Henry VII / Heinrich VII (1308-1313)
Henry, the new king of the Romans, just 30 years of age, tall and blond, every inch his forebearer the great Charlemagne had a one track mind. There was one thing he wanted and that was the imperial crown.
It is now 60 years since there last had been a crowned emperor. We had such an interregnum before, in the 10th century between the death of emperor Berengar of Friuli, yes, me neither, and the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. This, even shorter gap, had resulted in the transfers of the imperial honour from the Carolingians to the rulers of the German Lands.
It was high time to go to Rome and be crowned emperor. Otherwise more people will ask as John of Salisbury had: Â Who appointed the Germans to be judges over the peoples of the earth? Who gave these brutish, unruly people the arbitrary authority to elect a ruler over the heads of the people?
But to get to Rome for a medieval imperial coronation requires more than just picking up a plane ticket. First our new Barbarossa needs to assert his position in the empire, gather followers for the journey and establish peace and justice. He needs to convince the pope to send an invitation and the king of France not to send an army to stop him.
On November 27th, 1308 the prince electors chose Henry VII, count of Luxemburg to be their new king of the Romans and future emperor. Little did they know that this decision will give rise to a dynasty that will rule the empire for as many decades as the Ottonian, the Salian and the Hohenstaufen had. A dynasty that featured such emblems of chivalric pride as the blind king John of Bohemia, builders of cities and empires like Charles IV and finally, in a faint mirror image of the height of medieval imperial power, an emperor who engineers the deposition of three popes and the appointment of a new one, whilst foreshadowing the wars of religion by murdering the reformer Jan Hus.
Today’s episode explores the backstory of the house of Luxemburg who have been around since Carolingian times. They were the “Where is Wally“ of the rich tapestry of High Medieval History, always somewhere in the picture, but never really in the foreground. Two women feature highly, the empress Kunigunde, wife of emperor Henry II and Ermesinde, who successful ruled the county for 47 years.
But the real step up came when Henry VII, barely 30 years old and running a county much diminished after the disastrous battle of Worringen became the only viable candidate to kingship. How that happened is what we will talk about in this episode..
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.
So far I have:
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen
The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356
The Reformation before the Reformation
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
#144 The Rise of the House of Luxemburg
The election of emperor Henry VII
On November 27th, 1308 the prince electors chose Henry VII, count of Luxemburg to be their new king of the Romans and future emperor. Little did they know that this decision will give rise to a dynasty that will rule the empire for as many decades as the Ottonian, the Salian and the Hohenstaufen had.
#145 How to make Friends and Influence People
The Luxemburgs become Kings of Bohemia
It is 60 years since we have last seen a crowned emperor. The last time the throne had remained vacant for so long, the title moved from the Carolingians to whoever ruled the German lands. Will something like that happen again?
#146 The Return of the King
Henry VII Crosses the Alps
In the winter of 1310 the emperor elect Henry VII not yet 40 years of age and every inch a king appears in Italy. An Italy torn apart by violence…
#147 Brescia or Bust
Henry VII’s Big Mistake
Henry VII had gained control of most of Northern Italy in less than three months. It will take him 9 months to lose it all again. How did he go from bringer of peace and justice and all out savior of Italy to brutal conqueror and godless tyrant? Let’s find out.
#148 Imperial Swansong
Henry VII’s Journey to Rome
The year is 1312 and Henry VII is finally embarking on his journey to Rome that will bring about the first imperial coronation in almost a century and hence the formal end to the Interregnum, the time without emperors.