Henry IV (1056-1105)
Finding a more controversial German ruler in the Middle Ages will be difficult. His enemies called him a debauched, spoiled brat who would rape and even murder his enemies. He himself had been subject to assassination plots ever since he was a mere 7 years old.
He became king at the age of 6 and saw the central power crumbling under his mother’s ineffective rule. Age 12 he is being abducted in a coup d’etat and finds that his mother does not fight for him, even sides with his enemies. When he assumes direct rule his magnates still do as they please with the imperial purse.
When he tries to establish a new territorial power base around the silver mines in Goslar he is forced into a bloody and remorseless war against the Saxons.
Meanwhile the papacy in Rome is on the rise. Pope Gregory VII believes the emperor is no different to any other king obliged to kneel and wash the pope’s feet.
A terrible miscalculation leaves Henry IV kneeling in the snow before Pope Gregory VII. The ensuing 50 years of war change the face of Europe
Emperor Henry III is dead. The realm is now in the hands of his widow, Agnes of Poitou who rules on behalf of the six-year-old king Henry IV. Agnes is no Theophanu and no Adelheid. Not that she is incompetent, she just isn’t absolutely brilliant, and absolutely brilliant is the baseline necessary to manage this fragile situation.
The relationship between the central imperial power and the magnates has flipped, and instead of all-powerful emperors, the dukes, counts and bishops do what they like. And Henry III’s bête noire, Godfrey the Bearded is more powerful than ever.
The laity calls for a church that is more like the church of the apostles, pious and dedicated to the poor. They demand an end to simony and the licentiousness of priests.
And the papacy asserts its independence. Not that they necessarily intend to throw off the imperial yoke, but the reformers need protectors against the Roman aristocracy that literally used popes as footstools and ATMs.
All this culminates in a situation where the young king Henry IV sees no other way to escape from his opponents than by jumping into the cold and fast flowing River Rhine, choosing death over captivity..
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.
#30 The Three Roads to Canossa
Lay Piety, Reform Papacy and the Saxon Rebellion
Emperor Henry III is dead. The realm is now in the hands of his widow, Agnes of Poitou who rules on behalf of the six-year-old king Henry IV. Agnes is no Theophanu and no Adelheid. Not that she is incompetent, she just isn’t absolutely brilliant, and absolutely brilliant is the baseline necessary to manage this fragile situation.
#31 The (second) Saxon War
The Nobles Rebel against “the Imperial Tyrant” Henry IV
King Henry IV embarks on his ambitious castle building project around Goslar, Otto of Northeim delivers a rousing speech, Saxons rebel, royal bones are thrown in the rubbish, brother fights brother…and more!
#32 Not Pope but False Monk
Emperor Henry IV confronts the Pope Gregory VII
The rise of the papacy since 1046 is almost linear. Popes free themselves from the Roman aristocracy, take over leadership of the church reform movement and claim universal leadership of Christianity. Conflict with the other universal power, the emperor is inevitable..
#33 Canossa Finally
Emperor Henry IV kneels in the Snow before Pope Gregory VII
It is time – we are finally going to Canossa. Expect imperial power to go up in smoke, greedy mothers-in-laws, frozen passes, hoisted horses and tobogganing empresses.
#34 Gaining the Upper Hand
Henry IV defeats the anti-king Rudolf von Rheinfelden
Unperturbed by Henry IV’s release from the ban the German princes elect Rudolph von Rheinfelden as the new king, change the constitution of the empire and start a civil war that is lost when a man loses not his head, but his hand.
#35 To Rome! to Rome!
Henry IV takes Revenge on Pope Gregory VII
Suddenly the boot is on the other foot and emperor Henry IV chases pope Gregory VII out of Rome and into exile in Salerno
#36 Henry IV is Coming Home
The Pacification of the Empire after a Decade of War
Henry IV returned as emperor and made his mark on Saxony, waiting for gregiry VII and his appointees to die
#37 The Two Grooms
Mathilda of Tuscany Marries a much Younger man – for power, not love
The wedding of the 60-year old countess Matilda of Tuscany to the strapping 18-year old Welf IV was organised by the Pope – for power not love
#38 The First Crusade
Crusaders attacking the Jewish communities in Mainz, Speyer and Worms
In 1095 Pope Urban II launches the First Crusade and things get out of control almost immediately as preachers whip up crowds to set off immediately. These crowds bring unimaginable horrors to the Jewish communities in Mainz, Worms, Trier and elsewhere
#39 The Final Betrayal
The End of Emperor Henry IV
It is hard to believe, but the last years of Henry IV’s tumultuous reign still held one final humiliation that capped the pain this man had already endured.