206-459: Henry IV (German: Heinrich IV ; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor —the second monarch of the Salian dynasty —and Agnes of Poitou . After his father's death on 5 October 1056, Henry
412-651: A Hoftag in August 1110 concrete plans were made for a march on Rome and arrangements to bring about an honorable end to the investiture dispute. The army chose the shortest route via the Great St Bernard Pass , reached Piacenza and Parma , then moved to Florence, arrived at Sutri in February 1111 and from there proceeded towards Rome. Henry was imbued with ideas of an epochal event upon his departure for Italy. He signalled preparedness as he ordered
618-718: A nunnery , she was appointed her son's guardian . She was responsible for her son's education along with a royal ministerialis (unfree liegeman ), Cuno. She secured the most powerful aristocrats' support through lavish grants. Agnes was reconciled with Godfrey the Bearded and made her late husband's other opponent, Conrad of the Ezzonid family, duke of Carinthia . Agnes took full control of state administration as regent after Pope Victor II left Germany early in 1057, but she paid little attention to Burgundy and Italy. Henry had inherited his father's Roman title of patrician, but
824-615: A "just ruler" during his father's lifetime. Historian Ian S. Robinson supposes the princes actually wanted to persuade Henry III to change his methods of government since the child king had no role in state administration. At Christmas 1052, the Emperor made Henry the duke of Bavaria . Archbishop Hermann crowned Henry King of Germany in Aachen on 17 July 1054. On this occasion, Henry's two-year-old younger brother, Conrad , most likely received Bavaria from their father. When Conrad died in 1055,
1030-521: A Cologne troop contingent to the Frisians. The citizens of Cologne complained about the draconian regiment of one of Henry's ministerials and Archbishop Friedrich denounced the catastrophic condition of the church in a letter. The episcopal seats of Worms and Mainz remained vacant for years and the secular rights of the bishops were carried out by royal administrators ( villici ). The territorial princes complained as well. From 1113 Henry had begun to adopt
1236-448: A coup. Henry's two relatives, Bruno II and Egbert I of Brunswick , attacked the conspirators. Bruno killed Otto but was mortally wounded in the skirmish. In 1057, Agnes appointed a wealthy aristocrat, Rudolf of Rheinfelden, to be Duke of Swabia and also charged him with the administration of Burgundy. Godfrey the Bearded took possession of Spoleto and Fermo , probably through a royal grant. Rumours of Godfrey's determination to seize
1442-737: A court in Mainz and transferred to his younger brother, Henry V, in May 1098. The latter had to take an oath never to rule over the father. On 6 January 1099, Henry V was crowned king in Aachen , where he was required to repeat the oath. His brother, Conrad, died in Florence on 27 July 1101. The continued existence of the Salian dynasty now depended on Henry V, the only living son of the emperor. The co-regency of son and father proceeded without obvious problems for six years. Contrary to previous ruling sons, Henry V
1648-630: A daughter of Henry named Bertha, who was probably illegitimate. She married Count Ptolemy II of Tusculum in 1117. The emperor's bond with the nobility of Rome through marriage was unique. In his conflict with the Pope and the struggle for domination in Italy, the Tusculan marriages of imperial partisans would receive particular honor. Eventually, affairs in Italy compelled Henry to leave and appoint duke Frederick II of Hohenstaufen and his brother Conrad,
1854-511: A friendship with him. Adalbert was mentioned as Henry's "protector" in royal diplomas from 1063, indicating a position equal to Anno's. Anno went to Italy to recognise Alexander II as pope at a synod in Mantua in May 1064, and in his absence Adalbert was able to strengthen his influence with Henry. Henry was girded with a sword as a token of his coming of age in Worms on 29 March 1065. According to
2060-529: A funeral in Speyer, but Henry V overruled this decision. On 24 August, he had his father's body dug up and transferred to Speyer, since in Liège some form of veneration of the deceased as a saint was about to begin. The re-burial at the Speyer crypta would imply continuity and help stabilize the position of the rebel son, who could present himself as a legitimate force of conservation and progress . On 3 September 1106
2266-417: A just leader of the empire and a defender of the church, he will end like his father." The beginning of his reign was marked by a lengthy time of unusual harmony between the king and the princes. Unlike his Salian predecessors, Henry V would count his reign only from the day on which he received the imperial insignia and was chosen for royal duty by the election of the princes. The reference to Saint Mary and
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#17327660914912472-534: A large army because his rule was based on consensus with the princes and dukes. Among the participants of this great procession was Henry's court chaplain David, who as a chronicler had been tasked to document a chronicle of all important events in volumes and in such a simple style that even less learned people can understand it. Thus, Henry had already planned the historiographic elements of documentation and propaganda, that might be useful in likely future clashes with
2678-478: A new king if Henry was unable to achieve his absolution before the anniversary of his excommunication. They also invited Pope Gregory to Germany to hold an assembly in Augsburg on 2 February 1077. Henry moved to Speyer and lived there as a penitent. He decided to depart for Italy to achieve his absolution, because he wanted to prevent the Pope from hearing his case at an assembly dominated by his enemies. Although
2884-794: A new pope had been the Ostian bishops' traditional privilege. The cardinals assembled at Florence where Pope Stephen had died to discuss Pope Stephen's succession. They wanted to elect the local bishop Gerard pope and sent an envoy to Germany to inform Henry about their plan. Henry, "having deliberated with the princes", designated Gerard as the Pope in Augsburg on 7 June. King Andrew I of Hungary also sent delegates to Germany in September 1058. Andrew wanted to secure his five-year-old son Solomon 's succession, ignoring his brother's claim to succeed him. The Hungarian envoys and Henry's representatives concluded
3090-547: A new royal seal to be made. Duke Welf II of Bavaria commanded a second column that entered Italy from the southeast of the empire and had orders to rendez-vous with the main contingent near Roncaglia. This impressive display of integrity proved that even the clans that had opposed and violently fought Henry's father were now on the Salian side. Welf's presence was particularly important for Henry as he had been married to Matilda of Tuscany from 1089 to 1095, which entitled him to inheritance claims on her vast property. Matilda allowed
3296-542: A nobleman, Egeno, accused him of plotting against Henry's life, Otto was summoned to "purge himself of that charge in single combat" early in August 1070. The contemporary historian Bruno the Saxon stated that Henry had paid Egeno to accuse Otto, but his account is biased. Fearing his case would not be judged fairly, Otto disobeyed the summons and fled from Bavaria to Saxony. He was soon outlawed and his benefices were confiscated. Henry invaded Otto's Saxon domains, but Otto raided
3502-525: A prelate or a lay aristocrat. The prelates—the bishops and abbots—were not only wealthy landowners, they also played an important role in state administration. They were required to make annual gifts to the kings and also to provide the monarchs with well-defined regular services, including the collection of taxes and hospitality. The dukes were the most powerful lay aristocrats in Germany. They were primarily military commanders, but they were also responsible for
3708-508: A punitive action against him. He ordered the Saxon aristocrats to assemble at Goslar, where on 29 June they asked Henry to redress their grievances. Henry made no concessions and withdrew from Goslar to Harzburg . Otto of Nordheim soon convinced the assembled Saxons to take up arms for their liberties. The Saxons marched to Harzburg, but Henry had fled to Eschwege. The Thuringians and the Saxons concluded an alliance and captured Lüneburg . To save
3914-495: A reconciliation in July 1072. It proved temporary because Henry did not dismiss his advisors. Agnes shared the dukes' negative views of Henry's advisors and persuaded Pope Alexander to excommunicate at least five of them in February 1073, though Henry did not sever ties with them. Appointments to the highest church offices remained crucial elements of Henry's authority: the practice enabled him to demand benefices for his supporters from
4120-537: A series of military campaigns to Italy, and Clement III crowned him emperor in Rome on 1 April 1084. Hermann of Salm died and Henry pacified Saxony with the local aristocrats' assistance in 1088. He launched an invasion against the pope's principal Italian ally, Matilda of Tuscany , in 1089. She convinced Henry's elder son, Conrad II , to take up arms against his father in 1093. Her alliance with Welf I, Duke of Bavaria , prevented Henry's return to Germany until 1096 when he
4326-982: A short stop in 1111 on his return from Italy, he was absent until 1121. The conflicts in Saxony and the Rhineland required lengthy presence in these regions. Nevertheless, the Duchy of Bavaria remained loyal and Henry's opponents failed to assert themselves in Bavaria while the Bavarian nobles attended Henry's court throughout the empire. Despite the events of 1111 and the clashes in 1115, Berengar II of Sulzbach , Diepold III, Margrave of Vohburg , count Engelbert II of Spanheim as well as his brother Hartwig, Bishop of Regensburg and Hermann, Bishop of Augsburg proved to be loyal supporters of Henry V. These nobles received extraordinary treatment for their services. Engelbert II acquired
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#17327660914914532-583: A small contingent, to leave for Italy in February 1116 in order to secure his inheritance of the enormous property complex in Upper and Central Italy. In addition, he wished to stabilize Salian rule in Northern Italy and create a new power base against the overpowering opposition in the northern part of the empire. He had issued a whole series of court documents in advance, with which he intended to present himself as guarantor of law and justice in Italy. Henry
4738-474: A stout resistance in which the latter was killed. Theodoric, Gerhard, and Lambert were taken prisoner. When Frederick, Count of Westphalia, arrived with his brother, also named Henry, and their substantial force, the emperor withdrew, barely escaping capture. Finally, in October 1114, the two armies met on a plain near Andernach . After an initial skirmish in which Duke Henry of Lorraine was forced to withdraw,
4944-597: A strong claim to the title of Holy Roman Emperor. They were convinced that their claim to the emperorship entitled them each to act as the head of all Christians and to control papal elections in Rome. Rome was actually dominated by local aristocrats, the Tusculani and the Crescentii , who raised their own candidates to the papal throne. Their rivalries caused scandals, culminating in three rival popes— Benedict IX , Sylvester III and Gregory VI —in 1045. To put an end to
