Chronicle of German Nation
Their Influences in the Development of Europe
the book “The Last Generation Forgotten and Left to Die” The
History of the Danube Swabians”.
Rights reserved. ISBN No. 0-9701109-0-1
history and the culture of the Germanic presence in Europe are as interesting as
they are confusing. This is the primary reason I thought that I should include a
detailed chronology showing the development of the German Nation as it appears
to unfold over the period of years in Europe. There might be certain questions
you may have in regard to the origin of the Germanic tribes, their background as
well as their development as we go through time. As we sort through the
development of the migration of the many cultures in Europe, we may not at all
be surprised that the Germanic race is the melting pot of many cultures such as
the Indo-Germanic, East- and West Germanic, Celtic-Germanic as well as the
Nordic-Germanic tribes and others cultures mixed in thoroughly over thousands of
great migration of the Germanic tribes during the first several hundred years
after the birth of Christ is mostly caused by climate changes and
overpopulations or by intruding Slavic and Asiatic tribes such as the Huns and
Avars. The years after the reign of Emperor “Karl the Great” (better known
as Charlemagne) of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”, several lines
in distinct Germanic regions establish themselves in Europe, like the Franken
(Franconia), Schwaben (Swabian), Sachsen (Saxon) Thüringen (Thuringia),
Lothringen (Lorain), Burgund (Burgundy), Bayern (Bavaria), Böhmen (Bohemia), Mähren
(Moravia), the East Mark (Austria) and others. It would take again another 800
years before we can recognize more distinct borders of modern provinces of
Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Austria today.
underlying sources for this chronology are listed below. Thanks to these authors
and publishers of these books in the German and English languages, I was able to
translate some of the more important data for clarification as well as your
study of Germanic history.
The Anchor Atlas of World History, by Hermann Kinder and Werner Hilgemann.
Chronic Österreichs by Professor Kleinfeld, Chronic Verlag in der Harenberg
Verlags-und Mediangesellschaft mbh & KG Dortmund 1984. ISBN: 3-88379-027-3
Chronic Wiens by Isabella Ackerl, Chronic Verlag in der Harenberg Verlags-und
Mediangesellschaft mbh & KG Dortmund 1988. ISBN: 3-661-00064-7
Geschichte Österreichs by Roman Sandgruber, Pichler Verlag Gmbh & Co KG,
Wien 2000. ISBN 3-85431-196-6.
Chronic Deutschen, Redaktion by Bodo Harenberg, Chronic Verlag in der Harenberg
Verlags-und Mediangesellschaft mbh & KG Dortmund 1983. ISBN: 3-88379-023-0
Jahre Nachbarschaft Deutsche in Suedost Europa by Gootlieb Rhode, Verlag F.
Bruckmann KG, München 1981. ISBN: 3-7654 1831-5.
German-American Achievements - 400 years of contributions to America by
Don Heinrich Tolzmann, Heritage Books, Inc.
The Last Generation Forgotten and Left to Die, the history of the Danube
Swabians, by Hans Kopp Cleveland, Ohio 2003 ISBN:0-9701 109-0-1, Library of
Congress control number: 2003111776.
Evidence of first signs of agricultural activities by men on Germanic grounds
was found in caves.
During the early Stone Age, evidence of farming and animal husbandry was
During the Copper Age, Pfahlbauten (houses in lakes build on stilt’s) were found
in the Salzkammergut, (Austria) and at Bodensee (Germany) regions. Several finds
of boats hewn from pine trees were found in the swamps of several lakes, like
Mondsee and Attersee in Austria. It is interesting to note that they understood
the difference of the sunny side and the shady side of the pines which they used
to their advantage. From the lesser tensor sunny side they removed the wood with
fire and stone tools while the denser shady side served better as the boats
During the mid nineties a well preserved man was found between the
borders of Austria and Italy on the glacier of the Ötztal mountain range and
During the early and middle Bronze Age a transition to “Hill Graves”
The great “Indo-Germanic” period becomes evident, during the Late
Stone-, Copper- and Early Bronze Ages.
The “Early Germanic” period is evident during the Bronze Age in the
northern regions of Germany, Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea. These tribes are
believed to have their origin directly from the south of their locations and may
be directly related with the Celtics, Italic and Greek cultures which may have
moved north for reasons unknown.
A split of “East- and West-Germanic” tribal cultures is evident. The
“Large Germanic” period becomes more evident during the Iron Age. Germanic
tribes can now be identified as Ostgermanen
in Scandinavia, Nordgemanen and
Angeln in Denmark, Warnen in
Schleswig-Holstein, Chauken on the North Sea in Friesland, Sachsen on the North
Sea, Rugier and Goten on the Ostsee or Baltic Sea what is today’s Poland,
Lemowier and Weichselgermanen in northern Poland, Langobarden in the central
northern part of Germany, Wetsgermanen in the north western region of Germany,
Rheine-Weser Germanen in the Rheine-Weser region of Germany, Elbe Germanen near
the Elbe River, Sweben between Elbe and Oder in northern Germany, Ostgermanen
near the Warthe River, Wandalen in central Poland, Brukterer in Central Germany
and Oder Warthe Germanen in Poland near these rivers. From these locations they
began to move south. Scientists believe that the south movement of the Germanic
tribes was influenced by the lack of food due to the colder weather of that
Salt changes their lives. The “Hallstatt Period” begins during the
Late Iron Age. Celtic tribes establish several kingdoms in the Alps and
assimilate Illyrians living there at that time into their kingdom. Trade routes
from the north to the south establish the trade of raw materials such as Bronze,
Iron and salt which has become a commodity among the cultures in Europe.
It was first mentioned by Herodot, that the legions under the Persian
King Darius went up a river (Danube) in boats from the Black See (Pontus Euxinus)
and found a narrow in the river with turbulent waters (most likely the Iron Gate
on the Danube).
During the “Younger Ice Age” (La-Tene-Time, Switzerland and France),
there is evidence of Celtic Tribe migration into the Alps and into the regions
of the Illyrians to the east are found. Heavy plows and sickles are developed
during this period by the Celtics. The Greek writer Diodoros writes the
following about the Celtics; “they have
white facial colors as if they were sick. Their long hair is blond and they use
a chalk solution to wash it which acts like a bleach and thickens the strands of
their hair which makes it look like a horse’s mane. They have beautiful large
statures. Some shave their facial hair and grow mustaches which give them a
The Celtic cultures extend from the regions of France into the British
Islands to the west and to the east as far as northern Serbia and Romania. They
formed three Kingdoms in the Alps from the west to east Rhaetia, Noricum and
Pannonia. The regions of the three Kingdoms extend from the Danube in the north
including Bavaria and Baden Württemberg to the south of the Alps into Italy and
from Switzerland to the banks of the Danube in Hungary.
Over the period of time Celtics and Germanic cultures have intermingled
so we actually have to call some of them Celtic-Germanic tribes. The Euten who
settled at the Rheine River Delta were living near the North Sea. The Angeln
settled in Schleswig and the Sachsen (Saxons) on the North Sea stretching to
Baltic Sea in northern Germany. The Chauken settled on mounds near the North Sea
and live from fishing. The Friesen who live in marshland live from fishing while
the Cherusker live close to forests near today’s Paderporn. The Warnen
originate from Ostjütland and live from fishing. The Fosen are thought of
Celtic origin and make their homes in Ostjütland. The Heruden also live in Ostjütland.
The Avionen are part of the Jütisch tribes and make their living from fishing
as do the Eudosen who live in Denmark, however their origin is unknown. Living
in the western Rheine regions are the Belgen of Celtic origin and make their
homes in the North West Gallic regions. The Canninefaten live between the Waal
and Zuidersee in the Netherlands. The Chatten make their homes near the Fulda
and Eder rivers. The Bataver settled near the Rheine delta, the Brukterer
originate from the Ems river region, the Ubier originate from the regions of the
Rheine, Main and Westerwald areas. The Sugambrer make their homes near the right
banks of the Rheine River north of Cologne. The Chattuarier live near the middle
and upper Ruhr River area. The Usipier live in Upper Hessia as do the Tenkterer
who settled in Upper Hessia. Cultures which make their homes on the left banks
of the Rhine River are; the Baetasier living in the regions of Brussels. The
Caerosen who make their homes in the Eifel region settle on the left bank of the
Rheine as do the Condruser who live near the Maas. The Eburone people are
possibly of Celtic origin, but it is not known for sure. Among the Elbe Germanen
are the Sweben who moved from Thüringen to the south west. The Markomannen are
living in the Bavarian regions. The Quaden live north of the Main River. The
Hermunduren live along the Elbe River but it is not known if they are of
Germanic or Celtic origin, but it is assumed they are part of the Sweben tribe.
