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Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
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Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VII (German: Heinrich; Vulgar Latin: Arrigo; 1275 or 1278/79 – 24 August 1313), also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany (Rex Romanorum) from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg. During his brief career he reinvigorated the imperial cause in Italy, which was racked with the partisan struggles between the divided Guelph and Ghibelline factions, and inspired the praise of Dino Compagni and Dante Alighieri. He was the first emperor since the death of Frederick II in 1250, ending the Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire; however, his premature death threatened to undo his life's work. His son, John of Bohemia, failed to be elected as his successor, and there was briefly another anti-king, Frederick the Fair, contesting the rule of Louis IV.
Born probably between 1275 or 1278/79 in Valenciennes, he was a son of Count Henry VI of Luxembourg and Béatrice from the House of Avesnes. Raised at the French court, he was the lord of comparatively small properties in a peripheral and predominantly French-speaking part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was symptomatic of the empire's weakness that during his rule as the Count of Luxembourg, he agreed to become a French vassal, seeking the protection of King Philip the Fair of France. During his rule of Luxembourg, he ruled effectively, especially in keeping the peace in local feudal disputes.
Henry became caught up in the internal political machinations of the Holy Roman Empire with the assassination of King Albert I on 1 May 1308. Almost immediately, King Philip of France began aggressively seeking support for his brother, Charles of Valois, to be elected the next King of the Romans. Philip thought he had the backing of the French Pope Clement V (established at Avignon), and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors. Although Charles of Valois had the backing of Henry, Archbishop of Cologne, a French supporter, many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be Rudolf, the Count Palatine.[citation needed]
Given his background, although he was a vassal of Philip the Fair, Henry was bound by few national ties, an aspect of his suitability as a compromise candidate among the electors, the great territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades, and who were unhappy with both Charles and Rudolf. Henry's brother, Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier, won over a number of the electors, including the Archbishop of Cologne, in exchange for some substantial concessions. Consequently, Henry skillfully negotiated his way to the crown, elected with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. The only elector who did not support him was Henry, King of Bohemia. Henry was subsequently crowned at Aachen on 6 January 1309.
In July 1309, Pope Clement V confirmed Henry's election. He agreed to crown Henry emperor at Candlemas 1312 personally, the title having been vacant since the death of Frederick II. Henry in exchange, swore an oath of protection to the Pope, agreed to defend the rights and not attack the privileges of the cities of the Papal States, and also agreed to go on Crusade once he had been crowned emperor. Yet the newly crowned king had local issues to deal with before he could seek the imperial crown. Henry was approached by part of the Bohemian nobility and some important and influential ecclesiastics to intervene in Bohemia. Unhappy with the rule of Henry of Carinthia, and wary of the claims of the Habsburgs who had some legitimate claim on the crown, they convinced Henry to marry his son John I, Count of Luxemburg to Elizabeth, the daughter of Wenceslas II, and so establish a claim to the Bohemian crown. In July 1310 he engineered the removal of Henry of Carinthia.
On 15 August 1309, Henry VII announced his intention to travel to Rome, having sent his ambassadors to Italy to prepare for his arrival, and so consequently expected his troops to be ready to travel by 1 October 1310. Prior to leaving Germany, he sought to smooth relations with the Habsburgs, who had been forced against their will to accept the accession of Henry's son in Bohemia, cowed by the threats of making the Duchy of Austria dependent on the Bohemian crown. He therefore confirmed them in their imperial fiefs by October 1309; in exchange, Leopold of Habsburg agreed to accompany Henry in his Italian expedition, and to provide a body of troops as well.
Henry felt he needed to obtain a papal imperial coronation, partly because of the lowly origins of his house, and partly because of the concessions he had been forced to make to obtain the German crown in the first place. He also saw it, together with the crowns of Italy and Arles, as a necessary counterweight to the ambitions of the French king. To ensure the success of his Italian expedition, Henry entered into negotiations with Robert, King of Naples in mid-1310, with the intent of marrying his daughter, Beatrix to Robert's son, Charles, Duke of Calabria. It was hoped that this would lessen the tensions in Italy between the anti-imperial Guelphs, who looked to the King of Naples for leadership, and the pro-imperial Ghibellines. Negotiations broke down due to Robert's excessive monetary demands, as well as through the interference of Philip, who did not want such an alliance to succeed.