5150-556: A treaty, and Henry's sister, Judith , was engaged to Solomon. The reformist clerics elected Bishop Gerard pope in Florence in December 1058. He took the name Nicholas II. Godfrey the Bearded accompanied him to Rome and forced Antipope Benedict to leave the city. His advisor, the monk Hildebrand , was determined to strengthen the autonomy of the papacy. The Pope held a synod which issued a decree, In nomine Domini , establishing
5356-502: A visit on it. As soon as Henry stepped on board, the ship was cast off. Fearing his captors wanted to murder him, Henry jumped into the river. He almost drowned, but Egbert of Brunswick rescued him. The " Coup of Kaiserswerth " destroyed the Empress's self-confidence, and she retired to her estates. Anno replaced her as the head of the government. His new title of magister (master) shows that he also took charge of Henry's education. Anno
5562-508: A wealthy widow, Margravine Beatrice of Tuscany , without the Emperor's consent. Henry III also outraged the Saxon duke, Bernard II , because he supported the duke's main rival, Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg , in the seizure of some Saxon counties. The Salian kings who inherited their Ottonian predecessors' domains in Saxony visited the province frequently. Their lengthy visits irritated the Saxon aristocrats who were exposed to direct royal control for more time than their peers in other parts of
5768-606: Is a modern shorthand for "emperor of the Holy Roman Empire" not corresponding to the historical style or title, i.e., the adjective "holy" is not intended as modifying "emperor"; the English term "Holy Roman Emperor" gained currency in the interbellum period (the 1920s to 1930s); formerly the title had also been rendered as "German-Roman emperor" in English. The elective monarchy of the Kingdom of Germany goes back to
5974-459: The Archbishop of Magdeburg . On 12 December 1104, Henry V broke away from his father, thereby breaking the oath of allegiance to the ruling king. Henry V made his way to Regensburg, where he celebrated Christmas with his followers. While there, his father's enemies sought to convince him to revolt. Henry considered their arguments, but he was restrained by the oath he had taken to take no part in
6180-504: The Battle of Welfesholz , that ended Salian rule in Saxony. From then on Lothair maintained a near royal rule in Saxony, while Henry's power to uphold universal kingship decreased further. The lack of acceptance and loss of prestige reflected itself at the court as none of the princes attended the Hoftag on 1 November 1115 in Mainz. Scheduled court day s had to be cancelled in advance due to
6386-705: The Emperor of the Romans ( Latin : Imperator Romanorum ; German : Kaiser der Römer ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Romano-German Emperor since the early modern period ( Latin : Imperator Germanorum ; German : Römisch-deutscher Kaiser , lit. 'Roman-German emperor'), was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire . The title
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6592-577: The Holy Roman Empire . Under the Ottonians , much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire. Since 911, the various German princes had elected the King of the Germans from among their peers. The King of the Germans would then be crowned as emperor following the precedent set by Charlemagne, during the period of 962–1530. Charles V
6798-522: The Investiture Controversy , his "Walk to Canossa" and his conflicts with his sons and wives established his controversial reputation, with some regarding him as the stereotype of a tyrant, and others describing him as an exemplary monarch who protected the poor. Henry was the third monarch of the Salian dynasty —the royal house ruling Germany from 1024 to 1125. The 11th-century kings of Germany also ruled Italy and Burgundy and had
7004-623: The King of the Franks and King of Italy , for securing his life and position. By this time, the Eastern Emperor Constantine VI had been deposed in 797 and replaced as monarch by his mother, Irene . Under the pretext that a woman could not rule the empire, Pope Leo III declared the throne vacant and crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Romans ( Imperator Romanorum ), the successor of Constantine VI as Roman emperor, using
7210-682: The March of Istria and in 1124 the Duchy of Carinthia . From 1108 on Henry V made official proposals for a marriage with a princess of the English royal family, seeking to increase the authority of the Salian king and secure his throne. His engagement with the eight-year-old princess Matilda took place in Utrecht at Easter of 1110. The Anglo-Norman King Henry I of England paid the extraordinarily high sum of 10,000 or 15,000 pounds of silver as dowry . In return, his daughter's marriage to Henry V enormously increased his prestige. On 25 July 1110 Matilda
7416-642: The Regen river. However, a battle was prevented by the princes of both sides who wished to find a peaceful solution. At Christmas 1105, an agreement was to be reached at a diet in Mainz. Henry IV advanced to Mainz for the announced diet. According to the Vita Heinrici IV On 20 December 1105 in Koblenz Henry V "fell around his father's neck", "shed tears and kissed him" – public expressions of reconciliation that were morally binding during
7622-562: The archbishop of Mainz , the archbishop of Trier , the archbishop of Cologne , the king of Bohemia , the count palatine of the Rhine , the duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg . After 1438, the title remained in the House of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine , with the brief exception of Charles VII , who was a Wittelsbach . Maximilian I (emperor 1508–1519) and his successors no longer traveled to Rome to be crowned as emperor by
7828-400: The cardinals ' right to elect the popes as against election by people and clergy , which had been manipulated by Henry III. Referring to Henry IV as "presently king and with the help of God emperor-to-be", the decree also confirmed the emperors' existing prerogatives over papal elections, but without specifying them. As early as 1057–1058, however, Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida questioned
8034-585: The reformist clerics condemned this practice as simony (a forbidden sale of church offices). Pope Alexander II blamed Henry's advisors for his acts and excommunicated them in early 1073. Henry's conflicts with the Holy See and the German dukes weakened his position and the Saxons rose up in open rebellion in the summer of 1074. Taking advantage of a quarrel between the Saxon aristocrats and peasantry, he forced
8240-437: The "false monk, Hildebrand" and ended with the dramatic warning demanding his abdication: "descend, descend!" Two incidents occurred in succession which discouraged Henry's supporters: a fire after a lightning strike destroyed the cathedral of Utrecht on 27 March, and Bishop William's sudden death on 27 April. Henry's opponents regarded these incidents as divine retribution for his sinful acts. Bishop Herman of Metz released
8446-586: The (Germanic) Holy Roman emperors as the inheritors of the title of emperor of the Western Roman Empire , despite the continued existence of the Eastern Roman Empire. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser ("Roman-German emperor") is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman emperor on one hand, and that of German emperor ( Deutscher Kaiser ) on the other. The English term "Holy Roman Emperor"
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8652-401: The 1115 defeat at the hands of the Saxon opposition led to the near complete dissolution of all ties between the bishops and the king. While under Henry IV a third of all documents had been issued for the bishoprics, this amount declined to a mere twelfth of Henry V's documents in which only thirteen of all 38 bishoprics were addressed. Henry's position in Bavaria remained uncontested. After
8858-479: The 12th century. Henry IV then disbanded and released his army as father and son left for the diet in Mainz on 21 December. On 23 December in Bingen , Henry persuaded his father to retreat to a castle for his own protection, as Archbishop Ruthard of Mainz would refuse to let him into the city. Henry agreed and was led to Böckelheim Castle , the property of Bishop Gebhard, not for his protection, but for custody. Henry
9064-603: The 5th to 8th centuries were convoked by the Eastern Roman Emperors . In Western Europe , the title of Emperor in the West lapsed after the death of Julius Nepos in 480, although the rulers of the barbarian kingdoms continued to recognize the authority of the Eastern Emperor at least nominally well into the 6th century. While the reconquest of Justinian I had re-established Byzantine presence in
9270-451: The Alps. On his return to Italy he was a guest of Matilda of Tuscany at Bianello Castle from 6 to 8 May 1111. Matilda and Henry concluded a contract that researchers interpreted as Henry V's document of inheritance in case the margravine dies. On 7 August 1111, Henry was able to finally bring about his father's funeral, who had so far rested in an unconsecrated side chapel of Speyer Cathedral. On
9476-460: The Bearded in October. Adalbert of Bremen, in concert with the King's young friend, Werner, abused royal prerogative to seize church property and took bribes for royal appointments. They persuaded the King to grant monasteries to the most powerful prelates and princes to appease their envy at their aggrandizement. Adalbert's attempts to take possession of Lorsch Abbey by force caused his fall, because
9682-500: The Elbe to punish the invaders. He defeated them, but could not prevent them from launching subsequent plundering raids against Saxony. Large parcels of the royal demesne were distributed during Henry's minority, and he decided to recover them around 1069. The bulk of the royal estates had been in Saxony. Henry sent Swabian ministeriales to the duchy to investigate property rights. The appointment of non-native unfree officials offended
9888-545: The Emperor commended his son to the protection of Pope Victor II who had come from Italy to Germany to seek the Emperor's protection against the Norman rulers of southern Italy. Henry III died on 5 October 1056. At the age of six, Henry became sole monarch of the empire. Pope Victor II convinced the German aristocrats to swear fealty to their young king and enthroned him in Aachen. Although Empress Agnes had been planning to enter
10094-471: The Emperor gave Bavaria to Empress Agnes. The Emperor betrothed Henry to Bertha of Savoy in late 1055. Her parents, Adelaide, Margravine of Turin , and Otto, Count of Savoy , controlled north-western Italy. The Emperor wanted to secure their alliance against the rebellious Godfrey the Bearded. Henry III fell seriously ill after eating a stag's liver in late September 1056. Historian Herbert Schutz attributes his sudden illness to his exhaustion. Already dying,
10300-538: The Emperor to give his name to his heir. While celebrating Christmas 1050 at Pöhlde in Saxony, the ailing Henry III designated his infant son as his successor. Archbishop Hermann baptised Henry in Cologne on Easter Sunday 1051. In November, the Emperor held an assembly at Tribur to secure his son's succession. The German princes who attended the meeting elected the one-year-old king. They stipulated they would acknowledge him as his father's successor only if he acted as
10506-399: The German bishops, urged the King to declare Gregory's election invalid, because he had been proclaimed pope by the Romans instead of being elected by the cardinals. The German dukes and Godfrey the Bearded's influential widow, Beatrice of Tuscany, convinced Henry that he should cooperate with the Pope. Bolesław II , Duke of Poland , invaded Bohemia in early 1073, and Henry decided to launch
