, and devoted himself entirely to missionary work among the Slavs. Among his successors, Herwig sided with the pope, Godebold with the emperor, in the 13th century the pagan Wends were finally converted to Christianity, chiefly through the efforts of the great Cistercian monasteries, the most important of which were Dobrilugk and Neuzelle. Among the convents of nuns, Heiligenkreuz at Meissen, Marienthal near Zittau, Marienstern on the White Elster, during the latters administration, in 1344, Prague was made an archiepiscopal see. Thimo, a Bohemian by birth, neglected the diocese and ruined it financially, william I, Margrave of Meissen prevailed on Pope Boniface IX in 1405 to free Meissen from the authority of the Magdeburg metropolitan and to place it as an exempt diocese directly under the Holy See. The illustrious Bishop Rudolf von der Planitz, through wise regulations and personal sacrifices, john V of Weißenbach, through his mania for building and his travels, soon spent this money and left a heavy burden of debt on the diocese. John VII of Schleinitz was an opponent of Martin Luther, whose revolt began in neighbouring Wittenberg. The canonization of Benno, urged by him, was intended to offset the progress of the Lutheran teaching, the electors of Saxony took over the administration of the temporalities of the diocese within the Electorate of Saxony which in 1666 were finally adjudged to them. The canons turned Protestant, and all remaining monasteries in Saxony were secularized, their revenues, before his resignation and conversion Haugwitz appointed Johann Leisentrit as diocesan administrator, seated in Bautzen, competent for the Lusatian areas of the diocese outside of Saxony. Leisentrit failed to win the pope for establishing a new diocese comprising only the Lusatian areas of Meißen bishopric, in canon law an apostolic prefecture is a diocese on approval. According to its location and its seat the prefecture used to be called alternatively the Apostolic Prefecture of the Two Lusatias or Apostolic Prefecture of Bautzen. The then liege lord of the Two Lusatias, the Catholic king of Bohemia did not effectively offend the spreading of the Reformation in the Two Lusatias, so it depended on the local vassals if Protestantism prevailed or not. When in 1635 the Lutheran Electorate of Saxony annexed the Two Lusatias it guaranteed in the contract with Bohemia to leave the existing religious relations untouched. As a signatory of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 Saxony later agreed to maintain the status quo as given in the reference year of 1624 in all its territories acquired since
13.
Zeitz
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Zeitz is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Zeitz was first recorded under the name Cici in the synode of Ravenna in 967. Between 965 and 982, it was the fortress of the March of Zeitz. Zeitz was a residence between 968 and 1028, when it was moved to Naumburg. Beginning at the end of the 13th century, the bishops again resided in their castle at Zeitz, the Herrmannsschacht is one of the oldest brick factories in the world. It was captured by Swedish troops during the Thirty Years War and was given to Electorate of Saxony in 1644 and it was centre of Saxe-Zeitz between 1657 and 1718 before returning to Electorate. In 1815, it was given to Kingdom of Prussia and became district centre in Merseburg region of Province of Saxony till 1944 and it became a county free city between 1901 and 1950. It was occupied by USA troops on 27 April 1945 and was given to Soviet ones on 1 July 1945 and it was a district centre in Halle region of Saxony-Anhalt state between 1945 and 1952 and again 1990 and 1994 and in Halle bezirk between 1952 and 1990. It lost status centre of county and became part of Burgenlandkreis on 1 July 1994, in the middle of the 1960s work started on the Zeitz-Ost residential area, and in the mid-1980s, housing estates such as the Völkerfreundschaft were built. On 18 August 1976, the Protestant clergyman Oskar Brüsewitz from Rippicha burnt himself to death in front of the Michaeliskirche and this was a protest against the DDR system. The town was an industrial centre until German Reunification made many companies in eastern Germany uncompetitive, the town still has a large sugar factory. Zeitz sights are situated along the Romanesque Road. Schloss Moritzburg, a castle with the cathedral of St. Peter. The 10th century crypt displays 17th century tin coffins including that of Moritz, Michaeliskirche, originally a Roman basilica and contains a 1517 original of Martin Luthers 95 Theses. It is a Gothic structure that, together with restored houses and 3 market-places, provides Zeitz medieval appearance, Herrmannsschacht, a technical monument in a former brick factory
14.
Naumburg
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Naumburg is a town in the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It has a population of around 33,000, the first written record of Naumburg dates from 1012, when it was mentioned as the new castle of the Ekkehardinger, the Margrave of Meissen. It was founded at the crossing of two trade-routes, the successful foundation not long beforehand of a Propstei Church on the site of the later Naumburg Cathedral was mentioned in the Merseburg Bishops Chronicles in 1021. In 1028 Pope John XIX gave his approval for the transfer of the bishopric from Zeitz to Naumburg, until 1568, during the Reformation, Naumburg was the seat of the bishops. The last Catholic bishop was Julius von Pflug, the foundation of the cathedral school is dated to 1030. Naumburg has been known as a town since 1144, Naumburg was a significant trading centre on the Via Regia in the Middle Ages, especially because of the Naumburg Trade Fairs, first known to have taken place in 1278. The emergence of Leipzig as a centre from 1500 and the Thirty Years War adversely affected the Naumburg economy. Before the Moritzburg castle was built in nearby Zeitz, the city castle in Naumburg served as the residence of this line and this period came to an end with the death of the last Protestant representative of the Saxe-Zeitz line in the year 1718. The Naumburg district reverted to the Dukes of Saxony in Dresden, however, it remained until 1815 the seat of its own administrative authority. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Naumburg was ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia and it gained control over the cathedral and its close in 1832. In 1846 the city was connected to the line from Halle to Erfurt, in 1889 to Artern. On 15 September 1892 a steam tramway opened in Naumburg, from 2 January 1907 the Naumburg tramway was electrified. Although industry was only developed, a socialist club was founded in 1848. During the 1920 Kapp Putsch five workers were killed, the establishment of the local Communist Party followed in December 1920. Under the German Democratic Republic Naumburg was a centre of engineering, pharmaceuticals, metal-working. It was also a town for the Soviet Air Force. Unofficial estimates are that the number of Soviet military personnel approximately equalled that of the local population, the fall of communism in 1989 was accompanied by demonstrations and gatherings in the churches of the city. Naumburg is approximately 60 km southwest of Leipzig,50 km south-southwest of Halle and it is located on the Saale River
15.
Archbishopric of Magdeburg
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The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese and Prince-Archbishopric of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. All his successors were only administrators of the prince-archbishopric and Lutheran too, in political respect the Erzstift, the archiepiscopal and capitular temporalities, had gained imperial immediacy as prince-archbishopric in 1180. The prince-archbishopric maintained its statehood as a monarchy until 1680. Then Brandenburg-Prussia acquired Magdeburg prince-archbishopric, and after being secularised, transformed it into the Duchy of Magdeburg, the 1994-founded modern Diocese of Magdeburg is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church located in the German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Saxony. After the wars of the years 940 and 954, when the Polabian Slavs, as far as the Oder, the Magyars had come far into Germany, at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 they were defeated and repelled. Immediately in 955 Otto the Great set to work to establish an archbishopric in Magdeburg and he wished to transfer the capital of the diocese from Halberstadt to Magdeburg, and make it an archdiocese. But this was opposed by the Archbishop of Mainz, who was the metropolitan of Halberstadt. When, in 962, Pope John XII sanctioned the establishment of an archbishopric, the estates belonging to the convents mentioned above were converted into a mensa for the new archbishopric, and the monks transferred to the Berge Convent. The archiepiscopal church made St. Maurice its patron, and in addition received new donations and its ecclesiastical province included the existing dioceses of Brandenburg and Havelberg and the newly founded dioceses of Merseburg, Zeitz, and Meißen. The new archdiocese was close to the border regions of the Holy Roman Empire and Slavic tribes. Then, on 20 April 967, the archbishopric was established at the Synod of Ravenna in the presence of the pope. The first archbishop was Adelbert, a monk of St. Maximins at Trier, afterwards missionary bishop to the Ruthenians. He was elected in the autumn of 968, received the pallium at Rome, the archdiocesan area of Magdeburg was rather small, it comprised the Slavonic districts of Serimunt, Nudizi, Neletici, Nizizi, and half of northern Thuringia, which Halberstadt resigned. The cathedral school especially gained in importance under Adalberts efficient administration, the scholastic Othrich was considered the most learned man of his times. Many eminent men were educated at Magdeburg, Othrich was chosen archbishop after Adalberts death. Gisiler of Merseburg by bribery and fraud obtained possession of the See of Magdeburg, and also succeeded temporarily in grasping the Bishopric of Merseburg. Among successors worthy of mention are the zealous Gero, Werner, who was killed in battle with Henry IV, St. Norbert, prominent in the 12th century, Archbishop Wichmann was more important as a sovereign and prince of the Holy Roman Empire than as a bishop. Albrecht II quarrelled with Otto II, Margrave of Brandenburg, because he had pronounced the ban against the latter
16.
