1050 - 1106 (55 years)| Name | Henry IV(Heinrich) Salian | |
| Suffix | Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany | |
| Born | 11 Nov 1050 | Kaiserpfalz (King's Palace), Goslar, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany  |
| Gender | Male | |
| Occupation | 1056 | |
| King in Germany: 1056 to 1105 Holy Roman Emperor: 1084 to 1105 | ||
| History | 1062 | Kaiserpfalz (King's Palace), Kaiserswerth, Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| The Swabian Archbishop of Cologne, Anno II (St.) sails down the Rhine and abducts the 12 year old king Henry IV. The Saxon Count Otto of Nordheim is a co-conspirator. | ||
| History | Mar 1065 | Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| At Easter 1065, Henry IV was ceremoniously declared of age and his first command was to dismiss the Archbishop of Cologne who had abducted him some three years earlier. | ||
| History | 1068 | Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| Henry IV, King of Germany had an impetuous character and infidelities, in 1068 he attempted to divorce his wife Bertha. A council at Mainz led by Papal legate Peter Damian (St.) born 1007 Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, a reformer and protégé of Hildebrand, persuades Henry to back down hinting that insistence would lead the new pope, Alexander II, to deny his coronation. Henry agreed and his wife returned to Court, but he was convinced that opposition was aimed at undermining power within the Holy Roman Empire, to benefit the church. As an aside, earlier in 1060 Peter Damian had been delegated to restore calm in Milan, Lombard, Italy where the 'patarenes', the ragpickers as the increasingly poor were known finally revolted over centuries old traditions of clerical marriage and concubinage which allowed priests to partake in sex. The thought of a priest having pleasures of the flesh and then performing at a Holy Mass was enough to throw the Peter Damian into apoplexies and instructed the Archbishop of Milan and his churchmen to reform. | ||
| History | 1073 | Sachsen (Saxony), Germany |
| Saxon German princes jockey for greater powers and initiate The Great Saxon Revolt, led by Count Otto of Nordheim, supported by Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia, Henry IV's 'one time' brother in law | ||
| History | Apr 1073 | Rome (Roma), Lazio (Latium), Italy |
| Pope Alexander II dies and Hildebrand is elected Pope and adopts the name Gregory VII. His unpublished agenda includes, that only the Pontiff as head of the christian church is universal, that rulers kiss only the Pontiff's feet and that the Pontiff can depose Emperors. Gregory VII aspired to be 'Dux et pontifex', General and Pontiff. | ||
| History | Feb 1077 | Castle of Canossa, Canossa, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| The Investiture Controversy (Contest) was a dispute between Henry IV, King of Germany and Pope Gregory VII over who would control appointments of church officials (investiture). It was the most significant conflict between secular (state government) and ecclesiastical (the church) powers in medieval Europe. Undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian dynasty (also known as the Frankish dynasty) emperors, the controversy led to nearly 50 years of civil war in Germany, the triumph of the great dukes and abbots, and the disintegration of the Holy Roman Empire from which Germany did not recover until 19th century unification (the Second Reich 1871-1918), under Prince Otto von Bismarck, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire, who in 1872 declares 'we shall not go to Canossa'. Pope Gregory VII had asserted in the Dictatus Papae that as the Roman church was founded by God alone; that the papal power (the auctoritas of Pope Gelasius) was the sole universal power; in particular, a council held in the Lateran from 24-8 Feb 1075 decreed that the pope alone could appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see. This radical departure from the balance of power of the Early Middle Ages, among other 'Gregorian' reforms, eliminated the practice of investiture, the divinely-appointed monarch's right to invest a prelate with the symbols of power, both secular and spiritual. Henry IV reacted to this declaration by sending Gregory VII a letter in which he rescinded his imperial support of Gregory VII as pope, the letter was headed: Henry, king not through usurpation but through the holy ordination of God, to Hildebrand, at present not pope but false monk. It called for the election of a new pope. The letter ends: I, Henry, king by the grace of God, with all of my Bishops, say to you, come down, come down, and be