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#173276609149110712-568: The German dukes to Goslar to swear fealty to his two-year-old son, Conrad, as his successor, but only Duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia obeyed his command. Henry knew that his dependence on Pope Gregory VII was loosened after his victory in the Saxon War. He sent Count Eberhard the Bearded as his deputy to Italy. Eberhard demanded an oath of fealty from the Pope's vassal, Robert Guiscard , Duke of Apulia and Calabria . Henry made one of his chaplains, Tedald , archbishop of Milan, thereby contradicting
10918-540: The Holy Roman Empire (800–1806). Several rulers were crowned king of the Romans (king of Germany) but not emperor, although they styled themselves thus, among whom were: Conrad I and Henry the Fowler in the 10th century, and Conrad IV , Rudolf I , Adolf and Albert I during the interregnum of the late 13th century. Traditional historiography assumes a continuity between the Carolingian Empire and
11124-411: The Holy Roman Empire, while a modern convention takes the coronation of Otto I in 962 as the starting point of the Holy Roman Empire (although the term Sacrum Imperium Romanum was not in use before the 13th century). On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was crowned Emperor of the Romans ( Imperator Romanorum ) by Pope Leo III , in opposition to Empress Irene , who was then ruling
11330-457: The Hunchback , Duke of Lower Lorraine , was the sole German duke to join his campaign, but the Saxons were unable to resist. Otto of Nordheim convinced them to surrender unconditionally to the King on 26 or 27 October. Henry pardoned Otto and returned all his benefices except Bavaria. He showed no mercy to other rebel leaders, who were imprisoned and had their estates confiscated. Henry summoned
11536-556: The Hunchback attended it. At Henry's order, they declared the Pope's election invalid and demanded his abdication. An assembly of the Lombard bishops and aristocrats passed a similar resolution in Piacenza on 5 February. Henry's most important ally, Godfrey the Hunchback, was murdered on 22 February. Godfrey had named his nephew, Godfrey of Bouillon , as his heir, but Henry granted Lower Lorraine to his own son, Conrad. Pope Gregory VII
11742-457: The Hungarian throne and German troops invaded Hungary in August 1063. Henry gained his first military experience during this campaign. Béla died in an accident unexpectedly and the German army entered Székesfehérvár . Henry installed Solomon on the throne and attended his wedding to Judith before returning to Germany. Adalbert of Bremen accompanied Henry on the Hungarian campaign and struck up
11948-768: The Italian Peninsula , religious frictions existed with the Papacy who sought dominance over the Church of Constantinople . Toward the end of the 8th century, the Papacy still recognised the ruler at Constantinople as the Roman Emperor, though Byzantine military support in Italy had increasingly waned, leading to the Papacy to look to the Franks for protection. In 800 Pope Leo III owed a great debt to Charlemagne ,
12154-580: The Italian campaign of 1110/11. In the process of the consolidation and expansion of power, the possessions of the Mainz Church overlapped with the Salian imperial estate at the Middle Rhine . The conflict with Adalbert apparently arose over Trifels Castle . Without gaining the consensus of the princes, Henry arrested and detained Adalbert for over three years. Among threats of violence and dissent
12360-570: The King and the two dukes. Henry, who had just recovered from an illness, moved to Worms. The local bishop, Adalbert , denied his entry, but the townspeople rose up against the bishop and surrendered Worms to Henry. A grateful Henry exempted the burghers from customs duties, emphasising their loyalty in a time when "all the princes of the realm were raging" against him. Liemar , Archbishop of Bremen, Udo , Archbishop of Trier, and eight bishops came to visit Henry in Worms in early 1074. Their retainers and
12566-473: The Lion , who had captured Duke Borivoi. Borivoi was released at the emperor's command and appointed godfather to Svatopluk's new son. Nevertheless, on Svatopluk's return to Bohemia, he assumed the throne. In 1108, Henry went to war with Coloman of Hungary on behalf of Prince Álmos . An attack by Boleslaus III of Poland and Borivoi on Svatopluk forced Henry to give up his campaign. Instead, he invaded Poland to compel them to renew their accustomed tribute but
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#173276609149112772-497: The Mainz citizens only succeed in November 1115 the archbishop (starved to skin and bones) to be released. The customs of amicable conflict resolution and demonstrative gentleness that had been handed down from the Ottonian era had lost importance under Henry IV and Henry V. Rather, the Salian rulers sought to establish a concrete form of royal punishment. Adalbert became the great opponent of the Salian kingship. Property disputes also led to conflicts in Saxony, as Henry interfered with
12978-433: The Pope he had no choice but to absolve the remorseful King. Before receiving absolution, Henry had to pledge to accept the Pope's judgement in his conflict with his subjects. Henry remained in Italy after his absolution, which surprised his German opponents. They held an assembly at Forchheim , arguing that it had not restored their oaths of fealty. The bishops, archbishops, dukes and the Saxons' representatives who attended
13184-407: The Pope now took place among representatives of the clerics and secular princes. Bishop Eberhard von Eichstätt (until his early death in 1112), Count Berengar II of Sulzbach and Count Palatine Gottfried of Calw were particularly close to the young king and are most frequently mentioned by the worldly nobles in the royal documents. Additionally, the archbishops Friedrich of Cologne and Bruno von Trier ,
13390-490: The Pope proved incapable to suppress these practices. Attempts to come to any form of agreement on the question of the investiture failed in 1106 at the Synod of Guastalla and 1107 in Châlons-en-Champagne . Henry's primary concern during his reign was the settlement of the Investiture Controversy , which had caused serious setbacks for the empire during the previous imperial tenure. The papal party who had supported Henry in his resistance to his father hoped he would endorse
13596-406: The Pope regarded Hungary as a fief of the Holy See. On 7 December 1074, Pope Gregory asked Henry to compel the German prelates who had not obeyed his summons to attend a synod in Rome. The Pope suspended five German bishops for disobedience at the synod of Lent in Rome in February 1075. He blamed Henry's five advisors, likely those who had been excommunicated by his predecessor, for the conflict over
13802-421: The Pope to hold an assembly in Germany to hear Henry's case. To prevent the Pope from sitting in judgement on him, Henry went to Italy as far as Canossa to meet with the Pope. His penitential " Walk to Canossa " was a success and Gregory VII had no choice but to absolve him in January 1077. Henry's German opponents ignored his absolution and elected an antiking , Rudolf of Rheinfelden , on 14 March 1077. The Pope
14008-435: The Pope's behalf. Henry ordered his troops to assemble at Augsburg, but Godfrey the Bearded was faster and launched a successful counter-offensive against Richard in June. Godfrey's independent act was regarded as an insult to Henry's authority in Italy. Adalbert of Bremen's fall had encouraged the Lutici (a pagan Slavic tribe dwelling over the river Elbe ) to invade Germany and plunder Hamburg . In early 1069, Henry crossed
14214-400: The Pope's former decisions. Alarmed by these acts, the Pope announced he would excommunicate Henry unless he changed his policies. Henry regarded the Pope's words as a clear denial of the sacred nature of kingship. He held a synod in Worms on 24 January 1076. Two archbishops, twenty-four German bishops (two-thirds of the German episcopate), one Burgundian bishop, an Italian bishop and Godfrey
14420-459: The Pope's imprisonment, however, Henry lost widespread acknowledgment as he had apprehended Christ's representative, the highest authority in the Latin Christian world. In response, he was banned by cardinal and legate Cuno of Praeneste at a synod in Jerusalem in the summer of 1111. In September 1112 he was excommunicated by a Burgundian synod headed by Archbishop Guido of Vienne, the future Pope Calixtus II . According to scholar Stefan Weinfurter,
14626-516: The Pope. David's account has not survived, but the work has been used by later authors. Pope Paschal, who could not count on further support from Matilda of Tuscany, sought help from the Normans who ruled in Southern Italy and with whom the papacy has been trying to counterbalance the Roman-German rulers before. The Normans had already occupied Rome against Henry IV in 1084. Roger of Apulia and Robert I of Capua pledged to assist Pope Paschal in case he needs help. Paschal also received support from
14832-657: The Roman Empire from Constantinople. Charlemagne's descendants from the Carolingian Dynasty continued to be crowned Emperor until 899, excepting a brief period when the Imperial crown was awarded to the Widonid Dukes of Spoleto . There is some contention as to whether the Holy Roman Empire dates as far back as Charlemagne, some histories consider the Carolingian Empire to be a distinct polity from
15038-522: The Roman aristocrats dispatched an embassy to Henry asking him to nominate a new pope. Hildebrand and other reformist clerics elected Anselm of Baggio, Bishop of Lucca, pope on 30 September without Henry's confirmation. Anselm took the name Pope Alexander II . Henry summoned the Italian bishops to a synod in Basel to discuss the situation. He attended the synod, wearing the insignia of his office of patrician of
15244-536: The Romans. The synod elected Cadalus, Bishop of Parma , antipope on 28 October. The election of two popes divided the German clergy. Some bishops supported Cadalus (now known as Honorius II) and others accepted Alexander II. Archbishop Adalbert of Hamburg was Honorius's most prominent supporter, while Archbishop Anno II of Cologne acknowledged Alexander as the lawful pope. Empress Agnes supported Honorius, for which her advisors were excommunicated by Alexander. Her blatant favouritism for Bishop Henry II of Augsburg and
15450-512: The Salian practice of occupation , when for the first time, Burchhard, a court chaplain was installed as governor of the Diocese of Cambrai during the same year. The appointment of Bruning as Bishop of Hildesheim and Gerhard as Bishop of Merseburg also failed to achieve consent with the Saxon nobility. The insurgents united behind the Archbishop of Cologne and collectively fell from
15656-460: The Saxon leaders in October 1073. They tried to persuade Henry to redress the Saxons' grievances, but he was determined to crush the revolt. A month later, Henry's servant Regenger informed Rudolf and Berthold that Henry was planning to murder them. Regenger was ready to prove his words in a judicial duel, but he died unexpectedly in January 1074. His statements, however, deepened the conflict between
15862-484: The Saxon legal concept and Henry obtained the endowment through approval of the royal princes but he completely avoided any dialogue with the Saxon nobles. Lothair, who rose in arms again was defeated at the Battle of Warnstadt , though was later pardoned. Archbishop Frederick of Cologne also broke with Henry during a campaign against the Frisians , who refused to pay the annual tribute and Henry allegedly sacrificed