Polabian Slavs
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Polabian Slavs is a collective term applied to a number of Lechite tribes who lived along the Elbe river in what is today Eastern Germany. The approximate territory stretched from the Baltic Sea in the north, the Saale and the Limes Saxoniae in the west, the Ore Mountains and the Western Sudetes in the south and they have also been known as Elbe Slavs or Wends. Their name derives from the Slavic po, meaning by/next to/along, the Polabian Slavs started settling in the territory of modern Germany in the 6th century. They were largely conquered by Saxons and Danes since the 9th century, the tribes were gradually Germanized and assimilated in the following centuries, the Sorbs are the only descendants of the Polabian Slavs to have retained their identity and culture. The Polabian language is now extinct, however, both Sorbian languages are spoken by approximately 60,000 inhabitants of the region and the languages are regarded by the government of Germany as official languages of the region. The Bavarian Geographer anonymous medieval document compiled in Regensburg in 830 contains a list of the tribes in Central-Eastern Europe to the east of the Elbe. Among other tribes it lists the Uuilci - with 95 civitates, the Nortabtrezi -53 civitates, the Milzane -30 civitates, the Great Soviet Encyclopedia classifies the Polabian Slavs in three main tribes, the Obotrites, the Veleti, and the Lusatian Sorbs. The main tribes of the Obotritic confederation were the Obotrites proper, the Wagrians, the Warnabi, other tribes associated with the confederation include the Linones near Lenzen, the Travnjane near the Trave, and the Drevani in the Hanoverian Wendland and the northern Altmark. The Redarier were the most important of the Veleti tribes, the Rani of Rügen, not to be confused with the older Germanic Rugians, are sometimes considered to be part of the Veleti. South of the Rani were the Ucri along the Ucker and the Morici along the Müritz, smaller tribes included the Došane along the Dosse, the Zamzizi in the Ruppin Land, and the Rěčanen on the upper Havel. Along the lower Havel and near the confluence of the Elbe and the Havel lived the Nelětici, the Liezizi, the Zemzizi, the Smeldingi, the middle Havel region and the Havelland were settled by the Hevelli, a tribe loosely connected to the Veleti. East of the Hevelli lived the Sprevane of the lower Dahme, small tribes on the middle Elbe included the Moriciani, the Zerwisti, the Serimunt, and the Nicici. South of the Hevelli lived the ancestors of the modern Sorbs, the Lusici of Lower Lusatia, near these tribes were the Selpoli and the Besunzanen. The Colodici, Siusler, and Glomaci lived along the upper Elbe, while the Chutici, Nisanen, Plisni, Gera, Puonzowa, Tucharin, Weta, on the middle Oder lived the Leubuzzi, who were associated with medieval Poland. Small groups of West Slavs also lived on the Main and the Regnitz near Bamberg, a Polabian prince was known as a knes. His power was greater in Slavic society than those of Danish or Swedish kings in their kingdoms. He was the leader of his tribe and was foremost among its nobles, holding much of the forested hinterland. However, his authority extended only to the territory controlled by his governor, or voivot
17.
Wends
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Wends is a historical name for the West Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It does not refer to a people, but to various peoples, tribes or groups depending on where. In the Middle Ages the term Wends often referred to Western Slavs living within the Holy Roman Empire, mieszko I, the first historical ruler of Poland, also appeared as Dagome, King of the Wends. The name has survived in Finnic languages denoting Russia. According to one theory, Germanic peoples first applied this name to the ancient Veneti, and then after the period they transferred it to their new neighbours. The Germans in the south used the term Winde instead of Wende and applied it, just as the Germans in the north, to Slavs they had contact with, following the 8th century, the Frankish kings and their successors organised nearly all Wendish land into marches. This process later turned into the series of crusades, by the 12th century, all Wendish lands had become part of the Holy Roman Empire. In the course of the Ostsiedlung, which reached its peak in the 12th to 14th centuries, due to the process of assimilation following German settlement, many Slavs west of the Oder adopted the German culture and language. Only some rural communities which did not have an admixture with Germans. With the gradual decline of the use of these local Slavic tongues, some sources claim that in the 13th century there were actual historic people called Wends or Vends living as far as northern Latvia around the city of Wenden. Henry of Livonia in his 13th-century Latin chronicle described a tribe called the Vindi, today, only one group of Wends still exists, the Lusatian Sorbs in present-day eastern Germany. The term Wends derived from the Roman-era people called in Latin Veneti, Venedi or Venethi and this people was mentioned by Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy as inhabiting the Baltic coast. There they assimilated the remaining Germanic population that had not left the area in the Migration period. Their German neighbours adapted the term they had been using for peoples east of the River Elbe before to the Slavs, calling them Wends as they called the Venedi before and probably the Vandals also. In his late sixth century work History of Armenia, Movses Khorenatsi mentions their raids into the lands named Vanand after them and their tribal names were derived from local place names, sometimes adopting the Germanic tradition. Settlements were secured by round burghs made of wood and clay, some tribes unified into larger, duchy-like units. For example, the Obotrites evolved from the unification of the Holstein, the Lutici were an alliance of tribes living between Obotrites and Pomeranians. They did not unify under a duke, but remained independent and their leaders met in the temple of Rethra
18.
Saale
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The Saale, also known as the Saxon Saale and Thuringian Saale, is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Franconian Saale, a tributary of the Main, or the Saale in Lower Saxony. The Saale originates on the slope of the Großer Waldstein mountain near Zell in the Fichtelgebirge in Upper Franconia and it pursues a winding course in a northern direction, and after passing the manufacturing town of Hof, enters Thuringia. It flows amid well-wooded low mountains of the Thuringian Forest until it reaches the valley of Saalfeld, after leaving Saalfeld the Saale reaches Rudolstadt. Here it receives the waters of the Schwarza, in whose valley lies the castle of Schwarzburg. From Saalfeld the Saale enters the hill region north of the Thuringian Forest. It finally joins the Elbe just above Barby, after traversing a distance of 413 kilometres —shortened 14 kilometres by a bypass from its length of 427 kilometres. The Saale is navigable from Naumburg and is also planned connected from Leuna with the White Elster near Leipzig by an unfinished canal, the soil of the lower part of its valley is exceptionally fertile, and produces, amongst other crops, large supplies of sugar beet. Among its tributaries are the White Elster, Regnitz and Orla on the bank. Its valley, down to Merseburg, contains many castles which crown the enclosing heights, saale-Unstrut, a wine-growing region Ernst-Otto Luthardt, Reinhard Feldrapp, An der Saale. Vom Fichtelgebirge durch Thüringen bis zur Elbe, ISBN 3-8035-1335-9 Wolf Thieme, Markus Altmann, Mitten ins Herz. Sie entspringt in Bayern, durchquert Thüringen und fließt in Sachsen-Anhalt in die Elbe – die Saale ist ein Fluss, und jedem Spaß macht, dem Sportler, dem Kulturfreund, dem Faulenzer. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
19.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
20.
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Henry II, also known as Saint Henry, Obl. S. B. was Holy Roman Emperor from 1014 until his death in 1024 and the last member of the Ottonian dynasty of Emperors as he had no children. The son of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria and his wife Gisela of Burgundy, Emperor Henry II was a great-grandson of German King Henry I, since his father had rebelled against two previous emperors, the younger Henry was often in exile. This led him to turn to the Church at an age, first finding refuge with the Bishop of Freising. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria in 995 as Henry IV, as Duke, he attempted to join his second-cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, in suppressing a revolt against imperial rule in Italy in 1002. Before Henry II could arrive, however, Otto III died of fever, after defeating several other claimants to the throne, Henry II was crowned as King of Germany on July 9,1002 and as King of Italy on 15 May 1004. Henry II in 1004 aided Jaromír, Duke of Bohemia against the Poles, unlike his predecessor, who had focused upon imperial attention in Italy, Henry spent most of his reign concerned with imperial territory north of the Alps. His main focus was on a series of wars against the Polish Duke Bolesław I, on 14 February 1014, Pope Benedict VIII crowned Henry as Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. The rule of Henry II is seen as a period of centralized authority throughout the Empire and he consolidated his power by cultivating personal and political ties with the Catholic Church. He greatly expanded the Ottonian dynastys custom of employing clergy as counter-weights against secular nobles, through donations to the Church and the establishment of new dioceses, Henry strengthened imperial rule across the Empire and increased control over ecclesiastical affairs. He stressed service to the Church and promoted monastic reform, for his personal holiness and efforts to support the Church, Pope Bl. Eugene III canonized him in 1146, making Henry II the only German monarch to be a saint, Henry II married Cunigunde of Luxembourg, who later became his queen and empress. As the union produced no children, after Henrys death the German nobles elected Conrad II, Conrad was the first of the Salian dynasty of Emperors. Henry was born in May 973, the son of Duke Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, through his father, he was the grandson of Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, and the great-grandson of King Henry I of Germany. By his mother, he was the grandson of King Conrad I of Burgundy, the elder Henry came into conflict with his cousin Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, in 974. After an initial failed revolt, Otto II imprisoned the elder Henry in Ingelheim, after escaping, Henry again revolted against Otto II. When this second failed, Otto II deposed Henry as Duke of Bavaria. As a consequence of his revolt, the Emperor stripped the Duchy of Bavaria of its southeastern territories bordering Italy, during his fathers exile, the younger Henry lived in Hildesheim. As a child he was educated in the Christian faith by Saint Wolfgang, bishop of Regensburg, the Emperor himself ensured the younger Henry received an ecclesiastical education in order that by becoming a religious official he would be prevented from participating in the Imperial government
21.
