The Two Heinrich VII’s of The Holy Roman Empire.

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Conrad IV of Germany, Emperor Friedrich II, Heinrich VII, Holy Roman Empire, House of Hohenstaufen, House of Luxembourg, King of the Romans, Pope Hon, Pope Honorius III, Pope Innocent III.

There are actually two rulers of the Holy Roman Empire named Heinrich VII. One was actually Emperor while the other was King of the Romans the title generally held by the heir to the throne of the Empire.

The Heinrich VII that was the actual Emperor, for only one year (1312 — 1313), and lived from the late 13th century until the early 14th century, while the other Heinrich VII lived earlier in the 13th century (1211 – 1242).

Heinrich VII, Holy Roman Emperor

The Heinrich VII who held the imperial title (c. 1273–August 24, 1313), was also known as Heinrich of Luxembourg, who was Count of Luxembourg, King of the Romans (or Rex Romanorum) from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first Emperor of the House of Luxembourg.

He was the first emperor since the death of Friedrich II in 1250, ending the Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire; however, his premature death and brief reign threatened to undo his life’s work.

His son, Johann of Bohemia, failed to be elected as his successor, and there was briefly another anti-king, Friedrich the Fair, contesting the rule of Emperor Ludwig IV.

The other Heinrich (VII) (1211 – February 12?, 1242), was a member of the long ruling Hohenstaufen dynasty and was the son of Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II and his first wife Infanta Constance of Aragon the second child and eldest daughter of the nine children of Alfonso II of Aragon and Infanta Sancha of Castile.

While Friedrich sought to be elected King of the Romans against his Welf rival Otto IV, he had his new-born son Heinrich crowned King of Sicily (as Heinrich II) by Pope Innocent III in March 1212, since an agreement between Friedrich and the Pope stated that the kingdoms of Germany and Sicily should not be united under one ruler. For this, the regency of the Sicilian kingdom went to his mother Constance and not to his father.

Heinrich (VII)’s father, Friedrich II, was eventually elected King of the Romans in 1215, by the German princes, and supported by Pope Innocent III. Friedrich II was crowned King of the Romans in Aachen on July 23, 1215 by one of the three German archbishops.

It wasn’t until another five years had passed, and only after further negotiations between Friedrich II and Pope Innocent III, and Pope Honorius III – who succeeded to the papacy after Innocent’s death in 1216 – that Friedrich was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Honorius III, on November 22, 1220.

At the same time, Friedrich’s oldest son Heinrich (VII) took the title of King of the Romans.

In 1228, Heinrich (VII) took over the rule in the German kingdom and tried to limit the powers of the princes, thereby disturbing the Imperial policies of his father who made him pay homage under the threat of excommunication.

Heinrich (VII), King of the Romans

In 1235, Heinrich (VII) allied with the princely opposition and openly rebelled against his father the emperor, however, was defeated by his father’s forces and dethroned. Friedrich II had him confined in several castles in Apulia, where he died on February 12, 1242 (according to other sources February 10) after a fall from his horse.

Some chroniclers report that his fall from his horse had been an attempted suicide. His father had him buried with royal honours in the cathedral of Cosenza, in an antique Roman sarcophagus.

Although he had been the seventh Heinrich to rule over German lands, technically the Holy Roman Empire, he is usually numbered with his ordinal number in parentheses (VII) in order to avoid confusion with the Luxembourg emperor Heinrich VII who, as previously mentioned, actually held the imperial title.

However, among the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Heinrich is numbered only in parentheses, because he did not exercise the sole kingship.

His ordinal number in parentheses was not contemporary with Heinrich’s reign as King of the Romans it was a later invention by historians in order not to confuse him with the later Emperor Heinrich VII who actually ruled the Empire from 1308 onwards (first as King of the Romans then as Holy Roman Emperor in 1312).

Heinrich (VII) was for a long time in his father’s shadow and disparaged as “Parentheses Henry”, several historians in recent years have adopted a more positive view of his Hohenstaufen policies.

After the death of Heinrich (VII) his half-brother Conrad IV was elected King of the Romans.

Conrad IV (April 25, 1228 – May 21, 1254) was the only son of Emperor Friedrich II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) upon the death of his mother in childbirth.

Appointed Duke of Swabia in 1235, his father had him elected King of the Romans and crowned King of Italy (as Conrad IV) in 1237. After the emperor was deposed and died in 1250, he ruled as King of Sicily (Conrad I) until his death.

