The Rudolf Steiner Archive

History of the Middle Ages Up to the Great Inventions and Discoveries VII

[ 1 ] Eight days ago, I outlined for you the contrast between the Western and Eastern Empires—between what is now France and what is now Germany and Austria—as it had taken shape in the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries.

[ 2 ] We have seen that the two empires differed in that, in the Western Empire, ancient Roman culture had left its mark and the Church soon came to dominate by acquiring large estates of its own. This led to a struggle between the lay nobility and the rising Church. Above all, we are dealing with a different kind of Church. It had been endowed with vast landholdings, primarily by Charlemagne, so that the Church became an ally of secular rule because it had been integrated into the feudal system both at the top and at the bottom.

[ 3 ] The vanquished had entered into a feudal relationship with the victors; the nobles became vassals of the kings, and thus the kingdom had gradually taken shape. The Western Empire was constantly grappling with the conflict between the vassals and the Church. The situation was different in the Eastern Empire. Here, the old sense of independence and freedom had remained alive, so that the tribal dukes were by no means willing to accept a relationship of dependence. Thus, the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries were marked by the so-called kings—who, though elected, were in reality kings in name only—being constantly occupied with bringing the tribal dukes under their control.

[ 4 ] History tells us much about such battles. The Carolingians were succeeded by the Saxon royal house after the Frank Conrad, and much is told of the deeds of Henry I, Otto I, II, and III, and Henry II, as well as of the subsequent Frankish kings—Conrad II, Henry III, IV, and V. These kings, who were elected in the Eastern Empire, had no say whatsoever in the constitution or the legislation of the tribes; nor did they possess any judicial authority. Thus, it is far more important to understand what the Empire actually meant at that time than to form a precise picture of the individual battles.

[ 5 ] There were larger duchies. They came into being in the manner described. During the initial migration into these regions, certain individuals who had acquired large estates had become increasingly powerful; smaller landowners became dependent on them, were forced to surrender their property as fiefs, and then had to pay taxes.

[ 6 ] Thus, the tribal dukes had gradually confiscated the small estates and, by granting portions of their large estates to others as fiefs, secured for themselves the right to require those recipients to provide a certain number of soldiers and to pay a certain sum.

[ 7 ] Thus, the duchies of Saxony, Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria, and so on had come into being through the absorption of smaller estates by larger ones. Gradually, judicial authority also shifted from the district courts to the so-called manorial courts, which the dukes had imposed on their vassals and peasants. The Church, in accordance with its regulations, had to exercise its jurisdiction through bailiffs. The king, too, was nothing more than a large landowner. He had vassals and a military retinue whom he had forced into submission; furthermore, he had acquired domain estates and thereby established relations of dominion here and there. The duke’s relationship to the king was also merely that of a vassal, in that he paid certain tributes to the court and made certain revenues available to the itinerant royal household. Jurisdiction was a matter for the duke. Only in the border regions facing the Magyars, Wends, and Danes was jurisdiction exercised by royal margraves and palatines. There were no large states with a unified administration or a unified army. Hence, there were perpetual wars waged by the kings against the insubordinate dukes who refused to pay tribute. Consequently, it became necessary to gradually enlist the support of the Church.

[ 8 ] It was consistent with piety that burdens were imposed on the Church for the king. Otto I, in particular, despite all his piety and devotion to the Church, compelled the Church to pay taxes. The bishoprics were forced to behave in the same manner as other vassals. Church property was divided into two parts, one of which was cultivated by serfs for the bishop, to whom they had become completely dependent. Another area remained in a looser relationship; there, the peasants had to till the fields for the emperor in the bishop’s name.

[ 9 ] Increasingly, the emperors found themselves compelled by new enemies to forge closer ties with the Church. Powerful enemies threatened Central Europe. The Normans, after repeatedly unsettling the peoples, after being defeated by Arnulf of Carinthia at the Battle of Leuven, and after having conquered Brittany, had ceased their raids. In contrast, Finno-Ugric peoples—the Magyars—now invaded from the east, and their raids caused indescribable terror. All accounts describe the appalling brutality of their conquests. The credit for repelling them is usually attributed to Henry I and Otto I. This is true to a certain extent. The Magyar incursions were nothing like the warfare and declarations of war that would come later.