While these negotiations were taking place, Henry began his descent into northern Italy in October 1310, with his eldest son John remaining in Prague as the Imperial vicar. As he crossed the Alps and travelled into the Lombard plain, nobles and prelates of both Guelph and Ghibelline factions hastened to greet him, and Dante circulated an optimistic open letter addressed to the rulers and the people. As emperor, Henry had planned to restore the glory of the Holy Roman Empire, but he did not reckon on the bitterly divided state that Italy had now become. Decades of warfare and strife had seen the rise of dozens of independent city-states, each one nominally Guelph or Ghibelline,[citation needed] backed by either urban nobles supporting a powerful ruler (such as Milan), or the rising non-noble merchant classes embedded in oligarchic republican states (such as Florence). Each of these contests had created bitter losers, each of whom looked to the emperor-elect for restitution. Henry expressed both his high-minded idealism and lack of political craft in his plan to require all the cities of Lombardy to welcome back their exiles, of whatever their political stripe. He received both parties, Guelph or Ghibelline, courteously; in the beginning he showed no obvious favoritism to either party, hoping that his magnanimity would be reciprocated by both sides. Nevertheless, he insisted that the current rulers in all of the Italian city-states had usurped their powers. He insisted that the towns should come under the immediate control of the Empire, and that their exiles should be recalled. He eventually forced the cities to comply with his demands, and the despots had to surrender their keys. Although Henry rewarded their submission with titles and fiefs, it did cause a great deal of resentment that only grew over time. This was the situation confronting the king when he arrived in Turin in November 1310, at the head of 5,000 soldiers, including 500 cavalry.
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Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VII (German: Heinrich; Vulgar Latin: Arrigo; 1275 or 1278/79 – 24 August 1313), also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany (Rex Romanorum) from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg. During his brief career he reinvigorated the imperial cause in Italy, which was racked with the partisan struggles between the divided Guelph and Ghibelline factions, and inspired the praise of Dino Compagni and Dante Alighieri. He was the first emperor since the death of Frederick II in 1250, ending the Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire; however, his premature death threatened to undo his life's work. His son, John of Bohemia, failed to be elected as his successor, and there was briefly another anti-king, Frederick the Fair, contesting the rule of Louis IV.
Born probably between 1275 or 1278/79 in Valenciennes, he was a son of Count Henry VI of Luxembourg and Béatrice from the House of Avesnes. Raised at the French court, he was the lord of comparatively small properties in a peripheral and predominantly French-speaking part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was symptomatic of the empire's weakness that during his rule as the Count of Luxembourg, he agreed to become a French vassal, seeking the protection of King Philip the Fair of France. During his rule of Luxembourg, he ruled effectively, especially in keeping the peace in local feudal disputes.
Henry became caught up in the internal political machinations of the Holy Roman Empire with the assassination of King Albert I on 1 May 1308. Almost immediately, King Philip of France began aggressively seeking support for his brother, Charles of Valois, to be elected the next King of the Romans. Philip thought he had the backing of the French Pope Clement V (established at Avignon), and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors. Although Charles of Valois had the backing of Henry, Archbishop of Cologne, a French supporter, many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be Rudolf, the Count Palatine.[citation needed]
Given his background, although he was a vassal of Philip the Fair, Henry was bound by few national ties, an aspect of his suitability as a compromise candidate among the electors, the great territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades, and who were unhappy with both Charles and Rudolf. Henry's brother, Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier, won over a number of the electors, including the Archbishop of Cologne, in exchange for some substantial concessions. Consequently, Henry skillfully negotiated his way to the crown, elected with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. The only elector who did not support him was Henry, King of Bohemia. Henry was subsequently crowned at Aachen on 6 January 1309.