16068-432: The Saxon rebellion, which upset many princes . Henry's impertinent demonstrations of power greatly diminished the overall atmosphere of the festivity. Some princes left the festival without permission, as others used the opportunity for conspiracies. The marriage to Matilda produced no male heirs. The chronicler Hériman of Tournai mentions a child of Henry and Matilda that died soon after birth. A single source mentions
16274-473: The Saxon rebels who had been in his custody. Bishop Burchard of Halberstadt, who had been one of the leaders of the Saxon revolt, escaped from captivity and returned to Saxony. Theoderic and William, members of the House of Wettin , also returned from exile and rose up against Henry. Henry invaded Saxony in August, but only Vratislaus II of Bohemia accompanied him. Their arrival provoked a general uprising, and Henry
16480-491: The Saxons, especially because the new officials ignored their traditional civil procedures . New castles were built in Saxony and Henry manned them with Swabian soldiers. Like his father, Henry spent more time in Saxony than in other parts of Germany and the accommodation of his retinue was the Saxons' irksome duty. The Thuringians were also outraged that Henry supported Archbishop Siegfried of Mainz's claim to collect tithes from them, although most Thuringians had been exempted from
16686-502: The Worms militia joined Henry in a new military campaign against the Saxons and Thuringians, but he soon realised the rebels outnumbered his army and entered into negotiations with them. Henry accepted the rebels' principal demands in the Treaty of Gerstungen on 2 February. He agreed to destroy his castles and appoint only natives to offices in Saxony in return for the Saxon aristocrats' promise to raze their newly built fortresses. On hearing
16892-402: The administration of justice. The monarchs occasionally kept the office of duke for themselves or for their closest relatives, but sooner or later they had no choice but to fill vacant duchies, because they depended on the most powerful aristocrats' support. Henry III came into conflict with influential dukes towards the end of his life. Godfrey the Bearded , Duke of Upper Lotharingia , married
17098-515: The age of 15. Three children of Henry IV and his wife Bertha of Savoy (died in 1087), Henry and his two older siblings, Conrad and Agnes , survived childhood; two other siblings had died early. Henry seems to have spent the first years of his life primarily in Regensburg . His mentor was Conrad Bishop of Utrecht. At the time of Henry's birth, his father, emperor Henry IV, had already been engaged in many years of drawn out conflicts with
17304-409: The agreement, the Saxon peasants captured and destroyed Harzburg and desecrated the graves of Henry's younger brother and first-born son. The destruction of the royal graves aroused public indignation, and Henry regarded it as a violation of the treaty. Pope Gregory appointed the cardinal bishops Gerald of Ostia and Hubert of Palestrina to begin negotiations with Henry. Agnes of Poitou accompanied
17510-509: The application of the jus spolii by a German monarch. Henry started appointing low-ranking men to royal offices in the whole kingdom and this practice outraged the German aristocrats. Rudolf of Rheinfelden and Berthold of Zähringen returned to their duchies from the royal court and rumours accusing them of plotting against the King spread in Germany. Rudolf appealed to Agnes of Poitou, asking her to reconcile him with her son. Agnes, who had moved to Rome in 1065, returned to Germany and mediated
17716-420: The archbishopric of Milan. Henry and the German bishops wanted to avoid a conflict. Archbishops Siegfied of Mainz and Liemar of Bremen travelled to Rome to begin negotiations with the Pope. They did not protest when the Pope deposed Bishop Herman of Bamberg. The Pope appreciated their obedience and appointed Siegfried to hold a reforming synod in Germany. Henry had meanwhile made preparations to take vengeance for
17922-448: The armor of Henry's soldiers; it was summer, the weather was sultry, and the soldiers had removed their armor to find relief from the heat. Henry subsequently withdrew, turned south, and sacked Bonn and Jülich. On his return to Deutz, he was met by Archbishop Frederick , Duke Gottfried of Lorraine, Henry of Zutphen, and Count Theodoric of Aar, Count Gerhard of Julich (William I), Lambert of Mulenarke, and Eberhard of Gandernol, who put up
18128-1067: The assembly elected Rudolf of Rheinfelden king on 14 March 1077. Although the papal legates who were present acknowledged Rudolf's election, Pope Gregory VII remained neutral. He maintained he was entitled to settle the dispute and informed both Henry and Rudolf he would hear their case at an assembly in Germany. On hearing of the election of an anti-king, Henry replaced Rudolf's principal ally, Berthold of Zähringen , with Liutold of Eppenstein as duke of Carinthia and awarded Friuli to Sigehard, Patriarch of Aquilea . He confiscated Swabia from Rudolf and Bavaria from Welf, placing both duchies under his direct control. Before returning to Germany in April, Henry made his three-year-old son, Conrad, his lieutenant in Italy. He charged two excommunicated Italian prelates, Tedald of Milan and Denis of Piacenza, with Conrad's protection. Unable to prevent Henry's return, Rudolf of Rheinfelden moved to Saxony. Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor , originally and officially
18334-515: The basis of Gregorian ideas by removing the bishops, Friedrich von Halberstadt, Udo von Hildesheim, and Henry von Paderborn, who had been appointed by his father. In Quedlinburg , he entered the town barefoot on Palm Sunday, thus demonstrating his humility ( humilitas ), an elementary Christian virtue of rulers. His stay concluded with the celebration of the Pentecost festival in Merseburg and
18540-404: The battlefield, but many of the common foot soldiers were slaughtered. Those who survived the massacre condemned the noblemen for their comrades' fate, and their stories turned the Saxon peasantry against their lords. Pope Gregory VII congratulated Henry on his victory, stating that the Saxons' defeat at Homburg was an act of " divine judgement ". Henry invaded Saxony again in autumn 1075. Godfrey
18746-464: The bishop to his church. This practice had only been introduced by emperor Henry III , yet became one of the causes for Henry IV's conflict with the Pope. In Mainz on 7 January 1106 Conrad I was invested with ring and staff as the new Archbishop of Salzburg . In 1107, the Salians occupied the bishoprics of Halberstadt, Magdeburg, Speyer and Verdun with the expressed participation of and approval by
18952-532: The bishops Burchhard von Münster, Otto von Bamberg and Erlung von Würzburg and Count Hermann von Winzenburg were named remarkably often in official documents. From 1108 the Staufer Duke Friedrich II and from 1111 Margrave Hermann von Baden would frequently appear in the records. Thanks to the consensual cooperation between the lords and the king, Henry was the first Salian ruler, who had managed to acquire unhindered access to all parts of
19158-525: The bishops would be deprived of the rights and income that had been theirs since the Carolingian era and the means by which their service to the king was traditionally made possible and rewarded. If these regalia were returned to the empire, the bishops would have to live off their own property, the tithe , and alms, limiting them to their ministry and increasing their dependence on the Pope. They would have lost all political rights and responsibilities in
19364-406: The body was once again temporarily buried in a still unconsecrated chapel north of Speyer cathedral. An appropriate funeral among his ancestors was only admissible and indeed performed in 1111 after the abolishment of Henry IV's pending excommunication. In spring 1106, while Henry reflects on his father's mistakes, he remarked that "disregard for the princes was the downfall of the empire." Thus,
19570-606: The business of the Empire during his father's lifetime. At the turn of the year 1104/05, he sent messengers to Rome to seek absolution from his loyalty oath by Pope Paschal II , The Pope promised Henry V, on condition that Henry be a righteous king and a promoter of the Church, not only absolution from the sin of breaking this oath, but also support in the struggle against his father. Between 1105 and 1106, supporters of Henry IV and Henry V each disseminated arguments in letters and historiographic texts in order to build support among
19776-554: The church tax for centuries. The Margrave of Lower Lusatia , Dedi I , was the first Saxon lord to rebel. He claimed benefices that his wife 's former husband, Otto I, Margrave of Meissen , had held, but Henry refused him in 1069. Dedi approached the Thuringians for help, but after Henry's promise to confirm their exemption from tithes the Thuringians joined the royal army. Henry invaded Dedi's domains and forced him to surrender. Otto of Nordheim held vast estates in Saxony. After
19982-694: The church, the princes in Saxony and on the Middle and Lower Rhine, in 1121 the imperial princes forced Henry V to consent with the papacy. He surrendered to the demands of the second generation of Gregorian reformers , and in 1122 he and Pope Callixtus II ended the Investiture Controversy in the Concordat of Worms . Henry V was probably born on 11 August in 1081 or 1086. However, only the date of his accolade (Schwertleite) at Easter 1101 can be confirmed. This ceremony usually took place at
20188-511: The complete failure of the Hungarian campaign had compromised her prestige; the schism raised more indignation. Archbishop Anno, Egbert of Brunswick, Otto of Nordheim and other discontented aristocrats decided to deprive her of the regency. Archbishop Anno equipped a ship "with admirable workmanship" and sailed down the Rhine to an island near the royal palace at Kaiserswerth in April 1062. The ship fascinated Henry, so Anno could easily talk him into
20394-420: The concept of translatio imperii . On his coins, the name and title used by Charlemagne is Karolus Imperator Augustus . In documents, he used Imperator Augustus Romanum gubernans Imperium ("Emperor Augustus, governing the Roman Empire") and serenissimus Augustus a Deo coronatus, magnus pacificus Imperator Romanorum gubernans Imperium ("most serene Augustus crowned by God, great peaceful emperor governing
20600-438: The concept of "liberty of the Church" became dominant in Rome during his minority. Pope Victor's successor, Stephen IX —Godfrey the Bearded's brother—was elected without royal intervention early in August. A group of Saxon aristocrats plotted against Henry, fearing he would continue his father's oppressive policies after reaching the age of majority. They convinced Otto of Nordmark , who had recently returned from exile, to mount
20806-555: The confirmation of the Magdeburg metropolitan . Henry V promised the hand of his sister, Agnes , in marriage to the Babenberger, Leopold III , thereby convincing Leopold to abandon his father's party. At the end of October 1105, Henry V arrived at Speyer , the centre of Salian rule. Here he installed Gebhard, a fervent opponent of his father, as Bishop . In the fall of 1105, the armies of father and son faced each other at
21012-914: The conflict, although the German prelates under investigation were his staunch supporters. Henry's brother-in-law, Solomon of Hungary, sent envoys to Henry seeking his assistance against his cousin Géza (who was Béla I's eldest son). Géza had defeated Solomon on 14 March 1074, forcing him to take refuge in the fortresses of Moson and Pressburg (now Mosonmagyaróvár in Hungary and Bratislava in Slovakia, respectively). Solomon promised to cede six castles to Henry and acknowledge his suzerainty in return for Henry's support to recover his country. Henry invaded Hungary and marched as far as Vác , but he could not force Géza to surrender. Pope Gregory sharply criticised Solomon for his willingness to accept Henry's suzerainty, because
