ABSTRACT
The rule of Duke Bernhard. ‘In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes’. 1 Duke Henry had alone prevailed in the land and had, as we said at the beginning, enforced a most effective peace, restraining by the bridle of his government not only those within his boundaries but even barbarians and foreign regions, so that men lived in peace without fear and the land flourished in every way in peace and security. But after his exile, everyone ruled over their own district like a tyrant, and either inflicted violence on others or suffered violence themselves. Furthermore Duke Bernhard, who was seemingly exercising princely rule, acted sluggishly, and whereas previously when he ruled over a county he had been the most vigorous of his brothers, once he was promoted to the duchy, he behaved not as a true prince, but declined as a ruler, and showing himself to be a man of peace, he was late and careless in everything. As a result he was neither honoured by the emperor, as he had been earlier, nor was he respected by the princes and noblemen of the land.
