The Emperors of the house of Saxony reigned from A. D. 911, to A. D. 1024. They were, Henry I. surnamed the Fowler ; Otho I. surnamed the Great ; Otho II. Otho III. and Henry II. During the period that the throne was fill ed by the Saxon Emperors, the limits of the empire Ivere• extended, chiefly by Otho the Great. A portion of Gaul, to the west of the Rhine, along the banks of the Meuse and the Moselle, was assigned to the Germans. Between the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Alps, the successors of Otho acquit. ed a vain and doubtful supremacy over the kingdoms of Bur gundy and Arles. In the north, the Slavonic nations of the Elbe and Oder were subdued. The marches of Branden burg and Sleswic were colonized by Germans ; and the King of Denmark, and the Dukes of Poland and Bohemia, became the tributary vassals of Otho the Great. The same monarch subdued the kingdom of Italy, delivered the pope, and fixed the imperial crown in the name and nation of Germany. From that era, A. D. 962, two maxims of pub lic jurisprudence were introduced : I. That the prince, who was elected in the German diet, acquired from that instant the kingdoms of Italy and Rome ; and, 2d, That he could not legally assume the titles of Emperor and Au gustus, till he had received the crown from the hands of the Pope.
With respect to the principal states which composed Germany during the reign of the Saxon Emperors, a con siderable portion of that part of Germany which lies on each side of the Mayne, was known by the various appellations of Nova Francia, Francia Orientalis, Francia Teutonica, Ostrofrancia, Austrasia, and Franconia. The space between this part of Germany and the Upper Elbe, called Saxonia, and Alemannia, was occupied by the Thuringians. At this period, the Saxons had left the Oder, and were spread from the Elbe to the Ems, reaching Francia and Thuringia on the south. The country between the Weser and the Meuse was called Frisia ; that between the Rhine and the Meuse, Austrasia ; the tract lying between the Rhine, the Necker, and the Lech, was divided between the Suevi and the Ale manni ; and the country between the Lech, the Alps, and the Anisa, was called Boisaria, the modern Bavaria. On the east of this was Austria. Moravia was called Austria Maharensis ; modern Bohemia was called Boheim.
It has already been mentioned, that in the time of Taci tus, the Germans did not live even in villages ; as, how ever, they spread themselves over the country on the west of the Rhine, they began to inhabit villages, and even to construct towns ; so that at an early period, after the boci, Nemetes, and Vangiones, settled in the country be tween the Rhine and the Vosges, the cities of Strasburg, Spire, Mentz, and Worms, are mentioned. Under the Frantic sovereigns, cities were multiplied; and by Henry the Fowler they were particularly encouraged by a singular institution. From the troops stationed in Germany, he chose every ninth soldier ; the remaining eight were to sow and till the land, and to carry the produce to the ninth, whose business it was to build habitations for himself and his com panions. By degrees, the lower order of the people united themselves to these soldiers ; and the Emperor ordered the courts of justice, fairs, tournaments, &c. to be held in
the cities they constructed. His example was followed in the other parts of Germany, so that in a short time it scarce ly contained a district of any extent which had not its city. To each of them exclusive privileges were granted ; the most important of which were the jus stapuire and the jus geranii; by the former, all commodities brought into them were exposed to public sale ; by the latter, all commodi ties imported or exported, were to be weighed or measur ed by the public weights or measures of the city, for which it was entitled to a duty. At first, the chief magistrates were of noble birth ; but by degrees, the chief offices were opened to the people at large. Thus, soon after the era of the Saxon Emperors, there were in almost every town three different classes,—nobles, citizens, and slaves ; but, about the beginning of the 12th century, Henry V. en franchised all slaves in cities who were artizans.
The emperors of the house of Franconia were called to the throne after the Saxon emperors ; they reigned from 1027 to 1137. They consisted of Conrad II. who conquer ed the kingdom of Burgundy ; Henry III. who conquered the country between the Inn and the Lech, now called Lower Austria ; Henry IV. and Henry V. ; on the death of the last, Lothaire the Saxon was elected king of Germa ny. Under Henry III. the empire of Germany had its greatest extent. It comprehended Germany, Italy, Bur gundy, and Lorraine. Poland, and other Slavonian districts, were tributary to it ; and Denmark and Hungary acknow ledged themselves its vassals. The Emperors of Germa ny at this period affected to consider all Christendom as forming a royal republic, of which the Emperor was chief. In consequence of this assumed supremacy, they claimed the exclusive right of creating kings ; and the states of the empire proclaimed war against the Duke of Poland for having taken to himself the title of king in 1077. Soon after reaching this point of power and grandeur, the em pire began to decline, principally owing to the rapid ex tension of the feudal system. In every province, the sub jects of the law were the vassals of a private chief ; and the standard which lie received from his sovereign, was often raised against him. The power of the Emperors was also curtailed by the increasing influence and possessions of the clergy; and the bishoprics in Germany became equal in extent and privileges, and superior in wealth and population, to most of the secular states. The emperors were gradually de prived of the privilege of filling up the ecclesiastical and secular benefices; and at length each sovereign was reduc ed to a recommendation, once in his reign, to a single pre bend in each church. The secular governors could be de graded only by the sentence of their peers ; the appoint ment of the son to the duchy or county of his father, which in the first age of the monarchy was solicited as a favour, was at length extorted as a right ; and this right was claimed even by collateral or female branches.