[ 10 ] When the Magyars invaded, the dukes were particularly insubordinate at the time, and Henry I therefore had to first request a ceasefire in order to assemble an army that was at least somewhat unified. This union was brought about solely in the military sphere by the urgent need.

[ 11 ] Henry I is usually celebrated as the founder of cities; this is a distorted portrayal. At that time, cities were being founded across Europe, and Henry I was merely following the trend of the times when he supported this movement.

[ 12 ] We have seen how judicial authority gradually passed to the landlords, the dukes, and the kings. Conditions became increasingly deplorable. Many people who had previously been free farmers were forced to give up everything they owned in order to become serfs of the large landowners. There, in addition to farming, they were employed as messengers, artisans, and in military service.

[ 13 ] A form of trade emerged, primarily due to the increased productivity of the soil, which continued to grow as a result of the use of this large labor force. At the same time, a distinct class of artisans began to develop. This had not existed before; as already mentioned, the necessary work had been carried out in the home by slaves and women. At most, the trades of blacksmithing and goldsmithing existed. But now, through this shift in labor allocation, a new class of artisans and merchants began to emerge. In places where suitable markets existed, settlements sprang up, and permanent towns were established throughout Europe. Added to this was the discontent of people who were treated unjustly, so that the influx only grew greater. This trend of the times forced the king to rely on the cities.

[ 14 ] A cavalry force was needed to counter the Magyar horsemen. This cavalry force laid the foundation for the knighthood that emerged at that time. One must take all of this into account to gain a true picture of how events unfolded back then. This is more important than a detailed assessment of those battles.

[ 15 ] In the battles at Ried in 933 and at Lechfelde in 955, the Magyars were defeated and suffered such a terrible defeat that they were effectively dissuaded from further incursions. They established a kingdom in the Danube region, in what is now Hungary. From then on, the emperors were forced to rely on the Church, and Christianity was exploited for political ends. The Magyars were converted to Christianity, particularly through the Diocese of Passau. To understand what was taking shape in people’s souls at that time, one must not apply later concepts. An intense faith, a religious sentiment heightened to the point of ecstasy, lived in the hearts of the people. They listened to the clergy in all matters and allowed themselves to be guided by them in every affair. The dukes and kings supported this kind of subservience. From the time of Charlemagne onward, this dominion over the soul was taken for granted. — Thus, the clergy became the best and most powerful advisors and took root in the souls and hearts of the people.

[ 16 ] In addition, the Arabs exerted a strong influence during that period—not only, as described earlier, through scientific influences, but also through certain literary influences, which introduced a new spiritual dimension into the Middle Ages. A vast array of myths, fairy tales, legends, emotions, and imagery was implanted in the collective consciousness of the people, and this spiritual influence from the East into Europe was so intense that we can see how the originally rugged Germanic spirit took on a gentler character, and how its piety became imbued with an element of great significance: namely, the cult of the Virgin Mary and the veneration of women that developed from it. Anyone who fails to recognize this knows nothing at all about the history of the Middle Ages. They close their eyes to facts such as the fact that large masses of people were sometimes seized by epidemic fear. Around the year 1000—during the reign of Emperor Otto III—the people were seized by such a fear that the world was about to come to an end. This momentous event, for which people sought to prepare themselves through acts of penance and pilgrimages, stirred all of Germany. Emperor Otto III himself undertook a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Adalbert of Prussia. All of this stemmed from the collective psyche of the time. Those who do not understand this also fail to understand the origins of the later Crusades. People have sought material motives here as well; but anyone who does not consider the matter from this perspective is missing the point.

[ 17 ] The secularization of the bishops and abbots could not fail to provoke a reaction, and so we understand that a powerful movement for reform emanated from Cluny. The influence of the Cluniacs was immense; the fact that it was possible to enforce the “Peace of God” is proof of this. At a time when no unified empire existed anywhere, one can appreciate what it meant that the efforts of the monks of Cluny succeeded in restricting the law of the jungle for a few days of the week—from Friday to Monday—so that feuds were not fought during this time. One need only consider that at that time there was, in fact, no law; rather, the law of the jungle reigned supreme. The bitter struggle between the German emperors and the popes was waged not only out of self-interest but also, on the part of the Church, out of fanaticism. The pope saw himself as the Vicar of Christ, as lord even over secular territories; as if the Kingdom of Christ also claimed secular dominion.

