and the
sword: and this thought was embodied in a series of wars which have
been somewhat fancifully compared to the Crusades of later days. Otto
I. thrice invaded the land of the Slavs and made all the barbarians
from the Oder to the Elbe admit his lordship. Six new bishoprics were
founded as his sway spread, and the bishop of Magdeburg was raised to
be "archbishop and metropolitan of the whole race of the Slavs beyond
the Elbe which has {198} been, or still remains to be, converted to
God." But though it was a real work of civilisation, a work which made
for peace, that the German Caesars undertook, it was not a Crusade. A
Crusade was a war to win back from the infidel what had once been the
patrimony of the Crucified: the wars of the Ottos were directed to
extend their own sway, and, as ever, the true work of the converting
Church was not helped but hindered by the arms and enterprises of
soldiers and statesmen. When the tribes revolted against the
government of the Germans, they often disowned their Christianity and
destroyed their churches. Under Otto III. the Empire did not recover
what she had lost, and the province of Magdeburg remained for nearly
half its extent in heathen hands. [Sidenote: Otto the Great's
endowment in Germany.] The Church suffered from this association.
Where the mission of S. Boniface had been purely spiritual, the work of
his successors was often hampered by the ambition of the emperors. In
the lands alike of Eastern and Western Franks the Church was often led
to lean on the State, and the results, of slackness, corruption,
weakness, were inevitable. The rich endowments which were poured upon
the Church were not always wisely given or wisely used. The Caesars
themselves showered gifts: Otto the Great surpassed all his
predecessors in lavishness,[2] and his dynasty followed in his steps.
But the honours and riches were given quite as much for political as
for religious objects. In the bishops and abbats the sovereigns found
the wisest servants, the most capable administrators. As among the
West Franks under the {199} Merwings, so now among the East Franks, the
great ecclesiastics were the supports of the monarchy, the real
governors of the country. It was thus that they came to owe their
position--if not their election always yet certainly their
confirmation--to the imperial will. As in Rome the emperors were
stretching forth a hand to control the elections to the papacy, so in