The settlements Thüringen extend over the Harz Mountain and are probably of
Celtic origin. The Bojer were original Celtics and lived in the 4th
Century B.C. in the Apennine area near Bologna and after their defeat by the
Romans in the 2nd Century B.C. part of their tribe fled to Bohemia.
The Langobarden settle at the Lower Elbe River. Among the East Germanic tribes
were the Kimbern they originate from Jütland and are probably Celtics in
origin, the Teutonen are of Celtic origin, the Ambronen came from Friesland and
are probably of Germanic origin and joined with the Teutonen. The Wandalen are
of Germanic origin and came from Jütland. The Burgunder are of Germanic origin
and originate from Scandinavia. The Goten are of Germanic origin and came from
the Scandinavian Island of Gotha. Finally the Rugier are of Germanic origin and
live near the Weichsel River Delta in Pommern (today’s Poland).
The Roman Empire expands to the north. Located in south of the Danube are
many Celtic towns called “Oppida” by the Romans and become trade centers
with the Romans.
Julius Caesar rules the Roman Empire. During his time the Romans control
the Mediterranean Sea. Julius Caesar began his career as a “Council of
Illyricum” for a period of five years which was extended to another fife
years. He felt it was vital for the security of the Roman Empire to occupy Gall
and came to the conclusion to move also against the Germanic tribes in the
north. Julius Caesar advances into the Germanic settlements and his legions
brought many cultural advances with them to their regions.
B.C. to 15 The Romans
occupy the Celtic Kingdoms of Rhaetia, Noricum and Pannonia and from there they
began their northern expansion to the Danube into what is today’s Austria.
The legions of Julius Caesar occupy the regions of Illyricum and Pannonia
extending into today’s Hungarian Lowland to the east and today’s Austria to
the Danube in the north, where they established the two provinces of Pannonia
The birth of Christ in Bethlehem.
Caius Scribonius Curio is the first Roman to see the Danube River and
names it “Danuvius”, after he hears the Celtic name for the river.
Armin defeats Varus at the “Teutoburger Forrest”. 12 years later
Armin is assassinated.
The Roman army advances north to what is today’s southern Germany. They
defeat the Chatten and Sueben and set their borders at the Limes which were a
defense ditch extending from near Regensburg on the Danube to the Rheine near
Bonn, to secure their Empire against advances by Germanic tribes. On the
opposite side of the ditch they placed a wall constructed of Wood and erected
watchtowers along the wall for guards to see possible advances by the Germanic
tribes of the Markomannen, Hermunduren, Chatten and the Tenkterer living in the
areas near the Limes and are not protected by the natural boundary of the rivers
Danube and the Rheine.
The Zimbren originating from Jütland (northern Germany) and the Teutonen
advance to the Gall regions, Spain and Italy and succumb to the roman armies.
The Roman Emperor Hadrian take action to fortify the Limes.
Notations from Tacitus (Roman historian) about the Germanic culture; “they
have strict marital rules one man and one woman. Their men are the only
Barbarians satisfied with one woman; the dowry is given by the man to the bride
and consists of practical thing like a horse, cow and a shield for protection
while the bride gives him a sword for the same reason. The women come into a
marriage as equal partners and they are expected to share happiness, sorrow and
their possession. At the end of their life’s their possessions shall be shared
equally among their offspring this does also include their daughters in law.” Tacitus
goes on saying; “food is simple, they collect wild fruits, drink milk, buttermilk
and hunt wild game. They also drink a brew made from wheat or barley which they
allow to ferment which becomes a similar drink as wine.” He also notes;
“we should give them wine as much as they want to promote their love for
drunkenness and then they we will be easier to defeat in such conditions”.
With the expansion to the south to the Danube and to the west of the
Rheine, the Romans bring new prosperity and developments to the regions not
known to the Germanic cultures. They introduce Gold, Silver and copper coins,
build roads of more then 100,000 Kilometers in total length and they build
bridges across rivers. The stone “Mosel River Bridge” near Trier built in
the year 41 is still intact. Now traveling from Trier to Rome is possible in 120
days, which was quite an accomplishment at the time.
Trier (Augusta Treverorum) becomes a center for the Romans on Germanic
ground. They built a terminal bath in the City. Tacitus mentioned the following:
“the Germanic tribes have no cities,
not even closed settlement and live on the land. The do not build villages as we
do with connecting houses, their houses are free standing just as they please.
They do not use bricks or stones to build their dwellings. The construction of
their house is made randomly of wood without regard of appearance or appeal to
the Eyes. They use earth carefully to fill spaces in between, thus giving them
the appearance of patched paint. They take possession of as much land as they
can use and divide it among their followers according to their rank.”
Roman Emperor, Mark Aurel surrendered the province of Pannonia to the
Germanic tribes of the Markomannen and Quaden.
There are first signs of Christianity in the Germanic regions.
The Markomannen establish their Kingdome in today’s upper Austria and
Roman Emperor Mark Aurel contracts the pestilence and dies of this
The social foundation of the Germanic cultures of the time; the “Sippe”
originates from the old Germanic word “Sibba”
and includes all relatives. The Sippe is the first and closest union for
protection. It includes all members living in their houses and close
surroundings. “Haus” (House) is
another form of union it includes not only closely related family members but
all relatives and friends. “Stamm”
(tribe) includes many houses of the same ancestry to band together for the
prosperity of all.
The reasons for the Germanic tribe migration can be found in the climatic
changes during the second Century which has caused food shortages among the
northern tribes, coupled with tribal expansions and over populations. The
migration affected all of the northern Germanic tribes. The first move was
undertaken by the Kimbern, Teutonen and Ambronen. The Semnonen are moving south
to the lower Main River region. There they integrate with other Germanic tribes
and form the new culture of the Alemanen. The origin of the name has a very
logical meaning “alle Männer” “All Men”.
A treaty between Saxons, Franks and Aleman’s is formed.
The Goten originate from South Sweden and come from the Island of
Gotland. Their saga tells of three ships that took the tribes of the Visigoths,
Ostrogoths and Gepiden across the Baltic Sea where they displaced the
Langobarden (Lombard’s). The Gothic tribes are the last tribes settling in the
northern regions of Germany.
The Langobarden move to Brandenburg and Schlesian (Silesia), the
Wandalen move to Schlesian and into the regions of today’s Hungary. The
Langobarden and Wandalen (Vandals) come from North Jütland and South Sweden and
are related with the Kimbern.
Germanic tribes continue their move west crossing the Rheine River and
south to the Danube River and enter the regions of the Celtics by crossing the
The main tribes creating the Franken were; the Salier in Niederfranken,
the Ribuar between Ruhr and Main and the Chatten in Hessia. The origin of the
Franken is pure Germanic. The Celtic tribes still living in the region near the
Franken never mixed with them. The name Franken has it origin in the Words;
“die Freien” meaning “The Free”.
Germanic Tribe Migration”, brings the gothic tribes of the Westgoten
(Visigoths), the Ostgoten (Ostrogoths) and the Wandalen into Bohemia, Moravia and the Hungarian Lowland
Gepids migrated into the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania and the regions of
the Banat and Batschka today’s Vojvodina and establish their Kingdoms there.
The Gothic tribes together with their allies under the leadership of
Argaith and Guntherich cross the lower Danube. The crossing is followed by the
first Gothic war against the Roman during which they defeat their emperor Gaius
The Rhine Germanic
tribes destroy the reminder of the upper Limes as they cross it to expand.
However remnants of the Limes still exist today in several regions where it was
The Gothics defeat Gaius Decius together with his son Herrennius near
Abrittus and kill both. Part of the Gothics led by Kniva moved to Moesien in the
Balkan and besieged the town of Novae at the river Iastrus near the Danube while
the other part moved on Philippopel. During this engagement 30,000 Roman and
Gothic troops are killed.
War Emperor Marcus Cassinius, is the founder of an independent state
consisting of Germanic and Gall provinces, Spain and Great Britain.
Gothic tribes advance into the Balkan Peninsula and are defeated by Claudius II and
pushed back to the left riverbank of the Danube, to a region that became known
as the Batschka and the Banat today’s Vojvodina.
The longevity of the Roman slaves is estimated to be 17 years in
The Roman Emperor Konstantin I declares Sunday as a day of rest. The
origin of the Latin word “dies solis” has its roots in a Germanic heathen
During the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine I, the city of Nicäa, Asia
Minor, becomes the location for the first Catholic Council meeting with 250
Bishops present. The council agrees to the “Holy Trinity”. Arius believes
already in 318 that there are three different identities in God which are
completely separate. As a result Arianism is banned and its followers forced to
leave the empire. Arianism becomes the foundation of the Orthodox Church
The “Second Germanic Tribe Migration”, returns the Gothic tribes into
regions near Lake Balaton.
Christmas is set to be on December 25th by a Catholic Council.
It replaces the feast of “Epiphany” held on January 6th, which is
the “Holy Three Kings Day”. Not to confuse the birth of Christ with the Holy
Three Kings Day which had become a holiday among the public, Christmas becomes
the holiday to celebrate the birth of Christ.