In July 1309, Pope Clement V confirmed Henry's election. He agreed to crown Henry emperor at Candlemas 1312 personally, the title having been vacant since the death of Frederick II. Henry in exchange, swore an oath of protection to the Pope, agreed to defend the rights and not attack the privileges of the cities of the Papal States, and also agreed to go on Crusade once he had been crowned emperor. Yet the newly crowned king had local issues to deal with before he could seek the imperial crown. Henry was approached by part of the Bohemian nobility and some important and influential ecclesiastics to intervene in Bohemia. Unhappy with the rule of Henry of Carinthia, and wary of the claims of the Habsburgs who had some legitimate claim on the crown, they convinced Henry to marry his son John I, Count of Luxemburg to Elizabeth, the daughter of Wenceslas II, and so establish a claim to the Bohemian crown. In July 1310 he engineered the removal of Henry of Carinthia.
On 15 August 1309, Henry VII announced his intention to travel to Rome, having sent his ambassadors to Italy to prepare for his arrival, and so consequently expected his troops to be ready to travel by 1 October 1310. Prior to leaving Germany, he sought to smooth relations with the Habsburgs, who had been forced against their will to accept the accession of Henry's son in Bohemia, cowed by the threats of making the Duchy of Austria dependent on the Bohemian crown. He therefore confirmed them in their imperial fiefs by October 1309; in exchange, Leopold of Habsburg agreed to accompany Henry in his Italian expedition, and to provide a body of troops as well.
Henry felt he needed to obtain a papal imperial coronation, partly because of the lowly origins of his house, and partly because of the concessions he had been forced to make to obtain the German crown in the first place. He also saw it, together with the crowns of Italy and Arles, as a necessary counterweight to the ambitions of the French king. To ensure the success of his Italian expedition, Henry entered into negotiations with Robert, King of Naples in mid-1310, with the intent of marrying his daughter, Beatrix to Robert's son, Charles, Duke of Calabria. It was hoped that this would lessen the tensions in Italy between the anti-imperial Guelphs, who looked to the King of Naples for leadership, and the pro-imperial Ghibellines. Negotiations broke down due to Robert's excessive monetary demands, as well as through the interference of Philip, who did not want such an alliance to succeed.
While these negotiations were taking place, Henry began his descent into northern Italy in October 1310, with his eldest son John remaining in Prague as the Imperial vicar. As he crossed the Alps and travelled into the Lombard plain, nobles and prelates of both Guelph and Ghibelline factions hastened to greet him, and Dante circulated an optimistic open letter addressed to the rulers and the people. As emperor, Henry had planned to restore the glory of the Holy Roman Empire, but he did not reckon on the bitterly divided state that Italy had now become. Decades of warfare and strife had seen the rise of dozens of independent city-states, each one nominally Guelph or Ghibelline,[citation needed] backed by either urban nobles supporting a powerful ruler (such as Milan), or the rising non-noble merchant classes embedded in oligarchic republican states (such as Florence). Each of these contests had created bitter losers, each of whom looked to the emperor-elect for restitution. Henry expressed both his high-minded idealism and lack of political craft in his plan to require all the cities of Lombardy to welcome back their exiles, of whatever their political stripe. He received both parties, Guelph or Ghibelline, courteously; in the beginning he showed no obvious favoritism to either party, hoping that his magnanimity would be reciprocated by both sides. Nevertheless, he insisted that the current rulers in all of the Italian city-states had usurped their powers. He insisted that the towns should come under the immediate control of the Empire, and that their exiles should be recalled. He eventually forced the cities to comply with his demands, and the despots had to surrender their keys. Although Henry rewarded their submission with titles and fiefs, it did cause a great deal of resentment that only grew over time. This was the situation confronting the king when he arrived in Turin in November 1310, at the head of 5,000 soldiers, including 500 cavalry.
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