damned throughout the ages. The situation became more dire when Henry IV installed his chaplain as Bishop of Milan, when a candidate had already been chosen in Rome. In 1076 Gregory VII responded by excommunicating the king, removing him from the Church and deposing him as German king. This was the first time a king of his stature had been deposed since the 4th century. German princes were pleased to hear of the king's deposition. They used the cover of religion as an excuse to continue rebellion. Needing time to marshal his forces to fight the rebellions in Saxony, Henry IV had no choice but to back down. In the winter of 1076/7 he crossed the Alps to Canossa, Italy to apologize in person to Gregory VII. The separation of secular and ecclesiastical power laid a revolutionary foundation for the growth of Western civilization and Christendom. | ||
| History | 15 Mar 1077 | Forchheim, Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany |
| Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia is declared anti-king by a council of Saxon, Bavarian, and Carinthian princes | ||
| History | Mar 1080 | Rome (Roma), Lazio (Latium), Italy |
| Soon after the anti-king's election and crowning, Rudolf of Rheinfelden is routed and later stripped of Swabia by Henry IV. Pope Gregory VII having semi-supported the Saxon revolt sanctions a second excommunication against Henry IV in Mar 1080 in support of the anti-king Rudolf. Rudolf is mortally wounded by Henry IV's forces at the battle of Elster 14 Oct 1080. Soon after, another anti-king, Hermann of Salm, is appointed by rebellious Saxons, but is successfully put down by Frederick I, Henry IV's appointed successor to the Dukedom of Swabia and son in law. | ||
| History | Jun 1080 | Bavaria, Germany |
| Henry IV convoked a synod of German clergy in Bamberg and Brixen (Jun 1080) where 'the False Monk' (Gregory VII) was again stated to have been deposed and was replaced by the primate of Ravenna, Guibert, a distant relative of Matilda of Canossa, and known as the antipope (later Clement III). | ||
| History | May 1081 | Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome (Roma), Lazio (Latium), Italy |
| Henry IV's army and his antipope Clement III are camped outside the city walls of Rome. Pope Gregory VII is holed up in Castel Sant'Angelo, hoping that Norman forces from the south of Italy led by Robert 'Guiscard' will come to his rescue. Unfortunately for Gregory VII, Robert 'Guiscard' had been tempted by richer pickings, to invade the Eastern shores of the Byzantine Empire. | ||
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Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy Initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (born 24 Jan 76 died 10 Jul 138) as a mausoleum for himself and his family |
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| History | 03 Jun 1083 | St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City |
| Henry IV was now a permanent feature in Rome, being subsidised by Byzantine gold. After 3 years of siege the Vatican wall was breached and Henry IV's army occupied St. Peter's cathedral itself. Gregory VII in Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy could only look across to his holy seat of power in despair. But Henry IV sought compromise, sending Hugh, Abbot of Cluny to negotiate but Gregory VII would have none of it. In Nov 1083 a Frenchman of noble birth, Odo, who had been Abbot Hugh's second in command and had been recommended in 1077 and made Cardinal bishop of Ostia for Gregory VII in 1080, tried to reach agreement but was briefly imprisoned. By the New Year Henry IV had ceased to negotiate and supporters of Gregory VII began to dissipate. | ||
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St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, Italy The present Basilica was built on the site of the Constantinian Basilica, beginning on 18 Apr 1506 and completed 18 Nov 1626 |
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| History | 31 Mar 1084 | Rome (Roma), Lazio (Latium), Italy |
| On 21 Mar 1084 a group of Roman citizens unbolted the gates and after 4 years allowed Henry IV access to the city. Guibert adopted the name Clement III and was formally enthroned as Pope. At Easter Clement III crowned Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. | ||
| History | May 1084 | Rome (Roma), Lazio (Latium), Italy |