The Germanic tribe of the Aleman’s are threatening Rome.
The Gothic Bishop Wulfila (Ulfilas also known as Wölflein), translates
the bible from Greek (follower of Arius) into the Gothic language, to do this he
had to develop, the “Gothic
script”. He was the first to convert Germanic heathens to Christianity on a
Since the second Century the Germanic “Runenalphabet” is used. It
originates from the north Italic-Etrusken mixed alphabet and was brought from
there to the northern Germanic cultures. At first Runen represent symbols
inscribed in stone and wood. They are also assembled into “Buchstaben”
(letters). The word Buchstaben derives its origin from the vertical line
referred to as “Stab”. The oldest known meaning is “Runa” or secret
discussions from the time of Ulfilas. The German word “Raunen” has its
origin from it. It is also connected with magic and was only known to the
Women were often thought of being magical and
names like Gudrun and Sigrun originate from the word. At first the “Runen”
have specific meaning of objects and are arranged into an alphabet of 24
“Runen” called “Futhark”. Each of the “Runen” has eight basic
groups. The process of connecting several “Runen” leads eventually to a form
of scripture during the fifth Century. The “Runen” in Central Europe make
room for the Latin brought by the advancement of Christianity from Rome. Runen
were still used in Scandinavia in the 19th Century.
The Huns an Asiatic tribe appear in the region and establish their
capital (assumed) near Budapest after they defeat the Ostrogoths. Their King
Attila establishes the great empire of the Huns.
Victory of Julian over the Aleman’s at Strasburg.
Victory of the Visigoths over Emperor Valens at Adrianople.
During a Roman crises Theodosius I is appointed emperor simply by being
an able general. He was baptized in 380, but after his death the two Roman
empires grew apart.
During the Hun’s invasion in Cologne 11,000 Christian virgins had to
suffer a martyr’s death.
Alarich, King of the Visigoths conquers Rome and brings about the end of
the Roman Empire. After his dead in 411 the Visigoths leave Italy and move to
The Roman troops withdraw from Britain which is now open for new settlers
from Germanic and Scandinavian regions.
The Burgund’s move to the left bank of the Rhine River during the reign
of Gundikar and build the city of Worms after being
granted the territory from the Roman Emperor Honorius.
The Franken Empire consists now of several independent Franken Kingdoms
who have their own kings. They elect the strongest and bravest noble from among
them. In case of failure the king is replaced with a more capable King.
According to sagas, King Theodomer is a descendant of Caesar while King Chlodia
is said to be a descendant of the Greek King Odysseus.
The Vandals and Alanen under their leader Geiserich are forced from Spain
by the Visigoths and set over to North Africa were they establish their empire.
The Theodosian code, the first Christian law was drawn up during the
reign of Theodosius II.
The Germanic tribes of the Angels and Saxons conquer the British Islands
and settle there.
The fourth Ecumenical Council argues over the Christian doctrine but does
not fully succeed in the argument that God and man are united in his son.
The Burgundian King Gundikar attempts to expand his empire and is
defeated by a joint effort of Romans and Huns at Worms. However, Attila does not
participate in the destruction of Worms. Both kings of the Burgund’s, Gundikar
and Giselher die on the Battlefield. The battles on the west bank of the Rheine
River form the bases of the Nibelung Sagas made famous by Richard Wagner through
his “Ring Operas”.
Attila the Hun dies on his wedding night to Ildoko of an apparent heart
attach. Or according to the Germanic Nibelung sagas, of poison by the hands of
Krimhilde who marries Attila to take revenge for having, Siegfried, her husband
A Germanic tribal alliance defeats the Huns. The alliance under the
leadership Arderic, king of the Gepids, led the Gepids, Ostrogoths and Rugier to
a victory in the battle near the Leitha River, also known as Nedao or Ledao,
located in present day Austria.
The “Salinische Franken” elected Merowech as their king and the reign
of the Merowinger (Merowingian) follows as they begin their expansion to the
Chlodwig I, (Clovis) son of Merowech establishes the Franken (Franconia)
Empire between years of 481-511. After the war in the Gall regions against the
Romans, Chlodwig became sole ruler of the Franken by executing all of his
opponents and this included several family members. Following his victories he
moves his residence to Soissons. In 489 he is baptized along with 3,000 of his
men and becomes a Christian. He calls a Catholic Synod consisting of catholic
bishops to Orleans to discuss a variety of reforms. Chlodwig dies in Paris at
age 45 in 511. Despite the early death of Chlodwig, he became the most important
figure of his time by creating the foundation of today’s France and the
spreading Christianity among the Germanic heathen nations. The development of
France during the reign of Chlodwig sees the following provinces as part of the
Franken Empire. Austrien (not to confuse with Austria) including Belgium, Hessia,
Alsace and Lorain, the Palatinate and Thüringen in the north, Syagrius in
northern France, Alemanen, Baden, Württemberg, Bavaria and today’s eastern
Austria, Aquitania, Gascoigne, Toulouse, Burgund and Provence.
Theoderich (Theodoric) becomes King of the Ostrogoths in Italy (471-526)
and becomes a friend of Pope Gelasius (492-496). Theoderich marries Chlodwig’s
sister Audofleda and begins important marriage politics with their daughters by
giving them as wife’s; Theudigotha to King Alarich of the Visigoths, Ariagne
to Sigismund, son of the King of Burgund, his sister Amalafrieda to Thrasamund,
King of the Wandalen, and his nice Amalaberga to the King of Thüringen, King
The Germanic tribe migration to Central- and Western Europe brings
cultural changes. The result is the development of a Germanic language the so
called (Ur)-Germanic language which differs very slightly in pronunciation from
the Indo-Germanic language. It became the dominant and far reaching language in
During this time period we see the Sweben in Portugal, the Visigoths in
Spain, the Ostrogoths in Italy Southern Austria, Slovenia and Croatia, The
Gepiden in Hungary and Romania, the Langobarden in northern Austria, Bohemia and
Moravia, the Rugier to the west of the Langobarden, the Baiwaren (Bavarians) to
the west of the Rugier, the Alemanen in Bavaria and Württemberg and the Franken
rule today’s German regions of Hessia, the Palatine, Holland, Belgium and
Luxemburg as well as the regions of today’s Alsace and Lorain and western
France to the Pyrenean Alps while the region of Switzerland, Western France,
Northern Italy and Monaco are under the rule of the Burgund’s.
The Franken begin their move to the east into Thüringen after the death
of the King Theoderich of the Ostrogoths.
The calculation of a universal calendar has Easter as bases, but is
disputed in several regions of the Christian world. A Roman church leader
Dionysius Exiguus, a born Skythian is living in Rom, takes the position that the
Calendar of Kyrillos which is based on the calculation of Emperor Diokletian's
begin of reign in 284 should not be accepted by the Catholic Church. The bases
of calculating time on a man who persecuted Christians is not appropriate,
instead it should be based on the birth of Jesus Christ. Therefore he prepares a
calendar based on the birth of Christ, in the year 532, that is 754 years since
the founding of Rome on which the calendar of the Romans was based.
Saxons and Thüringen join to oppose the advancements of the Franken.
In Hungary the Lombard’s defeat the Gepids and assimilate the majority
of them into their culture. Later they move jointly to Italy in what is
today’s Lombardi. However, it is believed that the Kingdom of the Gepids has
existed in the Carpathian Mountains for as long as 700 years.
The Avars, an Asiatic tribe reinforced by remnants of Huns, enters the
Hungarian lowland regions. They settle the regions east of the River Tisza (Theiß)
and from there they conquer the Slavs living in the Pannonia region and move
westward to threaten the Franken Empire.
Widukind writes about the origin of the Sachsen. He bases his writing on
a Saga, since according to him, by gone times are too long to know for sure
about the origin. Some believe the Sachsen came from Denmark and are Normans
other again believe the Sachsen are part the following of Alexander’s army who
after his early death were scattered all over his empire. But he goes on saying;
“for certain is that they landed at the location of Haden on boats
near the lower Elbe River delta. There they encountered the Thuringians and a
furious battle took place which took many lives on both sides. After the battle
it came to a truth and piece was made.”
The royal chain in the Franken Empire of the time was. a) the Frankish
royalty, b) the service royalty, c) the provincial royalty, d) the free farmers
who are under the protection of the King and have to serve in the army and have
to give portions of their products as taxation to the king, e) the half-free who
are directly responsible to a lordship and f) the “Leibeigene” who are
directly responsible to a master and have no rights. They have to pledge live
long obedience to their masters.
The importance of the “Hausmeier” of the Franken in absence of a king
becomes evident in Karl Martell, a son of Pippin out of wedlock, who had the
powers almost equal to the King. Karl Martell led eight battles of the Franken
kingdom successfully during the years 716 to 738.