Mulde
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The Mulde is a river in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is a tributary of the Elbe and is 124 kilometres long. The river is formed by the confluence, near Colditz, of the Zwickauer Mulde, from here the river runs northwards through Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The Mulde flows into the Elbe 3 kilometres north of Dessau, in August 2002 a flood caused severe damage, that even endangered the UNESCO World Heritage Site Dessau-Wörlitzer Gartenreich and the city Dessau. Especially the cities of Döbeln and Grimma suffered from the damages of the flood and its name could be derived from Old German Mulda, meaning dust and a cognate of English mould). But more possibly it is related to the German mahlen which means to mill, therefore, Mulde probably means the milling river and corresponds to the great number of water mills driven by the river in former times. Nowadays, there are power stations in use
22.
Margravate of Meissen
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The Margravate of Meissen, sometimes known as the March of Misnia, was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a march of the Holy Roman Empire. The margravate was finally merged into the Saxon Electorate in 1423, the Margravate of Meissen was originally part of a march called the Sorbian march, which was later renamed to the Thuringian March. Thuringia was the name of the land east of the Saale, the eastern part of the Thuringian March around the fortress near the Dresden Basin became the Margravate of Meissen. In 928 and 929, during a campaign against Slavic Glomacze tribes, the fortress was later renamed Meissen after the nearby Meisa stream. A town soon developed around the castle, Henry, however, made no attempts to Germanise the Slavs or to create a chain of burgwards around his fortress. Meissen sat alone, like Brandenburg, with few defenses or towns around it, the town around the fortress grew however, eventually becoming one of the most important cities in the large Marca Geronis region, which included the lands east of the German stem duchy of Saxony. When the marca was divided in 965 upon the death of Margrave Gero, the first Meissen Margrave, Wigbert, is mentioned in the 968 charter of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. That same year, the Meissen fortress also became the see of the newly created Bishopric of Meissen, in 978, the Saxon count Rikdag became the Margrave of Meissen, and incorporated the marches of Merseburg and Zeitz into Meissen. In 983, following the defeat of Emperor Otto II at the Battle of Stilo, the bishoprics of Havelberg and Brandenburg and the March of Zeitz were overrun by Lutici tribes. Nevertheless, large territories of the Northern March were lost, Margrave Eckard I succeeded Rikdag as Margrave of Meissen in 985. His family, the Ekkeharding noble family, would keep the title until 1046, in 1002, King Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland conquered the Thuringian March, starting a German–Polish War. The war ended with the 1018 Peace of Bautzen, and Meissen had to cede the Upper Lusatian region of Milceni to Poland, in 1031 however, King Conrad II of Germany was able to reconquer the Milceni lands, which were returned to Meissen. In 1046, Count Otto of Weimar-Orlamünde became the Margrave, and upon his death in 1067, Emperor Henry IV then granted Meissen to Count Henry of Eilenburg of the Wettin dynasty. Meissen would remain under Wettin rule for the rest of its existence, under Wiprecht von Groitzsch in the 1120s, Meissen underwent a process of Germanisation. He was succeeded by Conrad the Great, Otto the Rich, in 1264, Henry III asserted himself in the War of the Thuringian Succession, where his uncle, Henry Raspe, had died childless. Between 1243 and 1255, Henry III acquired Pleisseland around Altenburg as a security measure, in 1307, the attempt by Emperor Henry VII to once again subdue the Margraves of Meissen failed with his defeat at the Battle of Lucka. By that time the margravate was de facto independent of any sovereign authority, in the years following the Battle of Lucka, there would be joint rule of Meissen by multiple members of the Wettin dynasty at any given time
23.
Henry the Fowler
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Henry the Fowler was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the elected king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. An avid hunter, he obtained the epithet the Fowler because he was fixing his birding nets when messengers arrived to inform him that he was to be king. By his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power, as had happened in West Francia, Henry died on July 2,936 in his royal palace in Memleben, one of his favourite places. He was buried at Quedlinburg Abbey, established by his wife Matilda in his honor, in 906 he married Hatheburg von Merseburg, daughter of the Saxon count Erwin. She had previously been a nun, the marriage was annulled in 909 because her vows as a nun were deemed by the church to remain valid. She had already given birth to Henrys son Thankmar, the annulment placed a question mark over Thankmars legitimacy. Later that year he married Matilda, daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, Matilda bore him three sons, one called Otto, and two daughters, Hedwig and Gerberga, and founded many religious institutions, including the Quedlinburg Abbey where Henry is buried. Henry became Duke of Saxony after his fathers death in 912, an able ruler, he continued to strengthen the position of his duchy within the weakening kingdom of East Francia, and was frequently in conflict with his neighbors to the South in Duchy of Franconia. On December 23,918 Conrad I, king of East Francia and Franconian duke, although Henry had rebelled against Conrad I between 912 and 915 over the lands in Thuringia, Conrad recommended Henry as his successor. Kingship now changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne and were proud of their identity, Henry, as Saxon, was the first non-Frank on the throne. Conrads choice was conveyed by his brother, duke Eberhard III of Franconia at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in 919, the assembled Franconian and Saxon nobles elected Henry to be king with other regional dukes not participating in election. Henry, who was elected to kingship by only Saxons and Franconians at Fritzlar, had to subdue other dukes, Duke Arnulf of Bavaria did not submit until Henry defeated him in two campaigns in 921. Henry besieged his residence at Ratisbon and forced Arnulf into submission, Arnulf had crowned himself as king of Bavaria in 919, but in 921 renounced crown and submitted to Henry while maintaining large autonomy and the right to mint his own coins. Duke Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new King, Henry was too weak to impose absolutist rule, and regarded his kingdom as a confederation of stem duchies rather than as a feudal monarchy and saw himself as primus inter pares. In 920 king of West Francia Charles the Simple invaded and marched as far as Pfeddersheim near Worms, on November 7,921, Henry and Charles met and concluded a treaty of friendship. Henry then saw an opportunity to wrest Lotharingia when a war over royal succession began in West Francia after coronation of king Robert I. In 923 Henry crossed the Rhine twice, capturing a part of the duchy. The eastern part of Lotharingia was left in Henrys possession until October 924, in 925 duke Gilbert of Lotharingia rebelled
24.
Kaiserpfalz
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The term was also used more rarely for a bishop who, as a territorial lord, had to provide the king and his entourage with board and lodging, a duty referred to as Gastungspflicht. Kaiserpfalz is a German word that is a combination of Kaiser, meaning emperor, which is derived from caesar, and Pfalz, meaning palace, likewise Königspfalz is a combination of König, king, and Pfalz, meaning royal palace. This was so-called itinerant kingship, a sort of travelling kingdom, because pfalzen were built and used by the king as a ruler within the Holy Roman Empire, the correct historical term is Königspfalz or royal palace. The term Kaiserpfalz is a 19th-century appellation that overlooks the fact that the king did not bear the title of the Roman Emperor until after his imperial coronation. Moreover, they were not always grand palaces in the sense, some were small castles or fortified hunting lodges. In Latin, such a royal manor was known as a villa regia or curtis regia and they were located either near the bishops residences, near important abbeys, near towns the king held or in the countryside in the middle of royal estates. Pfalzen were generally built at intervals of 30 kilometres, which represented a journey by horse at that time. At a minimum, a pfalz consisted of a palas with its Great Hall or Aula Regia, an imperial chapel and it was here that kings and emperors carried out the business of state, held their imperial court sessions and celebrated important church festivals. Each was administered by a count palatine, who executed jurisdiction in the emperors stead, one of the most important of them would eventually rise to the title of Prince-elector. The pfalzen that the rulers visited varied depending on their function, especially important were those palaces in which the kings spent the winter, and the festival palaces, Easter being the most important and celebrated at Easter palaces. The larger palaces were often in towns that had special rights, in the Hohenstaufen era of the Roman-German kingdom, important imperial princes began to demonstrate their claims to power by building their own pfalzen. Important examples of these include Henry the Lions Dankwarderode Castle in Brunswick, both buildings followed the basic design of Hohenstaufen pfalzen and also had the same dimensions. Examples of surviving imperial palaces may be found in the town of Goslar, palace Palas Imperial castle Adolf Eggers, Der königliche Grundbesitz im 10. Jahrhundert, Veröffentlicht von H. Darmstadt,1996, ISBN 3-534-12548-7, alexander Thon, Barbarossaburg, Kaiserpfalz, Königspfalz oder Casimirschloss. Studien zu Relevanz und Gültigkeit des Begriffes „Pfalz“ im Hochmittelalter anhand des Beispiels Lautern, in, Kaiserslauterer Jahrbuch für pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde. Kaiserslautern,1.2001, ISSN 1619-7283, pp. 109–144, alexander Thon. ut nostrum regale palatium infra civitatem vel in burgo eorum non hedificent. Studies of relevance and validity to do with the term Pfalz for the research of castles of the 12th and 13th centuries in, pub. by the Wartburg-Gesellschaft for the research of castles and palaces in Verb. with the Germanic National Museum. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich,2002, ISBN 3-422-06361-7, pp. 45–72
25.