With the death of Friedrich II in 1250 the Holy Roman Empire entered the period known as the Great Interregnum which is a whole other topic I will cover tomorrow in this blog.

September 28, 1322: Battle of Mühldorf.

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Battle of Müldorf, Electoral Collage, Frederick I of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, House of Habsburg, House of Luxembourg, House of Wittelsbach, Imperial Elector, John the Blind of Bohemia

From The Emperor’s Desk: I generally am not too interested in wars and battles but this was an important battle in the History of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Battle of Mühldorf (also Battle of Ampfing) was fought near Mühldorf am Inn on September 28, 1322 between the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria and Austria. The Bavarians were led by the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV of the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach, while the Austrians were under the command of his cousin, Friedrich the Fair from the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as Friedrich I as well as King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1314 (anti-king until 1325) as Friedrich III until his death.

picture: Friedrich I of Austria

Background

The early 14th century had the powerful dynasties of Habsburg, Luxembourg, and Wittelsbach rivaling for the rule over the Holy Roman Empire, while the Prince-Electors were anxious not to allow one noble family to install their dynasty permanently turning the Holy Roman Empire into a hereditary monarchy.

After the death of Emperor Heinrich VII of the House of Luxembourg in 1313, the Electoral Collage denied the succession of his son Johann, (1296 – 1346) who was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland.

Instead the Electoral Collage accorded its favor to Ludwig of Wittelsbach and Friedrich of Habsburg, but were split over the question of whom to choose. I’ve already mentioned the credentials of Friedrich the Fair, here is some background on Ludwig of Wittelsbach.

He was the son of Ludwig II, Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine, and Matilda of Austria, a daughter of King Rudolph I of Germany, of the House of Habsburg. Ludwig (III) was Duke of Upper Bavaria from 1294/1301 together with his elder brother Rudolf I, served as Margrave of Brandenburg until 1323, and as Count Palatine of the Rhine until 1329, and he became Duke of Lower Bavaria.

Therefore, because the Electoral Collage was split in 1314, a double election took place at Frankfurt. Cologne, the Electorate of the Palatinate, Bohemia, and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg voted for Friedrich of Habsburg as Rex Romanorum.

Mainz, Archbishopric of Trier, Brandenburg and Elector Johann II of Saxe-Lauenburg (whose electoral dignity was denied by their Saxe-Wittenberg cousins) adopted Ludwig of Bavaria.

The draw resulted in a protracted conflict with violent fights, in which both sides tried to gain the support of the Imperial estates. In addition, Ludwig had to settle the domestic dispute with his brother Count Palatine Rudolf I (who had voted against him), which finally ended with Rudolf’s death in 1319.

Meanwhile, Friedrich continued his campaigns into Bavaria, devastating Ludwig’s’ duchy several times without meeting much resistance.

The battle

In 1322, Friedrich, encouraged by his previous expeditions, allied with the Bishop of Passau and the Salzburg Archbishopric. Their armed forces met on September 24 near Mühldorf on the Inn River, where Friedrich expected the arrival of further troops from Further Austria, led by his brother Leopold.

The battle did not go well for the Austrians. Ludwig had forged an alliance with King Johann of Bohemia and Burggrave Friedrich IV of Nuremberg (of the House of Hohenzollern) and on September 28 reached Mühldorf with a sizable army, including 1,800 knights and 500-600 mounted Hungarian archers.

Meanwhile, Leopold’s relief troops were barred from reaching the battlefield in time. Despite this unfavorable situation Friedrich agreed to meet Ludwig’s knights at once.

Friedrich’s army was defeated by Ludwig’s army outnumbering forces under high losses on both sides. More than 1,000 noblemen from Austria and Salzburg were captured, as was Friedrich himself and his younger brother, Heinrich the Friendly.

Aftermath

Though Emperor Ludwig IV had prevailed, his Imperial title remained contested, especially by Pope John XXII and Friedrich’s brother Leopold, who remained a fierce opponent.

After three years Emperor Ludwig IV had to release Friedrich from captivity and reconcile with him, even offering him a joint rule and the Rex Romanorum title in return for his support to receive the Imperial crown.

Neither the House of Wittelsbach nor the Habsburgs were able to defend their claims to the royal title, which after Ludwig IV’svdeath in 1347 again passed to Charles IV from the House of Luxembourg.