21218-415: The conflict. After the events of 1111, numerous clergymen fell away from him, including first Archbishop Conrad I of Salzburg , Bishop Reinhard of Halberstadt and most significant the break with his long-time confidant Adalbert of Saarbrücken , imperial chancellor since 14 February 1106, who had greatly influenced imperial politics. Adalbert was appointed Archbishop of Mainz in 1109 and accompanied Henry on
21424-512: The contemporaneous account of Lampert of Hersfeld , Henry attacked Archbishop Anno of Cologne soon after the ceremony and only his mother could calm him down. Lampert's report is not fully reliable, but it is known that Anno was ousted from Henry's court. At Worms, Henry accepted Pope Alexander II's invitation to Rome. Agnes of Poitou recovered her influence, but she left Germany for Italy two months later and Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen took full control of state administration. Henry's journey to Rome
21630-539: The coronation of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor . The period of free election ended with the ascension of the Austrian House of Habsburg , as an unbroken line of Habsburgs held the imperial throne until the 18th century. Later a cadet branch known as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine passed it from father to son until the abolition of the Empire in 1806. Notably, from the 16th century, the Habsburgs dispensed with
21836-523: The desecration of the royal graves at Harzburg. He promised amnesty and gifts to those who joined his campaign against Saxony. Most German dukes and many bishops hurried to Breitungen where the royal troops were assembling in June 1074. Saxon nobles and prelates also deserted to the royal camp. Under the command of Rudolf of Rheinfelden, the royal army launched a surprise attack on the Saxons at Homburg Castle on 9 June. Most Saxon noblemen were able to flee from
22042-468: The divine mandate was no longer the legitimate basis for Salian rule. However, Henry IV escaped from prison in Ingelheim and fled to Liège . His son feared a reversal of the balance of power and summoned a Reichstag for Easter 1106. Henry IV had already begun to organize resistance against his son, but suddenly died on 7 August 1106 in Liège, where he received an honorable funeral. The princes opposed
22248-458: The early 10th century, the election of Conrad I of Germany in 911 following the death without issue of Louis the Child , the last Carolingian ruler of Germany. Elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of England , although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The process of an election meant that
22454-445: The election of Rudolf I of Germany (1273). Rudolf was not crowned emperor, nor were his successors Adolf and Albert . The next emperor was Henry VII , crowned on 29 June 1312 by Pope Clement V . In 1508, Pope Julius II allowed Maximilian I to use the title of Emperor without coronation in Rome, though the title was qualified as Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected Emperor of the Romans"). Maximilian's successors each adopted
22660-465: The election procedure by (unnamed) princes of the realm, reserving for the pope the right to approve of the candidates. A letter of Pope Urban IV (1263), in the context of the disputed vote of 1256 and the subsequent interregnum , suggests that by " immemorial custom ", seven princes had the right to elect the king and future emperor. The seven prince-electors are named in the Golden Bull of 1356 :
22866-530: The elector palatine was restored, as the eighth elector. The Electorate of Hanover was added as a ninth elector in 1692, confirmed by the Imperial Diet in 1708. The whole college was reshuffled in the German mediatization of 1803 with a total of ten electors, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. This list includes all 47 German monarchs crowned from Charlemagne until the dissolution of
23072-574: The emperor chosen by the prince-electors . Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, became de facto hereditary holders of the title, notably the Ottonians (962–1024) and the Salians (1027–1125). Following the late medieval crisis of government , the Habsburgs kept possession of the title (with only one interruption ) from 1440 to 1806. The final emperors were from the House of Habsburg-Lorraine , from 1765 to 1806. The Holy Roman Empire
23278-465: The emperor in early 1114. Two imperial campaigns against the dissidents failed. Initially, Henry took the fortified town of Deutz, which lay across the Rhine from Cologne. His control of Deutz allowed him to cut Cologne off from all river trade and transportation. At this point, the citizens of Cologne assembled a large force, including bowmen, and crossed the river, formed their ranks, and prepared to meet Henry's army. The Cologne bowmen were able to break
23484-467: The empire after a long time and thus able to successfully intervene in political affairs in both the western and eastern imperial estates. Henry visited Saxony several times until 1112, as his relationship with the Saxons was stable during the next years. After the 1106 death of the last member of the Saxon Billung family line Duke Magnus , Henry did not confer the Duchy of Saxony to either of
23690-419: The empire and be dependent on secular protection. On 9 February, Henry V accepted the papal Concordat of Sutri . For Pope Paschal, the cause of simony was not the investiture, but the secularization of the bishops. The celebrations for the coronation began on 12 February 1111. Henry V kissed the feet of the Pope in public in front of St. Peter's Basilica . In doing so, he symbolized his subordination to
23896-547: The empire from the church. Henry IV therefore sought to strengthen his influence in the south. His daughter, Agnes, was engaged to Friedrich , who in 1079 obtained the Duchy of Swabia . The emperor also sought to secure his royal succession. Henry IV chose his eldest son, Conrad , to be his heir and arranged to have Conrad crowned king in Aachen in 1087. After Conrad defected to the Church Reform Party in Italy in 1093, his royalty and inheritance were revoked at
24102-475: The empire of the Romans"). The Eastern Empire eventually relented to recognizing Charlemagne and his successors as emperors, but as "Frankish" and "German emperors", at no point referring to them as Roman, a label they reserved for themselves. The title of emperor in the West implied recognition by the pope. As the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict
24308-496: The empire was granted such extensive and far-reaching liberties at the beginning of the 12th century. These privileges highlight the changes in the Salian idea of kingship compared to the first three Salian rulers. Donations no longer applied to the clergy alone, but an entire township was committed to the Salian Memorialization . The Speyer civil liberties, legal privileges and economic advance were associated with
24514-635: The empire. The Saxons' grievances against the Salian monarchs broke out in a series of revolts during Henry IV's reign. The empire's neighbours caused no less concern. Henry III launched punitive expeditions against Bohemia to extort an oath of fealty from the rebellious Duke Bretislav I . King Peter of Hungary , who owed his throne to Henry, also swore fealty to him, but was dethroned in 1046. Henry invaded Hungary, but could not force Peter's successor, King Andrew I , into submission. Andrew designated his brother, Béla , as his heir. Conflicts between Andrew and Béla, and later between their sons, culminated during
24720-472: The first decades of Henry IV's reign, provoking German military campaigns against Hungary. Henry III asserted his authority over the southern Italian princes, including the Norman counts of Aversa and Apulia in 1047. The absent emperor, however, could not control the Norman adventurers and he chose to charge the popes with the representation of his interests in southern Italy. Born on 11 November 1050, Henry
24926-421: The following years of his reign were characterized by greater shared responsibilities of the princes and the sanctioning of church reforms. Documents and annals prove the consensual practice of his rule. Records of princes and nobles in royal documents, who actively take part in government affairs, increased. In several documents Henry would state that he had carried out his actions "with the judgment and advice of
25132-434: The future expansion of their respective territories. This practice effectively promoted a clerical office, that was attainable via a hereditary selection process. Henry's indicative bishop investiture with ring and staff did not help to solve the conflict with the papacy. Pope Paschal II eventually demanded Henry's complete renunciation of the investiture of clerics. However, the king and the bishops collaborated further as
25338-464: The future king Conrad III as administrators. After Henry had departed from Rome in 1111 a council declared the privilege of the lay investiture to be invalid. Guido, Archbishop of Vienne , excommunicated the emperor, and called upon the pope to ratify the verdict. Paschal, however, refused to take so extreme a step. The discord entered a new stage in 1115 when Matilda of Tuscany died. Matilda's death on 24 July 1115 caused Henry, accompanied only by
25544-640: The hereditary title of patrician , acknowledging his and his successors' right to cast the first vote at papal elections. His new title enabled him to secure the appointment of German clerics to the papal throne. The third German pope, Leo IX , came from Lotharingia —a province that had been an important centre of reformist clerics. They wanted to purify the Church through the re-implementation of ancient (or supposedly ancient) collections of canon law and Leo IX enthusiastically introduced their ideas to Rome. He prohibited simony—the sale of church offices—and promoted clerical celibacy . Imperial control of church affairs
25750-459: The immediate coronation. Paschal refused, and Henry seized and imprisoned him in St. Peter. After two months Henry was able to acquire his father's (Henry IV) absolution from Paschal in the Treaty of Ponte Mammolo on 12 April, and the right to invest with ring and staff. On 13 April, Paschal completed the imperial coronation. In addition, Paschal had to swear an oath never to excommunicate Henry. Upon
25956-478: The imperial crown with Pope Stephen's help spread in Italy, but the Pope died unexpectedly on 29 March 1058. The Roman aristocrats placed one of their number, Giovanni, Cardinal Bishop of Velletri , on the papal throne without consulting with Henry's representatives. Giovanni took the name Benedict X, but Peter Damian , the Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia , refused to consecrate him, although the consecration of
26162-412: The imperial princes. He tried, unsuccessfully, to withdraw the regalia from the bishops. Then in order to at least preserve the previous right to invest, he captured Pope Paschal II and forced him to perform his imperial coronation in 1111. Once crowned emperor, Henry departed from joint rule with the princes and resorted to earlier Salian autocratic rule. After he had failed to increase control over
26368-556: The insurgent's troops and the emperor's force of Swabians, Bavarians, and Franconians clashed. The young men of Cologne, including many journeymen and apprentices, created a fearful din of noise, slashing at all who came near them. Theodric threw his force into the fight, and the emperor's army was forced back. The defeat at Andernach ended Henry's presence at the Lower Rhine. At Christmas 1114, unrest culminated in Saxony. On 11 February 1115, Duke Lothair eventually defeated Henry in