The most notable and historically important battles were against the
intruding Arabs lead by their leader Abd-ar-Rahman in Tours and Pointirs.
The Angel-Saxon monk Wynfreth is appointed missionary by Pope Gregor II
and named benefactor “Bonifatius”.
With a letter of permit from, Karl Martell, he travels to Hessia and experiences
problems with the heathen near Geismar. They became angry and did not want to
part with their old traditions and believed in the Germanic Gods. In particular
Donar their God of thunder to whom they had dedicated the Oak tree under which
they celebrate their rituals. Bonifatius took an ax and cut down the tree in
front of the angry crowd, but when they saw that Donar did not strike him down
while cutting down the tree, they began to believe, convert to Christianity and
build a church in Fritzlar. According to a Saga, they used the wood from the
tree to build the church.
The “Vasallentum” (pledge of allegiance to as superior) during the
Middle Ages was a life long pledge of obedience to a master. The “Vasallen” pledge has its origin from the Latin word
“vasallus“ which has its origin from the Celtic word “gwas”, “slave”
or obedient follower. “Vasallentum” is created during a ritual called the
Commendation. The person places his hands into the hands of his master who
closes the hands during which time the person pledges life long obedience to his
master with the words; “Your enemy is my enemy, your friends are my friends, I
will be faithful and loyal to you to the end of time”. The Master pledges to
protect and support the “Vasall” as long as he lives. These binding pledged
between master and his subjects are customary from the highest ranks of the
Kings down to the lowest ranking peasants or “Leibeigene”.
Duke Tassilo III, a Bajuwar (Bavarian) breaks his “Vasallen” pledge
he made to King Pippin of the Franken Empire and refuses to follow Pippin with
his troops into battle.
After the death of King Pippin, both of his sons Karl and Karlmann began
to reign as followers of Pippin. However Karl does not agree with the division
of the kingdom. He wants to bring about reforms and his brother is in his way.
After the death of Karlmann in 772 Karl becomes the sole ruler of the
Interesting to note is the origin of the word “Deutsch”. It was first
mentioned in a Latin script in 768 as “Theodiscus lingua”. The origin of the
name Deutsch “theudisk” comes from the subject “thiot” meaning Volk
(people) and when adding the adjective “isc” the meaning is changed to
“Citizen of a culture or tribe” (Zum Volk gehörig). Several forms were in
use. The general Frankish form “theudisk” and the altered form
“theudiscus” and “diutisc”. The latter was lesser known. The word
“Teutonic”, first only meaning “Gallic” or “Gaul” for the former
Roman occupied La Tene Culture in today’s France, originating from the
Teutonen and would later become the same meaning as “diutisc” for all the
people of Germanic origin. The word German most likely originates from the
Celtic word “Ger” meaning neighbor or “neighboring men” and would also
be used by the Romans.
The first dictionary, the “Abrogans” is developed in the Latin-Althochdeutsches
(Old High German) “Synonymenlexicon” a type of dictionary.
King Karl invades the region of the Sachsen near Paderborn and finds
resistance by Widukind.
Widukind gives up the resistance maintained for many years against the
Franken and agrees to allow them to be baptized in the Attigny River east of
The Avars and several Slavic clans are defeated by “Karl dem Großen”
(768-814), King of the Franken. Karl is better known as, “Charlemagne”.
He establishes a great empire, but did not extend it further east as to
the south bend of the Danube River in the “Hungarian Lowland”.
During the administration reform of the Franken by Karl closed
settlements named “Pfalz” are formed. The Pfalz consisted of the grouping of
buildings housing the landlord’s residence, a church, housing for the land
administrators, farmers working the acreages nearby, supporting craftsman like
blacksmiths and others as well as laborers or “Leibeigene”.
The settlement is fenced in and has a main portal. This gives a Pfalz
some protection from outsiders, however it is never considered to be a
fortification but a system of an effective community cultivating the land. The
provinces of the Rheinpfalz (The Palatinate) and the Fränkische Pfalz in
today’s Germany ultimately get their names from the Pfalz. “Karl der Große”
of the Franken, whose advanced thinking and reforms allow the establishment of
schools for all children and the promotion of art. But most important for the
Catholic Church is organized missionary work throughout his empire in Western
Europe. He was responsible for building new monasteries and gave land grants not
only to dukes but also to bishops and most important of all land grants to the
pope in Rome, the Vatican, although the Pope received much larger land areas as
the Vatican of today.
Pope Leo III crowned “Charlemagne” in Rome “Emperor
of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” protector of Rome and the Christian
world. Italy becomes a part of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”
again, mainly as a protection for the Pope and the Catholic Church. With his
crowning, Karl leads the nation into the beginning of a new era that would last
1,000 years till the last reigning “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German
Nation”, Habsburg’s Franz II laid down the crown in 1806 to become Franz I
“Emperor of Austria”.
“Charlemagne” mention the Slavic clans of his time among them the
Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians and Slavenoi that had settled the regions of
the Balkan and Pannonia. The clans to the north included the Slovaks, Czechs,
White Croats and the Poles.
Ludwig, son of Charlemagne becomes “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of
German Nation”. After his death, his three sons Lothar I, Ludwig the German
and Karl the Bald divide the Empire into three parts.
“West Franken” the “Gall” eventually becomes France under “Karl
the Bald” while “East Franken” develops into the German Nations under
“Ludwig dem Deutschen” (the German). Lothar the oldest son receives
“Central Franken” which consisted of the Burgund and Lothringen. Since
Lothringen also included parts of Belgium and Holland “Central Franken”
reached from the Mediterranean Sea to the North Sea. Today Lothar’s Lothringen
makes up Northwestern Italy, South Eastern France, Switzerland, Alsace-Lorain,
Luxemburg, Belgium and Holland. Since his early death to the present, the former
regions of Lothar are cause of continued wars between France and the German
Nation. West Franken is ruled by the Carolingians (Karolinger) till 987. The
last West Franken ruler was Ludwig V. East Franken is ruled by the Carolingians
(Karolinger) till 918. The last of the East Franken ruler was Ludwig, the child,
who died in 911.
The Magyars, an Asiatic tribe appears in today’s Kiev (Dnepr) region in
the Ukraine. Historically it has not been established from where they originate,
but it is believed from Asia and consisted of an alliance of eleven tribes.
Led by their King Arpad, the Magyars cross the Tisza River and bring
chaos to the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”.
New duty rules are established under trade commissioner Count Arbo,
establishing and stimulating busy trading in the Danube region.
Konrad I, Duke of the Franken, becomes the first elected King after the
death of Ludwig, the child.
King Heinrich I of Saxony is elected King and begins the Saxon dynasty.
He organized a German Empire which defeats the Magyars near Merseburg.
King Heinrich I lead his troops against King Knuba of the Viking clan
Haithabu from Sweden, who had settled in the narrow strip of Schleswig in
890-934 where they displaced the Frisians who had settled there in earlier
years. The narrow land strip is the trade route between Scandinavia and the
northern Germanic regions in Europe.
King Otto I, of Saxony is elected King of the German Empire.
The armies of King Otto I defeat the Magyars on August 10th
near Friedberg, Augsburg and forced the retreat of the Magyars back to Hungary.
King Otto I “the great” nicknamed after his armies defeat the Magyars
is crowned “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” by Pope
Agapitos II in Rome. He released a public order which governs bishops and
started the “Prince Bishops” designation throughout the Empire.
During the reign of Geza, the Magyars became permanent settlers in
Hungary where they begin to establish their empire in the Hungarian Lowlands.
Emperor Otto II grants Luitpold from Mainfranken the Bavarian Mark in the
east who begins his reign as Duke (Markgraf) Leopold I of the “Marcha
Orientalis” which would become part of present day Austria.
Otto III crowned Emperor by Pope Gregor V. During the reign of Emperor
Otto III, the name “Ostarrichi” what would become Österreich (Austria) was
King Vajk of the Magyars, son of Geza marries Gisela, the sister of the
Bavarian Duke. He was baptized as Stephan I of Hungary (after the “patron
saint” of Passau, Germany). This begins a long lasting good relationship by
the German Nation with the Magyars which over time would prove extremely
beneficial for both of them.
The map of the German Nation, which can also be considered the beginning
of the German Nation, takes the following shape staring with; Lothringen
extending to the North Sea, Sachsen (Saxony) extending to Denmark and the Baltic
Sea bordering Pommern and Poland. To the south of Sachsen and east of Lothringen
are the Franken, Bohemian and Moravian. To the south of the Franken are the
Schwaben including Alsace, Eastern Switzerland extending to Italia’s northern
border. Bavaria is to the east of the Schwaben which also included Upper- and
Lower Austria and Italy’s Alda Badia. To the east of Bavaria are the regions
of the Steiermark, Mark Pitten, Kärntner Mark, Mark Kärnten and Mark Grain.