Eastphalia
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The territory corresponds with the southeastern part of the present-day states of Lower Saxony, western Saxony-Anhalt and northern Thuringia. Together with Westphalia, central Angria and Nordalbingia it was one of the four main Saxon administrative regions and it should not be confused with East Westphalia. The name Ostfalen probably means east plain, the North German Plain of Eastphalia and Westphalia, divided by the Weser river, stand in contrast to the hilly region to the south, the Central Uplands of Franconia and Thuringia. German linguists reintroduced the term in the 19th century in the course of researching the Eastphalian language as a West Low German dialect. With Charlemagnes defeat and baptism of Duke Widukind in 785 during the Saxon Wars, his lands were integrated into the Frankish Empire, the bishoprics of Halberstadt and Hildesheim were established in eastern Saxony, bounded by the Oker river, in 804 and 815 respectively. The medieval Duchy of Saxony was divided between the districts of Eastphalia, Westphalia and Engern, the Saxon tradition was perpetuated by the Ascanian dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg, who secured for themselves the electoral dignity and later established the Electorate of Saxony on the upper Elbe. The exact list is not known for sure and differs among authorities
26.
Hungarians
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Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are a nation and ethnic group who speak Hungarian and are primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 13. 1–14.7 million Hungarians, of whom 8. 5–9.8 million live in todays Hungary, the Hungarians own ethnonym to denote themselves in the Early Middle Ages is uncertain. The Magyars/Hungarians probably belonged to the Onogur tribal alliance, and it is possible that they became its ethnic majority, in the Early Middle Ages the Hungarians had many names, including Ungherese, Ungar, and Hungarus. The H- prefix is an addition of Medieval Latin, another possible explanation comes from the Old Russian Yugra. It may refer to the Hungarians during a time when they dwelt east of the Ural Mountains along the borders of Europe. The Hungarian people refer to themselves by the demonym Magyar rather than Hungarian, Magyar is Finno-Ugric from the Old Hungarian mogyër. Magyar possibly derived from the name of the most prominent Hungarian tribe, the tribal name Megyer became Magyar in reference to the Hungarian people as a whole. Magyar may also derive from the Hunnic Muageris or Mugel, the Greek cognate of Tourkia was used by the scholar and Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus in his De Administrando Imperio of c. AD950, though in his use, Turks always referred to Magyars, the historical Latin phrase Natio Hungarica had a wider meaning because it once referred to all nobles of the Kingdom of Hungary, regardless of their ethnicity. During the 4th millennium BC, the Uralic-speaking peoples who were living in the central, some dispersed towards the west and northwest and came into contact with Iranian speakers who were spreading northwards. From at least 2000 BC onwards, the Ugrian speakers became distinguished from the rest of the Uralic community, judging by evidence from burial mounds and settlement sites, they interacted with the Indo-Iranian Andronovo culture. In the 4th and 5th centuries AD, the Hungarians moved from the west of the Ural Mountains to the area between the southern Ural Mountains and the Volga River known as Bashkiria and Perm Krai. In the early 8th century, some of the Hungarians moved to the Don River to an area between the Volga, Don and the Seversky Donets rivers, meanwhile, the descendants of those Hungarians who stayed in Bashkiria remained there as late as 1241. The Hungarians around the Don River were subordinates of the Khazar khaganate and their neighbours were the archaeological Saltov Culture, i. e. Bulgars and the Alans, from whom they learned gardening, elements of cattle breeding and of agriculture. Tradition holds that the Hungarians were organized in a confederacy of seven tribes, the names of the seven tribes were, Jenő, Kér, Keszi, Kürt-Gyarmat, Megyer, Nyék, and Tarján. Around 830, a rebellion broke out in the Khazar khaganate, as a result, three Kabar tribes of the Khazars joined the Hungarians and moved to what the Hungarians call the Etelköz, the territory between the Carpathians and the Dnieper River. The Hungarians faced their first attack by the Pechenegs around 854, the new neighbours of the Hungarians were the Varangians and the eastern Slavs. In 895/896, under the leadership of Árpád, some Hungarians crossed the Carpathians, the tribe called Magyar was the leading tribe of the Hungarian alliance that conquered the centre of the basin
27.
Battle of Lechfeld (955)
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The Battle of Lechfeld was a decisive victory for Otto I the Great, King of East Francia, over the Hungarian harka Bulcsú and the chieftains Lél and Súr. It is often seen as the event in the repulsion of the Hungarians incursions into Western Europe. Located south of Augsburg, the Lechfeld is the plain that lies along the Lech River. The battle appears as the second Battle of Augsburg in Hungarian historiography and it was followed by the Battle of Recknitz in October. It was important in rallying the East Frankish realm against a foreign enemy, the first Battle of Lechfeld happened in the same area forty-five years earlier. Perhaps the most important source is Gerhards monograph Vita Sancti Uodalrici, another source is the chronicler Widukind of Corvey, who provides some important details. The chronicle Gesta Hungarorum provides insight from the Hungarian side, however, this chronicle was only written in the 12th century. After having put down a rebellion by his son, Liudolf, Duke of Swabia and son-in-law, Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, Otto I the Great, King of East Francia, set out to Saxony, upon arriving in Magdeburg he received reports of the Hungarian invasion. The Hungarians had already invaded once before during the course of the rebellion and this occurred immediately after he had put down a revolt in Franconia. Because of unrest among the Polabian Slavs on the lower Elbe, in addition, Saxony was distant from Augsburg and its environs, and considerable time would have elapsed waiting for their arrival. The battle took place six weeks after the first report of an invasion, the King ordered his troops to concentrate on the Danube, in the vicinity of Neuburg and Ingolstadt. He did this in order to march on the Hungarian line of communications and it was also a central point of concentration for all the contingents that were assembling. Strategically, therefore, this was the best location for Otto to concentrate his forces before making the descent upon the Hungarians. There were other troops that had an influence on the course of the battle, the King was aware of the escape of these Hungarians on the above-mentioned occasions, and was determined to trap them. He therefore ordered his brother, Archbishop Bruno, to keep the Lotharingian forces in Lorraine and he did this with the fear that the Hungarians would follow their plan of retreat on the previous occasions. However, with a powerful force of knights pressing them in the front from the west, and an equally strong force of knights chasing them from the east. The Bishop Ulrich defended Augsburg, a city of Swabia. Motivating them with the 23rd Psalm, while this defense was going on, the King was raising an army to march south
28.
Saint Lawrence
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The martyrs St Orencio and St Paciencia are traditionally held to have been his parents. He encountered the future Pope St Sixtus II, who was of Greek origin and one of the most famous and highly esteemed teachers, eventually, both left Spain for Rome. When Sixtus became the Pope in 257, he ordained St Lawrence as a deacon and he is therefore called archdeacon of Rome, a position of great trust that included the care of the treasury and riches of the Church and the distribution of alms to the indigent. At the beginning of August 258, the Emperor Valerian issued an edict that all bishops, priests, Pope St Sixtus II was captured on 6 August 258, at the cemetery of St Callixtus while celebrating the liturgy and executed forthwith. After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that St Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church, St Ambrose is the earliest source for the narrative that St Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the indigent as possible, one account records him declaring to the prefect, The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor. This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom and can be compared to the parallel Roman tale of the jewels of Cornelia, on 10 August, St Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, and therefore, the ranking Church official, suffered a martyrs death. The Almanac of Philocalus for AD354 states that he was buried in the Catacomb of Cyriaca on the Via Tiburtina by Hippolytus and Justin the Confessor, one of the early sources for his martyrdom was the description of Aurelius Prudentius Clemens in his Peristephanon, Hymn 2. A famous legend has persisted from ancient times, as deacon in Rome, St Lawrence was responsible for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. St Ambrose of Milan relates that when the treasures of the Church were demanded of St Lawrence by the Prefect of Rome, he brought forward the poor, to whom he had distributed the treasure as alms. Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you, to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the Churchs crown. The Prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it, after the martyr had suffered pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he cheerfully declared, Im well done. From this derives his patronage of cooks, chefs, and comedians, Emperor Constantine I is traditionally held to have erected a small oratory in honour of St Lawrence, which was a station on the itineraries of the graves of the Roman martyrs by the seventh century. Pope Damasus I rebuilt or repaired the church, now the Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, the gridiron of the martyrdom was placed by Pope Paschal II in the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina. Lawrence in Palatio ad Sancta Sanctorum, Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs, the life and miracles of St Lawrence were collected in The Acts of St Lawrence but those writings have been lost. The earliest existing documentation of miracles associated with him is in the writings of St Gregory of Tours, sanctulus was rebuilding a church of St Lawrence, which had been attacked and burnt, and hired many workmen to accomplish the job. At one point during the construction, he himself with nothing to feed them. He prayed to St Lawrence for help, and looking in his basket he found a fresh and it seemed to him too small to feed the workmen, but in faith he began to serve it to the men
29.