26574-471: The lack of confirmed participants. Henry celebrated Christmas of 1115, one of the most essential occasions of royal representation, in Speyer, surrounded by only a few faithful adherents among whom Duke Frederick II of Swabia gained increasing significance. Simultaneously, Henry's opponents gathered in Cologne upon the invitation of Adalbert of Mainz, to discuss clerical issues. The 1111 events in Rome and
26780-417: The lack of sources. The feeble compliance with his reign is obvious by the lack of royal documents and the nearly unknown itinerarium of Henry's court, since apparently nobody ever requested any of these documents. After the second Italian expedition, the opposition in Germany was gradually crushed, and a general peace was declared at Tribur , while the desire for a settlement of the investiture dispute
26986-418: The later Holy Roman Empire as established under Otto I in 962. Nephew and adopted son of Charles III While earlier Frankish and Italian monarchs had been crowned as Roman emperors, the actual Holy Roman Empire is often considered to have begun with the crowning of Otto I , at the time Duke of Saxony and King of Germany . Because the King of Germany was an elected position, being elected King of Germany
27192-476: The latest Salians towards a concept of lordship from which also future imperial claims on Southern Italy and on Matilda's property were derived. Matilda, who in 1079 had indeed intended to bequeath all her property to the pope in the event of her childlessness, now opted for an agreement between the pope and the king, and deployed the name Henry . The way to Rome was open for the king. Henry put great effort into documentation and into staging events favorably for
27398-700: The life of the commander of Lüneburg, Henry released Magnus of Saxony, whom the rebels acknowledged as their lawful duke without seeking royal confirmation. The German dukes and bishops did not come to Henry's rescue, and the rebels began attacking the royal castles. To prevent the rebellious Saxon bishops from securing the Pope's support, Henry addressed a letter of penance to the Pope, admitting he had been involved in simony. He claimed his youthful arrogance had been responsible for his sins and blamed his advisors for his acts. Siegfried of Mainz, Anno of Cologne, Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Berthold of Zähringen and other German aristocrats came to Gerstungen to begin negotiations with
27604-464: The local bishop, William I , was the only prelate willing to excommunicate the Pope. Henry wanted to demonstrate that the Pope's denial of the monarchs' role in the administration of the Christian community was responsible for their conflict. His chaplain, Gottschalk , completed a letter to be circulated in Germany, which emphasised that only God could judge a monarch. The letter addressed the Pope as
27810-569: The local clerics appealed to the Holy See to prevent the installation of Henry's candidate, Charles of Magdeburg, to the episcopal see. Henry denied Charles had bribed him, but he publicly admitted at a synod that his advisors may have received money from Charles. Pope Alexander II decided to investigate and summoned all German bishops who had been accused of simony or corruption to Rome, but he died in two months. The Romans proclaimed Hildebrand as his successor on 22 April 1073. Hildebrand, who assumed
28016-399: The memory of Henry V. The funeral ritual was of particular importance to Henry regarding the legitimization of his rule. At the funeral, he had presented himself as the loyal son and legitimate heir of the late emperor and demonstrated dynastic continuity. At the same time, he made it clear that his kingship was based not only on his successful rebellion against the father and the approval of
28222-403: The ministerials in the dispute that led to the murder, and he also would have had a reason to resent his father's inaction. A flaw in this theory is that there was a very long time lag between the murder of Burghausen and when Henry V turned his back on his father. In November 1104, Henry V joined his father's army on a punitive expedition against Saxon Reformers who had opposed the election of
28428-525: The monarchs' right to invest clerics with bishoprics and abbeys in his treatises against simony. Pope Nicholas invested two Norman rulers, Robert Guiscard and Richard I of Capua , with southern Italian duchies in 1059. In return, the Normans swore fealty to the Pope and promised to support him against his enemies, probably the Roman aristocrats. Although the duchies were imperial fiefs, Nicholas's action did not necessarily trespass on imperial rights, because
28634-495: The name Gregory VII, did not seek confirmation from Henry. He did not challenge Henry's prerogatives, but he was convinced a monarch who had regular contacts with excommunicated people could not intervene in church affairs. He regarded lay investiture as the principal barrier to completing the reform of the Church and challenged royal appointments, taking advantage of individual complaints against German prelates. Henry's Italian chancellor, Bishop Gregory of Vercelli , and an assembly of
28840-410: The narrative in which his father had ceded the insignia and his rule to him voluntarily. This distortion of the events implied his strong desire to feign dynastic continuity. On 5 or 6 January 1106, more than fifty imperial princes were present when Henry V was anointed and crowned king. Ruthard, Archbishop of Mainz, presented the imperial insignia with the cautionary words: "If he does not prove to be
29046-426: The negotiations on the solution of the ban, Henry V found it hard, even unbearable to submit to a reconciliation ritual and meet the Pope bare-footed. After his father's walk to Canossa in 1077, the ideas of penitence and the personal exposure within one's social status could no longer be reconciled by another papal ban, as the intrinsic meanings symbolized subordination to the Pope. It is, however not certain whether
29252-453: The northern part of the empire and obtain their royal documents. Under Henry V opposition to Salian rule reached its climax in the Milan metropolis . Henry V. continued the practice of investiture with ring and staff ( per anulum et baculum ) and was able to maintain a working relationship with the clerical princes. Next to the staff, the ring became the symbol, that epitomized the marriage of
29458-416: The oath of fidelity for bishops and imperial abbots . Pope Paschal proposed that Henry give up the investiture altogether – the appointment of bishops to the episcopate – and in return get back all fiefs of sovereign royal regalia in the duchies and margraviates and the coin – market – and customs rights. Henry and Pope Paschal agreed on this idea in a preliminary contract on 4 February 1111. This meant that
29664-506: The papal decrees, which had been renewed by Paschal II at the synod of Guastalla in 1106. The king, however, continued to invest the bishops, but wished the pope to hold a council in Germany to settle the question. After some hesitation, Paschal preferred France to Germany, and, after holding a council at Troyes , renewed his prohibition of lay investiture. The matter slumbered until 1110, when, negotiations between king and pope having failed, Paschal renewed his decrees. At
29870-402: The people of the empire, while father and son each accused the other of disregard for the divine and earthly orders. Henry V began to strengthen his ties with Saxony, where the opposition against his father was particularly strong due in part to his absence from the duchy since 1089. In the spring of 1105, Henry V stayed in Saxony for two months and showed his willingness to work with the church on
30076-675: The pope". Damian's argument implied that Henry only inherited a claim to the imperial prerogatives relating to papal elections, but he could forfeit it. Respect for the monarch also declined in Germany. For example, the retainers of Abbot Widerad of Fulda and Bishop Hezilo of Hildesheim ignored Henry's commands when an armed conflict broke out between them in his presence at a church in Goslar in June 1063. Béla I of Hungary wanted to make peace with Henry to secure his throne against his nephew, Solomon, who had taken refuge in Germany. Henry and his advisors, however, insisted on Solomon's restoration to
30282-446: The pope, the imperial bishops, and secular princes for the preservation of his rule. Henry IV had never paid much attention to the advice, or the rights and privileges of the landed nobility. Saxony , as the centre of resistance, was joined by the southern duchies of Bavaria , Swabia and Carinthia . These southern duchies again sought the support of Pope Gregory VII , the chief advocate of church reform ideas. Gregory's central demand
30488-461: The pope. Maximilian, therefore, named himself elected Roman emperor ( Erwählter Römischer Kaiser ) in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors. Of his successors, only Charles V , the immediate one, received a papal coronation . The elector palatine's seat was conferred on the duke of Bavaria in 1621, but in 1648, in the wake of the Thirty Years' War ,
30694-489: The popes had acted as the emperors' representatives in southern Italy for a decade. However, the Pope's treaty with the Normans forged their lasting alliance. Andrew I of Hungary faced a rebellion from his brother, Duke Béla, in 1060. Agnes dispatched Bavarian, Saxon and Bohemian troops to Hungary to fight Béla and his Polish allies, but the three armies did not coordinate their movements. Béla defeated his brother who died of his wounds. Andrew's family fled to Germany, and Béla
30900-581: The position was viewed as a defender of the Catholic faith. Until Maximilian I in 1508, the Emperor-elect ( Imperator electus ) was required to be crowned by the pope before assuming the imperial title. Charles V was the last to be crowned by the pope in 1530. Even after the Reformation , the elected emperor was always a Catholic . There were short periods in history when the electoral college
31106-433: The primary causes. These nobles succeeded in convincing the young Henry V of his father's lost cause and the eventual triumph of reform. If he did not act and waited until his father died, someone else would attempt to ascend the throne and would find many supporters. Out of concern for his salvation, Henry then abandoned his father and joined the "salvation community" of the young Bavarians. Another line of research supports
31312-404: The prime candidate had to make concessions, by which the voters were kept on his side, which was known as Wahlkapitulationen ( electoral capitulation ). Conrad was elected by the German dukes , and it is not known precisely when the system of seven prince-electors was established. The papal decree Venerabilem by Innocent III (1202), addressed to Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen , establishes
31518-452: The princely territorial policy while trying to expand the Salian domain. In 1112, Lothair of Supplinburg , Duke of Saxony , rebelled against Henry but was quickly subdued. In 1113, after the death of the childless Count Ulrich Margrave of Carniola, numerous Saxon nobles laid claims to this estate. However, Henry had obviously decided that the bequest would fall to the empire if there were no direct heirs. The king's idea nonetheless contradicted
