Bane of the Land

Bane of the Land is the English translation of the name of my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's mother's family which is Landschaden. So my grandfather, John J. Harter, his grandfather, François-Joseph Mattias "Frank" Harter, his grandfather, Philippe de Harter, his grandfather, Jean de Harter, his mother. She was the tail end of the family, the male line of which went extinct when Friedrich III Landschad von Steinach died in 1653. The family von Landschaden had heroes and villains as any family has. But the scale of the heroism and villainy was orders of magnitude greater than any others in my family tree. The behavior belongs in the truth is stranger than fiction category.

The names Conrad and Bligger recur in the annals of this family. Both are present early on but then Conrad ceases to be a choice while Bligger continues to be popular. No doubt this is because one of the most notorious men in the family and the reason for the appellation "Landschaden" was a very early Conrad. This man was the original robber knight. From his castle high above the Neckar river he would descend upon unsuspecting barges carrying persons and merchandise to Heidelberg 20 kilometer away. At one point the Emperor put Conrad under imperial ban and required him to go on Crusade for his crimes.

This was the First Christian Crusade. In many ways this was the only successful crusade. Certainly it is the one most detested by historians who detest Christianity in general and European Christianity in particular. It was the one that captured the city of Jerusalem. Lots of books have been written about this crusade which was called by the pope of Rome to reclaim holy sites from the muslims and which was heralded by the tragedy of Pierre L'Hermitte's crusade of peasants. This crusade was a crash of cymbals that marked a clash of civilizations. And after centuries of quiescence that clash of civilizations is active in our day. In a way we are in a Tenth Christian Crusade at present. Same two civilizations clashing now as a millenium ago. "He who fails to learn history is condemned to repeat it."

But back to the Conrad who garnered the distinction of being Bane of the Land and was forced to pack it in with the crusading army. Well, this was fighting the same determined enemy our soldiers face in Afganistan but without any of the logistical support, communications, and high tech weaponry of today. Just surviving long enough to reach the gates of the Holy City was a feat. Conrad fought in the climactic battle outside those gates. And he turned the tide of battle when he decapitated the leader of the Saracen forces. His heroism proved a match for his villainy. There is a church in Steinach am Neckar where the Landschaden are buried. An impressive tomb effigy mounted in a wall of that church shows Conrad in his armor, his strong and loyal wife at his side, and that Saracen's head dangling from his right hand. Local hero and former local villain, Landschaden goes from Bane of the Land to Hero of the First Crusade. So the family was redeemed, kept the name, and built another castle high above the Neckar.

These Rhenish robber knights ended up solid citizens of the realm. Some were poets and the most famous of them was Bligger von Steinach. "Hier hat die mär ein ende" is the penultimate line of his greatest work. And what work was that, you ask. Years ago one would need a good education or a learned friend. Today Google will get you the work. But you will still need resources to verify the author. Some of the Landschaden were lawyers--just like families today. These later lawyer Landschadens were reich chancellors and developers. Then came Freidrich III Landschad von Steinach and the end of the (male) line, 1653.

Upon Freidrich III Landschad von Steinach's death the wappen (coat of arms) went to his business partner, von Bohn. Upon von Bohn's death the wappen went to my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather's grandfather, Jean de Harter. He served in the Parlement de Paris and was later secretary to the War Minister Louvois and his master of the German Language. For these services well performed he received the fief de Landschaden from Louis XIV of France. The fief included properties formerly in the ancient imperial fief von Landschaden. The de Harters added de Landschaden to their surname and took the ancient wappen for their blazon, so Harter de Landschaden.

Just prior to the French Revolution the cadette branch of the family Harter de Landschaden changed their name to Hardter de Hartenstein, sold most of the properties including those of the fief de Landschaden, and moved to Switzerland. At this point the branch ainée of the family acquired the wappen and name and chose to stay in France. But after surviving the revolution, the many epic battles of Napoléon premier's Grande Armée, and the struggles inherent in running a small business my great great grandfather chose to sell out, change his name from François-Joseph Mattias de Harter to Frank Harter and catch the 1828 boat to New York City.

I wonder at times whether the branch that moved to Switzerland might have made the better move. Until recently I would have thought USA. But as I look around me and see our Constitution targeted for modernization, affirmative action based on skin pigment, Veterans' benefits means tested (so that after my five years of active duty service I am asked not just for my annual income but also for my net worth--things that were not discussed when I volunteered for the US Navy), Medicare benefits in the process of major downgrading, Social Security not worth applying for (I've been waiting for benefits to begin at age 70 so as to maximize that one but now think I'm waiting for Godot), wise Latinas who judge better than Old White Men, attorney generals who prosecute CIA agents for interrogating terrorists, billions of US dollars going to help Brazil drill offshore (some of the money to help George Soros, too) while permission to drill off our shores is denied, class warfare with special targeting of some Americans for much higher taxes and fewer deductions. But that is not the worst of it. No, the worst of it is that the USA is preparing to tax the net worth of citizens. Don't be shocked by that. If you own a home, you already pay an annual tax on that home and that home is a part of your net worth. Just add federal taxes on the whole of your net worth. This is the primary reason for the government's crusade to end offshore accounts, banking secrecy laws, and other ways citizens hide assets from their governments. As for the reason to tax net worth, well, there is just no other way to level our society's wealth--something at the heart of the Obama's Change for America. Not a level playing field but a level of affluence. The massive spending programs will mandate this step and give cover to the biggest social change in the nation's history. Is there room on Mount Rushmore for one more head? A modern Bane of the Land without the redeeming heroism of the original.

Chou en Lai's answer to the question "was the French Revolution as success?" was supposedly "too early to tell." In the same way, the answer to the question "which side won the cold war, Communism or Free Enterprise?" might be "too early to tell, but starting to lean toward the former."