Pope John XIII
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Pope John XIII can also refer to Pope John XIII of Alexandria. Pope John XIII was Pope from 1 October 965 to his death in 972 and his pontificate was caught up in the continuing conflict between the Emperor, Otto I, and the Roman nobility. Born in Rome, probably sometime during the 930s, John was the son of Giovanni and it has been conjectured that his father was the Roman noble Giovanni Crescentius, a member of the Crescentii family who had married into the family of Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum. If so, his father had previously been a duke, and possibly even appointed consul, consequently, John was probably the brother of Crescentius the Elder, as well as Stephania, lady of Palestrina and Marozia, who married Gregory I, Count of Tusculum. After leaving the schola, he took a part in papal administration, serving in the Chancery of Apostolic Briefs under popes John XII. He also served as Librarian of the Holy Apostolic See in 961, at some point he was appointed as the bishop of Narni, as which he participated in the Synod of Rome which deposed Pope John XII, as well as the Synod of Rome which saw his restoration. After the death of Leo VIII, the Roman nobility asked the Emperor, when this was not possible, Bishop John Crescentius was suggested as a compromise candidate by Otto’s envoys, the bishops Otger of Spiers and Liutprand of Cremona. Elected unanimously, John was consecrated on Sunday,1 October 965, John immediately took on the task of curbing the power of the Roman nobility. He gave members of the Crescentii family important positions to shore up his support, while he also sought closer ties with the emperor. However, with the back in Germany, various local powers decided to take advantage of his absence to intrigue against John XIII. ”The leaders of the Roman militia captured the pope on December 16,965. However, fearing John’s presence there would inspire resistance from his followers, word eventually reached Otto of all these disturbances, who entered Italy in late summer of 966 at the head of an enormous army. In the meantime, John had managed to escape from Campagna, in thanks for Pandulf’s aid, John converted Capua into a Metropolitan see, and consecrated as its first archbishop Pandulf’s brother John, on August 14,966. In Rome, the pope’s supporters rose up, and Rofred and Stephen were killed by John Crescentius, Pope John left Capua, and crossed into Sabina, where he was met by his brother-in-law, Benedict, who also offered John his support. With Rome effectively back in his hands, John returned and was welcomed back into the city on November 14,966, although he was initially lenient towards the rebels, the arrival of Otto saw a change in approach. The emperor banished to Germany the two men appointed consul, the twelve principal leaders were hanged. Other plotters were executed or blinded. A bag of feathers was placed upon his head and two more at his thighs, in gratitude for the emperor’s intervention, John lauded him by declaring him to be the liberator and restorer of the Church, the illustrious guest, and three times blessed emperor. In 969, he met Gerbert dAurillac, the future Pope Sylvester II, after John XIIIs restoration, he worked with the Emperor on ecclesiastical improvements
30.
Synod
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A synod /ˈsɪnəd/ historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word refers to the governing body of a particular church. It is also used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod. The word synod comes from the Greek σύνοδος meaning assembly or meeting, originally, synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Sometimes the phrase general synod or general council refers to an ecumenical council, the word synod also refers to the standing council of high-ranking bishops governing some of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. Similarly, the governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches is entrusted to a permanent synod. The synod in the Western churches is similar, but it is distinguished by being limited to an assembly of bishops. The term is found among those Eastern Orthodox Churches that use a Slavic language, kievan Rus chronicles record the first known East Slavic church sobor as having taken place in Kiev in 1051. Sobors were convened periodically from then on, one notable assembly held in 1415 formed a separate metropoly for the church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian lands, such diocesan sobors may be held annually or only occasionally. However, in use, synod and council are applied to specific categories of such meetings. A synod generally meets every three years and is designated an Ordinary General Assembly. However, Extraordinary synods can be called to deal with specific situations, there are also Special synods for the Church in a specific geographic area such as the one held November 16-December 12,1997, for the Church in America. The pope serves as president of an assembly or appoints the president, determines the agenda, and summons, suspends, thereafter they continued by the hundreds into the sixth century. Those authorized by an emperor and often attended by him came to be called ecumenical, today, Council in Roman Catholic canon law typically refers to an irregular meeting of the entire episcopate of a nation, region, or the world for the purpose of legislation with binding force. The pope alone has the right to convoke, suspend, and dissolve an ecumenical council, he presides over it or chooses someone else to do so. The vacancy of the Holy See automatically suspends an ecumenical council, laws or teachings issued by an ecumenical council require the confirmation of the pope, who alone has the right to promulgate them. The role of the pope in a council is a distinct feature of the Catholic Church. Plenary councils, which are meetings of the episcopate of a nation, are convoked by the national episcopal conference
31.
Ravenna
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Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. It then served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Eastern Roman Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the invasion of the Lombards in 751, although an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, the origin of the name Ravenna is unclear, although it is believed the name is Etruscan. Some have speculated that ravenna is related to Rasenna, the term that the Etruscans used for themselves, the origins of Ravenna are uncertain. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar to Venice several centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of the Po River Delta, in 49 BC, it was the location where Julius Caesar gathered his forces before crossing the Rubicon. Later, after his battle against Mark Antony in 31 BC and this harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the Roman Imperial Fleet. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important seaport on the Adriatic until the early Middle Ages, during the German campaigns, Thusnelda, widow of Arminius, and Marbod, King of the Marcomanni, were confined at Ravenna. Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule, Emperor Trajan built a 70 km long aqueduct at the beginning of the 2nd century. During the Marcomannic Wars, Germanic settlers in Ravenna revolted and managed to seize possession of the city, for this reason, Marcus Aurelius decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there. In AD402, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Milan to Ravenna, at that time it was home to 50,000 people. However, in 409, King Alaric I of the Visigoths simply bypassed Ravenna, after many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor Valentinian III and the support of her nephew Theodosius II. The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern Emperor Zeno sent the Ostrogoth King Theoderic the Great to re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing the Battle of Verona, Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, Theoderic took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. Both Odoacer and Theoderic and their followers were Arian Christians, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins, Ravennas Orthodox bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the Capella Arcivescovile. Theoderic allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law, the Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs
32.
History of Bavaria
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There have been numerous palaeolithic discoveries in Bavaria. The Roman centre of administration for this area was Castra Regina, the etymological origins of the name Bavarian are from the north of the Danube, outside the empire, coming from the Celtic Boii, who lived there earlier. Their name was used to refer to part of this region in the time of Maroboduus who formed the Germanic Marcomannic kingdom with its capital in this forested area. Boi became Bai according to typical Germanic linguistic changes happening at that time, tacitus similarly reports that Boihaemi is the name given to the area where the Boii had lived. These forms lead to modern Bohemia which lies to the east of modern Bavaria, at some later stage the ending varii was used in order to give a new name to specific people living in this geographical area who were then living on both sides of the Danube. Claudius Ptolemy named both the Baenochaemae, living on the Upper Elbe river and a people known as the Baimoi. In surviving records, the Bavarian name was first mentioned historically by the Franks in a list of peoples, the first document that also describes their location is the History of the Goths by the historian Jordanes dating from 551 AD. According to the narrative traditions collected by Anno, the Bishop of Cologne and some documents, the Bavarians had come from Armenia. Recent research by Wolfram and Pohl has moved away from searching for specific geographical origins of the Bavarians, the Bavarians soon came under the dominion of the Franks, probably without a serious struggle. The Franks regarded this area as a buffer zone against peoples to the east, such as the Avars and the Slavs. The first duke known was Garibald I, a member of the powerful Agilolfing family and this was the beginning of a series of Agilolfing dukes that was to last until 788 AD. When Charles Martel became the ruler of the Frankish realm he brought the Bavarians into strict dependence. His son and successor Pepin the Short likewise maintained Frankish authority, several marriages took place between the family to which he belonged and the Agilolfings, who were united in a similar manner with the kings of the Lombards. The ease with which the Franks suppressed various risings gives colour to the supposition that family rather than the revolt of an oppressed people motivated the rebellions. Bavarian law was committed to writing between the years 739 AD and 748 AD, supplementary clauses, added afterwards, bear evidence of Frankish influence. Thus, while the duchy belongs to the Agilolfing family, the duke must be chosen by the people and his election confirmed by the Frankish king, to whom he owes fealty. The duke has a fivefold weregild, summons the nobles and clergy for purposes of deliberation, calls out the host, administers justice, five noble families exist, possibly representing former divisions of the people. Subordinate to the nobles we find the freeborn and then the freedmen, the law divided the country into gaits or counties, under their counts, assisted by judges responsible for declaring the law
33.