31724-409: The princes" . In order to find greater consent with the nobility he would summon diets ( Hoftage ) . The princes' participation in great numbers at the diets and the strong increase in chroniclers' reports confirm the new sense of responsibility among the king's vassals for the empire. Henry V reinstalled the bishops who had been banned from entering their bishoprics under his father. Negotiations with
31930-411: The princes, but also on his inheritance claim to the throne. The city of Worms was also granted generous privileges in 1114, however, unlike in Speyer, the residents were not granted any personal freedoms. Beginning in 1111, Henry increasingly bypassed the princely consensus for his actions and hardly received any approval. He even applied his father's autocratic forms of government, thus exacerbating
32136-499: The princes. The court chapel, the cathedral schools and the diocesan chapters of Speyer, Bamberg or Liège had lost all relevance for the Episcopal Consecration, but family ties to the high nobility. Upon the selection of the bishops, the king only sought the consent of an exclusive circle of a few noble families. These families in turn only campaigned for candidates among their own ranks, who might become important in
32342-443: The rebels into submission in October 1075. Henry adopted an active policy in Italy, alarming Pope Alexander II's successor, Gregory VII , who threatened him with excommunication for simony. Henry persuaded most of the German bishops to declare the Pope's election invalid on 24 January 1076. In response, the Pope excommunicated Henry and released his subjects from their allegiance. German aristocrats who were hostile to Henry called for
32548-402: The requirement that emperors be crowned by the pope before exercising their office. Starting with Ferdinand I , all successive emperors forwent the traditional coronation. The interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire is taken to have lasted from the deposition of Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV in 1245 (or alternatively from Frederick's death in 1250 or from the death of Conrad IV in 1254) to
32754-467: The residence city of the newly emerging Kingdom of Portugal and the local archbishopric had only been founded recently. However, Gregor was unable to best his competitor Pope Gelasius II . After a banishment of Henry by papal legates around Jordan, Archbishop of Milan had only limited effects, Gelasius II himself banished the emperor. For a forthcoming Hoftag in Würzburg and during Henry's absence
32960-649: The royal estates in Thuringia. Ordulf, Duke of Saxony , and most Saxon aristocrats remained loyal to Henry, but Ordulf's son and heir, Magnus , joined Otto's revolt. Henry ceded Bavaria to Otto's wealthy son-in-law, Welf, at Christmas 1070. Without their peers' support, Otto and Magnus had to surrender. Henry placed them in the German dukes' and bishops' custody on 12 June 1071. Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen convinced Henry to release Otto of Nordheim in May 1072, but Magnus of Saxony remained imprisoned. Before long, Adalbert died and Henry seized his treasury—an early example of
33166-536: The royal estates that had been lost during his minority. He employed low-ranking officials to carry out his new policies, causing discontent in Saxony and Thuringia . Henry crushed a riot in Saxony in 1069 and overcame the rebellion of the Saxon aristocrat Otto of Nordheim in 1071. The appointment of commoners to high office offended German aristocrats, and many of them withdrew from Henry's court. He insisted on his royal prerogative to appoint bishops and abbots, although
33372-539: The royal party. He was allegedly accompanied by a huge army of 30,000 knights from all over the empire, that according to Otto of Freising , gave an impressive display of worldly power in the nightly glow of the torches . The strength of his forces helped him to secure general recognition in Lombardy , where archbishop Grossolano intended to crown him with the Iron Crown of Lombardy . Henry could only command such
33578-479: The royal princes planned the restoration of Imperial Peace and the deposition of the king in the event of his prolonged absence. Henry abruptly broke off the Italian campaign in the fall of 1118 and returned to the north. His wife Matilda remained in Italy as deputy ruler. Henry was able to prevent the court day in Würzburg. However, his subsequent activities until September/October 1119 cannot be determined due to
33784-564: The same day and seven days later, on 14 August (a date of significance for the liturgical commemoration of the dead) Henry granted two privileges, which endowed the citizens of Speyer with yet unprecedented civil liberties. As the first privilege lays out memorial ceremonies the privileges for the citizens of the city of Speyer are considered a milestone in the history of the emergence of civil liberties. The residents were granted numerous rights and benefits (including exemption from inheritance taxes, court taxes and property taxes). No other city in
33990-691: The same titulature, usually on becoming the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian's predecessor Frederick III was the last to be crowned Emperor by the Pope in Rome, while Maximilian's successor Charles V was the last to be crowned by the pope, though in Bologna , in 1530. The Emperor was crowned in a special ceremony, traditionally performed by the Pope in Rome . Without that coronation, no king, despite exercising all powers, could call himself Emperor. In 1508, Pope Julius II allowed Maximilian I to use
34196-428: The scandal enabled Archbishops Siegfried of Mainz and Anno of Cologne to stage a plot. They secured the support of Otto of Nordheim, Rudolf of Rheinfelden and Berthold of Zähringen and convinced Henry to dismiss Adalbert on 13 January 1066. Anno regained the King's favour, but thereafter no royal advisors could take full control of state administration. Henry fell unexpectedly ill in the middle of May 1066. His sickness
34402-567: The schism, Henry's father, Henry III , crossed the Alps to Italy and held a church synod at Sutri on 20 December 1046. The synod deposed the three popes and replaced them with a German prelate, Bishop Suidger of Bamberg, who assumed the name Clement II . Henry III emphasized the priestly nature of kingship, attributing it to the kings' anointment by holy oil. A man of great personal piety, he regarded himself as " Vicar of Christ ", authorized to administer state and church alike. The Romans awarded him
34608-453: The spiritual father. This ritual was mentioned in the 1111 coronation for the first time and became an official ritual in the coronation ceremonies of the future emperors before entering St. Peter's Basilica. The bishops learned of Paschal's and Henry's agreement prior to the coronation act. Protests broke out, there was turmoil in the city itself and the coronation had to be cancelled. Henry demanded his investment rights to be reinstated and
34814-495: The spiritual health of their subjects, and after Constantine they had a duty to help the Church define and maintain orthodoxy . The emperor's role was to enforce doctrine, root out heresies , and uphold ecclesiastical unity. Both the title and connection between Emperor and Church continued in the Eastern Roman Empire throughout the medieval period ( in exile during 1204–1261). The ecumenical councils of
35020-422: The theory that the murder of Sieghard of Burghausen in February 1104 by ministerials and citizens of Regensburg was the trigger for the overthrow of Henry IV. According to Burghausen's relatives and other nobles, the emperor had failed to punish the perpetrators appropriately, proving that Henry IV viewed aristocrats with disdain. Henry V had attempted in vain to mediate an amicable settlement between Burghausen and
35226-469: The title of Emperor without coronation in Rome, though the title was qualified as Electus Romanorum Imperator ("elected Emperor of the Romans"). Maximilian's successors adopted the same titulature, usually when they became the sole ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian's first successor Charles V was the last to be crowned Emperor. Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor Henry V ( German : Heinrich V. ; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125)
35432-475: The troops to traverse her substantial territories in the greater part of Northern Italy, that included present-day Lombardy , Emilia , the Romagna and Tuscany . Henry V sent envoys to Matilda in order to negotiate and complete the note: "de pace [...] de regis honore suoque" ( for peace and the honor of the king [...] ). This honor, that determined the rank of the king was an idea, that had developed among
35638-436: The two legates to her son's court. After Henry had done a public penance for simony, the legates absolved him on 27 April 1074. They summoned the German bishops to a synod to hear the case of Bishop Herman I of Bamberg who had been accused of simony, but eight prelates did not obey their summons. In response, the Pope suspended Archbishop Liemar from office, and summoned the disobedient bishops to Rome. Henry did not intervene in
35844-518: The two sons-in-law, Henry the Black or Otto of Ballenstedt , but to Lothar of Supplinburg , as reward for Lothar's support during the 1104/05 disempowerment of Henry IV. This act was enforced upon the legal body of the duchy against traditional habits of dynastic inheritance. In 1107, Henry campaigned to restore Borivoi II in Bohemia , which was only partially successful. Henry summoned Svatopluk
36050-477: The urban nobility of Rome. However, he made no attempt to gain support in northern Italy, whose municipalities began to evade the emperor. With the occupation of Lodi in 1111, Milan began to build up its own territory. The Norman army sent by Prince Robert I of Capua to rescue the papists was turned back by the imperialist count of Tusculum , Ptolemy I of Tusculum . Henry V continued to insist on his right to invest with ring and staff as well as on
36256-481: The wealthy bishops and abbots, but the reformist clergy condemned it as simony. When Henry appointed a Milanese nobleman, Gotofredo , to the Archbishopric of Milan in 1070, Pope Alexander II excommunicated the new archbishop. Henry obtained Gotofredo's consecration, however, which brought him into a prolonged conflict with the Holy See. The Bishopric of Constance became another source of conflict in 1070 after
36462-499: The wedding. He was forgiven for his participation in the inheritance disputes of Carniola after performing a Deditio (submission). This occasion is the only known case of a Deditio during Henry V's reign, which historians have compared to the amicable set of rules and conflict management and settlement of the Ottonian dynasty . On the other hand, Henry had Count Louis of Thuringia captured and imprisoned for his participation in
36668-466: The winter was unexpectedly severe, Henry, his wife and their retainers crossed the Mont Cenis pass in December. On 25 January, they reached Canossa Castle where the Pope had sought refuge, fearing that Henry came to Italy to capture him. Henry remained barefoot and wearing sackcloth at the castle for three days. Matilda of Tuscany (who held the castle), Adelaide of Turin and Hugh of Cluny convinced
36874-527: The year 1111 was a turning point in the reign of Henry V. The recent unity between the Reform Church and the king broke and with it the ties of consensual rule between the king and the secular princes. In March 1112, the Investiture privilege was revoked by the curia on a Lateran council and designated as depraved privilege ( Pravilege ). Crowned emperor, Henry quickly retreated beyond
