Towards the close of 1310, Henry VII. crossed Mont Cenis with an army of several thousand men, and was welcomed with great pomp in Milan, where he was crowned with the iron crown of Lombardy. The poet Dante hailed him as a saviour of Italy, and all parties formed the most extravagant expectations of the advantage they would derive from his coming. The Emperor seems to have tried to act with entire impartiality, and consequently both parties were disappointed. The Guelphs first rose against him, and instead of peace a new war ensued. He was not able to march to Rome until 1312, and by that time the city was again divided into two hostile parties. With the help of the Colonnas, he gained possession of the southern bank of the Tiber, and was crowned Emperor in the Lateran Church by a Cardinal, since there was no Pope in Rome: the Orsini family, who were hostile to him, held possession of the other part of the city, including St. Peter's and the Vatican.
1314. LUDWIG THE BAVARIAN ELECTED.
There were now indications that all Italy would be convulsed with a repetition of the old struggle. The Guelphs rallied around king Robert of Naples as their head, while king Frederick of Sicily and the Republic of Pisa declared for the Emperor. France and the Pope were about to add new elements to the quarrel, when in August, 1313, Henry VII. died of poison, administered to him by a monk in the sacramental wine,—one of the most atrocious forms of crime which can be imagined. He was a man of many noble personal qualities, and from whom much was hoped, both in Germany and Italy; but his reign was too short for the attainment of any lasting results.
When the Electors came together at Frankfort, in 1314, it was found that their votes were divided between two candidates. Henry VII.'s son, king John of Bohemia, was only seventeen years old, and the friends of his house, not believing that he could be elected, united on Duke Ludwig of Bavaria, a descendant of Otto of Wittelsbach. On the other hand, the friends of the house of Hapsburg, with the combined influence of France and the Pope on their side, proposed Frederick of Austria, the son of the Emperor Albert. There was a division of the Diet, and both candidates were elected; but Ludwig had four of the seven Electors on his side, he reached Aix-la-Chapelle first and was there crowned, and thus he was considered to have the best right to the Imperial dignity.
Ludwig of Bavaria and Frederick of Austria had been bosom-friends until a short time previous; but they were now rivals and deadly enemies. For eight long years a civil war devastated Germany. On Frederick's side were Austria, Hungary, the Palatinate of the Rhine, and the Archbishop of Cologne, with the German nobles, as a class: on Ludwig's side were Bavaria, Bohemia, Thuringia, the cities and the middle class. Frederick's brother, Leopold, in attempting to subjugate the Swiss cantons, the freedom of which had been confirmed by Ludwig, suffered a crushing defeat in the famous battle of Morgarten, fought in 1315. The Austrian force in this battle was 9,000, the Swiss 1,300: the latter lost 15 men, the former 1,500 soldiers and 640 knights. From that day the freedom of the Swiss was secured.
1322.
The Pope, John XXII., declared that he only had the right of deciding between the two rival sovereigns, and used all the means in his power to assist Frederick. The war was prolonged until 1322, when, in a battle fought at Mühldorf, near Salzburg, the struggle was decided. After a combat of ten hours, the Bavarians gave way, and Ludwig narrowly escaped capture; then the Austrians, mistaking a part of the latter's army for the troops of Leopold, which were expected on the field, were themselves surrounded, and Frederick with 1,400 knights taken prisoner. The battle was, in fact, an earlier Waterloo in its character. Ludwig saluted Frederick with the words: "We are glad to see you, Cousin!" and then imprisoned him in a strong castle.
There was now a truce in Germany, but no real peace. Ludwig felt himself strong enough to send some troops to the relief of Duke Visconti of Milan, who was hard pressed by a Neapolitan army in the interest of the Pope. For this act, John XXII. not only excommunicated and cursed him officially, but extended the Papal "Interdict" over Germany. The latter measure was one which formerly occasioned the greatest dismay among the people, but it had now lost much of its power. The "Interdict" prohibited all priestly offices in the lands to which it was applied. The churches were closed, the bells were silent, no honors were paid to the dead, and it was even ordered that the marriage ceremony should be performed in the churchyards. But the German people refused to submit to such an outrage; the few priests who attempted to obey the Pope, were either driven away or compelled to perform their religious duties as usual.
The next event in the struggle was a conspiracy of Leopold of Austria with Charles IV. of France, favored by the Pope, to overthrow Ludwig. But the other German princes who were concerned in it quietly withdrew when the time came for action, and the plot failed. Then Ludwig, tired of his trials, sent his prisoner Frederick to Leopold as a mediator, the former promising to return and give himself up, if he should not succeed. Leopold was implacable, and Frederick kept his word, although the Pope offered to relieve him of his promise, and threatened him with excommunication for not breaking it. Ludwig was generous enough to receive him as a friend, to give him his full liberty and dignity, and even to divide his royal rule privately with him. The latter arrangement was so unpractical that it was not openly proclaimed, but the good understanding between the two contributed to the peace of Germany. Leopold died in 1326, and Ludwig enjoyed an undisputed authority.
1327. QUARREL WITH THE POPE.