Located to the south of Lothringen and Schwaben is Burgund and the Kingdom of
Italy. The regions to the west of the Empire are developing more and more into
modern France. To the east starting at the Baltic Sea going south is Pommern,
Poland, Silesia, Hungary and Croatia.
Several Germanic church leaders ascend to the throne as Popes in Rome.
They are; Brun von Kärnten as Gregor V 996-999, Suitger of Saxonia Bishops of
Bamberg as Klemens II 1046-1047, Bruno von Dagsberg Bishop of Toul as Leo IX
1049-1054, Friedrich, brother of the Duke of Lothringen, as Stephan IX
1057-1058, Gerhard from Burgund as Nikolaus II 1058-1061 and Hildebrand a
Benedictine Mock from the monastery of Cluny as Gregor VII 1073-1085.
Pope Sylvester II crowned Stephan “King Stephan I of Hungary”,
marking the beginning of Christianity in the Hungarian Kingdom. It became an
empire of intrigue and admiration, but not without controversy in European
history. The Magyars are unique in many ways; they are of Asiatic origin and the
only culture establishing a multi national society that lasted for a thousand
years, despite the fact that they are a minority in their own country. This fact
would create many problems during their history.
Heinrich II, Duke of Bavaria since 995 and King of Italy since 1002, is
crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation. He is the last
emperor from the house of Saxonia.
At the Synode of Pavia, Pope Benedict VIII, banns marriages by priest.
While priest in Italy live more in seclusion and do not have families, the
German priest do and work the land grants once given to the churches there,
since their life’s are depending on the harvest of the land. The pope states
in doing so their children who inherited the land reduce the churches land by
division. Based on these developments in German Nation he forbids all married
priest to conduct church ceremonies.
The Emperors from the house of the Franken (Franconia) (Salisches Haus)
Stephan I of the Magyars dies. His advice to his son: “Be good to the
foreigners in your country, it is better to have them on your side rather than
having them opposing you”.
Emperor Heinrich III removes the three unworthy Popes from Rome and
reforms the papacy.
During the reign of Pope Leo IX the papacy recovers its lost influence.
There is a dispute over Southern Italy where many Greeks are living
causing a double excommunication; Rome excommunicates Constantinople and
Constantinople excommunicates Rome.
during the reign of Emperor Heinrich III, Hungary is placed under German
King Ladislaus of Hungary extends his empire into Slavonia and Croatia.
Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand) reforms the church and cleans house. He
rids the church of lay princes and makes the priests celibate.
King Stephan I of Hungary is given Sainthood.
The First Crusade: Purpose; it is called by Pope Urban II in 1095 to
protect the Christian Church in Jerusalem from Mohammed followers. The
participants were 330,000 troops of which 40,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The
leader was Gottfried of Bouillon from Lower Lothringen (Lorain). The result is
the founding of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1099. The Crusade was financed by
the Crusaders. Participants also had to be on horseback and had to bring food
reserves for two years and were called knights.
The Kingdom of Croatia becomes closely connected to the Kingdom of
Hungary by contract (pacta conventa)
The Emperors of the German Nation during this period originate from the
House of the Hohenstaufen
Emperor Konrad III, grants Saxonia and Bavaria to the House of the
The Second Crusade takes place. Purpose; Zengi of Mossul had taken
“Edessa” in 1144, a state the crusaders had established. The participants
were 240,000 troops of which 90,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The leaders were
King Konrad III, Friedrich von Schwaben, and Ludwig VII of France. Result the
crusade failed. The Crusade was financed by the Crusaders plus an imposed
taxation by Ludwig VII in his duchesse.
Duke Friedrich of Schwaben is elected as King of the empire. He is
crowned Emperor Friedrich I, Barbarossa (Redbeard) by Pope Hadrian IV in 1155.
The nickname stems from Friedrich’s red facial hair. During his reign
knighthood reaches their heights. A dispute over Bavaria between Heinrich II, of
Babenberg and Heinrich from the house of the “Welfen” is settled in Goslar
in 1154 by Friedrich I in favor of Heinrich the Welf. In 1156 Emperor Friederich
I grants Heinrich II the eastern part of Bavaria and thus forms Österreich
(Austria). By doing so Heinrich II can no longer claim the territory of Bavaria
and two entities are formed what are parts of today’s Bavaria and the
Northeastern provinces of Austria..
Bavaria is granted to the House of the Wittelsbacher.
Following the continued raids by nomadic tribes from the east, among them
the Kumanies, the Hungarian King Geza II responded by hiring German mercenary
soldiers from Saxony (near Aachen) and settled them in the Carpathian Mountains
where they became known as the Transylvanian Saxons.
The development of the Gothic architecture takes place.
The Babenberger Heinrich II becomes Duke (Markgraf) of Austria.
The founding of the German Order (des Deutschen Ordens)
The double election; 1198-1208 Philipp of Swabia (Schwaben, House Staufen)
and 1198 -1215 Otto IV, of Brunswick (Braunschweig, House Welfen) Emperor after
1189-1192 The third crusade. Purpose;
to regain Jerusalem lost 1187. The participants were 350,000 troops of which
280,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The leaders were Emperor Friedrich I, Philipp
II of France and King Richard of England. The result is a treaty with Saladin
allowing free travel for the Christians to Jerusalem. During the crusade Emperor
Friedrich I, drowns in the river Saleph in Anatolia, during a hot day while
taking a swim during a lunch brake on June 10 1190 at the age of 68. The new
leader is Friedrich von Schwaben.
Leopold V of Austria, commander of his troops brakes through the walls of Akkon
and is given the Red-White-Red flag for his effort, but is denied the honor of
being the first to scale the walls of Akkon by King Richard.
the return of King Richard, although in disguise since he knew of Leopold’s
intentions to take him prisoner from the Emperor Heinrich III and King Philipp
II of France. However, all of his precautions did not help since he was
recognized by the locals in a “Gasthaus” in the town of Erdberg and taken to
the “Dürnstein Fortress” near the Danube. Here he was located by Blonde and
released for ransom after two years of captivity.
the legend of King Richard began. Today thousands of British citizens, tour the
city of Dürnstein to see the castle where their King was held for ransom.
King Andreas of Hungary calls for help to defend against the intruding
Kumanies. As a result he summons the “German Order” from Burzenland for
1202-1204 The Fourth Crusade.
Purpose: Pope Innocent III wants to reestablish the kingdom of Jerusalem. The
main reason of the Crusaders, however, is to conquer Egypt. The participants
were 30,000 troops mostly from France. The leaders were Duke Montefaz of
Montferrat. Result; plundering of Constantinople and the forming of a Latin
Emporium in 1204.
The building of castles and fortresses flourishes everywhere.
Emperor Friederich II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily is seen by
the Pope politically as the most dangerous enemy. During 1243-1254 Pope Innocent
IV led a secular fight against Emperor Friederich II.
The Fifth Crusade. The purpose was to fulfill an oat made by Emperor
Friederich II in 1215, to lead a crusade. Despite the fact that it was not
sanctioned by the Pope he undertakes it. The participants were 70,000 troops of
which 60,000 reach the “Holy Land”. The leaders are Friedrich II and Hermann
of Salza. The result was successful. Friederich II conquers Jerusalem, Bethlehem
and Nazareth for the Christians and proclaimed himself King of Jerusalem.
Social difficulties lead to unrest’s among farmers in the nation. The
taxations and labor demands required by the farmers annually are as follows: 10%
of all farm goods such as wheat, wine, vegetable and fruits, farm animals and
dairy product. Properties are taxed according to size of the acreage and a head
tax is collected according to the size of the family. Special demands were
marriage license taxes and inheritance taxes at the death of a farmer. The
requirements were to give; the best farm animal and the best piece of clothing
to the collectors. Performing “Frondienste” (labor duty hours) at the
masters house was set to be a minimum of four days per week, special labor hours
at harvest time, labor hour during the building of bridges and roads were also
excessive demands made by the landlords.
Bela IV of Hungary has to fight invasions against the Mongols with very
little success, since he did not receive any help from his allies in the west.
Friedrich II is the last one of 12 Counts and Dukes of the house of the
Babenberger, who reigned in Bavaria and part of the land of today’s Austria.
He is killed in the battle at the River Leitha against Hungarian’s King Bela
The Sixth Crusade saw 25,000 France troops participating of whom 10,000
reached the “Holy Land. Their leader is King Ludwig IX who pledges to save the
“Holy Land” and move against Egypt. The result was a failure and ended with
the King’s imprisonment. King Ludwig IX was freed after a payment of ransom.
The “Interregnum” was a time of confusion which saw leaders from many
During the Interregnum, the cities near the Rheine River formed the
“Rheinische Bund” of “self help” for the protection of their cities. It
is the cities of Mainz and Worms who lead the way and are joined by Binge and
Oppenheim. This treaty is in response to the death of King Konrad IV and the
reign of opposition King Wilhelm from Holland.