Saint Emmeram's Abbey
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When the monastery was founded in about 739, the bishops of Regensburg were abbots in commendam, a common practice at the time which was not always to the advantage of the abbeys concerned. He was one of the first German bishops to do this, the first independent abbot was Ramwold. Both he and Saint Wolfgang were advocates of the reforms of Gorze. Saint Wolfgang, who was bishop in 972, ordered that a library be constructed at St. Emmeram shortly after his arrival in Regensburg. An active scriptorium had existed at St, over time, some works in the scriptorium were copied by monks, some works were preserved from the Carolingian period, and others were acquired as gifts. The library became well supplied with works by early Christian writers such as Saint Augustine, as well as by ancient writers such as Virgil, by the early eleventh century, the library at St. Emmeram had acquired a reputation for its collection. Neighboring libraries began requesting to borrow books for copying, an eleventh-century librarian at the monastery, Froumund of Tegernsee, referred to the book room as a bibliotheca, a term implying an extensive manuscript collection. In 1295 the counter-king Adolf of Nassau granted the abbey the regalia, under their leadership the abbey academy came to rival the Münchner Akademie. St. Emmerams had a tradition of scientific enquiry dating from the Middle Ages. In 1731, the abbots were raised to the status of Princes of the Empire, between 1731 and 1733 there followed the magnificent Baroque refurbishment, by the Asam brothers, of the abbey church, which had been repeatedly burnt out and repaired. After the Treaty of Paris of 1810, the entire Principality of Regensburg was transferred to Bavaria, the treasures of St. Emmerams and its valuable library were mostly removed to Munich. The abbey church became a church, to which, on 18 February 1964. The Romanesque basilica with three aisles, three choirs and a west transept is based on a church building from the second half of the 8th century. Since that time it has many times partly destroyed and rebuilt. The oldest extant part of the building is the crypt under the choir of the northern aisle. The three medieval carved stone reliefs on the portal, dating from about 1052, the oldest of their type in Germany, represent Christ, Saint Emmeram. The west transept has a wooden ceiling depicting Saint Benedict of Nursia. The crypt of Saint Wolfgang is beneath the choir of Saint Denis, next to Saint Deniss altar in the northern aisle is the tomb of Emma, Queen of the East Franks, let into the wall
34.
Regensburg
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Regensburg is a city in south-east Germany, situated at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. With over 140,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the fourth-largest city in the State of Bavaria after Munich, the city is the political, economic and cultural centre of Eastern Bavaria and the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate. The medieval centre of the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 2014, Regensburg was among the top sights and travel attractions in Germany. Generally known in English as Ratisbon until well into the twentieth century, the first settlements in Regensburg date from the Stone Age. The Celtic name Radasbona was the oldest given to a settlement near the present city, around AD90, the Romans built a fort there. In 179, a new Roman fort Castra Regina was built for Legio III Italica during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. It is believed that as early as in late Roman times the city was the seat of a bishop, from the early 6th century, Regensburg was the seat of a ruling family known as the Agilolfings. From about 530 to the first half of the 13th century, Regensburg remained an important city during the reign of Charlemagne. After the partition of the Carolingian Empire in 843, the city became the seat of the Eastern Frankish ruler, two years later, fourteen Bohemian princes came to Regensburg to receive baptism there. This was the point of Christianization of the Czechs. These events had a impact on the cultural history of the Czech lands, as they were consequently part of the Roman Catholic. A memorial plate at St Johns Church was unveiled a few years ago, commemorating the incident in the Czech, on 8 December 899 Arnulf of Carinthia, descendant of Charlemagne, died at Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. In 800 AD the city had 23,000 inhabitants and by 1000 AD this had almost doubled to 40,000 people. In 1096, on the way to the First Crusade, Peter the Hermit led a mob of Crusaders that attempted to force the conversion of the Jews of Regensburg. Between 1135 and 1146, the Stone Bridge across the Danube was built at Regensburg and this bridge opened major international trade routes between northern Europe and Venice, and this began Regensburgs golden age as a residence of wealthy trading families. Regensburg became the centre of southern Germany and was celebrated for its gold work. In 1245 Regensburg became a Free Imperial City and was a centre before the shifting of trade routes in the late Middle Ages. At the end of the 15th century in 1486, Regensburg became part of the Duchy of Bavaria, the city adopted the Protestant Reformation in 1542 and its Town Council remained entirely Lutheran
35.
Missionary
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A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to proselytize and/or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development. The word mission originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem, meaning act of sending or mittere, meaning to send. The word was used in light of its usage, in the Latin translation of the Bible. The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology, a Christian missionary can be defined as one who is to witness across cultures. The Lausanne Congress of 1974, defined the term, related to Christian mission as, Missionaries can be found in many countries around the world. Jesus instructed the apostles to make disciples of all nations and this verse is referred to by Christian missionaries as the Great Commission and inspires missionary work. The New Testament-era missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of St Paul expanded throughout the Roman Empire and beyond to Persia, in 596, Pope Gregory the Great sent the Gregorian Mission into England. In their turn, Christians from Ireland and from Britain became prominent in converting the inhabitants of central Europe, about the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans started moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa and these are some of the most well-known missions in history. While some missions accompanied imperialism and oppression, others were relatively peaceful, contemporary Christian missionaries argue that working for justice forms a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel, and observe the principles of inculturation in their missionary work. Over time, the Vatican gradually established a church structure in the mission areas, often starting with special jurisdictions known as apostolic prefectures. The two 9th-century saints Cyril and Methodius had extensive success in central Europe. The Byzantines expanded their work in Ukraine after a mass baptism in Kiev in 988. The Serbian Orthodox Church had its origins in the conversion by Byzantine missionaries of the Serb tribes when they arrived in the Balkans in the 7th century, Orthodox missionaries also worked successfully among the Estonians from the 10th to the 12th centuries, founding the Estonian Orthodox Church. The Russian St. Nicholas of Japan took Eastern Orthodoxy to Japan in the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church also sent missionaries to Alaska beginning in the 18th century, including Saint Herman of Alaska, to minister to the Native Americans. Quaker publishers of truth visited Boston and other mid-17th century colonies, the Danish government began the first organized Protestant mission work through its College of Missions, established in 1714. This funded and directed Lutheran missionaries such as Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar, India and he also got to know a slave from the Danish colony in the West Indies. Within thirty years, Moravian missionaries had become active on every continent, and they are famous for their selfless work, living as slaves among the slaves and together with the Native Americans, the Delaware and Cherokee Indian tribes
36.
Sorbs
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Sorbs, known also by their former autonyms Lusatians and Wends, are a West Slavic ethnic group predominantly inhabiting their homeland in Lusatia, a region divided between Germany and Poland. They traditionally speak the Sorbian languages, closely related to Polish, Kashubian, Czech, Sorbian is an officially recognized minority language of Germany. The Sorbs are linguistically and genetically closest to the Czechs and Poles, the community is divided religiously between Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism. An indicator of the degree of assimilation is the fact that the Prime Minister of Saxony is at present a Sorb, the ethnonym Sorbs derives from the medieval tribe, Sorbs. The original ethnonym, Srbi, was retained by the Sorbs and Serbs in the Balkans, by the 6th century, Slavs occupied the area west of the Oder formerly inhabited by Germanic peoples. The Sorbs are first mentioned in the 7th century, in the 19th century the autonym of the Slavic population of Lusatia was Lusatians. According to a study published in May 2011, Sorbs show the greatest genetic similarity to Poles, followed by Czechs. They show subtle evidence of genetic isolation but less than Sardinians, demographic history of the Sorb population since 1700, Sorbs are divided into two ethnographical groups, Upper Sorbs, who speak Upper Sorbian. Lower Sorbs, who speak Lower Sorbian, the dialects spoken vary in intelligibility in different areas. Sorbs arrived in the area extending between the Bober, Kwisa, and Oder rivers to the East and the Saale and Elbe rivers to the West during the 6th century, in the north, the area of their settlement reached Berlin. The earliest surviving mention of the tribe was in 631 A. D. when Fredegars Chronicle described them as Surbi and as under the rule of a Dervan, an ally of Samo. The Annales Regni Francorum state that in 806 A. D. Sorbian Duke Miliduch fought against the Franks and was killed, in 840, Sorbian Duke Czimislav was killed. In 932, Henry I conquered Lusatia and Milsko, gero II, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark, reconquered Lusatia the following year and, in 939, murdered 30 Sorbian princes during a feast. As a result, there were many Sorbian uprisings against German rule, a reconstructed castle, at Raddusch in Lower Lusatia, is the sole physical remnant from this early period. Lusatian tribes are noted in the work of the Bavarian Geographer, the document contains a list of the tribes in Central-Eastern Europe east of the Elbe and north of the Danube to the Volga rivers to the Black and Caspian Sea most of them of Slavic origin. Having settled by the Elbe, Spree and Neisse in the 6th century, Sorbs living on the swampy broads of the Lower Spree have taken their name from the word marsh. The Milceni settled on fertile soil around Upper Spree, the name derives from the word měl’, the two groups were separated from each other by a wide and uninhabited forest range. The rest of the tribes settled themselves between the Elbe and Saale, among the many Slavic tribes, the Bavarian Geographer also noted a few Lusatian tribes, Glomacze - Dolomici, Milceni, Chutizi and Sitice
37.
