Читать книгу The Great Hollenberg Saga - Heinz Niederste-Hollenberg - Страница 46

runs like a red thread throughout the Middle-Ages till the final collapse of the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation” around 1806 A.D.

These miscellaneous taxes are historically verified over the following centuries, and are subject to further consi-derations later on.

Charlemagne and later his sons had established a pattern to give grants to their meritorious military leaders and other deserving confidents in form of estates and land as well as special privileges over assets and life of their subjects. This was considered in part a gratitude as well as commitment for duty in the future.

Initially, those persons concerned, the honoured and so named counts and dukes, had to use their entrusted power in the name of the emperor or king. At the same time, the bishops were supposed to be only responsible for the religious/clerical matters and questions of morality.

However, the Imperial Court or his herolds had to intervene rather regularly in those many disputes and struggles for power between the clerical (bishops) and secular (dukes, counts) authorities. Thus, within this kind of medley, the initially granted privileges became over the following centuries hereditary.

Although Charlemagne had according to the Franconian Statutes not formerly renounced private property per se, the handwriting of history had taken a somewhat other turn:

Another pillar of Feudalism had established itself,

Resulting in a two class-society that lasted nearly 1000 years and put its face onto the history of Europe:

A society of those with power and the might of control – and the remaining others,

who had to live their every-day-life or just endure it.

These were the centuries where the structures of the secular power concoction and the clerical interests found op-portunities and time to solidify themselves to last way into the Renaissance with different results to be classified as good and bad:

The “good” – part, beginning with the 15th century, was especially the rapid development of civilization, the discovery of the world-wide globe, the letter-printing, and above all the new dimensions in art and philosophy.

The “bad”- part were the many skirmishes of those many small potentates, the rule of the mercenaries, and those many courtiers serving the sovereigns to show their glitter and pomp to the world.