Alfons X of Castilian and Richard of Cornwallis are kings of the empire
during the same year.
Pope Urban IV declares “Corporals Christi” a holiday to be observed
with its own rituals honoring the body of Christ. This is in response to
underplaying anxieties, unrests and superstitions among the public.
Century saw the crumpling of the Empire of
German Nation and the dwindling of its influence in Europe, several small
Kingdoms and splinter duchesses appear as the empires dominance vanishes.
The Seventh Crusade. The participants were 25,000 French troops. 10,000
reached Tunis. The leader is King Ludwig IX and Karl of Anjou. The result was
King Ludwig IX, the Holy dies on the way and Karl of Anjou decided to return to
France. The death of King Ludwig IX ends the crusades.
During the time of the crusades over a million knights participated of
which less then 50% reached their goal. The victims of the crusaders who
perished during their travels of exhaustion and disease, such as pestilence or
died in battle are estimated to be 500,000. The crusades which can be considered
being initiated by the popes in an attempt to win the “Holy Land” for
Christianity are considered as a whole a failure. The children crusade in 1212
is considered a perverted idea promoted by religious fanatics and business
opportunists, primarily the seafarers of Venice and Genoa, who send thousands of
boys in their teens to their death.
The territorial “Royal Princes” of the empire elected Rudolf I of
Habsburg as their King. He was 55 years old when he was elected and was expected
to be a week King. In his 18 years of reign he proved to be the opposite and
became known as a very strong King. He re-established the dominance and
influence of the German Nation in Europe. His strength was overwhelming so that
the nobles began to fear him and after his death they elected the week Duke
Adolf of Nassau as their King.
King Rudolf I, of Habsburg and his struggle against the “Robbing
Nights” (Raubritter), who became famous during these years as blundering
knights who devastated the Nation and its rural farmland.
The reign of several rulers come from various “Houses” who had very
little influence on the Nation.
King Andreas last King in Hungary from the Arpad line.
The provinces “Kantone” of Schwyz, Uri and Unterwalden unite to form
a “Ewiger Bund” a “union of eternity”. The “Bundbrief der Eidgenosssen”
(The letter of the oath partners) a declaration of independence is a response to
the death of King Rudolf I of Habsburg and the following Interregnum followed by
the uncertainty of times.
Albrecht I of Habsburg, the oldest son of Rudolf I advanced to the throne
King Albrecht I pledged the oath to be faithful to the Pope.
“Der deutsche Orden in Preussen” (German Order in Prussia). The
eleventh Grandmaster, Siegfried von Feuchtwangen, of the German Order moves the
Order to Prussia where he establishes the residence at Marienburg on the Nogat
River. The regions of the nights included the landmasses along the Baltic coast
of today’s Poland from Pommern to as far north as the states of Lithuania and
Estonia and the Island of Gotland of today’s Sweden. The order purchases the
land of Estonia from Denmark
Karl of Anjou is crowned King of Hungary.
during these years the popes reside in Avignon.
Count Otto von Ortenburg settled Germans in the Carniola March (Krain) a
region located on the southern tip of present day Slovenia near the Kulpa River
and the Croatian border. This settlement became known as “Die Herrschaft Gottschee” (Settlement
of the Gottscheer). The descendants of these Germans, predominantly from the
regions of Austria survived many adversities during their existence in Slovenia.
At a royal meeting in Rhense, the Bohemian crown prince Karl is elected
King Karl IV. He is the founder of the University in Prague in 1348, the first
German University patterned after the Universities of Bologna and Paris.
An outbreak of the pestilence decimates the population in Europe by one
third. Fearing being punished by God, they perform rituals of self punishment.
The lower classes finally blame the Jews of placing poison in the water and
persecute them following their superstitious beliefs.
The unification of the Hanse Towns. The city of Lübeck calls for a
meeting of the cities to save guard the free trade of the German merchants in Brügge.
It leads to a contract among the cities which is considered the beginning of the
“Hanse Trade Union” among the Cities. Some of the larger cities belonging to
the “Hanse” are Braunschweig, Bremen, Danzig, Hamburg, Köln, Lübeck, Reval
At a “Reichstag”
meeting in Nürnberg, Emperor Karl IV in the presence of Church and other royal
leaders sets new reforms of laws for the Empire (Reichsgrundgesetz which becomes
known as the “Goldene Bulle”). This law which should promote unity among the
royal families regulates the hierarchy of the relations to each other as well as
their voting rights.
The Expansion of the Ottoman Empire begins to cross into the Balkan
Hans Fugger traveled from his home town “Graben am Lech” to Augsburg
and marries a weavers daughter and thus found entrance into the weaver’s
guild. He became the purchaser of raw materials for the family and soon the
purchaser for the entire weaving industry situated on a small canal in Augsburg
created as a wash. The industry flourished and soon Hans used his connections to
place the goods of the weavers on the markets in other towns of Europe and the
Mediterranean regions. He rises in wealth much like the Welser Family has done
before him. He established contacts
with the “Thurzo Family” in Hungary in 1494. He imports their silver and
copper ore from their mines and brings it to the markets of the known world.
By 1510 the “Fugger Enterprise” is directed by Jakob Fugger who
extends it to become the largest monopoly in the world.
A peace treaty is reached at Stralsund during the height of the power of
German Order under Grandmaster, Winrich of Kniprode, defeats Lithuania.
Sigismund of Luxemburg becomes King of Hungary. His defeat against the
Turks weakens his position.
Trade unions gain on power. Among the trades are the butcher, the
fisherman, the tailor, the shoemaker, the farmer, hide curer, wool weaver,
painter, goldsmith, the harness maker, the maker of armor, the zinc foundries,
the barrel maker, the linen weaver, the baker, the stonemason, the blacksmith,
the knights and the sales-trades people. An organization in the construction
field of houses, churches and palaces organized itself too. The organization
includes all who provide the labor necessary to be performed on the construction
The “Rheinische Royals” remove King Wetzel, because of neglect and
failures and elect Rupprecht III as new king. The royals have the right to elect
a king as well as the right to remove a king of his duties in case of failure
and neglect of his duties.
Klaus Störtebeker and Godeke Michels are leader of organized sea piracy
in the North- and Baltic Sea. They are beheaded with 32 others in Hamburg after
King Sigismund of Hungary is preoccupied with matters not concerning
Hungary and is said to have neglected Hungary.
The council of Constance (1414-1418) burned John Hus Wycliffe’s Czech
disciple marking the beginning of the Hussite churches and rebels in Bohemia.
The in conclave in Constance comes to an end after three years of
deliberation in which it addresses a variety of church problems occurring
between various factions supporting three different popes during the same time
period. King Sigismund arranged the conclave with Pope John XXIII of Pisa. The
three Popes are Gregor XII, John XXIII and Benedict XIII. The Conclave releases
the three Popes from their duties and elects Martin V as new Pope.
King Sigismund reaches a stalemate with the Hussite in Bohemia and finds it necessary to reestablish the catholic order in
Bohemia and in 1423 King Sigismund becomes the Duke of Moravia.
The new weapons, guns and cannons which found their first use in 1313 are
much improved and become the dominant weapons in the new war fare, thanks to the
Hussiten leader Johann Ziska who invented the howitzer “Huffnitz” the mobile
Albrecht II from the “House
Habsburg”, is crowned “Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of German
Nation” and King of Bohemia. After the death of Albrecht II, a fight for the
crown begins to have negative effects. The Habsburger prevailed and establishes
the longest dynasty in the history of the German Nation which carried over to
the Austrian Empire in 1806 under Franz I.
Johann Hunyadi a Hungarian General, gains an impressive victory against
the Turks and gains the respect and admiration of Europe.
With the building of the “Fachwerk-Rathhaus” in Esslingen a new façade
is created in architecture. These types of building appear now in many towns in
Germany. It is constructed with an arrangement of many wooden beams to give the
buildings not only the strength of the walls but also a distinct feature in
architecture you can still find today in the older section of the towns across
Germany. This period of architecture is followed by an upswing of the economy
during the post pestilence years. This development of philosophy “do more work
with less people” brings more wages and less labor hours for them.
“Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden” better known as Johannes Gutenberg,
invents movable letters which allows him to set a text in a press to duplicate
pages of printed text.
The city of Nürenberg finds it necessary to release a reform about women
working rights in particular for midwives, nurses and teachers. While during the
14th Century women had taken their place in the workforce, primarily
in the textile industry. During this time the women suffered from the lack of
work to support their existence especially single women, they could not find
husbands, since there was a shortage of men due to wars. The monasteries for
nuns were also overcrowded and 10% of the men became priests which left them
with very few options either work in family owned businesses or turn to
prostitutions. The profession of midwives was looked down upon, since the
physicians of the time only gave advice and left the work of childbirth to
midwives. The city of Nürenberg decided to help the women in distress by
providing for their education to become teachers, nurses or midwives.
Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire prepares to move north in the
Balkan and takes Belgrade. Johann Hunyadi is successful in a small battle
against the Turks again. In remembrance of this event, Pope Calixtus III orders
to toll all the church bells at noon every day. This order is still followed
today, therefore if you hear the church bells toll you know it is the bells
wringing in freedom.
The “Holy Script” as a printed book is introduced by Johann Gutenberg
in Mainz. The volume of Gutenberg’s bible has 1282 pages and about 350,000
letters. Gutenberg dies at the age of 71 in 1468 as a poor man. Johann Fust
pressed Gutenberg into a contract for which he foresaw that all future income of
Gutenberg work would go to Faust for sponsoring the work of Gutenberg.
1459-1479 Sultan Mehmed II of
the Ottoman Empire conquers Serbia, Bosnia and regions further north. He is now
a serious threat to Hungary.
Friederich III becomes King of Hungary.
Calculations and mathematics; Johannes Müller wrote about the
calculations and trigonometric formulas of areas and spares. By 1467 he used
decimal points. 1518 Adam Riese develops “Rechnen auff der Linihen” also
known as “algorithmic calculations” and began to use the “0” in empty
spaces. The roman numerals do not use zeros. In 1524 Johannes invents the modern
root calculation process. 1525 Albrecht Dürer develops exact geometric rules.
1544 the Augustine Monk Michael Stifel develops geometric expressions still in
use, mostly unchanged. 1551 The astronomer Georg Joachim von Lauchen develops
and collects the trigonometric tables of 10 places used throughout the middle
ages. 1554 Georg Mercator works with geometric land maps and develops a global
map in 1538. He also develops a globe with heaven and earth in 1541.
The second peace treaty with Poland, following the defeat of the
Regiomontanus the mathematician and astronomer is dead at age 40 in Rome.
His actual name was Johannes Müller the creator of the astronomical plate used
later by Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama in their quest to discover the
new world. Müller was born in Königsberg and changed his name to Regiomontanus
which means Königsberg in Latin. Already as a 12 year old he calculated a
yearbook and discovered the comet Halley named after the man who documented the
discovery later. In 1475 he became the adviser of Pope Sixtus IX during the time
of the calendar reform initiated by the pope.
The Saxon royals set guidelines for the working class guaranteeing; two
warm meals a day and other protections for their well being.
King Matthias of Hungary and Sultan Bayezid of the Turks sign a peace
On July 2nd in 1505 a men traveled from Mansfeld to Erfurt
during a severe lighting thunderstorm and began to pray to St. Ana and made a
pledge to the lord; if he would survive the lightning and thunderstorm, he would
enter a monastery and become a monk. Despite the opposition of his father he
entered into the Augustiner-eremiten monastery in Erfurt and became a monk.
This man was Martin Luther.
At the same time several events took place one of which was the building
of St. Peters in Rome. He observed that there was according to his believes,
wrong doing during the absolution process and that you could pay for the
absolution of your sins. The money would benefit the building of St. Peter in
Rom, however, perhaps less then half of the money reached Rome.
According to the time; a sinner had to pay for its present sins, for a
sinner still lingering in the purgatory, for the sins you would do in the future
and of course, the larger the sins the more it would cost to obtain an
In 1517 Luther published his 95 Theses of Absolution. This
created a rift between Luther and the Pope
Leo X in Rome. Many of the poor locals embraced his teaching and it would spread
over northern Germany and Sweden. He translated the bible’s New Testament into
the German language in 1522 and used the Greek bible to do so since he believed
it to be more correct in the interpretations of the word of the Lord. Luther was
a sick man for most of his life he fought many ailments but kept working till
the end of his days.
Christopher Columbus landed in the West Indies.
The city of Nürenberg publishes an extensive book about the
“Weltchronic” world chronic by Hartmann Schedel in Latin. The book with is
graphic presentation features a globe besides plants and other material in
color. It is the most expensive book of its time. The work was conceived by
Sebald Schreyer and several intellectual of the city of Nürenberg and financed
by the painter Michael Wolgemut. Other contributors to this masterpiece were the
poet Konrad Celtis, city scribe Sigmund Meisterlin, Humanist Willibald
Pirckheimer and Johann Müller, the mathematician and astronomer.
Emperor Friedrich III dies in Linz at the age of 77. With 43 years in
power, he was the longest reigning of all German Kings and Emperors. In 1452 he
was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman German Nation by Pope Nikolaus V in Rome.
With his considered good nature in politics he stabilized not only the house of
the Habsburg but also the German Nation as a whole.
1493-1519 during the reign of Emperor
Maximilian I the “Renaissance of Humanism” take place.
Germany is divided into regions “Kreis” which include from the
north-west; the Burgundische Kreis
including Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg, the Niederheine-Westfälischer Kreis
from Bremen to the south, Niedersachsen- and Obersachsen Kreis from Bremen to
the east including Pommern to the borders of Poland and to the south of Hessia,
the Oberrheinische Kreis including the Pfalz and Lothringen, the Hessische Kreis,
the Frankische Kreis, Bohemian and Moravian Kreise, The Burgundy, the Schwäbische
Kreis, the Beierische (Bavarian) Kreis including the Salzburger Land, the Österreichische
Kreis extending from Bohemia-Moravia to the Adriatic Sea westward to
Switzerland, Northern Italia and Savoy.
The armies of the knights are defeated by the “Landknechte” the
people’s or farmers army.
The victorious path of the pocket watch began when Peter Hele (or Henlein)
of Nürenberg replaced the counterweight with a spring, thus reducing the size
of the watch to a pocket size. Johannes Coclaeus notes; “he makes little clocks with a lot of little wheels which show 40
hours, ring and can be worn in a coat or purse”.
in Rome the start of rebuilding of St. Peter’s Cathedral takes place.
King Maximilian I, the first Habsburg crowned Emperor of the “Holy
Roman Empire of German Nation” with the agreement of the Pope he clears the
way to independence from Rome.
Hungarian farmers oppose Hungarian noblemen, causing a war within
Ludwig II becomes King of Hungary and Bohemia as a 9 year old.
Martin Luther publishes his ninety-five theses against indulgences and is
excommunicated in 1521 by the pope. At the diet of Worms in 1521 Luther was
outlawed by Emperor Karl V and the majority of the Diet.
Emperor Karl V unites the German Nations and incorporates them into his
“World of Nations”, a nation where the sun never sets. However, he had to
literally pay for the votes from the German royal lords to the crown for the
price of 851,718 Gulden. He borrowed 543,385 Gulden from Jakob Fugger of
Augsburg the richest man in the world at the time and 143,333 Gulden from the
Welser Family. The rest of 55,000 Gulden he borrowed from three Italian
merchants. To pay of his debt of 400,000 Gulden, Karl V, grants the rights of
salt-, silver- and copper mines to Jacob Fugger. The remaining debts were paid
from Karl V possessions in Spain, since he was also King Karl I of Spain.
Karl V was crowned in 1530 as Emperor of the “Holy Roman Empire of German
Nation” by Pope Klemens VII. This was the last crowing of an Emperor of the
German Nation by a Pope.
Süleyman II, of the Ottoman Empire, marches into Hungary. It is too late
for Ludwig II, to militarize an army to resist. As a result the Hungarian army
is totally destroyed and Ludwig II dies accidentally by falling from his horse
crossing a river and drowning. This defeat is followed by a 150 year long
occupation of Hungary by the Ottoman Empire. Hungary no longer exists with the
exception of a narrow strip of land stretching along the Austrian border from
the south to the north and from there to the east including today’s Moravia in
Slovakia. Pressburg today’s Bratislava, capital of Slovakia became the capital
the first mass rebellion within the German Empire broke out in South- and
Southwest Germany. The unrests were triggered by several religious rebellions
without central leadership.
Zwingli starts his reform in Zürich.
The Protestant Reformation spreads rapidly in central and south western
Germany and Switzerland.
Early group of Anabaptists in Zürich.
Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights converted the holding of the Knights
into the Duchy of Prussia.
The defeat of the Hungarian armies at Mohacs by Turkish troops. Ludwig II
dies while crossing a river near Mohacs without leaving a successor to the
The Habsburger Ferdinand I,
Arch Duke of Austria is crowned
legitimate King and protector of Hungary after being elected by a Hungarian
committee of landlords while the royal Johann Zapolya is supported by the Turks.
This leaves most of Hungary and Croatia Turkish occupied with the exception of a
small northwestern part (religuiae reliquarum) with Zagreb as the center
remained under Austrian and Styria protection. These sections however are
exposed to many Turkish raids while Slawonia and Syrmia remained Turkish
occupied for 150 years. .