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto II, called the Red, was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great, Otto II was made joint-ruler of Germany in 961, at an early age, and his father named him co-Emperor in 967 to secure his succession to the throne. His father also arranged for Otto II to marry the Byzantine Princess Theophanu, when his father died after a 37-year reign, the eighteen-year-old Otto II became absolute ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in a peaceful succession. Otto II spent his reign continuing his fathers policy of strengthening Imperial rule in Germany, Otto II also continued the work of Otto I in subordinating the Catholic Church to Imperial control. Early in his reign, Otto II defeated a revolt against his rule from other members of the Ottonian dynasty who claimed the throne for themselves. His victory allowed him to exclude the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of Imperial succession and this strengthened his authority as Emperor and secured the succession of his own son to the Imperial throne. With domestic affairs settled, Otto II would focus his attention from 980 onward to annexing the whole of Italy into the Empire and his conquests brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Empire and with the Muslims of the Fatimid Caliphate, who both held territories in southern Italy. While he was preparing to counterattack Muslim forces, an uprising by the Slavs broke out in 983. Otto II died suddenly in 983 at the age of 28 after a ten-year reign and he was succeeded as Emperor by his three-year-old son Otto III, plunging the Empire into a political crisis. Otto II was born in 955, the son of the King of Germany Otto I. By 957, Otto IIs older brothers Henry and Bruno had died, as well as Otto Is son from his first wife Eadgyth, with his older brothers dead, the two-year-old Otto IIs became the Kingdoms crown prince and Otto Is heir apparent. Otto I entrusted his son, Archbishop William of Mainz, with Otto IIs literary. Margrave Odo, commander of the Eastern March, taught the young prince the art of war. Needing to put his affairs in order prior to his descent into Italy, Otto I summoned a Diet at Worms and had Otto II elected, at the age of six, co-regent in May 961. Otto II was later crowned by his uncle Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne, while Otto I had secured succession of the throne, he had violated the Kingdoms unwritten law that succession rights could only be granted to a child who has reached the age of majority. He was likely motivated by the associated with his expedition into Italy to claim the Imperial title from the Pope. Otto I crossed the Alps into Italy, while Otto II remained in Germany, after three and a half year absence in Italy, Otto I returned to Germany early in 965 as Holy Roman Emperor. In order to give the hope of dynastic continuity after his death, Otto I again confirmed Otto II as his heir on February 2,965, though Otto I was crowned Emperor in 962 and returned to Germany in 965, the political situation in Italy remained unstable
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Pope Benedict VII
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Pope Benedict VII was Pope from October 974 to his death in 983. Benedict was born in Rome, the son of David or Deodatus, before his election to the papacy, he had previously served as Bishop of Sutri. He belonged to the family of the Counts of Tusculum. He was elected by the Roman clergy and people in October 974 under the influence of Sicco and he governed a Rome that was uncharacteristically politically quiet. Benedict VIIs date of birth is not known with certainty, but it is known that he was related to Prince Alberic II and he succeeded to the papacy as a compromise candidate to replace antipope Boniface VII. Boniface VII was excommunicated and unsuccessfully did not retake the papacy, Benedict VII promoted monasticism and ecclesiastical reform along with Emperor Otto II. Benedict VII visited the city of Orvieto with his nephew Filippo Alberici, in 978 Benedict issued a bull defining the boundaries of the diocese of Vic for bishop Froia, thereby rescinding the bulls issued by Pope John XIII that had made Vic an archdiocese. In March 981, Benedict presided over a synod in St Peters that prohibited simony, in September 981, he convened a Lateran Synod
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Great Slav Rising
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The Great Slav Rising in 983 was an uprising of the Polabian Slavs, mainly Lutici and Obotrite tribes living east of the Elbe River in modern north-east Germany. They were revolting against Christianization and their subjugation to the German realm of the Holy Roman Emperor, otto had most recently defeated an alliance of Obotrite and Circipani tribes at the 955 Battle on the Raxa. The conquered area east of the German Duchy of Saxony was initially organized within the vast Saxon Eastern March under Margrave Gero, in 981 Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg, the Apostle of the Slavs, died and his successor Gisilher had to struggle with the resistance by the Magdeburg chapter. While there was internal dissention in the Holy Roman Empire, Slavic forces led by the Lutici revolted and drove out the political and religious representatives of the Empire. According to the contemporary chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg, the Obotrites joined the Lutici, devastated a St Lawrence monastery in Kalbe, a hastily assembled Saxon army was only able to retain the Slavs behind the Elbe. The Northern March and the March of the Billungs were lost, the March of Lusatia as well as the adjacent marches of Zeitz, Merseburg and the Meissen in the south did not take part in the uprising. In 1003 King Henry II of Germany tried a different approach, he allied himself with the Lutici and this stabilized the independence of the Lutici and ensured that the area remained ruled by Polabian Slavs and unchristianized into the 12th century. The immediate consequences of the uprising were an almost complete stop on further German eastward expansion for the next 200 years, for most of the time, the dioceses of Brandenburg and Havelberg existed in titular form only, with the bishops residing at the royal court. Wolfgang Fritze, Der slawische Aufstand von 983 - eine Schicksalswende in der Geschichte Mitteleuropas, in, Eckart Henning, Werner Vogel, Festschrift der landesgeschichtlichen Vereinigung für die Mark Brandenburg zu ihrem hundertjährigen Bestehen 1884–1984. Herbert Ludat, An Elbe und Oder um das Jahr 1000, skizzen zur Politik des Ottonenreiches und der slawischen Mächte in Mitteleuropa. Lutz Partenheimer, Die Entstehung der Mark Brandenburg
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Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
41.
