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electors will continue until 1806,
when the whole system is dissolved
by Napoleon.
The German king is the accepted
leader of five main German tribes:
Saxons, Bavarians, Franks, Swa–
bians and Thuriogians. These are
the "great tribes who in military em–
ergency choose for tbemselves lead–
ers, dukes," Friedrich Heer will
write. The dukes in turn elect a su–
per-duke as king and fight under his
leadership. In 936, their choice is
Otto the Saxon.
Theoretically, Otto is chosen only
to ward off extemal attack; in
peacetime, he receives only occa–
sional marks of respect. Otto's
German kingdom, in its ideal con–
ception, is thought of as a great fed–
erative league, based on trust and
mutual need for military success.
The lay princes set Otto, son of
Henry the Saxon, husband of Ed–
gita, sister ofthe English king Athel–
stan, on a throne and pledge him
loyalty and support against his ene–
mies. The people raise their right
PLAIN TRUTH
January
1974
hands to show approval. "Sieg und
Heil," they shout, "Sieg und Heil"–
victory and salvation.
The rite of consecration, presided
over by Archbishop Heriger of
Mainz, includes the handing of the
sword to the king. With this he is to
fight the enemies of Christ.
Year 955: The Battle at the
Lech.
Little goes right for Otto after
his
coronation as king of the Germans
in 936. His attempt to weld together
the kingdom leads to strife within
his own family and amoog the pow–
erful dukes. Otto's older half–
brother, Thankmar, dies a rebel. His
younger brother, Henry, all ies
him–
self with Otto's adversaries. There
are constant conspiracies, reconcilia–
tions and new defections. In 953-
954, a personal tragedy occurs.
Otto's sons rebel, and this leads to a
grand coalition of all his enemies,
including even the Magyars. They
prepare for war with Otto.
The stakes are immense. Upon
the outcome of the battle depends
Otto's political life. He must defeat
the Magyars and claim the title of
protector of Europe.
Inside Germany, there is strife
and confusion. For example, a Ba–
varian magnate by the name of
Berchtold is the first to bring the
Magyars news of Otto's approach.
One year before, Otto's own son,
Liudolf, provided the Magyar chief–
tain, Bulcsu, with guides to conduct
him into Franconia. The dukes and
magnates of Bavaria and Loth–
aringia are rebellious. If Otto loses
the battle, he will lose any political
clout he has left , and Europe may
well disintegrate as it did after the
fall of the Roman Empire and the
breakup of Charlemagne's empire.
Unexpectedly, the shock of Hun–
garian Magyar incursions into
German territory causes some sem–
blance of unity. Otto is able to forro
a combined army of Franks, Swa–
bians, Bavarians and Bobemians
with which he crushes the Magyars
at the Lechfield
in
955.
Otto's victory spells the demise of
his enemies. He has dealt a decisive
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