37080-499: Was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ruler by his father, Henry IV , in 1098. In Emperor Henry IV's conflicts with the imperial princes and the struggle against the reform papacy during the Investiture Controversy , young Henry V allied himself with the opponents of his father. He forced Henry IV to abdicate on 31 December 1105 and ruled for five years in compliance with
37286-427: Was "August Emperor of the Romans" ( Romanorum Imperator Augustus ). When Charlemagne was crowned in 800, he was styled as "most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman Empire," thus constituting the elements of "Holy" and "Roman" in the imperial title. The word Roman was a reflection of the principle of translatio imperii (or in this case restauratio imperii ) that regarded
37492-480: Was able to obtain Matilda's property without any problems and his authority was accepted in all the Italian municipalities. Henry regarded Rome as to be of particular importance and, ardently welcomed, he honored the city with five visits, more than any other Salian king. Pope Paschal died on 21 January 1118. Henry helped to appoint Archbishop Mauritius of Braga as Pope Gregory VIII . At that time Braga served as
37698-400: Was again defeated at the Battle of Hundsfeld . In 1110, he succeeded in securing the Duchy of Bohemia for Ladislaus I . Imperial rule had eroded in Italy after the demise of Henry IV. For fifteen years, from October 1095 to October 1110, neither Henry IV nor Henry V had issued a single document for the Italian administration. Consequently, Italian officials saw no reason to travel to
37904-622: Was considered by the Catholic Church to be the only successor of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages and the early modern period . Thus, in theory and diplomacy, the emperors were considered primus inter pares , regarded as first among equals among other Catholic monarchs across Europe. From an autocracy in Carolingian times (AD 800–924), the title by the 13th century evolved into an elective monarchy , with
38110-429: Was crowned Roman-German Queen in Mainz by the Archbishop of Cologne. Four years later the wedding celebrations also took place in Mainz on 7 January 1114 amid great splendor and the attention of princes from all over the empire. The Salians appropriated the occasion to reaffirm unanimity with the imperial nobles after the conflicts in recent years. Duke Lothair of Supplinburg appeared barefoot and in penitent clothing at
38316-421: Was crowned king on 6 December. After Béla's victory, the command of the German duchies along the Hungarian frontier had to be strengthened. Agnes ceded Bavaria to a wealthy Saxon lord, Otto of Nordheim, and replaced Duke Conrad of Carinthia with Berthold of Zähringen in early 1061. Relations between Pope Nicholas and the German prelates became tense for unknown reasons in 1061. When Nicholas died on 20 July 1061,
38522-435: Was determined to put an end to the schism. In October 1062, the synod of the German bishops appointed his nephew, Burchard II, Bishop of Halberstadt , to begin negotiations with Pope Alexander II. That same month, the theologian Peter Damian completed a treatise defending the legality of Alexander II's election. He emphasised that Henry's "right to participate in the papal elections ... is subject each time to reconfirmation by
38728-483: Was dissolved by Francis II , after a devastating defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz . The emperor was widely perceived to rule by divine right , though he often contradicted or rivaled the pope , most notably during the Investiture controversy . The Holy Roman Empire never had an empress regnant , though women such as Theophanu and Maria Theresa exerted strong influence. Throughout its history,
38934-562: Was dominated by Protestants , and the electors usually voted in their own political interest. From the time of Constantine I ( r. 306–337 ), the Roman Emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity . The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor in the Great Church . Emperors considered themselves responsible to God for
39140-422: Was forced to flee to Bohemia. The German aristocrats and prelates met at Trebur from 16 October to 1 November. They convinced Henry to accept the terms the Pope had set for him. He had to promise to dismiss his excommunicated advisors and acknowledge Gregory as the lawful pope. Furthermore, he was to acknowledge the Pope's jurisdiction in his conflicts with the German dukes and bishops. They announced they would elect
39346-561: Was functionally a pre-requisite to being crowned Holy Roman Emperor. By the 13th century, the Prince-electors became formalized as a specific body of seven electors, consisting of three bishops and four secular princes. Through the middle 15th century, the electors chose freely from among a number of dynasties. A period of dispute during the second half of the 13th century over the kingship of Germany led to there being no emperor crowned for several decades, though this ended in 1312 with
39552-605: Was growing. On 2 February 1119, Pope Calixt II took over the pontificate. On 24 October 1119, the Pope and Emperor again negotiated a settlement in the investiture dispute in Mouzon on the Meuse . Henry only wished to make extensive commitments with the consent of the princes. The negotiations failed. The encounter at Reims in October 1119 is considered the "end and turning point of royal penance in Medieval Europe" . During
39758-456: Was held in conjunction with the title of King of Italy ( Rex Italiae ) from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with the title of King of Germany ( Rex Teutonicorum , lit. ' King of the Teutons ' ) throughout the 12th to 18th centuries. The Holy Roman Emperor title provided the highest prestige among medieval Catholic monarchs , because the empire
39964-435: Was in the long run incompatible with the reformist idea of "liberty of the Church" which claimed that ecclesiastic institutions could only be subject to the authority of the Holy See. The conflict between the two ideas reached its pinnacle during Henry IV's reign, developing into the confrontation known as the Investiture Controversy . Germany, Italy and Burgundy were composed of semi-independent provinces, each administered by
40170-417: Was informed of the decisions of the two assemblies during the synod of Lent in Rome. He excommunicated Henry and released his subjects from fealty in a public prayer addressed to Saint Peter . The deposition of a monarch by a pope was unprecedented, but the Pope was convinced Henry's extraordinary arrogance could not be punished otherwise. On learning of the Pope's decision Henry convoked a synod in Utrecht, but
40376-464: Was initially neutral in the two kings' conflict, enabling Henry to consolidate his position. Henry continued to appoint high-ranking clerics, for which the Pope again excommunicated him on 7 March 1080. Most German and northern Italian bishops remained loyal to Henry and they elected the antipope Clement III . Rudolf of Rheinfelden was killed in battle and his successor, Hermann of Salm , could only exert royal authority in Saxony. From 1081, Henry launched
40582-486: Was not involved in government affairs. His father's policies proceeded to be extremely cautious after the death of his older son, Conrad. The causes and motives that led to the deposition of Henry IV by his son remain debated among modern researchers. Stefan Weinfurter argues that religious reform motives and the corrosive influence of a group of young Bavarian counts – Margrave Diepold III von Vohburg , Count Berengar II of Sulzbach and Count Otto von Habsburg-Kastl – are
40788-442: Was placed under his mother's guardianship. She made grants to German aristocrats to secure their support. Unlike her late husband, she could not control the election of the popes, thus the idea of the "liberty of the Church" strengthened during her rule. Taking advantage of her weakness, Archbishop Anno II of Cologne kidnapped Henry in April 1062. He administered Germany until Henry came of age in 1065. Henry endeavoured to recover
40994-408: Was postponed first until autumn, and then indefinitely, although the Pope needed Henry's presence to overcome the Italian supporters of Antipope Honorius II. Instead of travelling to Rome, Henry visited Burgundy in June 1065. Burgundian diplomas show the local aristocrats regarded his visit as the starting date of his reign. From Burgundy, Henry went to Lorraine where he granted Lower Lorraine to Godfrey
41200-511: Was reconciled with Welf. After Clement III's death, Henry did not support new antipopes, but did not make peace with Pope Paschal II . Henry proclaimed the first Reichsfriede (imperial peace) which covered the whole territory of Germany in 1103. His younger son, Henry V , forced him to abdicate on 31 December 1105. He tried to regain his throne with the assistance of Lotharingian aristocrats, but became ill and died without receiving absolution from his excommunication. Henry's preeminent role in
41406-494: Was so serious that he was thought to be dying. The aristocrats began to seek his successor, but he recovered in two weeks. He immediately married his betrothed, Bertha, most probably because the uncertainty about the childless monarch's succession caused widespread anxiety in his realms. Late in 1066, Prince Richard I of Capua rose up against Pope Alexander II and invaded Roman Campagna . Early in 1067, Agnes of Poitou hurried back from Rome to Germany to persuade her son to intervene on
41612-531: Was that known as the investiture controversy , fought during the 11th century between Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII . After the coronation of Charlemagne, his successors maintained the title until the death of Berengar I of Italy in 924. The comparatively brief interregnum between 924 and the coronation of Otto the Great in 962 is taken as marking the transition from the Frankish Empire to
41818-517: Was that the emperor must refrain from investing abbots and bishops, a practice that had been essential for the Imperial Church System since Emperor Otto I . Gregory VII excommunicated Henry IV in 1077. By repenting at Canossa , Henry managed to get absolved. In 1080 and 1094, however, Henry IV was excommunicated again. In 1102, the church ban was again declared over him and his party, including his son, Henry V. The conflict divided
42024-599: Was the last emperor to be crowned by the pope, and his successor, Ferdinand I , merely adopted the title of "Emperor elect" in 1558. The final Holy Roman emperor-elect, Francis II , abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empire's final dissolution. The term sacrum (i.e., "holy") in connection with the German Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa . The Holy Roman Emperor's standard designation
42230-611: Was the son of the Holy Roman Emperor , Henry III, by his second wife, Agnes of Poitou . Henry was most likely born in his father's palace at Goslar . His birth had been long-awaited; Henry III had fathered four daughters, but his subjects were convinced only a male heir could secure the "peace of kingdom" (as Hermann II, Archbishop of Cologne , called it in a sermon). Henry was first named for his grandfather, Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor , but Abbot Hugh of Cluny , whom Henry III had appointed as his son's godfather , convinced
42436-508: Was thrown into the dungeon and was held there "unwashed and unshaven and deprived of any service" over Christmas. At the Reichstag in Mainz, Henry prompted his father to hand over the imperial insignia (crown, scepter, imperial cross, holy lance and imperial sword). Henry IV then was transferred to Ingelheim where he personally was to hand over the imperial insignia and was forced to abdicate on 31 December 1105. Henry V subsequently spread
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