| Robert 'Guiscard' and his brother Roger I, Count of Sicily enter Rome with 36,000 men, many are Sicilian saracens, to relieve Pope Gregory VII. Meanwhile Henry IV makes a hasty retreat in the nick of time. A short-lived rebellion or seditious tumult of its citizens leads to a 3 day 'sack of Rome', after which Robert 'Guiscard' escorts Pope Grgory VII to the Lateran. The Normans leave Rome in Jul 1084 taking Pope Gregory VII with them, Pope Clement III slips back into the Lateran. Gregory VII dies the following year 25 May 1085 in Salerno, Campania, Italy, his last words were 'I have loved righteousness and I have hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile'. On the same day as Gregory VII's inauspicious death, the once capital city of the Visigoths, Toledo, Spain is restored to Christendom from Moor hands. Pope Victor III succeeds Gregory VII on 24 May 1086 but with antipope Clement III still continuing to muddy the waters, his pontificate is far less impressive than his time as Desiderius, the great Abbot of Monte Cassino. | ||
| History | 08 Mar 1088 | Rome (Roma), Lazio (Latium), Italy |
| On 8 Mar 1088 Otto, Cardinal bishop of Ostia is elected pope as Urban II and with Norman support, he soon reprimands Henry IV and excommunicates Clement III, who was defined 'a beast sprung out from the earth to wage war against the Saints of God.. Urban II also forms a large coalition against the Holy Roman Empire, including, 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 ignored by the Emperor. | ||
| History | Apr 1098 | Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| The diet (assembly) of Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany in Apr 1098, followed Pope Urban II's Council of Piacenza where Henry IV's wife Eupraxia (Adelheid) and eldest son Conrad conspired to slander him. Henry IV deposes Conrad of his kingdom of Italy and designates his younger brother Henry (future Henry V) as successor, under an oath sworn that he would never follow his brother's example. | ||
| History | 13 Aug 1099 | Rome (Roma), Lazio (Latium), Italy |
| A new Pope Paschal II a follower of Pope Gregory VII's reforming ideals is elected in Aug 1099 and summarily excommunicates Henry IV who promises to go on crusade but this plan was shattered by the revolt of his son Henry V in 1104, who, encouraged by adherents of the pope, declared he owed no allegiance to an excommunicated father. | ||
| History | Dec 1104 | Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| At the diet (assembly) at Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany in Dec 1104, Henry IV is forced to resign his crown and imprisoned in the castle of Böckelheim where he is obliged to swear that he had unjustly persecuted Gregory VII and to have illegally named Clement III. When these conditions became known in Germany, a vivid movement of dissension spread and in 1106 Henry IV escapes his captors and defeats his son's army near Visé, Walloon, Belgium, in Lorraine, on 2 Mar 1106. Henry died a few months later following 9 days of illness, aged 56. | ||
| Died | 07 Aug 1106 | |
| Age: 56 | ||
| Buried | Domkirche zu Unserer lieben Frau in Speyer (Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption & St. Stephen), Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
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| Person ID | I1750130813 | Red1st |
| Last Modified | 10 Dec 2009 | |
| Father | Henry III(Heinrich)'the Black'or'the Pious' Salian, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, b. 28 Oct 1017, Germany , d. 05 Oct 1056 (Age 38 years) | |
| Mother | Agnes of Aquitaine, of Poitou, Dowager Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, b. Abt 1024, d. 14 Dec 1077 (Age ~ 54 years) | |
| Married | 21 Nov 1043 | Ingelheim am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany |
| Family ID | F672152472 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family 1 | Bertha of Savoy, Holy Roman Empress, Queen consort of Germany, Countess of Maurienne, b. 21 Sep 1051, d. 27 Dec 1087, Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (Age 36 years) | |||||||||||
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| Last Modified | 16 Feb 2009 19:24:44 | |||||||||||
| Family ID | F672670411 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||||||||
| Family 2 | Eupraxia (Adelheid) of Kiev, b. 1071, Kiev, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine , d. 20 Jul 1109 (Age 38 years) | |
| Married | 1089 | Köln (Cologne), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
| Last Modified | 24 Feb 2009 19:53:18 | |
| Family ID | F672837484 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Photos | | Henry IV (Heinrich) Salian, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany |
| Henry V (Heinrich), Last Salian Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany and Italy Henry IV (left) and son Henry V (right) |
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