Thietmar of Merseburg
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Thietmar, Prince-Bishop of Merseburg from 1009 until his death, was an important chronicler recording the reigns of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors of the Ottonian dynasty. Two of Thietmars great-grandfathers, both referred to Liuthar, were the Saxon nobles Lothar II, Count of Stade, and Lothar I and they were both killed fighting the Slavs at the Battle of Lenzen. Thietmar was a son of the Saxon count Siegfried I the Older of Walbeck and his wife Kunigunde, daughter of Henry I the Bald and his father fought with Margrave Odo against Duke Mieszko I of Poland at the 972 Battle of Cedynia. At the time of Thietmars birth, his family sided with the Ottonian duke Henry II of Bavaria in his uprising against his cousin Emperor Otto II. Later, a balance was achieved, Siegfried became burgrave at Möckern, baptized in Halberstadt, Thietmar prepared for an ecclesiastical career. He was educated at the St. Servatius chapter of Quedlinburg Abbey, from 1 November 990, he attended the Magedeburg cathedral school, together with his relative Bruno of Querfurt. He was familiar with the works of Augustine of Hippo, but even more with classical authors like Virgil, Horace, Lucan, Thietmar witnessed the struggles of the young Ottonian king Otto III and his mother Theophanu to secure their reign. He took some part in political events of the time, in 994 he was a hostage in the hands of the Northmen. Upon the death of his parents, he inherited parts of the Walbeck estates and in 1002 became provost of the family monastery. On 21 December 1004, he was ordained as a priest by Archbishop Tagino of Magdeburg, in 1009, through the intercession of Archbishop Tagino, he became Bishop of the Merseburg diocese, which had been re-established by King Henry II in 1004. Thietmar was concerned with the restitution of his bishopric. A loyal supporter of the German kingship, he interfered in political affairs. He died on 1 December 1018 and was buried in Merseburg cathedral, as counsellor of the Emperor and participant in many important political transactions he was well equipped for writing a history of his times. Nor does he always discriminate between important and unimportant events, the chronicle is nevertheless an excellent source for the history of Saxony during the reigns of the emperors Otto III and Henry II. No information is excluded by Thietmar, but the fullest details refer to the Bishopric of Merseburg, and to the wars against the Wends, the original manuscript was moved in 1570 to Dresden. When the city was destroyed by bombing during World War II the manuscript was severely damaged, fortunately a complete facsimile edition had been published by L. Schmidt. Thietmari Merseburgensis episcopi Chronicon, Mentzel-Reuters, Arno and Gerhard Schmitz, images of the Dresden MS, a search facility and Holtzmanns 1935 edition, available online Holtzman, Robert and J. C. M. Laurent, J. Strebitzki und W. Wattenbach, die Chronik des Thietmar von Merseburg
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Investiture Controversy
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The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was a conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies, at issue was who, the pope or monarchs, had the authority to appoint local church officials such as bishops of cities and abbots of monasteries. The conflict ended in 1122, when Emperor Henry V and Pope Calixtus II agreed on the Concordat of Worms and it differentiated between the royal and spiritual powers and gave the emperors a limited role in selecting bishops. The outcome seemed mostly a victory for the Pope and his claim that he was Gods chief representative in the world, however, the Emperor did retain considerable power over the Church. The investiture controversy began as a struggle between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. By undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian emperors, the led to nearly 50 years of civil war in Germany. Imperial power was finally re-established under the Hohenstaufen dynasty, historian Norman Cantor, The age of the investiture controversy may rightly be regarded as the turning-point in medieval civilization. After the decline of the Roman Empire, and prior to the Investiture Controversy, while theoretically a task of the church, many bishops and abbots were themselves usually part of the ruling nobility. Since the eldest son would inherit the title, siblings often found careers in the church and this was particularly true where the family may have established a proprietary church or abbey on their estate. Since Otto the Great the bishops had been princes of the empire, had secured many privileges, the control of these great units of economic and military power was for the king a question of primary importance, affecting as it did imperial authority. It was essential for a ruler or nobleman to appoint someone who would remain loyal. e, the Holy Roman Emperor and placing that power wholly within control of the church. An opportunity came in 1056 when Henry IV became German king at six years of age, the reformers seized the opportunity to take the papacy by force while he was still a child and could not react. Once Rome regained control of the election of the pope, it was ready to attack the practice of investiture, in 1075, Pope Gregory VII composed the Dictatus Papae. One clause asserted that the deposal of an emperor was under the power of the pope. By this time, Henry IV was no longer a child and it called for the election of a new pope. His letter ends, I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, and is often quoted with and to be damned throughout the ages. In 1076 Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry, and deposed him as German king, releasing all Christians from their oath of allegiance, enforcing these declarations was a different matter, but the advantage gradually came to be on the side of Gregory VII. German princes and the aristocracy were happy to hear of the kings deposition and they used religious reasons to continue the rebellion started at the First Battle of Langensalza in 1075, and for seizure of royal holdings
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Pope Gregory VII
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Gregory VII, born Hildebrand of Sovana, was Pope from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He was also at the forefront of developments in the relationship between the emperor and the papacy during the years before he became pope. He was the first pope in centuries to rigorously enforce the Western Churchs ancient policy of celibacy for the clergy. He excommunicated Henry IV three times, consequently, Henry IV would appoint Antipope Clement III to oppose him in the political power struggles between the Catholic Church and his empire. Hailed as one of the greatest of the Roman pontiffs after his reforms proved successful, Gregory VII was, during his own reign and this was eagerly repeated by later opponents of the Catholic Church, such as the English Protestant John Foxe. Joseph McCabe describes Gregory as a rough and violent peasant, enlisting his brute strength in the service of the ideal which he embraced. His zeal, moral force, and religious conviction, however, ensured that he should retain to a degree the loyalty. Gregory was born as Ildebrando di Soana in Sovana, in the county of Grosseto, now southern Tuscany and he was said to be of humble origins. One finds in Johann Georg Estor the claim that he was the son of a blacksmith. As a youth he was sent to study in Rome at the monastery of St. Mary on the Aventine, among his masters were the erudite Lawrence, archbishop of Amalfi, and Johannes Gratianus, the future Pope Gregory VI. When the latter was deposed by Holy Roman Emperor Henry III and exiled to Germany, according to some chroniclers, Hildebrand moved to Cluny after Gregorys death, which occurred in 1048, his declaration to have become a monk at Cluny must not be taken literally. He then accompanied Abbot Bruno of Toul to Rome, there, Bruno was elected Pope, choosing the name Leo IX, Leo sent Hildebrand as his legate to Tours in France in the wake of the controversy created by Berengar of Tours. At Leos death, the new Pope, Victor II, confirmed him as legate, while Victors successor Stephen IX sent him and Anselm of Lucca to Germany to obtain recognition from the Empress Agnes de Poitou. With the help of 300 Norman knights sent by Richard of Aversa, between 1058 and 1059, he was created archdeacon of the Roman church, becoming the most important figure in the papal administration. He was again the most powerful figure behind the election of Anselm of Lucca the Elder as Pope Alexander II in the election of October 1061. The new pope put forward the reform program devised by Hildebrand, Pope Gregory VII was one of the few popes elected by acclamation. On the death of Alexander II on 21 April 1073, as the obsequies were being performed in the Lateran Basilica, there arose a loud outcry from the clergy and people, Blessed Peter has chosen Hildebrand the Archdeacon. Hildebrand immediately fled, and hid himself for some time, thereby making it clear that he had refused the election in the Liberian Basilica
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Great Saxon Revolt
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It followed the Saxon Rebellion of 1073–75. The duke had played power politics with the young Emperor several years earlier in his reign, after meeting with a penitent Henry IV in the fall of 1076, the pope had removed the first excommunication of the impetuous and hot-headed twenty-six-year-old monarch. With the delays of news and events imposed by High Middle Ages travel, communications heralding the rapprochement were delayed enough that the decision was made to just go ahead and meet anyway. Prior to Henrys crowning at the age of six as the Emperor, the Emperor had been crowned by the Pope, Henrys age of inheritance had been a flash point leading to much discussion and controversy spurring the reform. Despite these difficulties, Henrys situation in Germany improved in the following years. When Rudolf was crowned at Mainz in May 1077 by one of the plotters, Siegfried I, Archbishop of Mainz, the population revolted and forced him, the archbishop, positioned there, Rudolf was geographically and then militarily deprived of his territories by Henry. Henry convoked a synod of the highest German clergy in Bamberg, for the next few years, the civil war shifted south of the Alps. Henrys campaign against the pope in Italy resulted in an accommodation and he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Gregory VII in 1084, leaving the anti-king Hermann of Salm in an awkward position. Hermanns plan to gather an army on the banks of the Danube and march into Italy in support of the pope was dashed by the death of his main retainer, Otto of Nordheim. When Henry, now the crowned Holy Roman Emperor, returned north and came into Saxony with an army in 1085, Hermann fled to Denmark. He returned, however, in alliance with Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, soon after his victory, however, he tired of being a pawn in the hands of the grandees and retired to his familial estates. The Great Saxon Revolt civil war may have ended in 1088, for in 1089 Countess Matilda married Welf II of Bavaria, concordat of Worms War of Investiture
45.
House of Wettin
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The House of Wettin is a dynasty of German counts, dukes, prince-electors and kings that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, the Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of medieval states. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, the family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the Treaty of Leipzig, the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation, many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Albertine branch, while less prominent, ruled most of Saxony, agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of Great Britain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland, Saxony, and Belgium. Only the British and Belgian lines retain their thrones today, the oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is Theodoric I of Wettin, also known as Dietrich, Thiedericus, and Thierry I of Liesgau. He was most probably based in the Liesgau, around 1000, the family acquired Wettin Castle, which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes, after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in Wettin in the Hassegau on the Saale River, around 1030, the Wettin family received the Eastern March as a fief. The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March caused Emperor Henry IV to invest them with the March of Meissen as a fief in 1089. The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly, as Albert ruled under the title of Duke of Saxony, his possessions were also known as Ducal Saxony. The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation, Frederick III appointed Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon to the University of Wittenberg, which he had established in 1502. The Ernestine predominance ended in the Schmalkaldic War, which pitted the Protestant Schmalkaldic League against the Emperor Charles V, although itself Lutheran, the Albertine branch rallied to the Emperors cause. Charles V had promised Moritz the rights to the electorship, after the Battle of Mühlberg, Johann Friedrich der Großmütige, had to cede territory and the electorship to his cousin Moritz. Although imprisoned, Johann Friedrich was able to plan a new university and it was established by his three sons on 19 March 1548 as the Höhere Landesschule at Jena. On 15 August 1557, Emperor Ferdinand I awarded it the status of university, the Ernestine line was thereafter restricted to Thuringia and its dynastic unity swiftly crumbled, dividing into a number of smaller states, the Ernestine duchies. In the 18th century, Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, established what was to become known as Weimar Classicism at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe there. The Ernestine Wettins, on the hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914). "article name needed". New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls.