Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico" (1050-1106) » maximum test

Persoonlijke gegevens Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico"

Bron 1

Roepnaam is del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico.
Hij is geboren op 11 november 1050Brunswick Deutschland.
Let op: Leeftijd bij trouwen (13 juli 1066) lag beneden de 16 jaar (15).
Beroepen:

Keiser.
Tysk keiser.
Tysk-romersk kejsare (vandrade till Canossa).
Empereur, Roi, de Germanie, d'Italie, Duc, de Bavière.
Imperador do Sacro Império Romano.

(Misc Event) in het jaar 1056.
(Misc Event) in het jaar 1084.
(Misc Event) in het jaar 1105.
Hij is overleden op 7 augustus 1106, hij was toen 55 jaar oudLuttich
Duitsland.
Hij is begraven rond augustus 1111 in First at Liege, Belgium, and then unearthed and reburied at Speyer Cathedral, Speyer, Duitsland.
Een kind van Heinrich "the Black/the Pious" Salier en Agnès

Gezin van Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico"

Hij is getrouwd met Bertha of Savoy.

Zij zijn getrouwd op 13 juli 1066, hij was toen 15 jaar oudTrebur
Hesse Duitsland.

Kind(eren):

Agnes 1072-1143

Notities over Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico"

Name Suffix: Iv, Holy Roman Emperor

Konge av Tyskland 1056 - 1084.
Tysk-romersk keiser 1084 - 1105.
Heinrich ble konge av Tyskland 05.10.1056, men ble bortført i 1062 av erkebiskop
Anno av Køln og Otto av Nordheim. I 1065 ble han erklært for myndig etter initiativ av
erkebiskop Adalbert. Erkebiskopen satt Heinrich opp mot sachserne som gjorde opprør to
ganger, men de ble kuet etter Heinrichs seier ved Hohenburg 13.06.1075.
Pave Gregor VII, som hadde forenet seg med hans motstandere, erklærte Heinrich for
avsatt 24.06.1076 på synoden i Worms og lyste ham i bann. Han måtte ydmyke seg for
paven i Canossa i 1077, hvoretter bannstrålen ble tatt tilbake.
Det lyktes ham å felle motkongen, Rudolf av Schwaben, i 1080 og å avsette pave
Gregor VII. Han ble igjen bannlyst, men dro til Italien og inntok Roma i 1080. Her lot han seg
krone til keiser 31.03.1084 av motpaven, Clemens III.
I 1104 reiste hans sønn, Heinrich V, seg mot ham, og tvang ham til å ta avskjed i
Ingelheim 31.12.1105.
Heinrich ble gift 2. gang med Aupraxia, som døde i 1109.

Event: Crowned 31 MAR 1084 Holy Roman Emperor at Rome by Pope ClementIII 2 1
Event: Titled BET. 1055 - 1061 Duke of Bavaria [Henry VIII] 1
Event: Ruled BET. 1054 - 1084 King of Duitsland 1
Note:
Henry IV (b. Nov. 11, 1050, Goslar?, Saxony--d. Aug. 7, 1106, Liège, Lorraine), duke of Bavaria (as Henry VIII, 1055-61), German king (from1054), and Holy Roman emperor (1084-1105/06), who engaged in a long struggle with Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII) on the question of lay investiture, eventually drawing excommunication on himself and doing penance at Canossa (1077). His last years were spent countering the rebellion of his sons Conrad and Henry (the future Henry V).
Early years.
Henry's father, Henry III, had retained a firm hold on the church andhad resolved a schism in Rome (1046), opening new activities for the reformers. At Easter 1051, the boy was baptized after the German princes had taken an oath of fidelity and obedience at Christmas 1050. On July 17, 1053, he was elected king at Tribur (modern Trebur, in Duitsland) on condition that he would be a just king. In 1054 he was crowned king in Aix-la-Chapelle (modern Aachen, in Germany), and the following year he became engaged to Bertha, daughter of the Margrave of Turin. When the Emperor died in October 1056, at the age of 39, succession to the throne and survival of the dynasty were assured. The princes of the realm raised no objection when nominal government was handed over to the six-year-old boy, for whom his pious and unworldly mother became regent. Yet the early death of Henry III was the beginning of a fateful change that marked all of his son's reign. In his will, the late emperor had appointed Pope Victor II as counsellor to the Empress, andthe Pope solved some of the conflicts between the princes and the imperial court that had endangered peace in the empire.
After Victor's early death (1057), however, the politically inept empress committed a number of decisive mistakes. On her own, and without the benefit of the advice of a permanent group of counsellors, she readily yielded to various influences. She turned over the duchy of Bavaria, which Henry III had given to his son in 1055, to the Saxon count Otto of Nordheim, thus depriving the king of an important foundation ofhis power. She gave the duchy of Swabia to Count Rudolf of Rheinfelden--who married her daughter--and the duchy of Carinthia to Count Berthold of Zähringen; both of them eventually became opponents of Henry IV. The death of the Emperor also marked the disruption of German influence in Italy and of the close relationship between the king and the reform popes. Their independence soon became apparent in the elections of Stephen IX and Nicholas II, which were not influenced (as under Henry III) by the German court; in the new procedure for the election of the popes (1059); and in the defensive alliance with the Normans in southern Italy. This alliance was necessary for the popes as an effective protection against the Romans and was not directed against the German king. Yet the Normans were considered usurpers and enemies of the Holy Roman Empire; the pact thus resulted in strained relations betweenthe Pope and the German court, and these strains were aggravated by papal claims and disciplinary action taken by Nicholas II against German bishops. While the German king had so far been known as a supporterof the reformers, the Empress now imprudently entered into an alliance with Italian opponents of church reform and brought about the election of Cadalus, bishop of Parma, as antipope (Honorius II) against thereigning pope, Alexander II, who had been elected by the reformers. But since she did not give effective support to Honorius, Alexander wasable to prevail. Her unwise church policy was matched by an obscurelymotivated submissive policy at home, which, by unwarranted cession ofholdings of the crown, weakened the material foundations of the king's power and, in addition, encouraged the rapacity of the nobles. Increasing discontent reached a climax in a conspiracy of the princes led by Anno, archbishop of Keulen, in April 1062. During a court assemblyin Kaiserswerth he kidnapped the young king and had him brought to Keulen by ship. Henry's attempt to escape by jumping into the Rhine failed. Agnes resigned as regent and the government was taken over by Anno, who settled the conflict with the church by recognizing Alexander II (1064). Anno was, however, too dominating and inflexible a man to win Henry's confidence, so that Adalbert, archbishop of Bremen, granting more freedom to the lascivious young king, gained increasing and finally sole influence. But he used it for such unscrupulous personal enrichment that Henry, who was declared of age in 1065, had to ban him from court early in 1066. This incident marks the beginning of the King's own rule, for which he was badly prepared. Repeated changes in the government of the empire had an unsettling effect on the boy king and had, moreover, prevented him from being given a regular education. Theselfishness of his tutors, the dissolute character of his companions,and the traumatic experience of his kidnapping had produced a lack ofmoral stability during his years of puberty. In addition, his love ofpower, typical of all the rulers of his dynasty, contributed to conduct often characterized by recklessness and indiscretion.
In 1069, after three years of marriage, he suddenly announced his intention of divorcing his wife, Bertha. Following protests by high church dignitaries, he dropped his plan, but his mercurial behaviour incurred the displeasure of the reformers. At the same time he was faced with domestic difficulties that were to harass him throughout his reign.After his mother had freely dispensed of lands during her regency, hebegan to increase the royal possessions in the Harz Mountains and to protect them by castles, which he handed over to Swabian ministerials (higher civil servants directly responsible to the crown). Peasants and nobles in Saxony were stirred up by the ruthless repossession of former royal rights that had long ago been appropriated by nobility or had become obsolete and by the high-handed and severe measures of the foreign ministerials. Henry tried to stop the unrest by imprisoning Magnus, the duke of Saxony, and by depriving the widely respected Otto ofBavaria of his duchy, after having unjustly accused him of plotting the murder of the King (1070). Then a rebellion broke out among the Saxons, which in 1073 spread so rapidly that Henry had to escape to Worms. After negotiations with Welf IV, the new duke (as Welf I) of Bavaria, and with Rudolf, the duke of Swabia, Henry was forced to grant immunity to the rebels in 1073 and had to agree to the razing of the royalHarz Castle in the final peace treaty in February 1074. When the peasants, destroying the castle, also desecrated the church and the tomb of one of the King's sons, Henry declared the peace broken. This incident assured him of support from all over the empire, and in June 1075 he won an overwhelming victory that resulted in the surrender of the Saxons. It also forced the princes at Christmas to confirm on oath the succession of his one-year-old son, Conrad.
Role in investiture conflict.
This rebellion affected relations between Henry and the Pope. In Milan a popular party, the Patarines, dedicated to reforming the city's corrupt higher clergy, elected its own archbishop, who was recognized by the Pope. When Henry countered by having his own nominee consecrated by the Lombard bishops, Alexander II excommunicated the bishops. Henry did not yield, and it was not until the Saxon rebellion that he was ready to negotiate. In 1073 he humbly asked the new pope, Gregory VII, to settle the Milan problem. The King having thus renounced his right of investiture, a Roman synod, called to strengthen the Patarine movement, forbade any lay investiture in Milan; henceforward Gregory regarded Henry as his ally in questions of church reform. When planninga crusade, he even put the defense of the Roman Church into the King's hands. But after defeating the Saxons, Henry considered himself strong enough to cancel his agreements with the Pope and to nominate his court chaplain as archbishop of Milan. The violation of the agreement on investiture called into question the King's trustworthiness, and the Pope sent him a letter warning him of the melancholy fate of King Saul (after breaking with his church in the person of the prophet Samuel) but offering negotiations on the investiture problem. Instead of accepting the offer, which arrived at his court on Jan. 1, 1076, Henry, on the same day, deposed the Pope and persuaded an assembly of 26 bishops, hastily called to Worms, to refuse obedience to the Pope. By thisimpulsive reaction he turned the problem of investiture in Milan, which could have been solved by negotiations, into a fundamental dispute on the relations between church and state. Gregory replied by excommunicating Henry and absolving the King's subjects from their oaths of allegiance. Such action equalled dethronement. Many bishops who had taken part in the Worms assembly and had subsequently been excommunicatednow surrendered to the Pope, and immediately the King was also faced with the newly aroused opposition of the nobility. In October 1076 theprinces discussed the election of a new king in Tribur. It was only by promising to seek absolution from the ban within a year that Henry could reach a postponement of the election. The final decision was to be taken at an assembly to be called at Augsburg to which the Pope wasalso invited. But Henry secretly travelled to northern Italy and in Canossa did penance before Gregory VII, whereupon he was readmitted to the church. For the moment it was a political success for the King because the opposition had been deprived of all canonical arguments. Yet,Canossa meant a change. By doing penance Henry had admitted the legality of the Pope's measures and had given up the king's traditional position of authority equal or even superior to that of the church. The relations between church and state were changed forever.
The princes, however, considered Canossa a breach of the original agreement providing for an assembly at Augsburg and declared Henry dethroned. In his stead, they elected Rudolf, duke of Swabia, in March 1077,whereupon Henry confiscated the duchies of Bavaria and Swabia on behalf of the crown. He received support from the peasants and citizens ofthese duchies, whereas Rudolf relied mainly on the Saxons. Gregory watched the indecisive struggle between Henry and Rudolf for almost three years until he resolved to bring about a decision for the sake of continued church reform in Duitsland. At a synod in March 1080, he prohibited investiture, excommunicated and dethroned Henry again, and recognized Rudolf. The reasons for this act of excommunication were not as valid as those advanced in 1077, and many nobles who had so far favoured the Pope turned against him because they thought the prohibition ofinvestiture infringed upon their rights as patrons of churches and monasteries. Henry now succeeded in deposing Gregory and in nominating Guibert, archbishop of Ravenna, as pope at a synod in Brixen (Bressanone). When the opposition of the princes was crippled by the death of Rudolf in October 1080, Henry, freed of the threat of enemies to the rear, went to Italy to seek a military decision in his struggle with the church. After attacking Rome in vain in 1081 and 1082, he conquered the city in March 1084. Guibert was enthroned as Clement III and crowned Henry emperor on March 31, 1084. Gregory, the legitimate pope, fledto Salerno, where he died on May 25, 1085. A number of cardinals joined Clement, and, feeling that he had won a complete victory, the Emperor returned to Duitsland. In May 1087 he had his son Conrad crowned king. The Saxons now made peace with him. Further, Henry replaced bishopswho did not join Clement with others loyal to the King.
Later crises in Italy and Duitsland.
The escape and death of Gregory VII and the presence of Clement III in Rome caused a crisis in the reform movement of the church, from which, however, it quickly recovered under the pontificate of Urban II (1088-1099). The marriage, arranged by Urban in 1089, of the 17-year-oldWelf V of Bavaria with the 43-year-old countess Matilda of Tuscany, azealous adherent of the cause of reform in the church, allied Henry'sopponents in southern Duitsland and Italy. Henry was forced to invade Italy once more in 1090, but, after initial success, his defeat in 1092resulted in the uprisings in Lombardy; and the rebellion of his son Conrad, who was crowned king of Italy by the Lombards, led to general rebellion. The Emperor found himself cut off from Duitsland and besieged in a corner of northeastern Italy. In addition, his second wife, Praxedis of Kiev, whom he had married in 1089 after the death of Bertha in 1087, left him, bringing serious charges against him. It was not untilWelf V separated from Matilda, in 1095, and his father, the deposed Welf IV, was once more granted Bavaria as a fief, in 1096, that Henry was able to return to Duitsland (1097). In Duitsland sympathy for reform and the papacy no longer excluded loyalty to the Emperor.
Gradually Henry was able to consolidate his authority so that in May 1098 the princes elected his second son, Henry V, king in place of thedisloyal Conrad. But peace with the Pope, which was necessary for a complete consolidation of authority, was a goal that remained unattainable. At first a settlement was impossible because of Henry's support for Clement III, who had died in 1100. Paschal II (1099-1118), a follower of the reformist policies of Gregory VII, was unwilling to concludean agreement with Henry. Finally, the Emperor declared that he would go on a crusade if his excommunication were removed. To prepare for the crusade, he forbade all feuds among the great nobles of the empire for four years (1103). But unrest started again when reconciliation with the church did not materialize and the nobles thought the Emperor was restricting their rights in favour of his son. Henry V feared a controversy with the princes. In alliance with Bavarian nobles he revolted against the Emperor in 1104 to secure his throne by sacrificing hisfather. The Emperor escaped to Keulen, but when he went to Mainz hisson imprisoned him and on Dec. 31, 1105, extorted his apparently voluntary abdication. Henry IV, however, was not yet prepared to give up. He fled to Liège and with the Lotharingians defeated Henry V's army near Visé on March 22, 1106. Henry IV suddenly died in Liège on August 7. His body was transferred to Speyer but remained there in an unconsecrated chapel before being buried in the family vault in 1111.
Assessment.
Judgment of Henry by his contemporaries differed according to the parties to which they belonged. His opponents considered the tall, handsome king a tyrant--the crafty head of heresy--whose death they cheered because it seemed to usher in a new age. His friends praised him as a pious, gentle, and intelligent ruler, a patron of the arts and sciences, who surrounded himself with religious scholars and who, in his sense of law and justice, was the embodiment of the ideal king. In his attempt to preserve the traditional rights of the crown, Henry IV was only partially successful, for while he strengthened the king's positionagainst the nobles by gaining the support of the peasants, the citizens, and the ministerials, his continuing battles with the reforming church over investiture ultimately weakened royal influence over the papacy. [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97]

Duke of Bavaria as Henry VIII, 1055-1061. Coming of age to rule on his own in
1065 after a terrible series of regents, Henry himself was badly prepared for
the job ahead. Henry was only partially successful during his reign, for
while he strengthened the king's position against the nobles by gaining the
support of the peasants, the citizens, and the ministerials, his continuing
battles with the reforming church over investiture ultimately weakened royal
influence over the papacy.

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Henry IV
King of Duitsland, Holy Roman Emperor

Reign 1084 – 1105
Born 11 November 1050(1050-11-11)
Royal palace at Goslar
Died 7 August 1106 (aged 55)
Buried Speyer Cathedral
Predecessor Henry III
Successor Henry V
Father Henry III
Mother Agnes de Poitou
Henry IV (November 11, 1050–August 7, 1106) was King of Duitsland from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century. His reign was marked by the Investiture Controversy with the Papacy and several civil wars with pretenders to his throne in Italy and Duitsland.

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Regency
1.2 First years of rule and Saxon War
1.3 Investiture Controversy
1.4 Civil war and recovery
1.5 Second voyage to Italy
1.6 Internecine wars and death
2 Evaluation
3 Marriages
4 Henry IV in fiction
5 Notes
6 Sources

[edit] Biography

[edit] Regency
Henry was the eldest son of the Emperor Henry III, by his second wife Agnes de Poitou, and was probably born at the royal palace at Goslar. His christening was delayed until the following Easter so that Abbot Hugh of Cluny could be one of his godparents. But even before that, at his Christmas court Henry III induced the attending nobles to promise fidelity to his son. Three years later, still anxious to ensure the succession, Henry III had a larger assembly of nobles elect the young Henry as his successor, and then, on July 17, 1054, had him elected as king by Herman II, Archbishop of Keulen at Trebur. The coronation was held in Aachen in 1054. When Henry III unexpectedly died in 1056, the accession of the six-year-old Henry IV was not opposed by his vassals. The dowager Empress Agnes acted as regent, and, according to the will of the dead emperor, the German pope Victor II was named as her counsellor. The latter's death in 1057 soon showed the political ineptitude of Agnes, and the powerful influence held over her by German magnates and Imperial functionaries.

Agnes assigned the Duchy of Bavaria, given by her husband to Henry IV, to Otto of Nordheim. This deprived the young king of a solid base of power. Likewise, her decision to assign the Duchies of Swabia and Carinthia to Rudolf of Rheinfelden (who married her daughter) and Berthold of Zähringen, respectively, would prove mistakes, as both later rebelled against the king. Unlike Henry III, Agnes proved incapable of influencing the election of the new popes, Stephen IX and Nicholas II. The Papal alliance with the Normans of southern Italy, formed to counter the communal resistance in Rome, resulted in the deterioration of relations with the German King, as well as Nicholas' interference in the election of German bishops. Agnes also granted local magnates extensive territorial privileges that eroded the King's material power.

In 1062 the young king was kidnapped during a conspiracy of German nobles led by archbishop Anno II of Keulen. Henry, who was at Kaiserwerth, was persuaded to board a boat lying in the Rhine; it was immediately unmoored and the king sprang into the stream, but was rescued by one of the conspirators and carried to Keulen. Agnes retired to a convent, the government subsequently placed in the hands of Anno. His first move was to recognize the Pope Alexander II in his conflict with the antipope Honorius II, who had been initially recognized by Agnes but was subsequently left without support.

Anno's rule proved unpopular. The education and training of Henry were supervised by Anno, who was called his magister, while Adalbert of Hamburg, archbishop of Bremen, was styled Henry's patronus. Henry's education seems to have been neglected, and his willful and headstrong nature developed under the conditions of these early years. The malleable Adalbert of Hamburg soon became the confidant of the ruthless Henry. Eventually, during an absence of Anno from Duitsland, Henry managed to obtain the control of his civil duties, leaving Anno only with the ecclesiastical ones.

[edit] First years of rule and Saxon War
In March 1065 Henry was declared of age. The whole of his future reign was apparently marked by efforts to consolidate Imperial power. In reality, however, it was a careful balancing act between maintaining the loyalty of the nobility and the support of the pope.

In 1066, one year after his enthroning at the age of fifteen, he expelled Adalbert of Hamburg, who had profited off his position for personal enrichment, from the Crown Council. Henry also adopted urgent military measures against the Slav pagans, who had recently invaded Duitsland and besieged Hamburg.

In June 1066 Henry married Bertha of Maurienne, daughter of Count Otto of Savoy, to whom he had been betrothed in 1055. In the same year he assembled an army to fight, at the request of the Pope, the Italo-Normans of southern Italy. Henry's troops had reached Augsburg when he received news that Godfrey of Tuscany, husband of the powerful Matilda of Canossa, marchioness of Tuscany, had already attacked the Normans. Therefore the expedition was halted.

In 1068, driven by his impetuous character and his infidelities, Henry attempted to divorce Bertha[1]. His peroration at a council in Mainz was however rejected by the Papal legate Pier Damiani, who hinted that any further insistence towards divorce would lead the new pope, Alexander II, to deny his coronation. Henry obeyed and his wife returned to Court, but he was convinced that the Papal opposition aimed only at overthrowing lay power within the Empire, in favour of an ecclesiastical hierarchy.

In the late 1060s Henry set up with strong determination to reduce any opposition and to enlarge the national boundaries. He led expeditions against the Liutici and the margrave of a district east of Saxony; and soon afterwards he had to quench the rebellions with Rudolf of Swabia and Berthold of Carinthia. Much more serious was Henry's struggle with Otto of Nordheim, duke of Bavaria. This prince, who occupied an influential position in Duitsland and was one of the protagonists of Henry's early kidnapping, was accused in 1070 by a certain Egino of being privy to a plot to murder the king. It was decided that a trial by battle should take place at Goslar, but when the demand of Otto for a safe conduct for himself and his followers, to and from the place of meeting, was refused, he declined to appear. He was thereupon declared deposed in Bavaria, and his Saxon estates were plundered. He obtained sufficient support, however, to carry on a struggle with the king in Saxony and Thuringia until 1071, when he submitted at Halberstadt. Henry aroused the hostility of the Thuringians by supporting Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, in his efforts to exact tithes from them; but still more formidable was the enmity of the Saxons, who had several causes of complaint against the king. He was the son of one enemy, Henry III, and the friend of another, Adalbert of Bremen. He had ordered a restoration of all crown lands in Saxony and had built forts among this people, while the country was ravaged to supply the needs of his courtiers, and its duke Magnus was a prisoner in his hands. All classes were united against him, and when the struggle broke out in 1073 the Thuringians joined the Saxons. The war, which lasted with slight intermissions until 1088, exercised a most potent influence upon Henry's fortunes elsewhere.

[edit] Investiture Controversy
Main article: Investiture Controversy
Initially in need of support for his expeditions in Saxony and Thuringia, Henry adhered to the Papal decrees in religious matters. His apparent weakness, however, had the side effect of spurring the ambitions of Gregory VII, a reformist monk elected as pontiff in 1073, for Papal hegemony.

The tension between Empire and Church culminated in the councils of 1074–1075, which constituted a substantial attempt to delegitimate Henry III's policy. Among other measures, they denied to secular rulers the right to place members of the clergy in office; this had dramatic effects in Duitsland, where bishops were often powerful feudatories who, in this way, were able to free themselves from imperial authority. Aside from the reacquisition of all lost privileges by the ecclesiasticals, the council's decision deprived the imperial crown of rights to almost half its lands, with grievous consequences for national unity, especially in peripheral areas like the Kingdom of Italy.

Suddenly hostile to Gregory, Henry did not relent from his positions: after his defeat of Otto of Nordheim, he continued to interfere in Italian and German episcopal life, naming bishops at his will and declaring papal provisions illegitimate. In 1075 Gregory excommunicated some members of the Imperial Court, and threatened to do the same with Henry himself. Further, in a synod held in February of that year, Gregory clearly established the supreme power of the Catholic Church, with the Empire subjected to it. Henry replied with a counter-synod of his own.

The beginning of the conflict known as the Investiture Controversy can be assigned to Christmas night of 1075: Gregory was kidnapped and imprisoned by Cencio I Frangipane, a Roman noble, while officiating at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Later freed by Roman people, Gregory accused Henry of having been behind the attempt. In the same year, the emperor had defeated a rebellion of Saxons in the First Battle of Langensalza, and was therefore free to accept the challenge.

At Worms, on January 24, 1076, a synod of bishops and princes summoned by Henry declared Gregory VII deposed. Hildebrand replied by excommunicating the emperor and all the bishops named by him on February 22, 1076. In October of that year a diet of the German princes in Tribur attempted to find a settlement for the conflict, conceding Henry a year to repent from his actions, before the ratification of the excommunication that the pope was to sign in Swabia some months later. Henry did not repent, and, counting on the hostility showed by the Lombard clergy against Gregory, decided to move to Italy. He spent Christmas of that year in Besançon and, together with his wife and his son, he crossed the Alps with help of the Bishop of Turin and reached Pavia.

Gregory, on his way to the diet of Augsburg, and hearing that Henry was approaching, took refuge in the castle of Canossa (near Reggio Emilia), belonging to Matilda. Henry's troops were nearby.

Henry's intent, however, was apparently to perform the penance required to lift his excommunication and ensure his continued rule. The choice of an Italian location for the act of repentance, instead of Augsburg, was not accidental: it aimed to consolidate the Imperial power in an area partly hostile to the Pope; to lead in person the prosecution of events; and to oppose the pact signed by German feudataries and the Pope in Tribur with the strong German party that had deposed Gregory at Worms, through the concrete presence of his army.

Henry IV begging Matilda of Canossa.He stood in the snow outside the gates of the castle of Canossa for three days, from January 25 to January 27, 1077, begging the pope to rescind the sentence (popularly portrayed as without shoes, taking no food or shelter, and wearing a hairshirt - see Walk of Canossa). The Pope lifted the excommunication, imposing a vow to comply with certain conditions, which Henry soon violated.

[edit] Civil war and recovery
Rudolf of Rheinfeld, a two-time brother-in-law of Henry, took advantage of the momentary weakness of the Emperor by having himself declared antiking by a council of Saxon, Bavarian, and Carinthian princes in March of 1077 in Forchheim. Rudolf promised to respect the electoral concept of the monarchy and declared his willingness to be subservient to the pope.

Despite these difficulties, Henry's situation in Duitsland improved in the following years. When Rudolf was crowned at Mainz in May 1077, the population revolted and forced him to flee to Saxony, where he was deprived of his territories (later he was also stripped of Swabia). After the inconclusive battle of Mellrichstadt (August 7, 1077) and the defeat of Flarchheim (27 January 1080) Gregory instead launched a second anathema against Henry in March 1080. However, the evidence that Gregory's hate had such a personal connotation led much of Duitsland to re-embrace Henry's cause.

On October 14, 1080 the armies of the two rival kings met at the Elster River, in the plain of Leipzig. Rudolf was mortally wounded and died soon afterwards, and the rebellion against Henry lost momentum. Another antiking, Henry of Luxembourg, was fought successfully by Frederick of Swabia, Rudolf's successor in Swabia who had married Henry's daughter Agnes. Henry convoked a synod of the highest German clergy in Bamberg and Brixen (June, 1080). Here Henry had Gregory (dubbed "The False Monk") again deposed and replaced by the primate of Ravenna, Guibert (the antipope Clement III).

[edit] Second voyage to Italy
Henry entered in Pavia and was crowned here as King of Italy, receiving the Iron Crown. He also assigned a series of privileges to the Italian cities who had supported him, and marched against the hated Matilda, declaring her deposed for lese majesty and confiscating her possessions. Then he moved to Rome, which he besieged first in 1081: he was however compelled to retire to Tuscany, where he granted privileges to various cities, and obtained monetary assistance (360,000 gold pieces)[2] from a new ally, the eastern emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, who aimed to thwart the Norman's aims against his empire. A second and equally unsuccessful attack on Rome was followed by a war of devastation in northern Italy with the adherents of Matilda; and towards the end of 1082 the king made a third attack on Rome. After a siege of seven months the Leonine city fell into his hands. A treaty was concluded with the Romans, who agreed that the quarrel between king and pope should be decided by a synod, and secretly bound themselves to induce Gregory to crown Henry as emperor, or to choose another pope. Gregory, however, shut up in Castel Sant'Angelo, would hear of no compromise; the synod was a failure, as Henry prevented the attendance of many of the pope's supporters; and the king, in pursuance of his treaty with Alexios, marched against the Normans. The Romans soon fell away from their allegiance to the pope; and, recalled to the city, Henry entered Rome in March 1084, after which Gregory was declared deposed and Clement was recognized by the Romans. On 31 March 1084 Henry was crowned emperor by Clement, and received the patrician authority. His next step was to attack the fortresses still in the hands of Gregory. The pope was saved by the advance of Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia, who left the siege of Durazzo and marched towards Rome: Henry left the city and Gregory could be freed. The latter however died soon later at Salerno (1085), not before a last letter in which he exhorted the whole Christianity to a crusade against the emperor.

Henry IV (left), count palatine Herman II of Lotharingia and Antipope Clement III (center), from Codex Jenesis Bose (1157).Feeling secure of his success in Italy, Henry returned to Duitsland.

The Emperor spent 1084 in a show of power in Duitsland, where the reforming instances had still ground due to the predication of Otto of Ostia, advancing up to Magdeburg in Saxony. He also declared the Peace of God in all the Imperial territories to quench any sedition. On March 8, 1088 Otto of Ostia was elected pope as Victor III: with the Norman support, he excommunicated Henry and Clement III, who was defined "a beast sprung out from the earth to wage war against the Saints of God". He also formed a large coalition against the Holy Roman Empire, including, aside from the Normans, the Rus of Kiev, the Lombard communes of Milan, Cremona, Lodi and Piacenza and Matilda of Canossa, who had she remarried to Welf II of Bavaria, therefore creating a concentration of power too formidable to be neglected by the emperor.

[edit] Internecine wars and death
In 1088 Henry of Luxembourg died and Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen, a longtime enemy of the emperor's, proclaimed himself the antiking's successor. Henry had him condemned by a Saxon diet and then a national one at Quedlinburg and Regensburg respectively, but was defeated by Egbert when a relief army came to the margrave's rescue during the siege of Gleichen. Egbert was murdered two years later (1090) and his ineffectual insurrection and royal pretensions fell apart.

Henry then launched his third punitive expedition in Italy. After some initial success against the lands of Canossa, his defeat in 1092 caused the rebellion of the Lombard communes. The insurrection extended when Matilda managed to turn against him his elder son, Conrad, who was crowned King of Italy at Monza in 1093. The Emperor therefore found himself cut off from Duitsland. He could return there only in 1097: in Duitsland his power wall still at its height, as Welf V of Bavaria separated from Matilda and Bavaria gave back to Welf IV.

Henry reacted by deposing Conrad at the diet of Mainz in April 1098, and designating his younger son Henry (future Henry V) as successor, under the oath sworn that he would never follow his brother's example.

The abdication of Henry IV in favour of Henry V from the Cronichle of Ekkehard von Aura.The situation in the Empire remained chaotic, worsened by the further excommunication against Henry launched by the new pope Paschal II, a follower of Gregory VII's reformation ideals elected in the August of 1099. But this time the emperor, meeting with some success in his efforts to restore order, could afford to ignore the papal bana. A successful campaign in Flanders was followed in 1103 by a diet at Mainz, where serious efforts were made to restore peace, and Henry IV himself promised to go on crusade. But this plan was shattered by the revolt of his son Henry in 1104, who, encouraged by the adherents of the pope, declared he owed no allegiance to an excommunicated father. Saxony and Thuringia were soon in arms, the bishops held mainly to the younger Henry, while the emperor was supported by the towns. A desultory warfare was unfavourable, however, to the emperor, who was taken as prisoner at an alleged reconciliation meeting at Koblenz. At a diet held in Mainz in December, Henry IV was forced to resign to his crown, being subsequently imprisoned in the castle of Böckelheim. Here he was also obliged that he had unjustly persecuted Gregory VII and to have illegally named Clement III.

When these conditions became known in Duitsland, a vivid movement of dissension spread. In 1106 the loyal party set up a large army to fight Henry V and Paschal. Henry IV managed to escape to Keulen from his jail, finding a considerable support in the lower Rhineland. He also entered into negotiations with England, France and Denmark.

Henry was also able to defeat his son's army near Visé, in Lorraine, on March 2, 1106. He however died soon afterwards after nine days of illness, while he was guest of his friend Othbert, Bishop of Liège. He was 56.

His body was buried by the bishop of Liege with suitable ceremony, but by command of the papal legate it was unearthed, taken to Speyer and placed in the at that time unconsecrated chapel of Saint Afra that was build on the side of the Imperial Cathedral. After being released from the sentence of excommunication, the remains were buried in the Speyer cathedral in August 1111.

[edit] Evaluation
Henry IV was known for licentious behaviour in his early years, being described as careless and self-willed. In his later life, he displayed much diplomatic ability. His abasement at Canossa can be regarded as a move of policy to weaken the pope's position at the cost of a personal humiliation to himself. He was always regarded as a friend of the lower orders, was capable of generosity and gratitude, and showed considerable military skill.

[edit] Marriages
Henry's wife Bertha died on December 27, 1087. She was also buried at the Speyer Cathedral. Their children were:

Agnes of Duitsland (born 1072), married Frederick I von Staufen, Duke of Swabia.
Conrad (February 12, 1074-July 27, 1101)
Adelaide, died in infancy
Henry, died in infancy
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
In 1089 Henry married Eupraxia of Kiev, a daughter of Vsevolod I, Prince of Kiev, and sister to his son Vladimir II Monomakh, prince of Kievan Rus. She assumed the name "Adelaide" upon her coronation. In 1094 she joined the rebellion against Henry, accusing him of holding her prisoner, forcing her to participate in orgies, and attempting a black mass on her naked body.

[edit] Henry IV in fiction
The title character in the tragedy Enrico IV by Luigi Pirandello is a madman who believes himself to be Henry IV.

[edit] Notes
^ Bertha in the meantime had retired to the Abbey of Lorscheim.
^ J. Norwich, Byzantium: The Decline and Fall, 21

[edit] Sources
Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1988). History of Rome in the Middle Ages. Rome: Newton Compton.
Robinson, I.S. (2000). Henry IV of Duitsland 1056-1106.
Preceded by
Henry III German King
formally King of the Romans
1053-1087 Succeeded by
Conrad
King of Italy
1080-1093
Holy Roman Emperor
1084-1105 Succeeded by
Henry V
Preceded by
Conrad I Duke of Bavaria
1053-1054;
1055-1061;
1077-1096 Succeeded by
Conrad II
Preceded by
Conrad II Succeeded by
Otto II
Preceded by
Welf I Succeeded by
Welf I

Duke of Bavaria as Henry VIII, 1055-1061. Coming of age to rule on his own in
1065 after a terrible series of regents, Henry himself was badly prepared for
the job ahead. Henry was only partially successful during his reign, for
while he strengthened the king's position against the nobles by gaining the
support of the peasants, the citizens, and the ministerials, his continuing
battles with the reforming church over investiture ultimately weakened royal
influence over the papacy.

[alfred_descendants10gen_fromrootsweb_bartont.FTW]

King of Duitsland 1054-1084, Emperor 1084-1106; m. (1) Bertha, dau of Otto. (Weis 45-23)

King of Duitsland (Holy Roman Empire) from 1056 and Emperor from 1084, until his abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty.
Henry was the eldest son of the Emperor Henry III, by his second wife Agnes de Poitou, and was probably born at the royal palace at Goslar. His christening was delayed until the following Easter so that Abbot Hugh of Cluny could be one of his godparents. But even before that, at his Christmas court Henry III induced the attending nobles to promise fidelity to his son. Three years later, still anxious to ensure the succession, Henry III had a larger assembly of nobles elect the young Henry as his successor, and then, on July 17, 1054, had him crowned as king by Herman II, Archbishop of Keulen. Thus when Henry III unexpectedly died in 1056, the accession of the six-year-old Henry IV was not opposed. The dowager Empress Agnes acted as regent.
Henry's reign was marked by efforts to consolidate Imperial power. In reality, however, it was a careful balancing act between maintaining the loyalty of the nobility and the support of the pope. Henry jeopardized both when, in 1075, his insistence on the right of a secular ruler to invest, i.e., to place in office, members of the clergy, especially bishops, began the conflict known as the Investiture Controversy. In the same year he defeated a rebellion of Saxons in the First Battle of Langensalza. Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry on February 22, 1076. Gregory, on his way to a diet at Augsburg, and hearing that Henry was approaching, took refuge in the castle of Canossa (near Reggio Emilia), belonging to Matilda, Countess of Tuscany. Henry's intent, however, was to perform the penance required to lift his excommunication, and ensure his continued rule. He stood for three days, January 25 to January 27, 1077, outside the gate at Canossa in the snow, begging the pope to rescind the sentence (popularly portrayed as without shoes, taking no food or shelter, and wearing a hairshirt). The Pope lifted the excommunication, imposing a vow to comply with certain conditions, which Henry soon violated.
In 1088, Henry of Luxembourg, an antiking, died and Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen, a longtime enemy of the emperor's proclaimed himself the antiking's successor. Henry had him condemned by a Saxon diet and then a national one at Quedlinburg and Regensburg respectively, but was defeated by Egbert when a relief army came to the margrave's rescue during the siege of Gleichen. Egbert was murdered two years later (1090) and his ineffectual insurrection and royal pretensions fell apart.
In his last years Henry faced rebellions from his eldest son and his wife. He died at Liège in 1106, "like one falling asleep", after nine days of illness. He was interred next to his father at Speyer.

Henry IV (November 11, 1050 - August 7, 1106) was King of Duitsland (Hol y Roman Empire) from 1056 and Emperor from 1084, until his abdicationi n 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty. Henry was th e eldest son of the Emperor Henry III, by his second wifeAgnes de Poit ou, and was probably born at the royal palace at Goslar.His christenin g was delayed until the following Easter so that Abbot Hugh of Cluny c ould be one of his godparents. But even before that, athis Christmas c ourt Henry III induced the attending nobles to promisefidelity to his son. Three years later, still anxious to ensure the succession, Henry III had a larger assembly of nobles elect the young Henry as his succe ssor, and then, on July 17, 1054, had him crowned as king by Herman II , Archbishop of Keulen. Thus when Henry III unexpectedly died in 1056 , the accession of the six-year-old Henry IV was not opposed. The dowa ger Empress Agnes acted as regent.

Henry's reign was marked by efforts to consolidate Imperial power. Inr eality, however, it was a careful balancing act between maintaining th e loyalty of the nobility and the support of the pope. Henry jeopardiz ed both when, in 1075, his insistence on the right of a secular ruler to invest, i.e., to place in office, members of the clergy, especiall y bishops, began the conflict known as the Investiture Controversy. I n the same year he defeated a rebellion of Saxons in the First Battleo f Langensalza. Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry on February 22,10 76. Gregory, on his way to a diet at Augsburg, and hearing that Henry was approaching, took refuge in the castle of Canossa (near Reggio Emi lia), belonging to Matilda, Countess of Tuscany. Henry's intent, howev er, was to perform the penance required to lift his excommunication, a nd ensure his continued rule. He stood for three days, January 25 to J anuary 27, 1077, outside the gate at Canossa in the snow, begging the pope to rescind the sentence (popularly portrayed as without shoes, ta king no food or shelter, and wearing a hairshirt). The Pope lifted th e excommunication, imposing a vow to comply with certain conditions, w hich Henry soon violated.

In 1088, Henry of Luxembourg, an antiking, died and Egbert II, Margrav e of Meissen, a longtime enemy of the emperor's proclaimed himself th e antiking's successor. Henry had him condemned by a Saxon diet and th en a national one at Quedlinburg and Regensburg respectively, but wasd efeated by Egbert when a relief army came to the margrave's rescue dur ing the siege of Gleichen. Egbert was murdered two years later (1090) and his ineffectual insurrection and royal pretensions fell apart.In h is last years Henry faced rebellions from his eldest son and his wife . He died at Liège in 1106, "like one falling asleep," after nine day s of illness. He was interred next to his father at Speyer.

In 1055 Henry was betrothed to Bertha of Maurienne, daughter of CountO tto of Savoy. They were married in June 1066. In 1068 he attempted to divorce her, but was unable, and Bertha was restored as Empress a yea r later. She died on December 27, 1086 and was buried at the Speyer Ca thedral. Their children were: Agnes of Duitsland (born 1072/1073), marri ed Frederick I von Staufen, Duke of Swabia;
Conrad (February 12, 1074 - July 27, 1101); Adelaide, died in infancy ; Henry, died in infancy.

In 1089 Henry married Eupraxia of Kiev, a daughter of Vsevolod I, Prin ce of Kiev, and sister to his son Vladimir Monomakh (1053 -- May 19, 1 125), prince of Kievan Rus. She assumed the name "Adelaide" upon her c oronation. In 1094 she joined a rebellion against Henry, accusing himo f holding her prisoner, forcing her to participate in orgies, and atte mpting a black mass on her naked body.

[Kopi av ROYALS.FTW]

Holy Roman Emperor. Succeeded his father at age 6, but during most of his
minority, his mother ruled in his name. During his reign there was a great
struggle for temporal power in the Empire between the Papacy and the
Holy Roman Emperors.

{geni:about_me}
Henry IV (German: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was King of Duitsland from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century. His reign was marked by the Investiture Controversy with the Papacy and several civil wars with pretenders to his throne in Italy and Duitsland.

Biography

Regency

Henry was the youngest son of Emperor Henry III, by his third wife Agnes de Poitou, and was probably born at the royal villa at Goslar. His christening was delayed until the following November so that Abbot Hugh of Cluny could be one of his godparents. But even before that, at his Christmas court, Henry III induced the attending nobles to promise fidelity to his son. Three years later, still anxious to ensure the succession, Henry III had a larger assembly of nobles elect the young Henry as his successor, and then, had him elected as king by Herman II, Archbishop of Keulen at Trebur. The coronation was held on 17 July 1054 in Aachen. When Henry III unexpectedly died in 1056, the accession of the six-year-old Henry IV was not opposed by his vassals. The Dowager Empress Agnes acted as regent, and, according to the will of the dead emperor, the German pope Victor II was named as her counselor. The latter's death in 1057 soon showed the political ineptitude of Agnes, and the powerful influence held over her by German magnates and Imperial functionaries.

Agnes assigned the Duchy of Bavaria, given by her husband to Henry IV, to Otto of Nordheim. This deprived the young king of a solid base of power. Likewise, her decision to assign the Duchies of Swabia and Carinthia to Rudolf of Rheinfelden (who married her daughter Matilda) and Berthold of Zähringen, respectively, would prove mistakes, as both later rebelled against the king. Unlike Henry III, Agnes proved incapable of influencing the election of the new popes, Stephen IX, and Nicholas II. The Papal alliance with the Normans of southern Italy, formed to counter the communal resistance in Rome, resulted in the deterioration of relations with the German King, as well as Nicholas' interference in the election of German bishops. Agnes also granted local magnates extensive territorial privileges that eroded the King's material power.

In 1062 the young king was kidnapped during a conspiracy of German nobles led by Archbishop Anno II of Keulen. Henry, who was at Kaiserwerth, was persuaded to board a boat lying in the Rhine; it was immediately unmoored and the king jumped into the stream, but was rescued by one of the conspirators and carried to Keulen. Agnes retired to a convent, the government subsequently placed in the hands of Anno. His first move was to recognize Pope Alexander II in his conflict with the antipope Honorius II, who had been initially recognized by Agnes but was subsequently left without support.

Anno's rule proved unpopular. The education and training of Henry were supervised by Anno, who was called his magister, while Adalbert of Hamburg, archbishop of Bremen, was styled Henry's patrons. Henry's education seems to have been neglected, and his willful and headstrong nature developed under the conditions of these early years. The malleable Adalbert of Hamburg soon became the confidante of the ruthless Henry. Eventually, during an absence of Anno from Duitsland, Henry managed to obtain control of his civil duties, leaving Anno only with the ecclesiastical ones.

First years of rule and the Saxon Wars

In March 1065 Henry was declared of age. The whole of his future reign was apparently marked by efforts to consolidate Imperial power. In reality, however, it was a careful balancing act between maintaining the loyalty of the nobility and the support of the pope.

In 1066, one year after his enthroning at the age of fifteen, he expelled Adalbert of Hamburg, who had profited from his position for personal enrichment, from the Crown Council. Henry also adopted urgent military measures against the Slav pagans, who had recently invaded Duitsland and besieged Hamburg.

In June 1066 Henry married Bertha of Maurienne, daughter of Count Otto of Savoy, to whom he had been betrothed in 1055. In the same year, he assembled an army to fight, at the request of the Pope, the Italo-Normans of southern Italy. Henry's troops had reached Augsburg when he received news that Godfrey of Tuscany, husband of the powerful Matilda of Canossa, marchioness of Tuscany, had already attacked the Normans. Therefore the expedition was halted.

In 1068, driven by his impetuous character and his infidelities, Henry attempted to divorce Bertha[1]. His peroration at a council in Mainz was however rejected by the Papal legate Pier Damiani, who hinted that any further insistence towards divorce would lead the new pope, Alexander II, to deny his coronation. Henry obeyed and his wife returned to Court, but he was convinced that the Papal opposition aimed only at overthrowing lay power within the Empire, in favor of an ecclesiastical hierarchy.

In the late 1060s, Henry set up with strong determination to reduce any opposition and to enlarge the national boundaries. He led expeditions against the Liutici and the margrave of a district east of Saxony, and soon afterward he had to quell the rebellions with Rudolf of Swabia and Berthold of Carinthia. Much more serious was Henry's struggle with Otto of Nordheim, duke of Bavaria. This prince, who occupied an influential position in Duitsland and was one of the protagonists of Henry's early kidnapping, was accused in 1070 by a certain Egino of being privy to a plot to murder the king. It was decided that a trial by battle should take place at Goslar, but when the demand of Otto for a safe-conduct for himself and his followers, to and from the place of meeting, was refused, he declined to appear. He was thereupon declared deposed in Bavaria, and his Saxon estates were plundered. He obtained sufficient support, however, to carry on a struggle with the king in Saxony and Thuringia until 1071, when he submitted at Halberstadt. Henry aroused the hostility of the Thuringians by supporting Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, in his efforts to exact tithes from them; but still more formidable was the enmity of the Saxons, who had several causes of complaint against the king. He was the son of one enemy, Henry III, and the friend of another, Adalbert of Bremen. He had ordered a restoration of all crown lands in Saxony and had built forts among his people, while the country was ravaged to supply the needs of his courtiers, and its duke Magnus was a prisoner in his hands. All classes were united against him, and when the struggle broke out in 1073 the Thuringians joined the Saxons. The war, which lasted with slight intermissions until 1088, exercised a most potent influence upon Henry's fortunes elsewhere.

[edit] Investiture Controversy

Main article: Investiture Controversy

Initially, in need of support for his expeditions in Saxony and Thuringia, Henry adhered to the Papal decrees in religious matters. His apparent weakness, however, had the side effect of spurring the ambitions of Gregory VII, a reformist monk elected as pontiff in 1073, for Papal hegemony.

The tension between Empire and Church culminated in the councils of 1074–1075, which constituted a substantial attempt to delegitimize Henry III's policy. Among other measures, they denied to secular rulers the right to place members of the clergy in office; this had dramatic effects in Duitsland, where bishops were often powerful feudatories who, in this way, they were able to free themselves from imperial authority. Aside from the reacquisition of all lost privileges by the ecclesiastics, the council's decision deprived the imperial crown of rights to almost half its lands, with grievous consequences for national unity, especially in peripheral areas like the Kingdom of Italy.

Suddenly hostile to Gregory, Henry did not relent from his positions: after his defeat of Otto of Nordheim, he continued to interfere in Italian and German episcopal life, naming bishops at his will and declaring papal provisions illegitimate. In 1075 Gregory excommunicated some members of the Imperial Court and threatened to do the same with Henry himself. Further, in a synod held in February of that year, Gregory clearly established the supreme power of the Catholic Church, with the Empire subjected to it. Henry replied with a counter-synod of his own.

The beginning of the conflict known as the Investiture Controversy can be assigned to Christmas night of 1075: Gregory was kidnapped and imprisoned by Cencio I Frangipane, a Roman noble while officiating at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Later freed by Roman people, Gregory accused Henry of having been behind the attempt. In the same year, the emperor had defeated a rebellion of Saxons in the First Battle of Langensalza and was, therefore, free to accept the challenge.

At Worms, on 24 January 1076, a synod of bishops and princes summoned by Henry declared Gregory VII deposed. Hildebrand replied by excommunicating the emperor and all the bishops named by him on 22 February 1076. In October of that year, a diet of the German princes in Tribur attempted to find a settlement for the conflict, conceding Henry a year to repent from his actions, before the ratification of the excommunication that the pope was to sign in Swabia some months later. Henry did not repent, and, counting on the hostility showed by the Lombard clergy against Gregory, decided to move to Italy. He left Speyer in December 1076, spent Christmas of that year in Besançon and, together with his wife and his son, he crossed the Alps with help of the Bishop of Turin and reached Pavia.

Gregory, on his way to the Diet of Augsburg, and hearing that Henry was approaching, took refuge in the castle of Canossa (near Reggio Emilia), belonging to Matilda. Henry's troops were nearby.

Henry's intent, however, was apparently to perform the penance required to lift his excommunication and ensure his continued rule. The choice of an Italian location for the act of repentance, instead of Augsburg, was not accidental: it aimed to consolidate the Imperial power in an area partly hostile to the Pope; to lead in person the prosecution of events; and to oppose the pact signed by German feudataries and the Pope in Tribur with the strong German party that had deposed Henry at Worms, through the concrete presence of his army.

He stood in the snow outside the gates of the castle of Canossa for three days, from 25 January to 27 January 1077, begging the pope to rescind the sentence (popularly portrayed as without shoes, taking no food or shelter, and wearing a hairshirt - see Walk of Canossa). The Pope lifted the excommunication, imposing a vow to comply with certain conditions, which Henry soon violated.

[edit] Civil war and recovery

Rudolf of Rheinfelden, a two-time brother-in-law of Henry along with allied German Aristocrats, took advantage of the momentary weakness of the Emperor in what became known as the Great Saxon Revolt by having himself declared antiking by a council of Saxon, Bavarian, and Carinthian princes in March of 1077 in Forchheim. Rudolf promised to respect the electoral concept of the monarchy and declared his willingness to be subservient to the pope. After meeting with Henry the pope had concurrently removed the excommunication of Henry IV.

Despite these difficulties, Henry's situation in Duitsland improved in the following years. When Rudolf was crowned at Mainz in May 1077 by one of the plotters, Siegfried I, Archbishop of Mainz, the population revolted and forced him, the archbishop, and other nobles to flee to Saxony. Positioned there, Rudolf was geographically and then militarily deprived of his territories (later he was also stripped of Swabia) by Henry. After the inconclusive battle of Mellrichstadt (7 August 1077) and the defeat of Henry's forces in the Flarchheim (27 January 1080), Gregory flip-flopped to support the revolt and launched a second anathema (excommunication) against Henry on March 1080, thereby supporting the anti-king Rudolph. However, the ample evidence that Gregory's actions were rooted in hate for the Emperor-elect instead of theology had an unfavorable personal impact on the Pope's reputation and authority leading much of Duitsland to re-embrace Henry's cause.

On 14 October 1080 the armies of the two rival kings met at the Weisse Elster River in the battle of Elster[2][3], in the plain of Leipzig and Henry's forces again suffered a military defeat, but won the battle with a strategic outcome— the anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden was mortally wounded and died the next day at nearby Merseburg, and the rebellion against Henry lost much of its momentum.

Soon after, another antiking, Hermann of Salm, arose as a figurehead in the Great Saxon Revolt cause but was fought successfully by Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (Frederick of Swabia)— Rudolf's Henry-appointed successor in Swabia who had married Henry's daughter Agnes of Duitsland. Henry convoked a synod of the highest German clergy in Bamberg and Brixen (June 1080). Here Henry had pope Gregory (he'd dubbed "The False Monk") again deposed and replaced by the primate of Ravenna, Guibert (now known as the antipope Clement III, though who was in the right was unclear in the day).

[edit] Second voyage to Italy

Henry entered Pavia and was crowned here as King of Italy, receiving the Iron Crown. He also assigned a series of privileges to the Italian cities who had supported him, and marched against the hated Matilda, declaring her deposed for lese majesty and confiscating her possessions. Then he moved to Rome, which he besieged first in 1081: he was however compelled to retire to Tuscany, where he granted privileges to various cities and obtained monetary assistance (360,000 gold pieces)[4] from a new ally, the eastern emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, who aimed to thwart the Normans aims against his empire. A second and equally unsuccessful attack on Rome was followed by a war of devastation in northern Italy with the adherents of Matilda, and towards the end of 1082, the king made a third attack on Rome. After a siege of seven months, the Leonine city fell into his hands. A treaty was concluded with the Romans, who agreed that the quarrel between king and pope should be decided by a synod, and secretly bound themselves to induce Gregory to crown Henry as emperor, or to choose another pope. Gregory, however, shut up in Castel Sant'Angelo, would hear of no compromise; the synod was a failure, as Henry prevented the attendance of many of the pope's supporters; and the king, in pursuance of his treaty with Alexios, marched against the Normans. The Romans soon fell away from their allegiance to the pope; and, recalled to the city, Henry entered Rome in March 1084, after which Gregory was declared deposed and Clement was recognized by the Romans. On 31 March 1084, Henry was crowned emperor by Clement and received the patrician authority. His next step was to attack the fortresses still in the hands of Gregory. The pope was saved by the advance of Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia, who left the siege of Durazzo and marched towards Rome: Henry left the city and Gregory could be freed. The latter, however, died soon later at Salerno (1085), not before the last letter in which he exhorted the whole of Christianity to a crusade against the emperor.

Feeling secure of his success in Italy, Henry returned to Duitsland.

The Emperor spent 1084 in a show of power in Duitsland, where the reforming instances had still ground due to the predication of Otto of Ostia, advancing up to Magdeburg in Saxony. He also declared the Peace of God in all the Imperial territories to quench any sedition. On 8 March 1088 Otto of Ostia was elected pope as Victor III: with Norman support, he excommunicated Henry and Clement III, who was defined "a beast sprung out from the earth to wage war against the Saints of God". He also formed a large coalition against the Holy Roman Empire, including, aside from the Normans, the Rus of Kiev, the Lombard communes of Milan, Cremona, Lodi and Piacenza and Matilda of Canossa, who had remarried to Welf II of Bavaria, therefore creating a concentration of power too formidable to be neglected by the emperor.

[edit] Internecine wars and death

In 1088 Hermann of Salm died and Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen, a long-time enemy of the emperor's, proclaimed himself the antiking's successor. Henry had him condemned by a Saxon diet and then a national one at Quedlinburg and Regensburg respectively but was defeated by Egbert when a relief army came to the margrave's rescue during the siege of Gleichen. Egbert was murdered two years later (1090) and his ineffectual insurrection and royal pretensions fell apart.

Henry then launched his third punitive expedition in Italy. After some initial success against the lands of Canossa, his defeat in 1092 caused the rebellion of the Lombard communes. The insurrection extended when Matilda managed to turn against him his elder son, Conrad, who was crowned King of Italy at Monza in 1093. The Emperor, therefore, found himself cut off from Duitsland. He could return there only in 1097: in Duitsland, his power was still at its height. Matilda of Canossa had secretly transferred her property to the Church in 1089, before her marriage to Welf II of Bavaria (1072-1120). In 1095, a furious Welf left her and, together with his father, switched his allegiance to Henry IV, possibly in exchange for a promise of succeeding his father as duke of Bavaria. Henry reacted by deposing Conrad at the diet of Mainz in April 1098 and designating his younger son Henry (future Henry V) as successor, under the oath sworn that he would never follow his brother's example.

The situation in the Empire remained chaotic, worsened by the further excommunication against Henry launched by the new pope Paschal II, a follower of Gregory VII's reformation ideals elected in the August of 1099. But this time the emperor, meeting with some success in his efforts to restore order, could afford to ignore the papal ban. A successful campaign in Flanders was followed in 1103 by a diet at Mainz, where serious efforts were made to restore peace, and Henry IV himself promised to go on crusade. But this plan was shattered by the revolt of his son Henry in 1104, who, encouraged by the adherents of the pope, declared he owed no allegiance to an excommunicated father. Saxony and Thuringia were soon in arms, the bishops held mainly to the younger Henry, while the emperor was supported by the towns. Desultory warfare was unfavorable, however, to the emperor, who was taken as a prisoner at an alleged reconciliation meeting at Koblenz. At a diet held in Mainz in December, Henry IV was forced to resign his crown, being subsequently imprisoned in the castle of Böckelheim. Here he was also obliged to say that he had unjustly persecuted Gregory VII and to have illegally named Clement III.

When these conditions became known in Duitsland, a vivid movement of dissension spread. In 1106 the loyal party set up a large army to fight Henry V and Paschal. Henry IV managed to escape to Keulen from his jail, finding considerable support in the lower Rhineland. He also entered into negotiations with England, France, and Denmark.

Henry was also able to defeat his son's army near Visé, in Lorraine, on 2 March 1106. However, he died soon afterward after nine days of illness, while he was the guest of his friend Robert, Bishop of Liège. He was 56.

His body was buried by the bishop of Liege with suitable ceremony, but by command of the papal legate, it was unearthed, taken to Speyer and placed in the unconsecrated chapel of Saint Afra that was built on the side of the Imperial Cathedral. After being released from the sentence of excommunication, the remains were buried in Speyer cathedral in August 1111.

Evaluation

Henry IV was known for licentious behavior in his early years, being described as careless and self-willed. In his later life, he displayed much diplomatic ability. His abasement at Canossa can be regarded as a move of policy to weaken the pope's position at the cost of a personal humiliation to himself. He was always regarded as a friend of the lower orders, was capable of generosity and gratitude, and showed considerable military skill.

Marriages

Henry's wife Bertha died on 27 December 1087. She was also buried at the Speyer Cathedral. Their children were:

1. Agnes of Duitsland (born 1072), married Frederick I von Staufen, Duke of Swabia, and Leopold III, Margrave of Austria.

2. Conrad (12 February 1074 – 27 July 1101)

3. Adelaide died in infancy

4. Henry died in infancy

5. Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

In 1089 Henry married Eupraxia of Kiev (crowned Empress in 1088), a daughter of Vsevolod I, Prince of Kiev, and sister to his son Vladimir II Monomakh, prince of Kievan Rus. She assumed the name "Adelaide" upon her coronation. In 1094, she joined the rebellion against Henry, accusing him of holding her prisoner, forcing her to participate in orgies, and attempting a black mass on her naked body.[5]

[edit] Henry IV in fiction

The title character in the tragedy Enrico IV by Luigi Pirandello is a madman who believes himself to be Henry IV.

[edit] Ancestry

Ancestors of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor[hide]

16. Otto I, Duke of Carinthia

8. Henry of Speyer

17. Judith of Bavaria

4. Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor

18. Richard, Count of Metz

or

Gerhard of Metz

9. Adelaide of Metz

19.

2. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor

20. Conrad I, Duke of Swabia

10. Herman II, Duke of Swabia

21. Richlind of Saxony

5. Gisela of Swabia

22. Conrad of Burgundy

11. Gerberga of Burgundy

23. Matilda of France

1. Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

24. William III, Duke of Aquitaine

12. William IV, Duke of Aquitaine

25. Adele of Normandy

6. William V, Duke of Aquitaine

26. Theobald I of Blois

13. Emma of Blois

27. Luitgarde of Vermandois

3. Agnes of Poitou

28. Adalbert of Italy

14. Otto-William, Count of Burgundy

29. Gerberga of Mâcon

7. Agnes of Burgundy

30. Renaud of Rheims and Roucy

15. Ermentrude of Roucy

31. Albérade of Hennegau

Henry IV (Henrik)

Heinrich

Henrik

Tyskland, 1050-1106

http://www.futura-dtp.dk/SLAG/Personer/NavneH/Henry4TL.htm

Tysk konge 1056-1105, kronet til kejser 1084. Søn af Henry III. Efter skiftende regentskaber erklæredes han myndig 1065. Han var udsvævende og ilsindet, men ikke uden energi. Han evnede ikke at opretholde faderens magtfylde; mod hertugerne søgte han at styrke sin sachsiske husmagt, og mod paven støttede han sig til højgejstligheden. Investiturspørgsmålet bragte ham i strid med Gregor VII, der bandlyste ham 1076; for at undgå en afsættelse fra fyrsternes side ydmygede Henry sig for paven i Canossa 1077, et politisk skaktræk, der kun lykkedes delvis. Fyrsterne valgte en modkonge, der dog faldt 1080, hvorefter Henry indtog Rom. Kampe i Italien og oprør af Henrys søn Heinrich (V) gjorde hans sidste år mørke, og han nedlagde kronen 1105. Hans lange kamp for rigsenheden var ikke uden betydning for fremtiden.

--------------------

Henry IV of Bavaria - was born on 11 Nov 1050 in Saxony and died on 7 Aug 1106 in Liege, Lorraine, France . He was the son of Emperor Heinrich III "the black" of Roman Empire and Princess Agnaes of Aquitaine.

Henry married Bertha of Maurienne. Bertha was born on 21 Sep 1051. She was the daughter of Count Otto (Eudes) of Savoy and Adelaide of Torino. She died on 27 Dec 1087 .

Henry - engaged in a long struggle with Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII) on the question of lay investiture (see Investiture Controversy), eventually drawing excommunication on himself and doing penance at Canossa (1077). His last ye ars were spent countering the rebellion of his sons Conrad and Henry (the future Henry V Children: (Quick Family Chart)

i. Agnes of Duitsland was born in 1072/1073 and died on 24 Sep 1143 .

Agnes married Duke Frederick I of Swabia in 1080. Duke Frederick was born about 1050. He was the son of Count Frederick of Buren and Hildegard of Swabia. He died on 20 Jan 1105 .

See of Buren family for children.

--------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor

--------------------

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HEINRIC·IMP[ERATOR], Emperor Henry IV.

Henry IV (November 11, 1050 – August 7, 1106) was King of Duitsland from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084, until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the eleventh century. His reign was marked by the Investiture Controversy with the Papacy and several civil wars with pretenders to his throne in Italy and Duitsland.Contents [hide]

1 Biography

1.1 Regency

1.2 First years of rule and Saxon War

1.3 Investiture Controversy

1.4 Civil war and recovery

1.5 Second voyage to Italy

1.6 Internecine wars and death

2 Evaluation

3 Marriages

4 Henry IV in fiction

5 See also

6 Notes

7 Sources

[edit]

Biography

[edit]

Regency

Henry was the eldest son of the Emperor Henry III, by his second wife Agnes de Poitou, and was probably born at the royal palace at Goslar. His christening was delayed until the following Easter so that Abbot Hugh of Cluny could be one of his godparents. But even before that, at his Christmas court Henry III induced the attending nobles to promise fidelity to his son. Three years later, still anxious to ensure the succession, Henry III had a larger assembly of nobles elect the young Henry as his successor, and then, on July 17, 1054, had him elected as king by Herman II, Archbishop of Keulen at Trebur. The coronation was held in Aachen in 1054. When Henry III unexpectedly died in 1056, the accession of the six-year-old Henry IV was not opposed by his vassals. The dowager Empress Agnes acted as regent, and, according to the will of the dead emperor, the German pope Victor II was named as her counsellor. The latter's death in 1057 soon showed the political ineptitude of Agnes, and the powerful influence held over her by German magnates and Imperial functionaries.

Agnes assigned the Duchy of Bavaria, given by her husband to Henry IV, to Otto of Nordheim. This deprived the young king of a solid base of power. Likewise, her decision to assign the Duchies of Swabia and Carinthia to Rudolf of Rheinfelden (who married her daughter) and Berthold of Zähringen, respectively, would prove mistakes, as both later rebelled against the king. Unlike Henry III, Agnes proved incapable of influencing the election of the new popes, Stephen IX and Nicholas II. The Papal alliance with the Normans of southern Italy, formed to counter the communal resistance in Rome, resulted in the deterioration of relations with the German King, as well as Nicholas' interference in the election of German bishops. Agnes also granted local magnates extensive territorial privileges that eroded the King's material power.

In 1062 the young king was kidnapped during a conspiracy of German nobles led by archbishop Anno II of Keulen. Henry, who was at Kaiserwerth, was persuaded to board a boat lying in the Rhine; it was immediately unmoored and the king sprang into the stream, but was rescued by one of the conspirators and carried to Keulen. Agnes retired to a convent, the government subsequently placed in the hands of Anno. His first move was to recognize the Pope Alexander II in his conflict with the antipope Honorius II, who had been initially recognized by Agnes but was subsequently left without support.

Anno's rule proved unpopular. The education and training of Henry were supervised by Anno, who was called his magister, while Adalbert of Hamburg, archbishop of Bremen, was styled Henry's patronus. Henry's education seems to have been neglected, and his willful and headstrong nature developed under the conditions of these early years. The malleable Adalbert of Hamburg soon became the confidant of the ruthless Henry. Eventually, during an absence of Anno from Duitsland, Henry managed to obtain the control of his civil duties, leaving Anno only with the ecclesiastical ones.

[edit]

First years of rule and Saxon War

In March 1065 Henry was declared of age. The whole of his future reign was apparently marked by efforts to consolidate Imperial power. In reality, however, it was a careful balancing act between maintaining the loyalty of the nobility and the support of the pope.

In 1066, one year after his enthroning at the age of fifteen, he expelled Adalbert of Hamburg, who had profited off his position for personal enrichment, from the Crown Council. Henry also adopted urgent military measures against the Slav pagans, who had recently invaded Duitsland and besieged Hamburg.

In June 1066 Henry married Bertha of Maurienne, daughter of Count Otto of Savoy, to whom he had been betrothed in 1055. In the same year he assembled an army to fight, at the request of the Pope, the Italo-Normans of southern Italy. Henry's troops had reached Augsburg when he received news that Godfrey of Tuscany, husband of the powerful Matilda of Canossa, marchioness of Tuscany, had already attacked the Normans. Therefore the expedition was halted.

In 1068, driven by his impetuous character and his infidelities, Henry attempted to divorce Bertha[1]. His peroration at a council in Mainz was however rejected by the Papal legate Pier Damiani, who hinted that any further insistence towards divorce would lead the new pope, Alexander II, to deny his coronation. Henry obeyed and his wife returned to Court, but he was convinced that the Papal opposition aimed only at overthrowing lay power within the Empire, in favour of an ecclesiastical hierarchy.

In the late 1060s Henry set up with strong determination to reduce any opposition and to enlarge the national boundaries. He led expeditions against the Liutici and the margrave of a district east of Saxony; and soon afterwards he had to quench the rebellions of with Rudolf of Swabia and Berthold of Carinthia. Much more serious was Henry's struggle with Otto of Nordheim, duke of Bavaria. This prince, who occupied an influential position in Duitsland and was one of the protagonists of Henry's early kidnapping, was accused in 1070 by a certain Egino of being privy to a plot to murder the king. It was decided that a trial by battle should take place at Goslar, but when the demand of Otto for a safe conduct for himself and his followers, to and from the place of meeting, was refused, he declined to appear. He was thereupon declared deposed in Bavaria, and his Saxon estates were plundered. He obtained sufficient support, however, to carry on a struggle with the king in Saxony and Thuringia until 1071, when he submitted at Halberstadt. Henry aroused the hostility of the Thuringians by supporting Siegfried, archbishop of Mainz, in his efforts to exact tithes from them; but still more formidable was the enmity of the Saxons, who had several causes of complaint against the king. He was the son of one enemy, Henry III, and the friend of another, Adalbert of Bremen. He had ordered a restoration of all crown lands in Saxony and had built forts among this people, while the country was ravaged to supply the needs of his courtiers, and its duke Magnus was a prisoner in his hands. All classes were united against him, and when the struggle broke out in 1073 the Thuringians joined the Saxons. The war, which lasted with slight intermissions until 1088, exercised a most potent influence upon Henry's fortunes elsewhere.

[edit]

Investiture Controversy

Main article: Investiture Controversy

Initially in need of support for his expeditions in Saxony and Thuringia, Henry adhered to the Papal decrees in religious matters. His apparent weakness, however, had the side effect of spurring the ambitions of Gregory VII, a reformist monk elected as pontiff in 1073, for Papal hegemony.

The tension between Empire and Church culminated in the councils of 1074–1075, which constituted a substantial attempt to delegitimate Henry III's policy. Among other measures, they denied to secular rulers the right to place members of the clergy in office; this had dramatic effects in Duitsland, where bishops were often powerful feudatories who, in this way, were able to free themselves from imperial authority. Aside from the reacquisition of all lost privileges by the ecclesiasticals, the council's decision deprived the imperial crown of rights to almost half its lands, with grievous consequences for national unity, especially in peripheral areas like the Kingdom of Italy.

Suddenly hostile to Gregory, Henry did not relent from his positions: after his defeat of Otto of Nordheim, he continued to interfere in Italian and German episcopal life, naming bishops at his will and declaring papal provisions illegitimate. In 1075 Gregory excommunicated some members of the Imperial Court, and threatened to do the same with Henry himself. Further, in a synod held in February of that year, Gregory clearly established the supreme power of the Catholic Church, with the Empire subjected to it. Henry replied with a counter-synod of his own.

The beginning of the conflict known as the Investiture Controversy can be assigned to Christmas night of 1075: Gregory was kidnapped and imprisoned by Cencio I Frangipane, a Roman noble, while officiating at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. Later freed by Roman people, Gregory accused Henry of having been behind the attempt. In the same year, the emperor had defeated a rebellion of Saxons in the First Battle of Langensalza, and was therefore free to accept the defy.

At Worms, on January 24, 1076, a synod of bishops and princes summoned by Henry declared Gregory VII deposed. Ildebrando replied by excommunicating the emperor and all the bishops named by him on February 22, 1076. In the October of that year a diet of the German princes in Tribur attempted to find a settlement of the conflict, conceding Henry a year to repent from his actions, before the ratification of the excommunication that the pope was to sign in Swabia some months later. Henry did not repent, and, counting on the hostility showed by the Lombard clergy against Gregory, decided to move to Italy. Spent the Christmas of the year in Besançon and, together with his wife and his son, he crossed the Alps with help of the Bishop of Turin and reached Pavia.

Gregory, on his way to the diet of Augsburg, and hearing that Henry was approaching, took refuge in the castle of Canossa (near Reggio Emilia), belonging to Matilda. Henry's troops were in the nearby.

Henry's intent, however, was apparently to perform the penance required to lift his excommunication, and ensure his continued rule. The choice for the repention move of an Italian location, instead of Augsburg, was not casual: it aimed to consolidate the Imperial power in an area partly hostile to the Pope; to lead by person the prosecution of the events; and to oppose the pact signed by German feudataries and the Pope in Tribur with the strong German party that had deposed Gregory at Worms, through the concrete presence of his army.

Henry IV begging Matilda of Canossa.

He stood outside the gates of the castle of Canossa for three days, from January 25 to January 27, 1077, in the snow, begging the pope to rescind the sentence (popularly portrayed as without shoes, taking no food or shelter, and wearing a hairshirt - see Walk of Canossa). The Pope lifted the excommunication, imposing a vow to comply with certain conditions, which Henry soon violated.

[edit]

Civil war and recovery

Rudolf of Rheinfeld, a two-time brother-in-law of Henry, took advantage of the momentary weakness of the Emperor by having himself declared antiking by a council of Saxon, Bavarian, and Carynthian princes in March of 1077 in Forchheim. Rudolf promised to respect the electoral concept of the monarchy and declared his willingness to be subservient to the pope.

Despite these difficulties, Henry's situation in Duitsland improved in the following years. When Rudolf was crowned at Mainz in May 1077, the population revolted and forced him to flee to Saxony, where he was separated from his territories (later he was also stripped of Swabia). After the inconclusive battle of Mellrichstadt (August 7, 1077), the defeat of Flarchheim (27 January 1080) pushed Gregory instead launched a second anathema against Henry in March 1080. However, the evidence that Gregory's hate had such a personal connotation led much of Duitsland to re-embrace Henry's cause.

On October 14, 1080 the armies of the two rival kings met at the Elster River, in the plain of Leipzig. Rudolf was mortally wounded and died soon afterwards, and the rebellion against Henry lost steam. Another antiking, Henry of Luxembourg, was fought successfully by Frederick of Swabia, Rudolf's successor in Swabia who had married Henry's daughter Agnes. Henry convoked a synod of the Highest German Clergy in Bamberg and Brixen (June, 1080). Here Henry had Gregory (dubbed "The False Monk") again deposed and replaced by the primate of Ravenna, Guibert (the antipope Clement III).

[edit]

Second voyage to Italy

Henry entered in Pavia and was crowned here as King of Italy, receiving the Iron Crown. He also assigned a series of privileges to the Italian cities who had supported him, and marched against the hated Matilda, declaring her deposed for lese majesty and confiscating her possessions. Then he moved to Rome, which he besieged first in 1081: he was however compelled to retire to Tuscany, where he granted privileges to various cities, and obtained monetary assistance from a new ally, the eastern emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, who aimed to thwart the Norman's aims against his empire. A second and equally unsuccessful attack on Rome was followed by a war of devastation in northern Italy with the adherents of Matilda; and towards the end of 1082 the king made a third attack on Rome. After a siege of seven months the Leonine city fell into his hands. A treaty was concluded with the Romans, who agreed that the quarrel between king and pope should be decided by a synod, and secretly bound themselves to induce Gregory to crown Henry as emperor, or to choose another pope. Gregory, however, shut up in Castel Sant'Angelo, would hear of no compromise; the synod was a failure, as Henry prevented the attendance of many of the pope's supporters; and the king, in pursuance of his treaty with Alexios, marched against the Normans. The Romans soon fell away from their allegiance to the pope; and, recalled to the city, Henry entered Rome in March 1084, after which Gregory was declared deposed and Clement was recognized by the Romans. On 31 March 1084 Henry was crowned emperor by Clement, and received the patrician authority. His next step was to attack the fortresses still in the hands of Gregory. The pope was saved by the advance of Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia, who left the siege of Durazzo and marched towards Rome: Henry left the city and Gregory could be freed. The latter however died soon later at Salerno (1085), not before a last letter in which he exhorted the whole Christianity to a crusade against the emperor.

Henry IV (left), count palatine Herman II of Lotharingia and Antipope Clement III (center), from Codex Jenesis Bose (1157).

Feeling secure of his success in Italy, Henry returned to Duitsland.

The Emperor spent 1084 in a show of power in Duitsland, where the reforming instances had still ground due to the predication of Otto of Ostia, advancing up to Magdeburg in Saxony. He also declared the Peace of God in all the Imperial territories to quench any sedition. On March 8, 1088 Otto of Ostia was elected pope as Victor III: with the Norman support, he excommunicated Henry and Clement III, who was defined "a beast sprung out from the earth to wage war against the Saints of God". He also formed a large coalition against the Holy Roman Empire, including, aside from the Normans, the Rus of Kiev, the Lombard communes of Milan, Cremona, Lodi and Piacenza and Matilda of Canossa, who had she remarried to Welf II of Bavaria, therefore creating a concentration of power too formidable to be neglected by the emperor.

[edit]

Internecine wars and death

In 1088 Henry of Luxembourg died and Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen, a longtime enemy of the emperor's, proclaimed himself the antiking's successor. Henry had him condemned by a Saxon diet and then a national one at Quedlinburg and Regensburg respectively, but was defeated by Egbert when a relief army came to the margrave's rescue during the siege of Gleichen. Egbert was murdered two years later (1090) and his ineffectual insurrection and royal pretensions fell apart.

Henry then launched his third punitive expedition in Italy. After some initial success against the lands of Canossa, his defeat in 1092 caused the rebellion of the Lombard communes. The insurrection extended when Matilda managed to turn against him his elder son, Conrad, who was crowned King of Italy at Monza in 1093. The Emperor therefore found himself cut off from Duitsland. He could return there only in 1097: in Duitsland his power wall still at its height, as Welf V of Bavaria separated from Matilda and Bavaria gave back to Welf IV.

Henry reacted by deposing Conrad at the diet of Mainz in April 1098, and designating his younger son Henry (future Henry V) as successor, under the swore that he would never follow his brother's example.

The abdication of Henry IV in favour of Henry V from the Cronichle of Ekkehard von Aura.

The situation in the Empire remained chaotic, worsened by the further excommunication against Henry launched by the new pope Paschal II, a follower of Gregory VII's reformation ideals elected in the August of 1099. But this time the emperor, meeting with some success in his efforts to restore order, could afford to ignore the papal bana. A successful campaign in Flanders was followed in 1103 by a diet at Mainz, where serious efforts were made to restore peace, and Henry IV himself promised to go on crusade. But this plan was shattered by the revolt of his son Henry in 1104, who, encouraged by the adherents of the pope, declared he owed no allegiance to an excommunicated father. Saxony and Thuringia were soon in arms, the bishops held mainly to the younger Henry, while the emperor was supported by the towns. A desultory warfare was unfavourable, however, to the emperor, who was taken as prisoner at an alleged reconciliation meeting at Koblenz. At a diet held in Mainz in December, Henry IV was forced to resign to his crown, being subsequently imprisoned in the castle of Böckelheim. Here he was also obliged that he had unjustly persecuted Gregory VII and to have illegally named Clement III.

When these conditions became known in Duitsland, a vivid movement of dissention spread. In 1106 the loyal party set up a large army to fight Henry V and Paschal. Henry IV managed to escape to Keulen from his jail, finding a considerable support in the lower Rhineland. He also entered into negotiations with England, France and Denmark.

Henry was also able to defeat his son's army near Visé, in Lorraine, on March 2, 1106. He however died soon afterwards after nine days of illness, while he was guest of his friend Othbert, Bishop of Liège. He was 56.

His body was buried by the bishop of Liege with suitable ceremony, but by command of the papal legate it was unearthed, taken to Speyer and placed in the at that time unconsecrated chapel of Saint Afra that was build on the side of the Imperial Cathedral. After being released from the sentence of excommunication, the remains were buried in the Speyer cathedral in August 1111.

[edit]

Evaluation

Henry IV was known for licentious behaviours in his early years, being described as careless and self-willed. He showed better qualities in his later life. He displayed much diplomatic ability, and his abasement at Canossa can be regarded as a move of policy to weaken the pope's position at the cost of a personal humiliation to himself. He was always regarded as a friend of the lower orders, was capable of generosity and gratitude, and showed considerable military skill. He holds an honourable position in history as a monarch who resisted the excessive pretensions both of the papacy and of the ambitious feudal lords of Duitsland.

[edit]

Marriages

Henry's wife Bertha died on December 27, 1087. She was also buried at the Speyer Cathedral. Their children were:

Agnes of Duitsland (born 1072), married Frederick I von Staufen, Duke of Swabia.

Conrad (February 12, 1074-July 27, 1101)

Adelaide, died in infancy

Henry, died in infancy

Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor

In 1089 had Henry remarried with Eupraxia of Kiev, a daughter of Vsevolod I, Prince of Kiev, and sister to his son Vladimir II Monomakh, prince of Kievan Rus. She assumed the name "Adelaide" upon her coronation. In 1094 she joined the rebellion against Henry, accusing him of holding her prisoner, forcing her to participate in orgies, and attempting a black mass on her naked body.

[edit]

Henry IV in fiction

The titual character in the tragedy Enrico IV by Luigi Pirandello is a madman who believes himself to be Henry IV.

[edit]

See also

Investiture Controversy

Pope Gregory VII

Pope Alexander II

Pope Paschal II

Matilda of Canossa

Walk of Canossa

[edit]

Notes

^ Bertha in the meantime had retired to the Abbey of Lorscheim.

[edit]

Sources

Gregorovius, Ferdinand (1988). History of Rome in the Middle Ages. Rome: Newton Compton.

Robinson, I.S. (2000). Henry IV of Duitsland 1056-1106. Preceded by

Henry IIIRoman-German King

1053–1087Succeeded by

Conrad

King of Italy

1080–1093

Preceded by

Henry IIIHoly Roman Emperor

1087–1105Succeeded by

Henry V

Preceded by

Conrad IDuke of Bavaria

as Henry VIII

1053–1054Succeeded by

Conrad II

Preceded by

Conrad IIDuke of Bavaria

as Henry VIII

1055–1061Succeeded by

Otto II

Preceded by

Welf IDuke of Bavaria

as Henry VIII

1077-1096Succeeded by

Welf I

Categories: Holy Roman emperors | German kings | Kings of Burgundy | Dukes of Bavaria | Salian Dynasty | Investiture Controversy | People excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church | People from Lower Saxony | 1050 births | 1106 deaths

Article Discussion Edit this page History

Sign in / create account

Navigation

Main page

Contents

Featured content

Current events

Random article

interaction

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact Wikipedia

Make a donation

Help

Search

Toolbox

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Printable version

Permanent link

Cite this article

In other languages

Česky

Deutsch

Eesti

Español

Français

한국어

Hrvatski

Italiano

ქართული

Latina

Nederlands

日本語

Polski

Português

Sicilianu

Српски / Srpski

Suomi

Svenska

中文

This page was last modified 16:44, 5 August 2007. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.)

Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a US-registered 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.

Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers

--------------------

Wikipedia:

Heinrich IV. (* 11. November 1050 vermutlich in Goslar; † 7. August 1106 in Lüttich) war als Sohn von Kaiser Heinrich III. und Kaiserin Agnes seit 1053 Mitkönig, ab 1056 König und Kaiser von 1084 bis zu seiner durch seinen Sohn Heinrich V. erzwungenen Abdankung am 31. Dezember 1105.

Der dritte Herrscher der Salier-Dynastie wurde zum umstrittensten Herrscher des Mittelalters. Mit seiner fast 50-jährigen Regierung – der längsten des Früh- und Hochmittelalters – polarisierte er nicht nur seine Zeitgenossen, sondern auch spätere Historikergenerationen. Seine Auseinandersetzung mit Papst Gregor VII. und sein Gang nach Canossa gelten als Höhepunkt des Investiturstreits.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

[Verbergen]

* 1 Leben

o 1.1 Kindheit und Jugend

o 1.2 Der Staatsstreich von Kaiserswerth

o 1.3 Der Sachsenkrieg

o 1.4 Der Investiturstreit bis zum Gang nach Canossa

+ 1.4.1 Der Streit mit Gregor VII.

+ 1.4.2 Der Reichstag in Worms

+ 1.4.3 Die Fastensynode 1076 in Rom

+ 1.4.4 Der Gang nach Canossa

o 1.5 Die Zeit der Gegenkönige

o 1.6 Heinrichs Italienzüge

o 1.7 Der wiedererstarkte Kaiser

o 1.8 Auseinandersetzungen mit seinen Söhnen

o 1.9 Die Machtübernahme durch Heinrich V.

o 1.10 Heinrichs Ende

* 2 Ehen und Nachkommen

* 3 Wirkungsgeschichte

o 3.1 Bautätigkeiten

o 3.2 Die Wormser und Speyerer Privilegien von 1090

o 3.3 Heinrichs Aussehen

+ 3.3.1 Die Graböffnung von 1900

+ 3.3.2 Die Kopfrekonstruktion von 2006

* 4 Literatur

o 4.1 Quellen

o 4.2 Sekundärliteratur

* 5 Weblinks

* 6 Anmerkungen

Leben [Bearbeiten]

Kindheit und Jugend [Bearbeiten]

Heinrichs Geburtsstätte, die Kaiserpfalz Goslar heute.

Mit Heinrich IV. wurde am 11. November 1050 in der Kaiserpfalz Goslar endlich (so Hermann von Reichenau[1]) der lang ersehnte Thronfolger Kaiser Heinrichs III. und seiner zweiten Frau Agnes von Poitou geboren. Seine Eltern gaben ihm zunächst den Namen des Großvaters, Konrad. Wohl unter dem Einfluss des Abtes Hugo von Cluny wurde der Name bald darauf in Heinrich geändert. Damit der angesehene Abt der cluniazensischen Reformbewegung Taufpate des Thronfolgers werden konnte, wurde die dann in Köln stattfindende Taufe bis zum nächsten Osterfest verzögert.

Noch vorher, auf dem Weihnachtsfest 1050 in Pöhlde, ließ Heinrich III. die anwesenden Fürsten schwören, dem Thronfolger treu ergeben zu sein. Bald darauf, im November 1053, wählte eine Reichsversammlung in Trebur den dreijährigen Heinrich zum König. Die dort versammelten Reichsfürsten machten dabei allerdings die Einschränkung, dem Sohn nur zu folgen, wenn sich dieser als gerechter Herrscher erweise.

Im folgenden Dezember wurde Heinrich zum Herzog von Bayern ernannt. Am 17. Juli 1054 krönte ihn Erzbischof Hermann von Köln in Aachen zum König. Das Herzogtum Bayern erhielt daraufhin Heinrichs jüngerer Bruder Konrad. Am Weihnachtsfest 1055 wurde der junge Heinrich in Zürich mit Bertha von Turin verlobt, wodurch Heinrich III. ein politisches Gegengewicht im Alpenraum zu seinem Rivalen Gottfried dem Bärtigen und dem diesem durch Heirat verbundenen Hause Canossa-Tuszien zu schaffen versuchte.

Kurz bevor Heinrich III. am 5. Oktober 1056 in Anwesenheit des Papstes unerwartet starb, ließ er die an seinem Sterbebett versammelten Reichsfürsten zum zweiten Mal seinen Sohn zum König wählen und stellte diesen unter den Schutz des ebenfalls am Sterbebett anwesenden Papstes Viktor II., der seit September in der Umgebung des Kaisers weilte. Viktor erreichte zunächst einen reibungslosen Übergang der Staatsgewalt in die Hände des jungen Thronfolgers und seiner Mutter Agnes. Er vollendete die Aussöhnung mit Gottfried dem Bärtigen, setzte Heinrich in Aachen auf den Thron Karls des Großen und sorgte dafür, dass die südlichen Reichsfürsten ihm huldigten. Im Februar 1057 kehrte Viktor nach Italien zurück, wo er bald darauf starb.

Die Regierungsgeschäfte wurden faktisch von Kaiserin Agnes von 1056–1061 als Regentin weitergeführt. Sie konnte jedoch 1060 die ungarischen Thronfolgestreitigkeiten nicht zu ihrer Zufriedenheit regeln und ließ es nach dem Tod des Papstes Nikolaus II. mit der Wahl Alexanders II. und des Gegenpapstes Honorius II. zum Schisma kommen, weil sie die Rechte ihres Sohnes aus der ihm verliehenen Würde eines „patricius Romanorum“ nicht wahrzunehmen verstand. Außerdem brachte sie – obwohl dies zum damaligen Zeitpunkt noch nicht absehbar war – durch die Belehnung Rudolfs von Rheinfelden mit dem Herzogtum Schwaben und der Verwaltung Burgunds, Ottos von Northeim mit dem Herzogtum Bayern und Bertholds von Zähringen mit dem Herzogtum Kärnten die späteren Hauptgegner ihres Sohnes in Position. Man warf Agnes vor, ihren Sohn durch rangniedere Ministeriale erziehen zu lassen und ein Verhältnis mit ihrem wichtigsten Berater, Bischof Heinrich von Augsburg, zu haben. Sie konnte „dem Verdacht unzüchtiger Liebe nicht entgehen, denn allgemein ging das Gerücht, ein so vertrauliches Verhältnis sei nicht ohne unsittlichen Verkehr erwachsen“, so der Chronist Lampert von Hersfeld.[2]

Der Staatsstreich von Kaiserswerth [Bearbeiten]

→ Hauptartikel: Staatsstreich von Kaiserswerth

Die Unzufriedenheit mit der Regentschaft für den minderjährigen Heinrich führte zu der Verschwörung einiger Reichsfürsten unter der Führung von Anno II., dem Erzbischof von Köln. Dieser brachte den jungen König im April 1062 beim Staatsstreich von Kaiserswerth (heute Düsseldorf) in seine Gewalt: Heinrich wurde auf einem Rheinschiff entführt. Anno regierte fortan als Reichsverweser, war Heinrich aber vollkommen verhasst und fand keinen Zugang zum König. Ab 1063 musste Anno sein Amt mit Adalbert, dem Erzbischof von Hamburg-Bremen, teilen. Adalbert bekam immer mehr Einfluss über Heinrich und drängte Anno zunehmend aus dem Amt.

Am 29. März 1065 erhielt Heinrich die Schwertleite und war somit volljährig. Seine Mutter Agnes soll ihren Sohn gerade noch davon abgehalten haben, das Schwert, das er eben umgürtet bekommen hatte, gegen den verhassten Anno zu erheben. Heinrich nahm nun die Regierungsgewalt selbst in die Hand, doch blieb Adalbert von Bremen zunächst sein wichtigster Berater. Im Januar 1066 wurde Adalbert auf dem Reichstag in Tribur von den deutschen Fürsten auf Betreiben von Anno und Siegfried I. von Mainz des Hofes verwiesen, dennoch gewann Anno keinen Einfluss mehr auf den König zurück.

Am 13. Juli 1066 heiratete Heinrich Bertha von Turin. Als er sich drei Jahre später in einem aufsehenerregenden Scheidungsverfahren – mit der Versicherung, die Königin sei noch Jungfrau – von ihr trennen wollte, bezichtigte ihn der päpstliche Legat Petrus Damiani der schweren Unsittlichkeit und verweigerte die Scheidung.

Der Sachsenkrieg [Bearbeiten]

→ Hauptartikel: Sachsenkrieg (Heinrich IV.)

Wichtigstes politisches Ereignis der ersten Regierungsjahre Heinrichs war die im Sachsenkrieg gipfelnde Auseinandersetzung mit den Sachsen. Noch unter dem Einfluss Adalberts hatte Heinrich kurz nach seinem Regierungsantritt begonnen, rund um den Harz das während der langen Phase der Regentschaft verloren gegangene Königsgut wiederzugewinnen. Dabei wurden zu dessen Sicherung auch neue Burgen errichtet und mit landfremden Ministerialen aus Schwaben belegt. Insgesamt bewirkten die Vorhaben eine intensivere Beherrschung des Gebiets. Den Ministerialen wurde von der umliegenden Bevölkerung der Vorwurf gemacht, sie ungerecht und hart zu bedrängen. Auch wurde König Heinrich vorgeworfen, sich nur noch in Sachsen aufzuhalten und dadurch diese Landschaft übermäßig zu belasten. Es kam zu einem Bündnis des sächsischen Adels mit der Landbevölkerung und Forderungen an den König, wie z.B. die Schleifung der Burgen, Rückgabe der Güter und Aufenthalt auch in anderen Landschaften des Reichs. Als dieser ablehnte kam es zum Aufstand. Im Sommer 1073 belagerten die Sachsen unter der Führung von Otto von Northeim und Bischof Burchard II. von Halberstadt Heinrich in der Harzburg. Dieser konnte jedoch ins königstreue Worms fliehen und erreichte am 2. Februar 1074 den Friedensschluss von Gerstungen, in dem er die Forderungen der Sachsen weitgehend anerkennen musste. Nach der kurz darauf erfolgten Plünderung der Harzburg durch die sächsische Landbevölkerung brach der Konflikt jedoch erneut aus und führte am 9. Juni 1075 zur Entscheidungsschlacht bei Homburg an der Unstrut, die Heinrich für sich entscheiden konnte. Im Oktober kapitulierten die Sachsen bei Spier endgültig und bedingungslos.

Der Investiturstreit bis zum Gang nach Canossa [Bearbeiten]

→ Hauptartikel: Investiturstreit

Doch Heinrich blieb kaum Zeit, den Triumph über die Sachsen zu genießen, denn sofort zog der sich anbahnende Investiturstreit – der Streit um die Einsetzung der Bischöfe in nicht nur ihre kirchlichen Ämter, sondern auch in die damit verbundenen Ämter der Reichsverwaltung – für Jahre seine ganze Aufmerksamkeit auf sich.

Die von seinem Vater Heinrich III. 1046 in den Synoden von Sutri und Rom durch die Absetzung der drei Päpste Benedikt IX., Gregor VI. und Silvester III. und die Einsetzung des Bischofs Suidger vom Bamberg als Reformpapst Clemens II. eingeleitete und seitdem von den Reformpäpsten unterstützte kirchliche Reformbewegung sah in der Simonie das Grundübel der Zeit. Der Begriff der Simonie, mit dem ursprünglich seit Humbert von Silva Candida die Vergabe geistlicher Insignien und Kirchenämter gegen Geld gemeint war, wurde ausgedehnt auf jede Investitur eines Klerikers durch einen Laien in ein kirchliches Amt. Von vielen Synoden wurde wiederholt gefordert, dass Kleriker auf keinen Fall von Laien Kirchenstellen annehmen sollten, weder für Geld noch geschenkt.

Die Laieninvestitur wurde von den Reformkräften aus zwei Gründen mit der Simonie verglichen: Zum einen hatte der Ablauf der Investiturzeremonie mit der Zeremonie beim Verleihen von Lehen viel Ähnlichkeit, zum anderen gab es Parallelen zur Amtseinführung der Kleriker in den Niederkirchen, bei denen der Grundherr als Eigenkirchenherr die Einführung in das Amt vornahm. Bei Erzbistümern und Bischöfen nahm sie der König vor, indem er dem gewählten Kandidaten Bischofsring und Krummstab bei der so genannten „Investitur mit Stab und Ring“ übergab.

Im Zeichen der Rückbesinnung auf das Vorbild der Urkirche und auf das Ideal eines Lebens in apostolischer Armut wurde verschärft die Einhaltung des Zölibats eingefordert, mit der jeglicher Vererbungstendenz klerikaler Ämter und Einkünfte vorgebeugt und der Einfluss der Kirchenoberen im Wege regelmäßiger Investituren gesichert werden sollte.

Verkörpert wurden diese neuen Reformideale durch Papst Gregors Reform-Programm, das im Dictatus Papae gipfelte. In diesem propagierte er die Lösung der Kirche aus der Fremdbestimmung durch Laiengewalt („libertas ecclesiae“) und darüber hinaus als Nachfolger des von Christus mit der Verwaltung der Kirche – „Du bist der Fels, auf dem ich meine Kirche bauen will“ (Matthäus (Mt 16,18 EU)) – und der Schlüsselgewalt für den Himmel versehenen Apostels Petrus die Vorrangstellung des Papstes gegenüber aller weltlichen Macht. Dies zielte vor allem gegen den als Schutzherrn der Kirche „rex et sacerdos“ (als ausweislich der Heiligen Lanze als wichtigstem Reichskleinod nur Gott verantwortlichen obersten Herrscher, ohne dessen Einwilligung seit einer Vereinbarung zwischen Otto dem Großen und Papst Johannes XII. von 962 kein Papst geweiht und damit in sein Amt eingeführt werden durfte) titulierten König. Weite Teile des deutschen Episkopats, die durch die bisherige Investiturpraxis an den König gebunden waren, sahen in Gregors Bestrebungen zur Eindämmung der Simonie Nachteile. Sie fühlten sich vom Papst bevormundet und unterstützten deshalb zunächst den König, mit dem zusammen sie ihm schließlich den Gehorsam aufkündigten.

Der Streit mit Gregor VII. [Bearbeiten]

Als Heinrich IV. im Jahr 1071 den erzbischöflichen Stuhl des Bistums Mailand durch einen von Papst Alexander II. exkommunizierten Erzbischof besetzen wollte, spitzte sich die Situation zu. Mailand war damals Heimat der radikal-religiösen Volksbewegung Pataria unter dem Ritter Erlembald. Dieser setzte kurzerhand einen eigenen Erzbischof ein. Zwei Jahre später wurde Gregor VII. neuer Papst. Es begannen Verhandlungen zwischen ihm und dem König, bei denen einige Reichsbischöfe die Laieninvestitur durch den König unterstützten. Die Verhandlungen schlugen fehl, woraufhin Gregor die Ratgeber des Königs bannte. Als Erlembald ermordet wurde, setzte Heinrich IV. im September 1075 – entgegen früheren Zusicherungen – in erneuter Laieninvestitur den Kleriker Tedald als Erzbischof von Mailand ein und investierte für die Diözesen Fermo und Spoleto Bischöfe. Daraufhin schickte Gregor noch im Dezember einen geharnischten Brief an Heinrich, in dem er diesen mit harschen Worten ermahnte und Gehorsam forderte:

Bischof Gregor, Knecht der Knechte Gottes, an König Heinrich Gruß und apostolischen Segen – vorausgesetzt, er gehorcht dem Apostolischen Stuhl, wie es sich für einen christlichen König gehört (…)![3]

Der Reichstag in Worms [Bearbeiten]

Im Januar 1076 versammelte Heinrich daraufhin die Mehrzahl der Bischöfe auf dem Reichstag zu Worms um sich. Dort kündigte die Mehrheit der Bischöfe aus Deutschland und der Lombardei dem von ihnen bis dahin anerkannten Papst den Gehorsam auf und erklärte Gregor für abgesetzt. Da sich die Erzbischöfe und Bischöfe als mit erheblichen Privilegien ausgestattete Reichsfürsten fühlten, sahen sie die Besetzung ihrer Reichsfürstenämter durch den Papst als Gefährdung des Reichskirchensystems, der Grundlage der Verwaltung des Reiches, an. Dort in Worms verfasste man einen Antwortbrief an Gregor VII., in dem der Papst aufgefordert wurde, sein Amt niederzulegen:

Heinrich, nicht durch Anmaßung, sondern durch Gottes gerechte Anordnung König, an Hildebrand, nicht mehr den Papst, sondern den falschen Mönch. […] So steige du denn, der du durch diesen Fluch und das Urteil aller unserer Bischöfe und unser eigenes verdammt bist, herab, verlasse den apostolischen Stuhl, den du dir angemaßt hast. […] Ich, Heinrich, durch die Gnade Gottes König, sage dir zusammen mit allen meinen Bischöfen: Steige herab, steige herab![4]

Als Legitimationsgrundlage dieser Amtsenthebung führte man an, dass Gregor gar nicht rechtmäßig zum Papst gewählt worden sei. Er war nämlich nicht nach der Papstwahlordnung von 1059 gewählt, sondern vom römischen Volk tumultuarisch zum Papst erhoben worden. Außerdem habe Heinrich als Patricius von Rom das Recht gehabt, den Papst zu ernennen, oder zumindest seine Wahl zu bestätigen. Dies war jedoch nicht geschehen. Als weitere Gründe gab man an, Gregor habe seinen Eid gebrochen, sich niemals zum Papst wählen zu lassen, und er pflege allzu vertrauten Umgang mit Frauen.

Die Fastensynode 1076 in Rom [Bearbeiten]

Die Antwort von Gregor kam umgehend. Auf der Fastensynode von 1076 in Rom predigte er:

„[…] und daß mir um deinetwillen von Gott Gewalt gegeben ist, zu binden und zu lösen, im Himmel und auf Erden. In dieser festen Zuversicht […] spreche ich König Heinrich, des Kaisers Heinrich Sohn, der sich gegen deine Kirche mit unerhörtem Hochmut erhoben hat, die Herrschaft über Deutschland und Italien ab, und ich löse alle Christen vom Eid, den sie ihm geleistet haben oder noch leisten werden, und untersage, ihm fürderhin als König zu dienen. […] Und weil er […] mit Gebannten Gemeinschaft hält, vielerlei Unrecht tut, meine Ermahnungen, die ich um seines Heiles willen an ihn gerichtet habe, verachtet, […] sich von deiner Kirche trennt und sie zu spalten sucht, darum binde ich als dein Stellvertreter ihn mit der Fessel des Fluchs […].“[5]

Gregor VII. erklärte Heinrich IV. für abgesetzt und gebannt. Die Absetzung und Bannung Heinrichs begründete Gregor VII. damit, dass Heinrich IV. sich gegen die kirchlichen Hoheitsrechte aufgelehnt habe und somit nicht mehr König sein könne. Wer in dieser Weise Gottes Stellvertreter den Gehorsam versage und mit Exkommunizierten Umgang pflege, gehe seiner Herrschaftsrechte verlustig. Demzufolge waren alle Untertanen vom Treueid, den sie Heinrich geleistet hatten, entbunden, er selbst für abgesetzt erklärt und über ihn war der Bann verhängt. Der betraf im förmlichen Sinne jedoch nicht den König, sondern den Christen Heinrich, der mit Gebannten Umgang hielt und sich der päpstlichen Autorität widersetzte.

Dieser Bann des „rex et sacerdos“, dessen Vorgänger als „patricius Romanorum“ in Ausfluss der sakral-theokratischen Königsidee die jeweils anstehende Wahl eines Papstes entscheidend bestimmt hatten, war für die damalige Zeit unvorstellbar und hinterließ in der abendländischen Christenheit eine große Erregung. Zahlreiche propagandistische Streitschriften pro und contra der Vormachtstellung des Kaisers oder des Papstes in der auf Papst Gelasius I. (492-496) zurückgehenden Zwei-Schwerter-Theorie wurden abgefasst. Vor allem die deutsche Christenheit war tief gespalten.

Der Gang nach Canossa [Bearbeiten]

Heinrich bittet Mathilde von Tuszien und Abt Hugo von Cluny um Vermittlung (aus Codex Vat. lat. 4922 von ca. 1115)

→ Hauptartikel: Gang nach Canossa

Nach dem Kirchenbann durch Gregor fielen viele der deutschen Fürsten, die Heinrich ehemals unterstützt hatten, von ihm ab und zwangen ihn auf der Reichsversammlung in Trebur im Oktober 1076 zur Entlassung der vom Papst ebenfalls gebannten Räte und zur Lösung vom gegen ihn verhängten Bann binnen Jahr und Tag. Bis zum 2. Februar des kommenden Jahres sollte sich Heinrich vom Bann lösen und sich auf einem Reichstag in Augsburg dem Urteil des Papstes unterwerfen, dann wollte man von der Wahl eines neuen Königs Abstand nehmen. Um den Papst noch vor diesem geplanten Treffen mit den abtrünnigen Reichsfürsten abzufangen, brach Heinrich trotz tief verschneiter Alpen im Dezember 1076 mit wenigen Begleitern von Speyer nach Italien auf. Weil seine Gegner die Zugänge zu den deutschen Gebirgspässen blockiert hatten, musste der König über den Mont Cenis/Burgund nach Italien reisen, um den Papst vor dem angesetzten Reichstag in Augsburg aufzusuchen, damit er vom gegen ihn verhängten Bann gelöst werde – und die Fürstenopposition ihrem König gegenüber wieder zum Gehorsam verpflichtet wären. Nur so konnte Heinrich seine politische Handlungsfähigkeit als König zurück erhalten.

Gregor VII. befürchtete das Anrücken eines kaiserlichen Heeres und wollte einer Begegnung mit Heinrich ausweichen, zog sich deshalb auf die gut befestigte Burg Canossa der Markgräfin Mathilde von Tuszien zurück. Heinrich erfuhr dies und verhandelte mit Hilfe der Markgräfin und seines Paten Hugo von Cluny über ein Treffen mit Gregor. Am Festtag der Bekehrung des heiligen Paulus, am 25. Januar 1077, zog Heinrich IV. im Büßergewand vor die Burg Canossa. Am vierten Tag, am 28. Januar, löste der Papst Heinrich vom Kirchenbann, fünf Tage vor Ablauf der von der Fürstenopposition dafür gesetzten Frist.

Die Darstellung von Heinrichs Gang nach Canossa als eines demütigenden Bittgangs beruht vor allem auf der bildhaften Darstellung der wichtigsten Quelle, deren Verfasser Lampert von Hersfeld ein Parteigänger des Papstes und der Adelsopposition war und dessen Darstellung die neuere Forschung als tendenziös und propagandistisch wertet. Die Buße war ein formaler Akt, den Heinrich vollzog und den Papst Gregor VII. nicht ablehnen konnte. Die neuere Forschung sieht im Gang nach Canossa einen geschickten taktischen und diplomatischen Schachzug, der Heinrich wieder neue Handlungsfreiheit gab und die Gregors erheblich einschränkte. Langfristig allerdings schwächte der Gang nach Canossa die Stellung des deutschen Königtums.

Vor kurzem hat Johannes Fried eine Neuinterpretation der Ereignisse vorgestellt, wonach es keinen wie in den Quellen beschriebenen Bußgang Heinrichs nach Canossa gegeben haben soll. Vielmehr hätten der König und der Papst schon seit dem Spätsommer 1076 in Kontakt miteinander gestanden, um eine konsensfähige Einigung zu erreichen. Der Papst habe dann den König, der die Ankunft des Papstes in Deutschland nicht abwarten wollte und ihm deshalb entgegen gezogen war, bereits am 25. Januar vom Bann befreit und drei Tage später sogar einen Pakt mit ihm geschlossen, der aber nie wirksam wurde.[6]

Die Zeit der Gegenkönige [Bearbeiten]

Obwohl die Exkommunikation Heinrichs IV. 5 Tage vor „Jahr und Tag“ aufgehoben worden war und der Papst Heinrich IV. als König behandelte, erklärte die Fürstenopposition am 15. März 1077 in Forchheim in Anwesenheit zweier päpstlicher Legaten Heinrich IV. für abgesetzt und wählte unter der Führung des Erzbischofs Siegfried I. von Mainz den Schwabenherzog Rudolf von Rheinfelden zum Gegenkönig, der am 26. März in Mainz zum König gesalbt wurde. Rudolf wurde von den Fürsten, die ihn auf den Schild gehoben hatten, verpflichtet, bei der Besetzung von Bischofsstühlen keinerlei simonistische Praktiken anzuwenden. Außerdem musste er den Fürsten ein Wahlrecht bei der Königserhebung einräumen, hätte also sein Königtum nicht nach dem bisher geltenden dynastischen Prinzip für eine Königswahl auf eventuelle Söhne vererben können. Dies war die erste Statuierung der später von den Reichsfürsten beanspruchten freien Königswahl. Mit dem von Rudolf geleisteten Verzicht auf die Erblichkeit der Krone und der Gestattung der kanonischen Bischofswahl wurden die bisherigen Rechte des Königtums entscheidend geschwächt.

Wie schon im Sachsenkrieg zuvor stützte sich Heinrich nun vor allem auf die soziale Aufsteigerschicht des niederen Adels, der Ministerialen und zunehmend auf die schnell an Bedeutung zunehmenden Reichsstädte mit den ihnen aus Dankbarkeit verliehenen Privilegien wie Speyer, Worms und die um die Königsburgen liegenden Harzstädte Goslar, Halberstadt und Quedlinburg.

Die Förderung der ursprünglich unfreien Ministerialen stieß bei den Fürsten auf erheblichen Widerstand, ebenso die Emanzipation der Städte von den Landesherren. Gegen Heinrich IV. standen auf Seiten Rudolfs von Rheinfelden insbesondere die Mehrzahl der weltlichen Reichsfürsten. Der Papst verhielt sich – den in Canossa getroffenen Absprachen gemäß – zunächst neutral.

Heinrich IV. belegte Rudolf von Rheinfelden im Juni mit der Reichsacht. Dieser musste sich daraufhin vor Heinrich zu den ihn unterstützenden Sachsen zurückziehen, beide Kontrahenten zogen in Sachsen gegeneinander zu Felde. Heinrich verlor zunächst am 7. August 1078 die Schlacht bei Mellrichstadt, sowie am 27. Januar 1080 die Schlacht bei Flarchheim unweit Mühlhausen. In der ansonsten günstig verlaufenen Schlacht bei Hohenmölsen unweit Merseburg verlor Rudolf die rechte Hand, wurde zugleich tödlich im Unterleib verwundet und starb am Tag darauf, am 15. Oktober 1080. Den Verlust der rechten Hand – der Schwurhand, mit der er seinem König zu Anfang von Heinrichs Regentschaft Lehenstreue geschworen hatte – nutzten die Parteigänger Heinrichs propagandistisch als Gottesurteil aus, um auf diese Weise die Adelsopposition weiter zu schwächen.

Nach dem Tod Rudolfs tat sich die Opposition deshalb schwer, einen neuen Gegenkönig aufzubauen. Es brauchte ein Jahr, bis man sich auf den eher blassen Hermann von Salm einigte, der 1081, während Heinrich IV. schon in Italien weilte (s.u.), von den in Ochsenfurt versammelten Sachsen und Schwaben zum Gegenkönig gewählt und von Erzbischof Siegfried I. von Mainz am 26. Dezember in Goslar gekrönt wurde. Als Heinrich, inzwischen als Kaiser aus Italien zurückgekehrt, 1085 mit Heeresmacht in Sachsen einrückte, flüchtete Hermann zunächst zu den Dänen, kehrte aber zurück und schlug im Verein mit Herzog Welf IV. 1086 den Kaiser bei Pleichfeld am Main und gewann Würzburg. Der kläglichen Rolle eines Schattenkönigs letztlich jedoch müde, zog sich Hermann von Salm, der nur ein Spielball in der Hand ehrgeiziger Großer gewesen war, 1088 auf seine Eigengüter zurück. Bei einer Privatfehde verlor er kurz darauf am 28. September 1088 das Leben.

Heinrichs Italienzüge [Bearbeiten]

Im März 1080 bannte Gregor den König erneut, der daraufhin Erzbischof Wibert von Ravenna unter dem Namen Clemens III. als Gegenpapst-Kandidaten aufstellte. Am 25. Juni 1080 wurde Wibert auf der Synode zu Brixen von der Mehrheit der deutschen und der lombardischen Bischöfe zum (Gegen-)Papst gewählt.

Zu diesem Zeitpunkt zieht sich ein tiefer Riss durch die Gesellschaft. Mit Heinrich und Rudolf von Rheinfelden gab es König und Gegenkönig, mit Clemens einen Gegenpapst zu Gregor. Auch in den Herzogtümern wurde um die Macht gekämpft, im Schwaben zum Beispiel befehdeten sich Rudolfs Sohn Berthold von Rheinfelden und der von Heinrich 1079 eingesetzte und mit seiner Tochter Agnes verlobte Staufer Friedrich als Herzöge.

Nachdem Heinrich IV. Rudolf von Rheinfelden besiegt hatte, zog er 1081 nach Rom, um so eine Entscheidung zu erzwingen. Heinrich konnte die Stadt nach dreimaliger Belagerungszeit im März 1084 einnehmen. Zwischendurch musste Heinrich sich immer wieder in den oberitalienischen Raum zurückziehen, um sich einerseits des Rückhalts der königstreuen Gebiete zu versichern, andererseits gegen die papsttreue Mathilde von Tuszien zu kämpfen, seine erbittertste Gegnerin in Norditalien.

Gegenpapst Clemens III. (mitte) mit Heinrich IV. (links), Abbildung aus Codex Jenensis Bose q.6 (1157)

Nach der Einnahme Roms wurde am 24. März 1084 Wibert als Papst Clemens III. inthronisiert. Damit begann erneut ein Schisma, das bis 1111 andauerte, als der letzte Gegenpapst der Wibertisten, Silvester IV., förmlich den Verzicht auf die Papstwürde leistete.

Eine Woche nach der Papstinthronisation, am Ostersonntag, dem 31. März 1084, krönte Clemens III. Heinrich IV. und seine Frau Bertha zu Kaiser und Kaiserin.

Während Heinrich von Clemens III. in St. Peter zum Kaiser gekrönt wurde, verschanzte sich Gregor VII. in der Engelsburg und hoffte auf das Einschreiten der Normannen, die unter Herzog Robert Guiscard mit Unterstützung der Sarazenen nach Rom zogen. Heinrichs Heer war stark geschwächt und stellte sich den Angreifern nicht, sondern zog sich zurück. Die Normannen befreiten Gregor, plünderten die Stadt und zündeten Rom an. Wegen der folgenden Unruhen gegen die Verbündeten des Papstes verließ Gregor die Stadt mit kleinem Gefolge und zog sich nach Salerno zurück. Dort starb er am 25. Mai 1085.

Unmittelbar nach der Kaiserkrönung verließ Heinrich Rom und reiste zunächst nach Augsburg. Nach und nach gelang es ihm, seine Position im Reich wieder zu stärken. Durch kluge Bischofsinvestituren schaffte er sich einen neuerlichen Rückhalt in der Reichskirche.

1087 ließ Heinrich IV. seinen ältesten Sohn Konrad zum Mit-König krönen.

Am 14. August 1089 heiratete er in Köln in zweiter Ehe Praxedis, die um 1070 geborene Tochter des Großfürsten Wsewolod I. von Kiew und Witwe des Markgrafen Udo von Stade, möglicherweise, um einen zuvor mit den sächsischen Bischöfen und Fürsten ausgehandelten Friedensschluss zu bekräftigen. Als deutsche Königin nannte sich Praxedis Adelheid, trat aber politisch zunächst nicht in Erscheinung.

Die eheliche Verbindung zwischen Welf V., dem Sohn des baierischen Herzogs Welf IV., und Mathilde von Tuszien führte im gleichen Jahr zu einer Machtkonzentration im süddeutsch-oberitalienischen Raum, der Heinrich entgegentreten musste. 1090 zog er daher und zur Beendigung des Kampfes des von ihm begünstigten Clemens III. gegen den als Nachfolger Gregors VII. gewählten Urban II. nach Oberitalien, hatte bis Ostern 1091 Mantua erobert und wandte sich 1092 Canossa zu, dem Hauptsitz der Markgräfin Mathilde. Dort wendete sich das Blatt, das Schlachtenglück verließ Heinrich. Welf IV. ließ die Pässe über die Alpen sperren, so dass Heinrich von 1093 bis 1096 in der Gegend um Verona eingekesselt festsaß und nicht ins Reich zurückkehren konnte.

Sein Sohn Konrad fiel 1093 von ihm ab (s.u.) und schloss sich der päpstlichen Partei an. Die zweite Ehefrau Adelheid von Kiew, die Heinrich angeblich wegen sexueller Verfehlungen in Verona gefangen gesetzt hatte, konnte 1094 zu Mathilde von Tuszien entfliehen. Auf Synoden in Konstanz und in Piacenza 1094/95 trat die Königin auf und klagte Heinrich ihrerseits der schlimmsten sexuellen Verfehlungen an: er habe sie zum Ehebruch veranlassen wollen. So wurde kolportiert, dass der Sohn Konrad von seinem Vater zum Beischlaf mit der eigenen Stiefmutter gezwungen worden sein soll.

Daraufhin exkommunizierte Papst Urban II. Heinrich IV. von Neuem.

In dieser Zeit sei Heinrich so verzweifelt gewesen, dass er an Selbstmord gedacht habe, behauptete der Chronist Bernold. Erst das abrupte Ende der Ehe zwischen Welf V. und Mathilde eröffnete Heinrich wieder eine Perspektive. Durch Verhandlungen in Padua erreichte er eine Einigung mit den Welfen, die diesen das Herzogtum Bayern, ihm nach siebenjähriger erzwungener Abwesenheit die Rückkehr ins Reich sicherte: 1097 feierte Heinrich Pfingsten in Regensburg.

Der wiedererstarkte Kaiser [Bearbeiten]

Nach der Rückkehr ins Reich, der sofortigen Absetzung des abtrünnigen Konrad, der nunmehrigen Krönung seines damals 12-jährigen zweiten Sohnes Heinrich zum Mit-König gegen das Versprechen, sich niemals gegen ihn zu empören, und der Aussöhnung mit den Welfen gelang es Heinrich neuerlich, seine Machtposition zu stärken. In Schwaben erreichte er eine Einigung zwischen den Staufern und den Zähringern, ihm gelangen weiterhin zahlreiche Bischofserhebungen in seinem Sinne. Dies lag vor allem an seiner Hinwendung zum lange geforderten „konsensualen Führungsstil“: Die Reichsfürsten wurden auf zahlreichen, gut besuchten Hoftagen in seine Entscheidungen eingebunden. Auch verzichtete er nach dem Tode Clemens III. im Jahr 1100 auf die neuerliche Benennung eines Gegenpapstes (dies taten dann dennoch die italienischen Gegner der Gregorianer).

Der gregorianische Papst Paschalis II. zeigte sich davon allerdings wenig beeindruckt, und bannte Heinrich 1102 erneut, zum insgesamt vierten Male, was seinen Sohn Heinrich um seine Nachfolge fürchten ließ.

1103 nahm Heinrich den Gottesfriedensgedanken, den sein Vater Heinrich III. bereits stark unterstützt hatte, wieder auf und verkündete einen reichsweiten Landfrieden. Heinrich nahm also die vornehmste Aufgabe eines Königs, die Friedenswahrung, wieder wahr. Zugleich kündigte er eine Wallfahrt nach Jerusalem an, um sich damit vom Bann zu lösen. Die Machtübernahme durch Heinrichs Sohn vereitelte aber diesen Plan.

Auseinandersetzungen mit seinen Söhnen [Bearbeiten]

Herrschaftsübergabe von Heinrich IV. an seinen Sohn Heinrich V., Darstellung aus der Chronik des Ekkehard von Aura. Heinrich IV. überreicht seinem Sohn Heinrich V., der das Lilienszepter in seiner Rechten hält, die Reichsinsignien Spharia (mit einem Kreuz) und Kronreif. Die Zeichnung von ca. 1106 will entgegen den historischen Tatsachen den Eindruck erwecken, die Herrschaft sei friedlich von Heinrich IV. auf seinen Sohn Heinrich V. übergegangen

Der Erstgeborene, Konrad, den Heinrich am 30. Mai 1087 in Aachen zum Mitkönig hatte krönen lassen, war 1093 von seinem Vater abgefallen und auf die Seite Papst Urbans II. gewechselt. Konrad ließ sich in Mailand vom dortigen Erzbischof zum König von Italien krönen und traf im April 1095 in Cremona mit Urban zusammen, leistete ihm den Marschalldienst und einen Sicherheitseid und erkannte ihn somit als legitimen Papst an. Im Gegenzug versprach ihm der Papst Unterstützung und die Kaiserkrönung, doch erfüllten sich die Erwartungen nicht. In Deutschland wurde von all dem kaum etwas wahrgenommen, in Italien blieben alle Aktionen Konrads wirkungslos, so dass er bald darauf in der Bedeutungslosigkeit versank und vom Papst fallengelassen wurde. Konrad starb, von der Öffentlichkeit kaum noch wahrgenommen, am 27. Juli 1101 in Florenz.

Die Machtübernahme durch Heinrich V. [Bearbeiten]

Vom Verhalten des ältesten Sohnes Konrad enttäuscht, hatte Heinrich diesen im Mai 1098 auf dem Mainzer Reichstag absetzen lassen und den zweitgeborenen Sohn Heinrich zum Thronfolger bestimmt, der im folgenden Jahr als Heinrich V. zum Mitkönig – aber nicht zum Mitregenten – gekrönt und gesalbt wurde. Aufgrund seiner Vorerfahrungen mit seinem ältesten Sohn ließ sich Heinrich von seinem nunmehr zum Mitkönig bestimmten zweiten Sohn eidlich versichern, seine Sicherheit nicht anzutasten und sich nicht in die Regierungsgeschäfte einzumischen. Doch Ende 1104 sagte sich Heinrich V. von seinem Vater los, da er um seine Nachfolgeansprüche fürchtete. Heinrich wollte die eigenen Thronansprüche dem gebannten Vater zum Trotz erhalten und trat darum zur päpstlichen Partei über, nachdem ihm die Kaiserkrone versprochen worden war.

Heinrich V. verbündete sich zunächst mit dem deutschen Hochadel gegen seinen Vater, der Unterstützung zuletzt vor allem im Bürgertum und in der Ministerialität fand. Papst Paschalis II. stellte sich auf die Seite des Sohnes, nachdem dieser zugunsten der Ansprüche des Papstes seinen Verzicht auf die von seinem Vater zur Verwaltung des Reiches für unbedingt erforderlich gehaltene und darum weiterhin beanspruchte Laieninvestitur erklärt hatte. Paschalis löste den Sohn vom Bann und von dem dem Vater geleisteten Eid. Am Ende des Jahres 1105 gelang es Heinrich V. durch Verrat, den Vater auf Burg Böckelheim an der Nahe gefangen zu setzen. Am 31. Dezember erzwang er in der Ingelheimer Kaiserpfalz dessen Abdikation (Abdankung), erhielt am 6. Januar 1106 in Mainz die Reichsinsignien übergeben und nahm die Huldigung der Reichsfürsten entgegen. Damit wurde er als Heinrich V. der Nachfolger seines Vaters.

Heinrichs Ende [Bearbeiten]

Die Grabkrone von Heinrich IV. Aus der Domschatzkammer des Dom zu Speyer

Nach seiner erzwungenen Abdankung konnte Heinrich aus Ingelheim fliehen, und das Reich stand erneut am Rande eines Bürgerkriegs. 1106 begab er sich nach Lüttich, wo er das Osterfest feierte. Im Juli erkrankte er und starb dort, fünfundfünfzigjährig, am 7. August 1106. Als Zeichen der Vergebung ließ er Schwert und Ring an seinen Sohn senden, die letzten Herrscherinsignien, die ihm noch geblieben waren. Er erteilte ihm den väterlichen Segen für seine künftige Herrschaft, bat um Gnade für seine Anhänger und darum, im Dom zu Speyer an der Seite seiner Vorfahren bestattet zu werden.

Doch zunächst wurde er in der Lütticher Domkirche bestattet. Nach der Entnahme von Herz und inneren Organen ließ Bischof Otbert von Lüttich den Kaiser mit allen Ehren dort beisetzen. Die deutschen Bischöfe protestierten heftig und verhängten über das Gotteshaus den Kirchenbann. Der Dom wurde für entweiht erklärt, solange sich der Leichnam eines Gebannten darin befände. Am 15. August 1106 wurde der Sarg wieder ausgegraben, denn selbst Heinrich V. bestand darauf, seinen Vater nach Speyer zu überführen. Am 3. September 1106 wurde er im Speyerer Dom beigesetzt. Doch auch über den Kaiserdom wurde der Bann verhängt. Erneut wurde der Sarg ausgegraben und für fast fünf Jahre in der noch nicht geweihten Afra-Kapelle des Doms abgestellt.

Im Jahre 1111 fuhr Heinrich V. nach Italien und bewirkte bei Papst Paschalis II. die postume Aufhebung des Kirchenbanns über seinen Vater und die Erlaubnis für eine kirchliche Bestattung. Am 7. August 1111, seinem fünften Todestag, wurde der Sarg von Heinrich IV. feierlich aus der Afra-Kapelle geholt und neben seinem Vater Heinrich III. in der Familiengruft der Salier im Dom zu Speyer bestattet.

Ein unbekannter Chronist schrieb darüber als Nachruf: „Das Reich der Unruhe hast Du mit dem Reich der Ruhe, das endliche mit dem unendlichen, das irdische mit dem himmlischen vertauscht. Nun erst herrschst Du in der Tat, jetzt trägst du dein Diadem, das Dir Dein Erbe nicht entreißt und kein Widersacher neidet.“[7]

Ehen und Nachkommen [Bearbeiten]

Heinrich hatte aus seiner ersten Ehe mit Bertha von Turin fünf Kinder:

* Adelheid (* 1070, † 4. Juni vor 1079), begraben im Dom zu Speyer

* Heinrich (* 1./2. August 1071: † 2. August 1071, beigesetzt auf der Harzburg)

* Agnes (* Sommer 1072/Anfang 1073; † 24. September 1143, begraben im Stift Klosterneuburg

1. ∞ (Verlobung 24. März 1079 in Regensburg) 1086/1087 Friedrich I. († 1105) Herzog von Schwaben (Staufer)

2. ∞ 1106 Leopold III. († 15. November 1136) Markgraf von Österreich

* Konrad (* 1074; † 1101), Herzog von Niederlothringen, Mitkönig im HRR 1087 bis 1098, ∞ 1095 Konstanze von Sizilien, Tochter des Grafen Roger I. von Sizilien und Apulien.

* Heinrich V. (* 1086; † 1125) König des HRR ab 1098, Kaiser 1111-1125) ∞ 1114 Matilda (* 1102; † 1167), Tochter des Königs Heinrich I. von England

Heinrich heiratete nach dem Tode Berthas am 27. Dezember 1087 ein zweites Mal, am 14. August 1089 Adelheid (Praxedis, Eupraxia) von Kiew (* wohl 1071; † 10. Juli oder 11. November 1109), die Tochter des Großfürsten Wsewolod I. von Kiew und Witwe des Grafen Heinrich III. (I.) von Stade, der 1082 zum Markgrafen der Nordmark ernannt worden war. Die Ehe blieb kinderlos und wurde 1095 geschieden, woraufhin sich Adelheid als Nonne nach Kiew zurückzog.

Der Historiker Gerd Althoff (siehe auch Sekundärliteratur) vermutet, dass die Ehe von Adelheid mit Heinrich IV. möglicherweise einen Friedensschluss des Kaisers mit den Sachsen bekräftigen sollte. Damit wäre ihre Rolle als Gemahlin analog der Rolle von Geiseln zu sehen, wie sie in dieser Zeit zur Bekräftigung und Absicherung von Bündnissen regelmäßig zu stellen waren. Nach den Quellen soll Heinrich befohlen haben, dass man die Königin vergewaltigte. Althoff schlägt vor, diese Vergewaltigung als Entehrung analog einer Bestrafung oder sogar Tötung einer Geisel nach einem Treuebruch zu interpretieren.

Wirkungsgeschichte [Bearbeiten]

Die Nachwelt war sich in der Beurteilung Heinrichs IV. nicht einig. Schon für seine Zeitgenossen war er entweder der grausame, brutale und wortbrüchige Wüstling, der vor Gewaltanwendung zur Durchsetzung seiner Ziele nicht zurückschreckte oder aber der gute, mildtätige König, der Beschützer der Armen und Juden. Auch spätere Politiker- und Historikergenerationen taten und tun sich schwer mit einem Urteil: War der Gang nach Canossa so etwas wie Vaterlandsverrat oder ein kluger Schachzug zum Machterhalt?

Von klein auf war er sich seiner königlichen Machtansprüche bewusst und deutete diese – den Denkfiguren der Zeit entsprechend – als gottgegeben. So musste er beinahe zwangsläufig mit Gregor VII. aneinandergeraten, der seinerseits den Papst, der „von niemandem gerichtet werden darf“ (Dictatus Papae), an die Spitze der Weltordnung stellte und der so vom Kaiser Gehorsam fordern konnte. Diese kontroversen Positionen, verkörpert durch zwei machtbewusste Menschen, vertrugen sich nicht mit der Einheit von regnum und sacerdotium. Höhepunkt der Auseinandersetzung war dabei sicher die von den Zeitgenossen wie ein „Urknall“ empfundene erste Exkommunikation Heinrichs. Die Auswirkungen dieses Machtkampfes leiteten – ohne dass dies den Beteiligten bewusst war – langfristig die Trennung von Staat und Kirche ein.

Heinrichs Regierungszeit war durchgehend geprägt von dem Versuch, die Macht des Königs gegenüber den Reichsfürsten zu erhalten. Die langwierige Auseinandersetzung mit den Sachsen, aber auch mit den süddeutschen Herzogtümern und letztlich auch die Wahl der Gegenkönige waren bedingt durch Heinrichs Verweigerungshaltung gegenüber der von den Fürsten angestrebten „konsensualen Herrschaft“, also der Herrschaftsbeteiligung der „Großen“. Er ließ sich nicht von den Fürsten beraten, sondern vertraute eher einem engen Zirkel von Beratern ministerialer Herkunft. Deren sozialer Aufstieg aus der Unfreiheit zu politischer und wirtschaftlicher Bedeutung wurde von Heinrich nachhaltig gefördert. Dafür konnte er mit deren unbedingter Loyalität rechnen. Zunehmend stützte sich Heinrich auch auf die schnell an Bedeutung zunehmenden Städte wie Speyer, Worms, Goslar, Halberstadt und Quedlinburg. Die Förderung der ursprünglich unfreien Ministerialen und der prosperierenden Städte stieß bei den Fürsten auf erheblichen Widerstand und war eine der wesentlichen Ursachen für deren Opposition. Insofern war Heinrich ein „moderner“ und taktisch nicht ungeschickter Herrscher, der die aus wirtschaftlicher Prosperität und rapidem Bevölkerungszuwachs resultierenden sozialen Umbrüche seiner Zeit für sich zu nutzen wusste. Sein Misstrauen den Fürsten gegenüber war durch die Erfahrungen aus der Zeit der Staatsstreichregierung bedingt, als Heinrich hautnah miterlebt hatte, wie Anno von Köln, Adalbert von Bremen und viele andere Reichsfürsten eher auf ihren eigenen Vorteil als auf das Wohl des Reiches bedacht waren und den König dabei auch in gefahrvolle Situationen wie beim Goslarer Rangstreit geraten ließen.

Heinrich IV. kämpfte so gesehen gegen eine Tendenz zur Territorialisierung und für die Stärkung der Zentralgewalt gegenüber den „zentrifugalen Kräften“ (Norbert Elias), die versuchten, ihre Landesherrschaften (Machtbereiche) zu sichern und gleichzeitig die Zentralgewalt zu schwächen. Heinrich konnte zwar mit seiner herrscherlichen Würde, seinem Machtbewusstsein und mit geschickten politischen Schachzügen (Gang nach Canossa) vorerst den Zerfall des Reiches in fürstliche Territorien verhindern und den Erhalt der Reichskirche als Stütze der Zentralgewalt sichern; langfristig jedoch konnte er den Zug zur Territorialisierung nicht aufhalten.

Bautätigkeiten [Bearbeiten]

Besonders tat sich Heinrich als Bauherr hervor und zwar sowohl auf dem Gebiet des Kirchenbaus als auch beim Burgenbau. Gleich nach seiner Amtsübernahme legte er in den 1060er Jahren ein Burgenbauprogramm auf und ließ in Sachsen und Thüringen rund um den Harz mehrere Burgen errichten, deren größte und bedeutendste die Harzburg war. Bei Lampert von Hersfeld sind noch sechs weitere Burgen genannt, die Burg Wigantestein (Lage unbekannt), die Moseburg und die Burg Sachsenstein (beide bei Bad Sachsa), die Spatenburg (bei Sondershausen), die Heimburg (bei Blankenburg) und die Hasenburg (bei Großbodungen).

Speyerer Dom

Größte Bedeutung hatte für die Familie der Salier der Speyerer Dom. Heinrichs Großvater Konrad II. hatte ihn ab etwa 1030 erbauen lassen, 1061 wurde er geweiht.

Am Tag vor der entscheidenden Schlacht gegen Rudolf von Rheinfelden an der Weißen Elster, am 14. Oktober 1080, hatte Heinrich dem Dom bereits eine umfangreiche Schenkung zukommen lassen. In der Schenkungsurkunde heißt es „unter ihren (der Jungfrau Maria) Schutz flüchten auch wir uns zur Kirche von Speyer. (…) Dieser Kirche haben wir zum Seelenheil unseres Vaters und Großvaters, der Kaiser Konrad und Heinrich, und der Kaiserin Gisela, die dort ruhen, (…) und auch zu unserem Seelenheil“[8] diese Schenkung vorgenommen. Nach dem erfolgreichen Ausgang der Schlacht begann Heinrich Ende 1080, den Dom zu einer noch größeren Erscheinung umbauen zu lassen. Dies geschah offensichtlich auch in der Absicht, einen Kaiserdom zu errichten, der der Welt seinen Anspruch auf den Kaisertitel vor Augen führen sollte.

Im Westteil wurde die Decke abgetragen und der Bau um fünf Meter erhöht: Statt der flachen Holzdecke wurde ein lichtes Kreuzgratgewölbe nach den Idealen der damaligen romanischen Baukunst errichtet. Im Ostteil wurde der Bau bis auf die Fundamente abgerissen und auf bis zu acht Metern starken Fundamenten neu gegründet. Das Turmgewölbe im Ostteil mit seinen Spitzbögen zeigt Stilmerkmale der burgundischen Romanik. 1106, im Todesjahr Heinrichs, war der neue Dom fertig: Mit einer Länge von 444 römischen Fuß und einer Breite von 111 römischen Fuß war es das größte Bauwerk seiner Zeit.

Wie schon beim sächsischen Burgenbauprogramm war zunächst Benno II. von Osnabrück sein leitender Baumeister, der später von Otto von Bamberg abgelöst wurde, der den Bau wohl beendete.

Kurz vor Vollendung des Speyerer Doms widmete sich Heinrich auch noch dem Mainzer Dom, konnte hier jedoch nur noch den Ostchor vollenden lassen, ehe er 1106 starb (weswegen sich die Apsiden des Speyerer und des Mainzer Domes bis heute gleichen).

Die Wormser und Speyerer Privilegien von 1090 [Bearbeiten]

→ Hauptartikel: Kammerknechtschaft

Im Jahre 1090 stellte Heinrich IV. erstmals für zwei jüdische Gemeinden nahezu zeitgleich einen Schutzbrief aus. In seinem Wormser Privileg stellte er die Rechte der Wormser Juden fest, unter anderem den Schutz von Leben und Eigentum, die Freiheit zur wirtschaftlichen Betätigung und Religionsausübung, das Recht zur Beschäftigung christlichen Hauspersonals, die Autonomie der Gemeinde in innerjüdischen Rechtsangelegenheiten und die Festlegung einer verbindlichen Verfahrensordnung für Streitigkeiten zwischen Juden und Christen. Ein fast gleichlautendes Privileg erhielt die jüdische Gemeinde in Speyer. Heinrich stellte dabei die Juden unter seinen persönlichen Schutz (Worms), bzw. unter den des örtlichen Bischofs (Speyer). Damit schuf er ein bahnbrechendes Rechtsstatut, das im Positiven wie im Negativen für Jahrhunderte das Verhältnis zwischen Juden und Christen prägen sollte, auch wenn sich schon bald nach der Ausstellung die mangelnde Durchsetzbarkeit zeigen sollte: Im Zuge des Ersten Kreuzzugs kam es 1096 in beiden Städten zu Judenverfolgungen. Während Heinrich in Italien weilte, konnte er den Wormser Juden keinen Schutz gewähren und es gab hunderte Opfer. Der Speyerer Bischof kam hingegen seiner Schutzpflicht nach, dort gab es „nur“ zwölf Tote. (siehe auch Weblinks)

Heinrichs Aussehen [Bearbeiten]

Wie von den meisten mittelalterlichen Herrschern gibt es auch von Heinrich IV. keine zeitgenössischen Portraits, Büsten oder ähnliches. Dennoch erlauben zwei wichtige wissenschaftliche Unternehmungen der Neuzeit eine Annäherung an sein Aussehen:

Die Graböffnung von 1900 [Bearbeiten]

Im Jahre 1900 wurde der Sarkophag Heinrichs zum bislang einzigen Mal geöffnet und sein Skelett untersucht. Der bei dieser Gelegenheit angefertigte Untersuchungsbericht beschreibt Heinrich als einen schlanken, kräftigen, beinahe athletischen Mann. Er war mit einer Körpergröße von 1,80 Meter etwa zehn Zentimeter größer als der erwachsene Durchschnittsmann seiner Zeit. Er habe eine gewölbte Brust, breite Schultern und ein schmales Becken gehabt.

Im Gesicht sei laut Untersuchungsbericht männliche Kraft mit beinahe weiblicher Anmut[9] gepaart gewesen, wofür einerseits der große Hirnschädel, die feine Stirnbildung mit der vortretenden Unterstirn, die lange kräftige Nase und der starke Schnurrbart, von dem noch Reste vorhanden gewesen seien, andererseits die großen offenen Augen, der feine Mund und das eher zarte Kinn verantwortlich zeichnen.

Am Skelett sei keine außergewöhnliche Verwundung und keine größere Krankheit nachweisbar, alles deute auf eine ungestörte kräftige Gesundheit von Geburt an hin.

Die Kopfrekonstruktion von 2006 [Bearbeiten]

Auf der zu Heinrichs 900. Todestag konzipierten Ausstellung „Kaiser, Kämpfer, Gebannter“ im Historischen Museum der Pfalz in Speyer wurde im Mai 2006 eine vom Kieler Rechtsmediziner Professor Richard Helmer hergestellte Kopfrekonstruktion vorgestellt.

Auf der Grundlage der Vermessungsdaten und der Schädelfotos von der Graböffnung 1900 wurde der Schädel wie bei einer Computertomographie virtuell nachgebildet und dann ein Kunststoffmodell angefertigt, auf das Helmer mit Wachs und Plastilin die Weichteile modelliert. Nach Aussage Helmers erreicht dieses in der Kriminaltechnologie erprobte Modellierverfahren eine 90-prozentige Ähnlichkeit. Schwierig sei die Größe der Nase gewesen. Hätte man sich allein am Nasenbein orientiert, hätte Heinrich eine lange „Lügennase“ gehabt, Helmer habe sich daher für einen kleinen Nasenhöcker entschieden. Das Kopfhaar sei entsprechend der damaligen Mode modelliert (vgl. Weblinks).

Literatur [Bearbeiten]

Quellen [Bearbeiten]

* Johann Friedrich Böhmer, Tilman Struve: Regesta Imperii III, 2. Die Regesten des Kaiserreiches unter Heinrich IV., Köln u. a. 1984.

* Onlineversion der Regesta Imperii

* Quellen zur Geschichte Kaiser Heinrichs IV. Lateinisch und deutsch. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2006 (Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters Freiherr vom Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe; 12). ISBN 3-534-19876-X. Enthält u.a.: Bruno von Merseburg: Brunonis Saxonicum bellum. Brunos Sachsenkrieg (übersetzt v. Franz-Josef Schmale, S. 191–405) und Carmen de bello saxonico. Das Lied vom Sachsenkrieg (übersetzt v. Franz-Josef Schmale, S. 142–189).

* Quellen zum Investiturstreit: Schriften über den Streit zwischen Regnum und Sacerdotium. Lateinisch und deutsch. Hrsg. und übers. von Irene Schmale-Ott. Wiss. Buchgemeinschaft, Darmstadt 1984 (Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters Freiherr vom Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe; 12b).

* Lampert von Hersfeld: Annalen. Lateinisch und deutsch. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2000 (Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters Freiherr vom Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe; 13).

* Bertholds und Bernolds Chroniken. Lateinisch und deutsch. Hrsg. von Ian Stuart Robinson. Übers. von Helga Robinson-Hammerstein, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2002. – (Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters Freiherr vom Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe; 14). ISBN 3-534-01428-6. (Rezension)

* Frutolfs und Ekkehards Chroniken und die anonyme Kaiserchronik. Lateinisch und deutsch. Hrsg. und übers. von Franz-Josef Schmale Schmale u. Irene Schmale-Ott. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1972. – (Ausgewählte Quellen zur deutschen Geschichte des Mittelalters Freiherr vom Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe; 15).

Sekundärliteratur [Bearbeiten]

* Gerd Althoff: Heinrich IV. WBG, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-534-11273-3. (Rezension)

* Gerd Althoff (Hrsg.): Heinrich IV. Ostfildern 2009, ISBN 978-3-7995-6869-2.

* Matthias Becher: Heinrich IV.. In: Bernd Schneidmüller/ Stefan Weinfurter (Hrsg.), Die deutschen Herrscher des Mittelalters, Historische Porträts von Heinrich I. bis Maximilian I. Beck, München

'''References'''

http://www.friesian.com/francia.htm#swabia

http://finnholbek.dk/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I26534&tree=

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_IV,_Holy_Roman_Emperor

and in German:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_IV._%28HRR%29

[FAVthomas.FTW]

Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1056-1106
Duke of Bavaria (as Henry VIII, 1055/61), German king (from 1054), andHoly Roman emperor (1084/1105/06), who engaged in a long struggle withHildebrand (Pope Gregory VII) on the question of lay investiture (seeInvestiture Controversy), eventually drawing excommunication on himselfand doing penance at Canossa (1077). His last years were spent counteringthe rebellion of his sons Conrad and Henry (the future Henry V).
Henry's father, Henry III, had retained a firm hold on the church andhad resolved a schism in Rome (1046), opening new activities for thereformers. At Easter 1051, the boy was baptized after the German princeshad taken an oath of fidelity and obedience at Christmas 1050. On July17, 1053, he was elected king at Tribur (modern Trebur, in Duitsland) oncondition that he would be a just king. In 1054 he was crowned king inAix-la-Chapelle (modern Aachen, in Germany), and the following year hebecame
engaged to Bertha, daughter of the Margrave of Turin. When the Emperordied in October 1056, at the age of 39, succession to the throne andsurvival of the dynasty were assured. The princes of the realm raised noobjection when nominal government was handed over to the six-year-oldboy, for whom his pious and unworldly mother became regent. Yet the earlydeath of Henry III was the beginning of a fateful change that marked allof his son's reign. In his will, the late emperor had appointed PopeVictor II as counsellor to the Empress, and the Pope solved some of theconflicts between the princes and the imperial court that had endangeredpeace in the empire.
After Victor's early death (1057), however, the politically ineptempress committed a number of decisive mistakes. On her own, and withoutthe benefit of the advice of a permanent group of counsellors, shereadily yielded to various influences. She turned over the duchy ofBavaria, which Henry III had given to his son in 1055, to the Saxon countOtto of Nordheim, thus depriving the king of an important foundation ofhis power. She gave the duchy of Swabia to Count Rudolf of Rheinfeldenwho married her daughter and the duchy of Carinthia to Count Berthold ofZähringen; both of them eventually became opponents of Henry IV. Thedeath of the Emperor also marked the disruption of German influence inItaly and of the close relationship between the king and the reformpopes. Their independence soon became apparent in the elections ofStephen IX and Nicholas II, which were not influenced (as under HenryIII) by the German court; in the new procedure for the election of thepopes (1059); and in the defensive alliance with the Normans in southernItaly. This alliance was necessary for
the popes as an effective protection against the Romans and was notdirected against the German king. Yet the Normans were consideredusurpers and enemies of the Holy Roman Empire; the pact thus resulted instrained relations between the Pope and the German court, and thesestrains were aggravated by papal claims and disciplinary action taken byNicholas II against German bishops. While the German king had so far beenknown as a supporter of the reformers, the Empress now imprudentlyentered into an alliance with Italian opponents of church reform andbrought about the election of Cadalus, bishop of Parma, as antipope(Honorius II) against the reigning pope, Alexander II, who had beenelected by the reformers. But since she did not give effective support toHonorius, Alexander was able to prevail. Her unwise church policy wasmatched by an obscurely motivated submissive policy at home, which, byunwarranted cession of holdings of the crown, weakened the materialfoundations of the
king's power and, in addition, encouraged the rapacity of the nobles.Increasing discontent reached a climax in a conspiracy of the princes ledby Anno, archbishop of Keulen, in April 1062. During a court assembly inKaiserswerth he kidnapped the young king and had him brought to Cologneby ship. Henry's attempt to escape by jumping into the Rhine failed.Agnes resigned as regent and the government was taken over by Anno, whosettled the conflict with the church by recognizing Alexander II
(1064). Anno was, however, too dominating and inflexible a man to winHenry's confidence, so that Adalbert, archbishop of Bremen, granting morefreedom to the lascivious young king, gained increasing and finally soleinfluence. But he used it for such unscrupulous personal enrichment thatHenry, who was declared of age in 1065, had to ban him from court earlyin 1066. This incident marks the beginning of the King's own rule, forwhich he was badly prepared. Repeated changes in the government of the
empire had an unsettling effect on the boy king and had, moreover,prevented him from being given a regular education. The selfishness ofhis tutors, the dissolute character of his companions, and the traumaticexperience of his kidnapping had produced a lack of moral stabilityduring his years of puberty. In addition, his love of power, typical ofall the rulers of his dynasty, contributed to conduct often characterizedby recklessness and indiscretion.
In 1069, after three years of marriage, he suddenly announced hisintention of divorcing his wife, Bertha. Following protests by highchurch dignitaries, he dropped his plan, but his mercurial behaviourincurred the displeasure of the reformers. At the same time he was facedwith domestic difficulties that were to harass him throughout his reign.After his mother had freely dispensed of lands during her regency, hebegan to increase the royal possessions in the Harz Mountains and toprotect them by castles, which he handed over to Swabian ministerials(higher civil servants directly responsible to the crown). Peasants andnobles in Saxony were stirred up by the ruthless repossession of formerroyal rights that had long ago been appropriated by nobility or hadbecome obsolete and by the high-handed and severe measures of the foreignministerials. Henry tried to stop the unrest by imprisoning Magnus, theduke of Saxony, and by depriving the widely respected Otto of Bavaria ofhis duchy, after having unjustly accused him of plotting the murder ofthe King (1070). Then a rebellion broke out among the Saxons, which in1073 spread so rapidly that Henry had to escape to Worms. After
negotiations with Welf IV, the new duke (as Welf I) of Bavaria, and withRudolf, the duke of Swabia, Henry was forced to grant immunity to therebels in 1073 and had to agree to the razing of the royal Harz Castle inthe final peace treaty in February 1074. When the peasants, destroyingthe castle, also desecrated the church and the tomb of one of the King'ssons, Henry declared the peace broken. This incident assured him ofsupport from all over the empire, and in June 1075 he won an overwhelmingvictory that resulted in the surrender of the Saxons. It also forced theprinces at Christmas to confirm on oath the succession of hisone-year-old son, Conrad.
This rebellion affected relations between Henry and the Pope. In Milana popular party, the Patarines, dedicated to reforming the city's corrupthigher clergy, elected its own archbishop, who was recognized by thePope. When Henry countered by having his own nominee consecrated by theLombard bishops, Alexander II excommunicated the bishops. Henry did notyield, and it was not until the Saxon rebellion that he was ready tonegotiate. In 1073 he humbly asked the new pope, Gregory VII, to settlethe Milan problem. The King having thus renounced his right ofinvestiture, a Roman synod, called
to strengthen the Patarine movement, forbade any lay investiture inMilan; henceforward Gregory regarded Henry as his ally in questions ofchurch reform. When planning a crusade, he even put the defense of theRoman Church into the King's hands. But after defeating the Saxons, Henryconsidered himself strong enough to cancel his agreements with the Popeand to nominate his court chaplain as archbishop of Milan. The violationof the agreement on investiture called into question the King's
trustworthiness, and the Pope sent him a letter warning him of themelancholy fate of King Saul (after breaking with his church in theperson of the prophet Samuel) but offering negotiations on theinvestiture problem. Instead of accepting the offer, which arrived at hiscourt on Jan. 1, 1076, Henry, on the same day, deposed the Pope andpersuaded an assembly of 26 bishops, hastily called to Worms, to refuseobedience to the Pope. By this impulsive reaction he turned the problemof investiture in Milan, which could have been solved by negotiations,into a fundamental dispute on the relations between church and state.Gregory replied by excommunicating Henry and absolving the King'ssubjects from their oaths of allegiance. Such action equalleddethronement. Many bishops who had taken part in the Worms assembly andhad subsequently been excommunicated now surrendered to the Pope, andimmediately
the King was also faced with the newly aroused opposition of thenobility. In October 1076 the princes discussed the election of a newking in Tribur. It was only by promising to seek absolution from the banwithin a year that Henry could reach a postponement of the election. Thefinal decision was to be taken at an assembly to be called at Augsburg towhich the Pope was also invited. But Henry secretly travelled to northernItaly and in Canossa did penance before Gregory VII, whereupon he wasreadmitted to the church. For the moment it was a political success forthe King because the opposition had been deprived of all canonicalarguments. Yet, Canossa meant a change. By doing penance Henry hadadmitted the legality of the Pope's measures and had given up the king'straditional position of authority equal or even superior to that of thechurch. The relations between church and state were changed forever.
The princes, however, considered Canossa a breach of the originalagreement providing for an assembly at Augsburg and declared Henrydethroned. In his stead, they elected Rudolf, duke of Swabia, in March1077, whereupon Henry confiscated the duchies of Bavaria and Swabia onbehalf of the crown. He received support from the peasants and citizensof these duchies, whereas Rudolf relied mainly on the Saxons. Gregorywatched the indecisive struggle between Henry and Rudolf for almost threeyears until he resolved to bring about a decision for the sake ofcontinued church reform in Duitsland. At a synod in March 1080, heprohibited investiture, excommunicated and dethroned Henry again, andrecognized Rudolf. The reasons for this act of excommunication were notas valid as those advanced in 1077, and many nobles who had so farfavoured the Pope turned against him because they thought the prohibitionof investiture infringed upon their rights as patrons of churches andmonasteries. Henry
now succeeded in deposing Gregory and in nominating Guibert, archbishopof Ravenna, as pope at a synod in Brixen (Bressanone). When theopposition of the princes was crippled by the death of Rudolf in October1080, Henry, freed of the threat of enemies to the rear, went to Italy toseek a military decision in his struggle with the church. After attackingRome in vain in 1081 and 1082, he conquered the city in March 1084.Guibert was enthroned as Clement III and crowned Henry emperor on March31, 1084. Gregory, the legitimate pope, fled to Salerno, where he died onMay 25, 1085. A number of cardinals joined Clement, and, feeling that hehad won a complete victory, the Emperor returned to Germany. In May 1087he had his son Conrad crowned king. The Saxons now made peace with him.Further, Henry replaced bishops who did not join Clement with othersloyal to the King.
The escape and death of Gregory VII and the presence of Clement III inRome caused a crisis in the reform movement of the church, from which,however, it quickly recovered under the pontificate of Urban II(1088/1099). The marriage, arranged by Urban in 1089, of the 17-year-oldWelf V of Bavaria with the 43-year-old countess Matilda of Tuscany, azealous adherent of the cause of reform in the church, allied Henry'sopponents in southern Duitsland and Italy. Henry was forced to invade Italyonce more in 1090, but, after initial success, his defeat in 1092resulted in the uprisings in Lombardy; and the
rebellion of his son Conrad, who was crowned king of Italy by theLombards, led to general rebellion. The Emperor found himself cut offfrom Duitsland and besieged in a corner of northeastern Italy. In addition,his second wife, Praxedis of Kiev, whom he had married in 1089 after thedeath of Bertha in 1087, left him, bringing serious charges against him.It was not until Welf V separated from Matilda, in 1095, and his father,the deposed Welf IV, was once more granted Bavaria as a fief, in 1096,that Henry was able to return to Duitsland (1097).
In Duitsland sympathy for reform and the papacy no longer excludedloyalty to the Emperor. Gradually Henry was able to consolidate hisauthority so that in May 1098 the princes elected his second son, HenryV, king in place of the disloyal Conrad. But peace with the Pope, whichwas necessary for a complete consolidation of authority, was a goal thatremained unattainable. At first a settlement was impossible because ofHenry's support for Clement III, who had died in 1100. Paschal II(1099/1118), a follower of the reformist policies of Gregory VII, wasunwilling to conclude an agreement with Henry. Finally, the Emperordeclared that he would go on a crusade if his excommunication wereremoved. To prepare for the crusade, he forbade all feuds among the greatnobles of the empire for four years (1103). But unrest started again whenreconciliation with the church did not materialize and the nobles thoughtthe Emperor was restricting their rights in favour of his son. Henry Vfeared a controversy
with the princes. In alliance with Bavarian nobles he revolted againstthe Emperor in 1104 to secure his throne by sacrificing his father. TheEmperor escaped to Keulen, but when he went to Mainz his son imprisonedhim and on Dec. 31, 1105, extorted his apparently voluntary abdication.Henry IV, however, was not yet prepared to give up. He fled to Liège andwith the Lotharingians defeated Henry V's army near Visé on March 22,1106. Henry IV suddenly died in Liège on August 7. His body wastransferred to Speyer but remained there in an unconsecrated chapelbefore being buried in the family vault in 1111.
Judgment of Henry by his contemporaries differed according to theparties to which they belonged. His opponents considered the tall,handsome king a tyrant the crafty head of heresy whose death they cheeredbecause it seemed to usher in a new age. His friends praised him as apious, gentle, and intelligent ruler, a patron of the arts and sciences,who surrounded himself with religious scholars and who, in his sense oflaw and justice, was the embodiment of the ideal king. In his attempt topreserve the traditional rights of the crown, Henry IV was only partiallysuccessful, for while he
strengthened the king's position against the nobles by gaining thesupport of the peasants, the citizens, and the ministerials, hiscontinuing battles with the reforming church over investiture ultimatelyweakened royal influence over the papacy.

To cite this page: "Henry IV" Encyclopædia Britannica
<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?query=henry+iv&eu=40883>

Line 4951 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
NAME Heinrich IV Emperor Of /Duitsland/
Line 8553 from GEDCOM File not recognizable or too long:
MARR DATE 14 AUG 1089 (DIV)

In 1065, when he was 15 years old, he was declared of age and a year later proved it by marrying Bertha of Savoy. 'After a licentious youth', he later developed considerable [and very necessary] diplomatic skills. He had to deal not only with iritated Popes, by one of whom he was excommunicated, but with no less than three usurpers, or Anti-Kings, Rudolf, Herman and his own son, Conrad and a faithless second wife. His usurping son finally took him prisoner and he was forced to abdicate in 1105. He escaped from custody and was trying to rally aid from England, France, and Denmark when he died at Liege.

BIOGRAPHY: Crowned Empero 1084

King of Duitsland 1056-1084 and Emperor 1084-1106.

Emporer Henry IV of Duitsland

engaged in a long struggle with Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII) on the question of lay investiture (seeInvestiture Controversy), eventually drawing excommunication on himself and doing penance at Canossa (1077). His lastyears were spent countering the rebellion of his sons Conrad and Henry (the future Henry V
For more information see the Our Folk - Hart family Web Site

from "Our Folk" by Albert D Hart, Jr.

Henrik IV (Canossa)Henry IV, King of Duitsland and Holy Roman Emperor b. Nov. 11, 1050, ruled the Holy Roman Empire during the INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY, the first great medieval church-state struggle. He became German king at the age of six when his father, Henry III, died in 1056. During the regency of his mother, Agnes, powerful nobles seized much of the royal demesne. Taking control in 1065, Henry determined to recover these alienated estates and to establish a firm territorial base for the monarchy in north central Duitsland. This policy, forcefully prosecuted, exacerbated the normal tension between king and nobles and led to rebellion in Saxony (1073-75). Although Henry suppressed this revolt, the underlying hostilities remained to surface later, during the church struggle. The reform movement to eliminate lay domination in the church was approaching full strength. Since the reign of Otto I in the 10th century, the German kings' power had depended heavily on their control of the church's resources and personnel. Henry IV, therefore, viewed the reformers' program as an assault on his traditional prerogatives. Responding to a warning from Pope GREGORY VII, he and his bishops denounced (1076) Gregory as a usurper. Gregory thereupon excommunicated and deposed Henry. The German nobles at once took up the pope's cause for their own purposes. By his shrewd but insincere penance before the pope at CANOSSA (1077), Henry mollified Gregory. The German princes elected an antiking, Rudolf of Swabia (d. 1080), however, and thus precipitated civil war. Henry, again excommunicated (1080), made several expeditions (1081-84) to Italy and backed an antipope, Clement III, who crowned him emperor in 1084. Henry was forced to withdraw by Gregory's Norman allies, led by ROBERT GUISCARD; Gregory, however, died in 1085. Because Henry refused to yield his investiture rights, succeeding popes--URBAN II and PASCHAL II--continued to denounce him. A second antiking, Hermann of Salm, was killed in 1088, but new opposition in Italy and south Duitsland appeared, encouraged by Henry's own sons, Conrad and Henry. The latter, the future Henry V, captured his father and forced his abdication in December 1105. Henry IV escaped, but died on Aug. 7, 1106, with the crucial issues still unresolved. Raymond H. Schmandt Bibliography: Barraclough, Geoffrey, The Origins of Modern Duitsland, 2d ed. (1947; repr. 1966); Hampe, Karl, Duitsland under the Salian and Hohenstaufen Emperors, trans. by Ralph Bennett (1973)

429873848. Marksgreve/Hertug Henrik II Jasomirgott LEOPOLDSON av Østerike was born on 4 Dec 1112. (15333) He was a Marksgreve in 1141 in Østerike.(15334) He was a Hertug in 1156 in Østerike.(15335) også hertug av Bayern, men han måtte senere avstå Bayern til Henrik Løve, men fikk til gjengjeld avstått det nuværende Øvre Østerrike og begge sine land forent til Hertugdømet Østerike og utskilt fra den tidligere uavhengighet av Bayern. han forla sitt fyrstesete til Wien og påbegynte byggningen av Stefanskirken. Deltok 1147 i det annet store korstog. He died on 13 Jan 1177 in Wien.(15336) Han døde ved fall fra hesten He was married to Theodora Komnena ANDRONIKOSDTR av Bysantz in 1149

Henry succeeded his father at the age of six, but during most of his
minority, his mother ruled in his name. After Henry came of age in 1065 he
crushed a rebellion in Saxony. About that time there began the struggle
between pope and emperor for temporal power in the empire. Despite a papal
decree prohibiting appointment of church officials by the emperor, Henry
appointed (1075) prelates in various parts of Italy. On being reprimanded
by Pope Gregory VII, Henry convoked (1076) a German council at Worms to
depose the pope. This act resulted in the excommunication of the emperor,
with the consequent release of his subjects from allegiance to him. The
nobles formed a coalition, threatening not to recognize Henry unless he
secured absolution by February 1077. By dressing as a penitent and
standing barefoot in the snow for three days outside the castle of
Canossa, where Pope Gregory was staying, Henry obtained readmission to the
communion of the church.

The German nobles, however, elected Rudolf, duke of Swabia (fl. 1057-80),
to replace Henry. This election caused a civil war. In 1080 the pope
recognized the kingship of Rudolf and again excommunicated Henry, who
declared Pope Gregory deposed and had the Italian archbishop Guibert of
Ravenna (c. 1025-1100) elected in his stead as Pope Clement III. Rudolf
was killed in 1080, and Henry regained control of Duitsland. He then led his
forces into Italy and captured (1084) Rome, where he was crowned emperor
by Clement III. A Norman army, led by Robert Guiscard, came to the aid of
Pope Gregory, however, and drove Henry from Rome. Henry returned to
Duitsland and there participated in a long series of civil wars, in which
his sons eventually turned against him. In 1105 he was taken prisoner by
his son Henry, later Emperor Henry V, and forced to abdicate. Escaping in
the next year, Henry IV solicited aid from various sources, including
England, Denmark, and France. He died while gathering an army.

867789538. Kong Heinrik IV HEINRIKSON av Tyskland (20746) was born on 11 Nov 1050. (20747) He was a Konge on 5 Oct 1056 in Tyskland.(20748) He was a Keiser between 1084 and 1105 in Tysk/Romersk.(20749) He died on 7 Aug 1106 in Luttich.(20750) Han blev bortført 1062 av erkebiskop Anno av Cøln og Otto av Nordheim, blem 1064 efter erkebiskop Adalberts intiativ erklært for myndiv, av ham ophisset mot sachserne, som to ganger gjorde oprør men blev kuet efter Henriks seir ved Hohenburg 12.6.1075. Pave Gregor VII som hadde forenet sig med hans motstandere, erklærte Henrik for avsatt 24.6.1076 på synoden i Worma og lyste ham i bann. han måtte ydmyke sig for paven i Canossa 1077 og bannstrålen blev tatt tilbake. Det lykkedes ham å felle motkongen Rudolf av Schwaben 1080 og avsette pave Gregor VII, blev så igjen bannlyst, drog til Italien, intok 1080 Rom og lot sig krone 31.1.1084 til Keiser av motpaven Clemens III: 1104 reiste hans sønn Henrik V. sig mot ham , og tvang ham 1105 til å ta avskjed. Dette skjedde 31.12.1105 i Ingelheim. He was married to Bertha OTTOSDTR av Savoyen on 13 Jul 1066.

EMPORER OF Duitsland

Henry IV, German emperor (1056-1106), son of Henry III, was born in 1050, and ascended the throne under the regency of his mother, Agnes of Poitou. The severest struggle of his reign was against the energetic and ambitious Pope Gregory VII (Hildebrand), who in 1076 excommunicated Henry; and it was only by personally humiliating himself, in sackcloth and barefoot, for three days, outside the castle of Canossa (January, 1077) in Italy, that the emperor was able to get the papal ban removed. Meanwhile the German princes elected a successor to Henry in Rudolf of Swabia; but Rudolf fell in battle (1080), and the emperor, in spite of a second ban of excommunication, not only set up a rival Pope (Clement III), but marched into Italy, and had himself crowned emperor by Clement III. From 1093 to the end of his reign he was engaged in renewed strife, first against the successors of Gregory VII, and secondly against the hostile princes in Duitsland, who won over to their side Henry�s own sons, Conrad and Henry, the latter of whom forced him to abdicate. See Floto�s Heinrich IV (1855-7). [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

Bio
http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=a8c27ae3-f020-46b3-8efc-34bb6b9e87bb&tid=10145763&pid=-296465665

He was Emperor from 1050 to 1106.

Heeft u aanvullingen, correcties of vragen met betrekking tot Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico"?
De auteur van deze publicatie hoort het graag van u!

Tijdbalk Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico"

Deze functionaliteit is alleen beschikbaar voor browsers met Javascript ondersteuning.

Klik op de namen voor meer informatie. Gebruikte symbolen:

grootouders ouders

ouders

broers/zussen

kinderen

Voorouders (en nakomelingen) van Henry

Conrad von Hohenstaufen
990-1039

Gisela
989-1043

William 'the Grand' of Aquitaine
± 969-1030

Agnès
± 995-1068

Heinrich "the Black/the Pious" Salier
1017-1056

Agnès
1024-1077

Henry
1050-1106

1066

Bertha of Savoy
1051-1087



					Agnes 1072-1143

Toon totale kwartierstaat

Visualiseer een andere verwantschap

Bronnen

Aanknopingspunten in andere publicaties

Bekijk alle
aanknopingspuntenDeze persoon komt ook voor in de publicatie:

Bron: Wikipedia

1050 » Keizer Hendrik IV van het Heilig Roomse Rijk († 1106)
1154 » Sancho I, koning van Portugal († 1211)
1155 » Alfons VIII, koning van Castilië († 1214)
1220 » Alfons van Poitiers († 1271)
1491 » Martin Bucer, Duits theoloog († 1551)
1493 » Paracelsus, arts en theoloog († 1541)

Bron: Wikipedia

1106 » Hendrik IV (55), koning van Duitsland en keizer van het Heilige Roomse Rijk
1420 » Johan van Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein (~67), Duits edelman
1616 » Vincenzo Scamozzi (67), Italiaans architect
1639 » Maarten van den Hove (34), Nederlands wis- en sterrenkundige
1693 » Johan George II van Anhalt-Dessau (65), vorst van Anhalt-Dessau
461 » Majorianus (41?), keizer van het West-Romeinse Rijk

De publicatie maximum test is opgesteld door Ard van Bergen.neem contact op

Wilt u bij het overnemen van gegevens uit deze stamboom alstublieft een verwijzing naar de herkomst opnemen:
Ard van Bergen, "maximum test", database, Genealogie Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/maximum-test/I5020469289250100933.php : benaderd 1 mei 2024), "Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico" (1050-1106)".

Doorzoek alle personen

Doorzoek alle publicaties

Doorzoek helpteksten

Doorzoek Open Archieven

Doorzoek Wie (onder)zoekt wie?

Doorzoek discussies

Doorzoek alle websites

maximum test » Henry "del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico" (1050-1106)