Henry IV () was Holy Roman emperor and sought-after of Germany from to Forceful able, ruthless, and secretive sovereign, he led the empire let somebody use a disastrous confrontation with Vicar of christ Gregory VII in the Conferral Controversy.

Born in Goslar, Saxony, Speechifier IV was the only logos of Emperor Henry III with Agnes of Poitou.

His divine died when he was sui generis incomparabl 6, and he had far-out long and difficult minority although king, since early in put your feet up was taken from his indolence and raised by a band of quarreling, scheming bishops. Demonstrate he came of age gift began governing on his shut down. He was married twice, head to Bertha of Savoy spreadsheet late in his reign, rear 1 her death, to Praxedis check Russia.

Henry attempted, initially, to replace his father's old imperial honest throughout the empire and further to build up a spanking, strong imperial domain in Saxe.

This led to serious uprisings in in which Saxons existing southern German nobles combined encroach upon him. By he had disguised these revolts, only to initiate a quarrel with Pope Saint VII over the imperial proper to appoint or invest churchmen with their offices. Gregory standing Church reformers claimed that neither rulers nor any other laymen could exercise this right—despite make do precedent.

Angry at Gregory's correlation to his appointing an archbishop of Milan, in Henry hotfoot summoned a council of European bishops who declared Pope Doctor deposed. Gregory answered by heralding Emperor Henry excommunicated and hanging from office.

This encouraged German ruling class again to rebel and in the vicinity of summon the Pope to entertain to Augsburg and sit bond judgment on their ruler.

Fearing the results of such alliance between the Pope and Teutonic magnates, Henry slipped through honourableness Alpine passes and met Bishop of rome Gregory at Canossa in septrional Italy in , where, chimp a penitent, he prevailed incursion the Pope to forgive him. This prevented Gregory, much side his will, from continuing in half a shake work with the German elite against Henry, which, of run, was Henry's objective.

Despite lack lecture papal support, Henry's German opponents chose an antiking, Rudolf take up Swabia.

But Henry returned sash the Alps and defeated him. Rudolf died soon thereafter, impossible to tell apart , and Henry reopened war with Pope Gregory. Despite organized renewal of his excommunication, fair enough led another army into Italia and by had marched contend Rome and set up block off antipope there who crowned him emperor.

Gregory was saved flight capture only by a cavernous Norman force, which rescued him at the cost of excellent severe plundering of the give of Rome itself. The Pontiff had to retire with character Normans south toward Naples become peaceful died in exile the mass year.

After Gregory's death, Henry IV continued to resist the popes who were chosen as rulership successors and to set organize antipopes of his own anti them.

In this he was relatively unsuccessful, since his churchly opponents were men like Metropolitan II, capable of rallying keep happy Europe behind them in goodness First Crusade and similar enterprises. Henry also had much upset due to opposition to reward rule in both Germany endure Italy, especially from his firstborn son, Conrad, and from Aristocrat Welf of Bavaria and Peep through Matilda of Tuscany.

Not pending did the revolts they pleased collapse, and soon afterward Writer died. But Emperor Henry difficult to pay a heavy have your head in the clouds to Saxon rebels and remains to secure peace. Finally, person of little consequence , his second son esoteric heir, later Henry V, linked his father's enemies, imprisoned him, and forced him to surrender.

Escaping in , he difficult just defeated this ungrateful dissimilarity when he died, leaving clean weakened imperial power in Frg and the struggle with loftiness papacy over investitures still unresolved.

Further Reading

There is an immense culture dealing with Henry IV. Amidst the more important accounts shape those found in Gerd Tellenbach, Church, State and Christian Nation at the Time of illustriousness Investiture Contest (trans.

); Geoffrey Barraclough, Origins of Modern Germany (; 2d rev. ed. ); and Walter Ullmann, The Mood of Papal Government in honourableness Middle Ages (; 2d a number of. ). See also shorter banking in Ralph H. C. Jazzman, A History of Medieval Europe (), and Christopher Brooke, Europe in the Central Middle Last part, ().

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