Henry V (
11 August 1086 –
23 May 1125) was
King of Germany (from
1099) and
Holy Roman Emperor (from
1111), the fourth and last ruler of the
Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great
Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor. By the settlement of the
Concordat of Worms, he surrendered to the demands of the second generation of
Gregorian reformers.
Assumption of power
He was a son of
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and
Bertha of Savoy. His maternal grandparents were
Otto of Savoy and
Adelaide of Susa.
On
6 January 1099, his father Henry IV had him crowned King of Germany at
Aachen in place of his older brother, the rebel
Conrad. He promised to take no part in the business of the Empire during his father's lifetime, but was induced by his father's enemies to revolt in 1104, and some of the princes did homage to him at
Mainz in January 1105. Despite the initial setbacks of the rebels, Henry IV was forced to abdicate and died soon after. Order was soon restored in Germany, the citizens of
Cologne were punished with a fine, and an expedition against
Robert II, Count of Flanders, brought this rebel to his knees.
In 1107, Henry undertook a campaign to restore
Borivoi II in
Bohemia, which was only partially successful. Henry summoned
Svatopluk the Lion, who was had captured Duke Borivoi. Borivoi was released at the emperor's command and made godfather to Svatopluk's new son. Nevertheless, on Svatopluk's return to Bohemia, he assumed the throne. In 1108, Henry went to war with
Coloman of Hungary on behalf of
Prince Álmos. An attack by Boleslaus III of Poland and Borivoi on Svatopluk forced Henry to give up his campaign. Instead, he invaded
Poland to compel them to renew their accustomed tribute, but was defeated at the Battles of Głogów and the
Hundsfeld. In 1110, he succeeded in securing the dukedom of Bohemia for
Ladislaus I.
First Italian expedition
The main interest of Henry's reign was the settling of the
controversy over lay investiture, which had caused a serious dispute during the previous reign. The papal party who had supported Henry in his resistance to his father hoped he would assent to the papal decrees, which had been renewed by
Paschal II at the synod of
Guastalla in 1106. The king, however, continued to invest the bishops, but wished the pope to hold a council in Germany to settle the question. After some hesitation, Paschal preferred
France to Germany, and, after holding a council at
Troyes, renewed his prohibition of lay investiture. The matter slumbered until 1110, when, negotiations between king and pope having failed, Paschal renewed his decrees and Henry invaded Italy with a large army.
The strength of his forces helped him to secure general recognition in
Lombardy, and at
Sutri he concluded an arrangement with Paschal by which he renounced the rite of investiture in return for a promise of coronation, and the restoration to the Empire of all Christendom, which had been in the hands of the German state and church since the time of
Charlemagne. It was a treaty impossible to execute, and Henry, whose consent to it is said to have been conditional on its acceptance by the princes and bishops of Germany, probably foresaw that it would occasion a breach between the German clergy and the pope. Having entered Rome and sworn the usual oaths, the king presented himself at
St Peter's Basilica on
12 February 1111 for his coronation and the ratification of the treaty. The words commanding the clergy to restore the fiefs of the crown to Henry were read amid a tumult of indignation, whereupon the pope refused to crown the king, who in return declined to hand over his renunciation of the right of investiture. Paschal, along with sixteen
cardinals, was seized by Henry's soldiers and, in the general disorder which followed, an attempt to liberate the pontiff was thwarted in a struggle during which the king himself was wounded. A
Norman army sent by
Prince Robert I of Capua to rescue the papists was turned back by the imperialist
count of Tusculum,
Ptolemy I.


Seal of Henry V.
Return to Germany
Henry left Rome carrying the pope with him; and Paschal's failure to obtain assistance drew from him a confirmation of the king's right of investiture and a promise to crown him emperor. The coronation ceremony accordingly took place on
13 April, after which the emperor returned to Germany, where he sought to strengthen his power by granting privileges to the inhabitants of the region of the upper Rhine.
