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302 Readings in European History which is much like charcoal and is very useful to smiths and other workers as well as to the poor people for making fires ; lastly, lead, which has been found in several places near us. II. OTTO OF FREISING'S ACCOUNT OF THE ITALIAN CITIES Otto, bishop of Freising and uncle of Frederick Barbarossa, may be safely assigned the highest rank among the historians of the twelfth century. In writing his great Chronicle, or History of the World, he doubt- less allowed himself to be too much influenced by Augustine's City of God and by the gloomy theory of Augustine's pupil Orosius, 1 who set out to discover all the evil he could in the past ; but Otto nevertheless ex- hibits a good deal of critical ability at times and shows really remarkable philosophical insight in some of his reflections. It would tax the skill of a modern historian better to state the conditions in Italy at the advent of Frederick Barbarossa than does Otto in the passage given below. This is taken from his Deeds of Frederick, which he undertook after the completion of his Chronicle ; but he lived only long enough to present the first four years of his nephew's reign. In response to a request which he sent to the emperor for information in regard to his career, he received a letter which opens as follows : Frederick, by the grace of God Emperor of the Romans and at all times Augmenter of the realm, to his well-beloved Uncle Otto, with his favor and best wishes: The Chronicle which you have affectionately sent to us and which your Wisdom has compiled, or rather brought out of dark oblivion into luminous harmony, we have received 1 See above, p. 58.