Süleyman II names Johann Zapolya as opposing King of Hungary. September
25th The Turkish troops
surround Vienna. October 14 the Turkish troops retreat from Vienna while doing so they murder all their prisoners by
strangulation. The Turkish troops take
the West-Hungarian cities of Raab, Komorn, Gran, Ödenburg and Tyrnau.
The diet of Speyer during which German states and cities protested
against an effort to stop the reform movement, hence the name “Protestant”.
The diet of Augsburg during which the Protestant Movement presented the
“Augsburg Confession” became the classic Lutheran statement of faith.
Anabaptists in Münster
seized the city but were overthrown by force.
The formation of the “Catholic League” in Germany.
During the reign of Duke Ferdinand of the Pfalz, the Palatinate (Pfalz)
accepts the faith of Johann Calvin of Switzerland.
The “Religious Pease at Augsburg” brings about the final split of the
churches in the Empire.
The separation of Spain from the Empire of German Nation. The Netherland
becomes part of Spain.
1545-1563 Opposition to the
reformation at the council of Trient takes place.
The Netherlands war for peace and independence.
1576-1612 the reign of Emperor Rudolf
II, who since 1572 is also King of Hungary by acclamation by Hungarian
The conference of Luther followers in Augsburg. The most important
documents of direction are written, presented and are established in the
“Konkordiendienstbuch” the “Order of the Lutheran Church”.
Pope Gregor XIII reforms the 1628 year old Julian calendar on the bases
of Erasmus Reinhold planetary movement calculations which sets the year as
365.2425 days. At the council of Nicäa
the Gregorian calendar was developed to correct the days which by than already
were 10 days ahead of time, by skipping from October 4th to October
15th 1582 and insert a day in February as February 29 every four
years which did become our leap year. The first leap year was 1600. The
remaining error of one day in every 3,000 years represents an error of .0001%
With the recognition of the Wittelsbacher Ernst of Bayern as archbishop
of Cologne, Cologne stayed Catholic after several conflicts are settled.
The Hanse trade organization loses on power.
New advances by the Ottoman Empire on the Balkan reach
Hungarian and Romanian Soil.
1600 As we enter the new Century we see many drastic political and territorial
changes or they are looming on the horizon. We see the reestablishment of the
Roman Empire of German Nations under the reign of Karl V, although he could not
have it done without the financial support of the wealthy families of the
Fugger’s and Welser’s. We see the Catholic and the Lutheran faiths split the
German Nation and the search for independence by many nationality groups living
within the Empire. This movement toward independence by these nationality groups
begins to form modern Europe as we ultimately know it today.
Several Protestant regions in the “Kurpfalz” form an alliance in an
effort to promote the new faith.
The first Germans arrived on the Mary and Margaret in Jamestown. They
were glassmakers and carpenters. In 1620 we saw millwrights and mineral workers
arrived in Jamestown and settled in Virginia.
Astronomer Johannes Keppler, after six years of studies, develops and
publishes two planetary laws. He discovered a) that the planets move in an
elliptical form around the sun and the elliptical form can be calculated exactly
and b) if one connects the sun with an exact imaginary line with the planets,
the areas are the result of equal movements in time and the elliptical distance
from the sun as the planet travels through space to the position of the planet
at that point.
Emperor Rudolf II guaranties Bohemia the right of free religion in his
letter of the “Majestätsbrief”
Several catholic royals join Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria and form the
Duke Christian I of Anhalt-Bernburg becomes the leader of the
Johan Tilly becomes the leader of the “Catholic League”.
Peter Minuit born in Wesel, Pfalz near the Rhine River, purchases
Manhattan from the Indians and became New Amsterdam’s first governor.
The “Thirty Year War”, is brought about by the reformation and
re-reformation within the “Roman Empire of German Nation”. The internal
opposing forces created by the religious split and “Dualisms” created by the
Empires laws which are separating the powers of the Emperor and the Royal
Houses. This leads to the point which left the Emperor “De Facto” powerless,
since the empire prior to the 30 Year War did not possess a unified power
structure, although in general a strong unified interest existed among German
war began in Bohemia the strongest state of the Austrian provinces when Hussite
and Protestant rebels who opposed Emperor Ferdinand II religious politics,
demonstrated this by throwing two of the city official out of the window of the
castle in Prague, although both of them did survive the fall it was enough to
start a war. In reality there would be no winner in this war.
the end the German Nation had lost one third of its population due to starvation
and disease caused by the war. The Protestant Reverend Johann Daniel Mink
writes; people have nothing to eat and
eat rotten meat and contract diseases. Dogs and cats have become a delicacy and
the royal families also eat frogs. There is no salt or spices and the fields are
bare, since there is no one who can work them. Many farms and rural communities
are completely deserted and the survivors have left and moved to the cities.
It took a hundred years to recuperate from the loss of the population.
The citizens of Oberammergau pledge to hold a passion play every ten year
if they are spared by the pestilence. Due to their isolated location in the
mountains of Bavaria, the pestilence would never touch them. The first play was
held in 1634 but has grown since. Participants are selected from among the
residents of the town and are now held regularly every tenth year.
“The Westphalia Pease Treaty” officially ends the “Thirty Year
War” and sets the stage for a European understanding among not only the German
Nation but also France, Spain, Sweden, and the newly formed independent states
of Holland and Switzerland. Within Germany “The Westphalian Pease Treaty” is
the end of one era and the beginning of a new.
The paradox is that the unions of the larger small territories ruled by
royal families are now referred to as the German “Fürstenstaaten”. Following the treaty many of the smaller territories,
although flourishing at first with the resurgence of the industry and economy
have little chances to survive and many face bankruptcy, therefore new unions
had to be formed.
Captain John Smith refers to the Germans “Dutchmen”. The confusion
between Deutsch and Dutch is understandable since the people from Holland were a
part of Germany at the time and are actually Germanic in origin.
forms a central government.
The Magdeburger half-sphere demonstrated by Otto von Guericke proves the
existence of vacuum. He demonstrates this by using two eight horse teams
connected to two halves of a sphere and uses a pump to create a vacuum inside of
the sphere. The horses are unable to pull the Sphere apart until air is allowed
to enter the sphere again.
Archduke Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Preußen
forms the first army in that region.
A duty system regulates the economy of the nation and strengthens it.
1658-1705 during the reign of
Emperor Leopold I, the emperor was no longer the “Primus inter pares” but
the ruler of the Empire.
Jakob Leisler from Frankfurt arrives in New York. In 1689 Leisler became
the leader of a revolt against the British harsh ruling governor Nicholson. In
April of 1690 Leisler invites the governors of Massachusetts, Plymouth, East and
West New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia to a common council in New
York. The meeting took place on May 1st and was the first congress of
American colonies assembled made up entirely by colonists.
Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz invents a new calculator based on the
Arabic numerals with the decimal point a more accepted form by mathematicians in
Germany since 1518 and introduces differential calculation in 1686 at
approximately the same time as Isaac Newton’s “flexion calculations”. In
1695 Gottfried Wilhelm defines the forces of body in motion, so called
Duke and Archbishop Johann Philipp von Schönborn
is the first to ban the burning of women as witches. With his order, a new era
begins, although it still took time to completely stop beliefs and superstitions
of evil doings which they still are often blamed for. During Medieval times tens
of thousands of women were blamed of witchcraft, were brutally tortured and
burned which was almost a monthly occurrence. While the women were tortured they
were forced to name other misfortunate women in desperation who then were also
accused of the crime and burned.
The war of the empire with France ends with the peace treaty at Nijmegen
New tastes Germany; they are Café, Tee and Coco.
Duke Friederich Wilhelm von Brandenburg provides shelter for Jews
expelled from Vienna. The persecution of Jews has been a continued practice
because of the fear of their religious rituals and believes by many cultures
throughout Europe, even prior to the turn of the last millennium. Many of them
could not practice trades such as a blacksmith, shoemaker or carpenter, they
were permitted to trade goods in many parts of Europe, which eventually lead to
the establishment of flourishing enterprises for them.
Athanasius Bircher is one of the first who believes that small organisms
of microscopic size are responsible as carriers of illnesses like the pestilence
and are transferred through the air. Something most people could not comprehend
and instead believed in all sorts of witchcraft and devils courses as culprits
bringing those diseases upon them. Only now, many doctors picked up on the
teaching of Hippocrates again who believed that illnesses may be caused by
several malfunctions of the body and thus a new era began toward understanding
and determining symptoms of individual illnesses.
Following several severe fires in Hamburg, the city establishes the first
insurance against fire damages in the world with the “General Feuer Cassa”
Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705), and King Jan Sobieski III of Poland, came
to an agreement to send military aid of 30,000 troops in support of each other,
should either Vienna or Krakow be attacked by the Ottoman Empire. Other
Christian countries promising military aid were Baden, Bavaria, Franken, Loraine
(Lothringen), Saxony, Swabia, and Venice.