In 1112,
Lothair of Supplinburg,
Duke of Saxony, rose in arms against Henry, but was easily quelled. In 1113, however, a quarrel over the succession to the counties of
Weimar and
Orlamünde gave occasion for a fresh outbreak on the part of Lothair, whose troops were defeated at the Battle of Warnstadt, though the duke was later pardoned.
Having been married at Mainz on
7 January 1114 to
Matilda, daughter of
Henry I of England, the emperor was confronted with a further rising, initiated by the citizens of Cologne, who were soon joined by the Saxons and others. Henry failed to take Cologne, his forces were defeated at the
Battle of Welfesholz (
11 February 1115), and complications in Italy compelled him to leave Germany to the care of
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen,
Duke of Swabia, and his brother Conrad, afterwards the German king
Conrad III.
Second Italian expedition
After the departure of Henry from Rome in 1111 a council had declared the privilege of lay investiture, which had been extorted from Paschal, to be invalid. Guido,
Archbishop of Vienne, excommunicated the emperor, calling upon the pope to ratify this sentence. Paschal, however, refused to take so extreme a step; and the quarrel entered upon a new stage in 1115 when
Matilda of Tuscany, died leaving her vast estates to the papacy. Crossing the Alps in 1116, Henry won the support of town and noble by granting privileges to the one and giving presents to the other. But the papist
Jordan, Archbishop of Milan, excommunicated him at San Tecla. He took possession of Matilda's lands, and was gladly received in Rome. By this time Paschal had withdrawn his consent to lay investiture and the excommunication had been published in Rome; but the pope was compelled to flee from the city. Some of the cardinals withstood the emperor, but by means of bribes he broke down the opposition, and was crowned a second time by Burdinas, Archbishop of Braga.
Meanwhile the defeat at Welfesholz had given heart to Henry's enemies; many of his supporters, especially among the bishops, fell away; the excommunication was published at Cologne, and the pope, with the assistance of the Normans, began to make war. In January 1118, Paschal died and was succeeded by
Gelasius II. The emperor immediately returned from northern Italy to Rome. But as the new pope escaped from the city, Henry, despairing of making a treaty, secured the election of the
Antipope Gregory VIII, who was left in possession of Rome when the emperor returned across the Alps that same year.
Concordat of Worms


Grave of Henry V in the cathedral of Speyer.
After the second Italian expedition, the opposition in Germany was gradually crushed and a general peace declared at
Tribur, while the desire for a settlement of the investiture dispute was growing. Negotiations, begun at
Würzburg, were continued at
Worms, where the new pope,
Callistus II, was represented by Cardinal
Lambert, Bishop of Ostia.
In the
Concordat of Worms, signed in September 1122, Henry renounced the right of investiture with ring and crozier, recognized the freedom of election of the clergy, and promised to restore all church property. The pope agreed to allow elections to take place in presence of the imperial envoys, and the investiture with the sceptre to be granted by the emperor as a symbol that the estates of the church were held under the crown. Henry, who had been solemnly excommunicated at
Reims by Callistus in October 1119, was received again into the communion of the church, after he had abandoned his nominee, Gregory, to defeat and banishment.
The emperor's concluding years were occupied with a campaign in
Holland, and with a quarrel over the succession to the
margraviate of Meissen, two disputes in which his enemies were aided by Lothair of Saxony. In 1124, he led an expedition against
Louis VI of France, turned his arms against the citizens of Worms, and on
23 May 1125 died at
Utrecht and was buried at
Speyer. Having no legitimate children, he left his possessions to his nephew, Frederick II of Swabia, and on his death the line of Franconian, or Salian, emperors became extinct. Henry and Matilda had no surviving children, though Hermann of Tournai mentions a child who died soon after birth. Henry's illegitimate daughter Bertha married
Ptolemy II of Tusculum, son of the first Ptolemy, in 1117.
Ancestors
Sources
- Gwatkin, H.M., Whitney, J.P. (ed) et al. The Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III. Cambridge University Press, 1926.
- Norwich, John Julius. The Normans in the South 1016-1130. Longmans: London, 1967.
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This article lists the German monarchs, ruling over the territory of Germany from the creation of a separate Eastern Frankish Kingdom in 843 until the end of monarchy in 1918.
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Salian dynasty was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages of four German Kings (1024-1125), also known as the Frankish dynasty after the family's origin and role as dukes of Franconia.
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The Investiture Controversy, also known as the lay investiture controversy, was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe.
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The Concordat of Worms, sometimes called the Pactum Calixtinum by papal historians, was an agreement between Pope Calixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V on September 23 1122 near the city of Worms.
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The Gregorian Reform was a series of reforms initiated by Pope Gregory VII and the circle he formed in the papal curia, circa 1050–1080, which dealt with the moral integrity and independence of the clergy.
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Henry IV
King of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor
Reign 1084 – 1105
Born 11 November 1050(1050--)
Royal palace at Goslar
Died 7 July 1106 (aged 57)
Buried
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Bertha of Savoy, also called Bertha of Turin (21 September 1051 – 27 December 1087 in Mainz) was the first wife of Emperor Henry IV, and was German Queen and Holy Roman Empress. She is buried in the cathedral of Speyer.
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Otto or Oddone in Italian, (1010 or 1020–c. 1057) was Count of Savoy from 1051 (or 1056) until his death. He ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother, Amedeo.
He married Adelaide, heiress of Turin and Susa, and had five children.
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Adelaide of Susa (also Adelheid, Adelais, or Adeline; 1016 – 19 December 1091[1]) daugther of Ardiun de Candia jar or count of Brionne (known as Arduin GlaBrion); Adelaide was the Marchioness of Turin from 1034 to her death.
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(help) (Ripuarian: Oche, French: Aix-la-Chapelle) is a historic spa city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
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Conrad II (12 February 1074 – 27 July 1101) was the second son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. As such, he was King of Germany from 1087 to 1098 and also King of Italy from 1093 to 1098.
Conrad was born in Hersfeld Abbey in 1074 to Henry and Bertha of Savoy.
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MainzMainz Old Town View from the citadel (2003)
Coat of arms LocationDetails
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CologneCologne Cathedral with Hohenzollern Bridge
Coat of arms Location..... Click the link for more information. Robert II (c. 1065 – October 5, 1111) was Count of Flanders from 1093 to 1111. He became known as Robert of Jerusalem (Robertus Hierosolimitanus) or Robert the Crusader after his exploits in the First Crusade.
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Borivoj II (also Bořivoj or Borivoi) (c. 1064–2 February 1124) was the duke of Bohemia from 25 December 1100 until May 1107 and from December 1117 until 16 August 1120. He was the younger half-brother and successor of Bretislaus II.
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Bohemia (Czech: Čechy[1]; German: (help info )
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Svatopluk the Lion (died 21 September 1109) was the duke of Bohemia from 1107 to his assassination. He was a son of Otto I of Olomouc and Euphemia of Hungary and grandson of Bretislaus I of Bohemia.
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Coloman also spelled Koloman (Hungarian: Könyves Kálmán) (1070 – February 3, 1116) byname Coloman The Possessor Of Books[1] was King of Hungary from 1095 to 1116.
He was the son of Géza I and Zsófia (Sophia) von Looz.
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Álmos (in Croatian and Slovak Almoš) (died 1129) was a Hungarian prince, the son of King Géza I of Hungary, brother of King Kálmán. He held several governmental posts in the Kingdom of Hungary.
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Motto
none1
Anthem
Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Polish)
Dąbrowski's Mazurek
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The Battle of Hundsfeld was allegedly fought in 1109 between the Holy Roman Empire and Poland. The Imperial forces were led by Emperor Henry V, and the Polish forces — by Bolesław III Wrymouth. The result was a Polish victory.
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