WINDTHORST
655
WINDTHORST
grral mound on which stands the Round Tower (itself
rebuilt by Edward III) is of this date. The castle,
which was extensively added to by Henry III, has
been for centuries the favourite residence of English
kings, many of whom, including Edward III and
Henry VI, were born there. A chapel e>dsted in the
castle from early times; but the present sumptuous
Chapel of St. George, considered the finest example of
perpendicular architecture in England, was built by
Edward IV, who was buried in it, as were several of
hi.s successors. St. Edward's (now the Albert Memo-
rial) Chapel was the burial place of Cardinal Wolsey,
who constructed a magnificent tomb for himself.
This chapel was used for Cathohc worship in the reign
of James II, who received the papal nuncio there in
1687. Under George IV nearly a miUion sterhng was
spent on altering and practically rebuilding the castle,
according to the plans of Wj-atville. \Iany royal
marriages have taken place
during the last centurj' in
St. George's Chapel, which
is a richly-endowed royal
peculiar, served by a dean,
a college of canons and
minor clerics, and a staff of
highly - trained choristers.
The chapel is the head-
quarters of the Knights of
the Garter (estabUshed by
Edward III), for whom a
special prayer is said at
every service held within
its walls.
TiGHE AND Davis. AtituiIs of Windsor (I^ndon, 1864); Dixon, Royal Windsor (London, 1880) ; LoFTlE. Windsor Castle (I>oadon, 1887) : Woodward. Windsor Caslle (London. 1875); Harhington. .S^ George's Chapel, Windsor (London. 1872). illu.straicd.
D. O. Hunter-Bl.^ir.
Windthorst, Lidwig, b. nearOsnabriick. 17 Januarv, 1812; d. 14 March, 1S<.)"1. He came from a family of lawyers of Lower Saxony. As a pupil at the gymna- sium he was industrious, shrewd and cautious, quiet, not carried away by the tendencies of the time, and these qualities he retained throughout life. He studied at Gottingen and Heidelberg, and in 1836 established himself as a lawyer at Osnabriick and soon married. There his professional ability and his attitude in religion won him the confidence of the Catholic clergy. In 1842, at their instance, the sovereign, the King of Hanover, appointed him presi- dent of the Catholic state board of Hanover for churches and schools. In this office Windthorst gained a knowledge of the great difficulties existing in Germany between nearly all the governments and their Cathohc subjects. By the enactment of the Imperial Delegates of 1803, the great majority of German Catholics, who until then had generally enjoyed spiritual autonomy, were made subjects of Protestant states. The Catholics had httle mtere.st in the ruler.s thus forced upon them; the govprnments were not accustomed to a policy compatible with the rights and freedom of the Cathohc Church. Thor- ough knowledge of the subject and tactful caution were neces.sary before a reconciliation could be brought about. Owing to the efforts of Windthorst, such an adjustment wa.s made in Hanover, while the tenhion in several other Germ.an states grew continually greater, and finally led to the Kulturkam[>f. Wind- thorst's official experience esperi.ally impressed upon him the great importance to the future of Catholicism
LcDWIG w
Portrait by Von
in Germany of a legal adjustment of the relations
between the Church and the state schools.
In 1848, when the Revolution in Germany led to the restoration of the Hanoverian Constitution, which the king had annulled in 1837, Windthorst was elected a member of the Diet. This brought him into the career for which he had the most talent, and supphed him with the interests which thenceforward were most completely to occupy him. He at once devel- oped great skill in the debate and a decided talent for bringing others into organizat ion under his own leader- ship. He devoted himself to solving two problems which at that era were of the most importance for all German statesmen: (1) After getting rid of alxsolu- tism and bureaucracy, how, and how far, were the people to share in legislation and administration? (2) How could a national confederation be founded in which the unity of the German nation might attain jiolitically powerful expres- sion? In his efforts to solve the former question Windt- linr.st held in general with tlie moderate Liberals; to liring about a national con- federation he joined the ( Ireat German Party (see (iERMANY), without, how- ever, disputing the claim that the lead in economic and commercial policj' as well as some other preroga- tives .should be conceded to Prussia. He soon attained such importance in the Han- overian Diet that in the spring of LS.^l he was elected president of the chamber — an honour that had fallen to no other Catholic of Han- over — and in November, 1 X.5 1 , was appoint ed minist er of justice. He was minister only for a short period, as he did not consider the king's poUcy strictly consti- tutional. At the close of 1853 he returned to parlia- mentary life. In 1862 the king again summoned him to the ministry, where he remained until 1865.
Up to this period Windthorst's activities and repu- tation had been limited to Hanover. In 1866 Han- over became a Prussian province, and in 1867 the North (iernian Confederation was founded. This gave Windthorst the opportunity to acquire not only national, but also international fame. From 1867 he was a member both of the Reichstag and of the Prussian Landtag. By 1874 he had gained for him- self in both of these bodies a very prominent position. He was at first a member of no party, but when, in 1868, deputies from Southern Germany appeared for the first time in the Reichstag, for the discussion of economic questions, Windthorst collected those deputies who did not hold with the National Liberals and combined them so skilfully with the particularist Hanoverians, Prussians, and Saxons that the combi- nation was unexpectedly able to defeat a National Liberal bill designed to secure the intervention of the South-German deputies in all national affairs. This majority w.as a prelude to the organization of the Centre Party under Windthorst's guidance. Windt- horst did not found that party, neitlier did he as-sume its leadership at once. For although the Centre was formed as a purely political party with a definite con- stitutional, social, and ecclesiastico-pohtical pro- gramme, still it should be taken into consideration that, at the close of 1870, it was largely made up of
