A Popular History Of Germany From The Earliest Period To The Present Day Vol 3 Classic Reprint PDF Download

Excerpt from The History of Germany, Vol. 2 of 3: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time Conrad IV., Frederick's eldest son and successor, everywhere driven from the field in Germany, took refuge in Italy, and, trusting that his father's death bad conciliated the pope, offered in his necessity to submit to any conditions he might impose, if he were recognised emperor by him. His advances were treated with silent contempt. Manfred, with a truly noble and fraternal spirit, ceded the sovereignty of Italy to his brother, whom he aided both in word and deed. In 1253, the royal brothers captured Capua and Naples, where Conrad placed a bridle in the mouth of an antique colossal horse's head, the emblem of the city. The terrible fate that pursued the imperial family was not to be averted by success. Their younger brother, Henry, the son of Isabella of England, to whom the throne of Sicily had been destined by his father, suddenly expired, and, in 1254, his fate was shared by Conrad in his 26th year. Their deaths were ascribed to poison, said, by the Guelphs, to have been administered by Conrad to Henry, and by Manfred to Conrad. The crime was, nevertheless, indubitably committed by the papal faction, the pope and the Guelphs being solely interested in the destruction of the Hohenstaufen. Manfred's rule in Italy was certainly secured to him by the death of his legitimate brothers, but on the other hand it deprived him of all hope of aid from Germany, and his total inability unaided to oppose the pope was evident immediately after Conrad's death, when he made terms with the pontiff, to whom he ceded the whole of Lower Italy, Tarento alone excepted. He was, nevertheless, speedily necessitated again to take up arms against the lieutenant of the pope, and was driven by suspicion of a design against his life to make a last and desperate defence. The German mercenaries at Nocera under the command of the Margrave von Hochberg, and the Moors who had served under the emperor Frederick, flocked beneath his banner, and on the death of the pontiff, [a. d. 1254, ] who expired on the anniversary of the death of Frederick II., affairs suddenly changed. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.