Otto the Great Otto I, byname Otto the Great, German Otto der Grosse (born Nov. 23, 912—died May 7, 973), duke of Saxony (as Otto II, 936–961), German king (from 936), and Holy Roman emperor (962–973) who consolidated the German Reich by his suppression of rebellious vassals and his decisive victory over the Hungarians. His use of the church as a stabilizing influence created a secure empire and stimulated a cultural renaissance. Early years Otto was the son of the future king Henry I, of the Liudolfing, or Saxon, dynasty, and his second wife, Matilda. Little is known of his early years, but he probably shared in some of his father’s campaigns. He married Edith, daughter of the English king Edward the Elder, in 930; she obtained as her dowry the flourishing town of Magdeburg. Nominated by Henry as his successor, Otto was elected king by the German dukes at Aachen on Aug. 7, 936, a month after Henry’s death, and crowned by the archbishops of Mainz and Cologne. While Henry I had controlled his vassal dukes only with difficulty, the new king firmly asserted his suzerainty over them. This led immediately to war, especially with Eberhard ofFranconia and his namesake, Eberhard of Bavaria, who were joined by discontented Saxon nobles under the leadership of Otto’s half-brother Thankmar. Thankmar was defeated and killed, the Franconian Eberhard submitted to the King, and Eberhard of Bavaria was deposed and outlawed. In 939, however, Otto’s younger brother Henry revolted; he was joined by Eberhard of Franconia and by Giselbert of Lotharingia and supported by the French king Louis IV. Otto was again victorious: Eberhard fell in battle, Giselbert was drowned in flight, and Henry submitted to his brother. Nevertheless, in 941 Henry joined a ... ... middle of paper ... ...to ratify papal elections was included in the original version of the treaty or added in December 963, when Otto deposed John XII for treating with Berengar and set up Leo VIII as pope. Berengar was captured and taken to Germany, and in 964 a revolt of the Romans against Leo VIII was suppressed. When Leo VIII died in 965, the Emperor chose John XIII for pope, but John was expelled by the Romans. Otto, therefore, marched for a third time to Italy, where he stayed from 966 to 972. He subdued Rome and even advanced into the Byzantine south of Italy. Prolonged negotiations with Byzantium resulted in the marriage of Otto II to the Byzantine princess Theophano, in 972. Having returned to Germany, the Emperor held a great assembly of his court at Quedlinburg on March 23, 973. He died in Memleben several weeks later and was buried in Magdeburg at the side of his first wife.
Emperor Justinian of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was one of Rome’s greatest leaders. By building numerous churches, schools, and hospitals throughout the empire, Justinian not only managed to revive Roman society, but he also preserved Roman culture for over a thousand years. Justinian’s brilliant leadership led the Roman Empire to conquer lands in Europe and Africa and expand to its greatest size. Additionally, he unified and strengthened the empire by moving the capital to Constantinople and establishing a single faith. After his death, Justinian left a legacy that allowed Rome to continue thriving. Under Justinian’s rule, Rome flourished into a culturally rich civilization.
Pope Urban II was sought by Alexius Comnenus, a Byzantine Emperor who wanted the papacy to help his army hold off the advancing Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor. The reason for Alexius Comnenus contacting the pope rather than another emperor or monarch wasn’t just the fact they were secular, but because the pope would have more power to persuade the people. The Gregorian movement in 1050-80 was ultimately was responsible for the new instilled power of the papacy’s position over nonreligious rulers. The pope agreed to aid the Byzantine emperor, but he also had his own agenda when it came to the military advances and the new power of his position. The papacy did not intend to only help the Byzantine Empire but to further save all of Christendom from being overrun.
The understanding of European politics during the latter half of the extended nineteenth century, particularly from 1848 onward to the First World War, is as much about the European political climate as a whole as it is about the key figures within this climate. For example, one cannot fully understand the multitude of independence and nationalist movements in the Balkans during this time without first understanding the outside pressures placed on these movements by the three competing empires of the Russians, Habsburgs, and Ottomans; and only then delving into the multitude of persons whom inspired the individual movements. Likewise, understanding the German situation at this time is just as much about the European picture as a whole, as it is about the people within the German system itself; of which, Otto von Bismarck is clearly the synonymous figure. With that said, it follows that a purely biographical approach to this turbulent time in German politics, focused on Bismarck, will leave one largely without the knowledge of the greater European situation; however, this same biographical approach also helps to understand the political interworking and personal relationships that forged a unified Germany, something that the study of the European climate as a whole fails to do.
Justinian’s rule was one of a successful vision in which he revived Roman Authority through the Byzantium Empire through different campaigns to ‘take back’ what was once Roman territory in the 5th Century. By doing this and the ‘freak’ loss from the Plague and the damage to the Economical and Military perspective the Byzantium Empire was no longer economically able to defend their states and eventually fell when Constantinople was gained by the Ottoman-Turks. The extent in which Justinian revived the Roman Authority during his rule was astronomical and presented him with the depiction as one of the greatest Caesars during the Medieval timeframe. But through the events that took place to gain Roman Authority, the losses of financial power and population diminished and Byzantium rapidly declined after Justinian’s death and the Roman Authority was forever lost.
King Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491 in Greenwich, England. He was the second son of his father, King Henry VII. Henry was not the heir to the throne; instead, his brother Arthur was. However, Arthur died a year after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, making Prince Henry the heir. It was then decided that Catherine would remain in England, as King Henry was trying to create a new marriage contract with her for Prince Henry. If Catherine returned to Spain, then her dowry would go with her, as would their alliance with Spain [1]. Days before Henry turned 18, his father died. He quickly occupied the throne, and a few weeks after Henry became king, he married Catherine, with special permission from the pope. As Henry was the sole heir to the throne, one of his first priorities was to produce sons [1]. This influenced many of his later actions, including splitting from the Catholic Church.
honorble ruler. Henry IV was king of France between 1589 and 1610. He was supported
Throughout Medieval history, there were many people who were a significant part of the Medieval age. They are well known and important because they all made a huge impact in the world that they lived in. Nevertheless, Charlemagne did the same and should be acknowledged for that. Charlemagne (Charles I) was the king of the Franks who started the Holy Roman Empire and was born around 742 A.D. His exact place of birth is unspecified, yet historians predicted that he was probably born in Aachen in modern-day Germany or Liege in present-day Belgium. Charlemagne has had many successful achievements during his life including when he revolutionized most parts of Western Europe and was crowned king in the year 800 by Pope Leo III. However he did have
Henry V is not a simple one as it has many aspects. By looking into
In winter of 1066 the king of England, Edward III died without any heirs to the throne. This sparked a bitter rivalry between Harold Godwin son, William Duke of Normandy and Herald Harridan, all of whom had claims to the throne. Eventually, Harold II was elected into power despite William’s claim to the throne. The Norman leader felt cheated because he had to have a blood tie to the throne, despite him being Norman and Edward III being Anglo-Saxon. In spring of 1066 the Normans sent a mission to Rome to seek Papal support for an invasion of England, the rivalry for the throne had escalated into a full-fledged conflict that would alter the course of history.
Charlemagne’s reign as King of the Franks and as Holy Roman Emperor greatly influenced the course of Europe during the middle ages. The history of Charlemagne’s family and how they came to power had a large effect on how Charlemagne came to power. In the year 481 A.D, a warrior named Clovis claimed the title of King of the Franks (Abrams 185). He died in the year 511, and each of his four sons received a portion of his small Frankish empire (Abrams 185). Clovis’s death would later allow a clear passage to ensuring Charlemagne’s fate as future ruler of the Franks.
George I married Sophia Dorothea, heiress of Duchy of Brunswick and Zell, in 1682. He and his cousin Sophia had one boy and one girl before the marriage turned sour. George was a bad husband with many mistresses while Sophia had many close guy “friends.” In 1694, George divorced Sophia and accused her of adultry. Being a prominent male in Hanover, the future king of England had her put into prison for 32 years, where she died in 1726.
From the ashes of the Western Roman Empire, and the Fall of the Merovingian Dynasty came a man who conquered half of europe in a matter of years. Charlemagne a successor of Pepin the Short, along with his brother Carloman owned half of France until Carloman died in 771. After which Charlemagne annexed his brothers lands leaving room for the last big expansion in Europe to come for another thousand years. Charlemagne was, and is still said by some people to be god-like.
I side with Loades on this as despite resentment from the nobles, after the Perkin Warbeck imposture there were no more serious uprisings which strongly support the success of Henry’s policies. Whilst most nobles would see his methods as unjust (especially the wide of use bonds and recognisances) Henry succeeded in increasing the crown’s standing at the expense of the nobility, securing his position whilst weakening the nobles. Through most of his policies Henry was successful in limiting the powers of nobility. Henry sought to restrict the noble’s power and yet at the same time needed them to keep order and represent him at local levels, therefore Henry sought not to destroy the nobles but to weaken them enough that they did not pose a threat, he needed a balance of control over the nobles and strong nobility.
The War of the Roses was the struggle from 1455 - 1485 for the throne of England between the houses of Lancaster (whose badge was a red rose) and York (whose badge was a white rose). In the mid 15th century, the weak Lancastrian king Henry VI was controlled by William de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, Edward Beaufort, duke of Somerset, and Margaret Of Anjou, Henry's queen. They were opposed by Richard, duke of York, who gained support from the popular unrest caused by the anger over the Hundred Years War and by the corruption in the court. York was appointed protector during the king's insanity from 1453 - 1454, but was excluded from the royal council when the king recovered. He then resorted to fighting. The factions met at St. Albans (1455), the Yorkists won, and York again became protector from 1455 - 1456. The wars, however, continued. In 1460 the Yorkists captured the king at Northampton and struck a compromise whereby Henry remained king and York was named his successor. Queen Margaret, whose son was thus disinherited, raised an army and defeated the Yorkists at Wakefield in 1460. Here York was killed, and his son Edward assumed his claim. Margaret's army rescued the king at the second battle of St. Albans in 1461, but Edward meanwhile was victorious at Mortimer's Cross and assumed the throne as Edward IV. Henry was recaptured in 1465 and the Yorkists seemed to be in command. A quarrel then developed over the king's marriage, and Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, and the king's brother George, duke of Clarence, deserted Edward. They allied in 1470 with Queen Margaret, drove Edward into exile, and restored Henry VI as king. Edward soon returned and triumphed at Barnet and Tewkesbury in 1471. Margaret was imprisoned and Henry VI died, probably slain on Edward's orders. After 12 years of peace, his 12-year-old son Edward V succeeded Edward in 1483, but the boy's uncle Richard, duke of Gloucester, usurped the throne as Richard III.
The first issue Henry faced was the insecurity on the throne, as he was a usurper. After the events of the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, where Henry VII defeated Richard, Henry took over as the monarch of England. This was a distinct disadvantage because of this. Henry’s fault was through the fact he did not come from a line of legitimate family heritage. This