Law, the acquiring of property by other means than by succession; as by purchase, donation, &c.

Conrad II., the Salic, elected Emperor of Germany in 1024. He was crowned as emperor and king of the Romans by Pope John XIX.; and having taken the field against the insurgent German dukes, he put Ernest, Duke of Swabia, under the ban of the empire. As this is one of the earliest instances of such a proscription, the formula is inserted here on account of 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 for the most part during the reign of this prince that the German fiefs became hereditary. Conrad died at Utrecht in 1039, and was succeeded by his son Henry III., who during the lifetime of his father had been invested with the crown of Burgundy.

Conrad III., elected Emperor of Germany in 1138. His election having been opposed by the Duke of Bavaria, Conrad put that prince under the ban of the empire, and deprived him of his duchy, a disgrace which he could not survive. The Margrave of Austria being ordered by the emperor to take possession of Bavaria, Welst, uncle of the deceased duke, attacked him, but was defeated near the castle of Winsburg. The battle fought upon this occasion is famous in history, as having given rise to the party names of Guelphs and Ghibelines, afterwards assumed in Italy. The parole of the day with the Bavarians was Welst, from the name of their general; that of the Imperialists Wailingen, from the patrimonial seat of the family of their commander. These names were gradually used to distinguish the two parties, and by the Italians were corrupted into the more euphonic Guelph and Ghibelline. Conrad joined with Louis VII. in the second crusade (see Crusades); but the flower of his army perished before Damascus and Ascalon, and he was compelled to return home to check the intrigues of Welst. After defeating the insurgents, Conrad was preparing to set out for Italy to be crowned by the Pope, when he died at Bamberg in 1152.