CONRAD II. elected emperor of Germany in 1004.
He was obliged to take the field against most of the
German dukes who had revolted from him; and he
put Ernest duke of Suabia under the ban of the empire.
This being one of the earliest instances of such a pro-
scription, the formula is inserted here for its singularity.
"We declare thy wife a widow, thy children orphans;
and we send thee, in the name of the devil, to the four
corners of the world." It was in the reign of this prince
that the German fiefs became hereditary. He died in
1039.