[ 18 ] Pope Gregory VII, who forced the German Emperor Henry IV to make the Pilgrimage to Canossa, was originally a monk at Cluny, and it was there that he developed his fanaticism. This was explained as a fundamental tenet of the papacy: just as there are two ruling bodies in the solar system—the sun and the moon—so too in human life; the pope is the sun, the king the moon, who receives his light only from the Church. This view gained acceptance and was also recognized as just by the great poet Dante, who, in discussing the distribution of power, described the supremacy of spiritual power over secular power as right and just. Now, this struggle between the emperor and the pope had become so intense precisely because a certain process of unification had taken place in the meantime. The various duchies had been forged together by external force. The dukes now considered themselves obligated to provide military service and pay certain tributes to the emperor. All these lands—Italy, Burgundy, Lorraine, Franconia, Saxony, Austria, and even Hungary and Poland—were at times in a feudal relationship with the German Crown.

[ 19 ] Thus, a certain degree of uniformity was indeed achieved in the 11th century. At the same time, the Church grew increasingly powerful. Upon the death of Henry III, it was not secular princes who were appointed guardians of the young king, Henry IV, but rather the archbishops Hanno of Cologne and, later, Adalbert of Bremen.

[ 20 ] The permeation of the national psyche with religious sentiments had led to a blind faith in authority. Now the time had come for Rome. A shrewd policy was initiated from Rome. The clergy had to be torn away from all worldly interests so that they would have only one thing in mind: preaching to and controlling the people. To this end, they had to be made completely independent. Thus, in the 11th century, celibacy was imposed on the clergy, and priestly marriage was prohibited, since anyone bound to the world by self-chosen blood ties would fall into dependence and could not serve unreservedly.

[ 21 ] This led the clergy and the papacy to develop an unyielding determination: they had only one goal in mind—the dominance of the Church. Thus, the Church was able to demand that it alone have a say in the appointment of bishops. In the past, secular princes had filled every diocese that became vacant. Now, only ecclesiastical interests were to be decisive, and the Church’s authority was enhanced by the fact that the filling of these offices was the sole prerogative of the Church. This led to the Investiture Controversy, which resulted in Henry IV—who refused to accept this state of affairs—being forced to make the pilgrimage to Canossa.

[ 22 ] All of this can be summed up in the conflict between secular and ecclesiastical power. While we saw with Clovis that the God of the Christians became his God because he led the armies to victory, we now see how the Church itself comes to hold power. This must be understood if one is to grasp the new circumstances brought about by the Crusades.

[ 23 ] We have seen in the case of the Franks what became of the tribes that were driven from their homelands by the Migration Period. We saw how Christianity became a decisive factor in all aspects of life, how monasteries and bishoprics became the focal points of the settlements, how the monks were not only the spiritual leaders of the people but also taught them how to cultivate various crops, served as the builders of the churches, and so on.

[ 24 ] Cities tended to develop around existing dioceses. Thus, we see the powerful influence of the Church everywhere.

[ 25 ] Here we see the influence of the Moors through science and literature. We will learn of another influence—more important than many others—brought about by the Crusades; it, too, came from the East. These influences spurred the great inventions and discoveries. For there, in the East and in China, many things were known that the West knew nothing about: papermaking, silk weaving, the use of gunpowder, and so on. Thus, these influences provided the initial impetus for the great inventions.

[ 26 ] We saw, as it were, powerful forces exerting their influence on medieval humanity from two sides. Consider this alongside the founding of cities, and you will sense that a century is dawning that powerfully paves the way for development. If you wish to follow this in the right way, it is not enough to simply take it in intellectually. No one truly understands these events who seeks to grasp them solely with the intellect and not with the heart—who cannot immerse themselves in the subtleties of the national soul and comprehend what is taking place and being prepared within it. And for those who lack this, the words of Faust apply:

What you call the spirit of the times,
Is, in essence, the masters’ own spirit,
In which the times are reflected.