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Conrad of Franconia, Friedrich Barbarossa, Friedrich II of Swabia, King of Germany, King of the Romans, King of West Francia, Louis VII, Pope Anaclet II
Upon Emperor Heinrich V’s death in 1125, Archchancellor Adalbert summoned the royal electoral assembly in Mainz. On August 24 the Prince-Electors declined the candidacy of the primary contender Duke Friedrich II of Swabia of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, who destroyed his chances due to his appalling overconfidence (ambicone cecatus) and his refusal to accept free princely elections (libera electio). Adalbert of Mainz considered Lothair of the Supplinburg dynasty to be a suitable candidate.
Having both Saxon and Bavarian ancestry, the Supplinburg Dynasty was a political opponent of the Salian dynasty and the House of Hohenstaufen. Disputes arose with Duke Frederick II when he refused to hand over property to Lothair, which the king considered to be royal property, the Staufer on the other hand argued, that it belonged to the Salian heritage.
Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before being crowned emperor in Rome.
The son of the Saxon Count Gebhard of Supplinburg, his reign was troubled by the constant intriguing of the Hohenstaufens, Duke Friedrich II of Swabia and Duke Conrad of Franconia. He died while returning from a successful campaign against the Norman Kingdom of Sicily.
When Emperor Lothair III and Pope Innocent II argued over feudal sovereignty of the Duchy of Puglia and tensions among his troops arose, he abandoned the campaign and returned home.
Death of Emperor Lothair III
On the return trip, he gave his son-in-law Heinrich of Bavaria the Margraviate of Tuscany and the Duchy of Saxony. He also gave him the imperial insignia, which depending on the point of view was interpreted as designation for the new King of the Romans-Germany or not.
On December 3, 1137, Emperor Lothair III died on the return journey at Breitenwang. His body was boiled to prevent putrefaction, and his bones were transferred to the Collegiate Church of Saints Peter and Paul at Königslutter, which he had chosen as his burial site and for which he had laid the cornerstone in 1135. A month later, Pope Anaclet II’s death also ended the papal schism. .
As successor to Emperor Lothair III on March 7, 1138 – Conrad of Franconia of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty was elected King of the Romans-Germany at Coblenz in the presence of the papal legate Theodwin.
King Conrad III was never crowned Emperor and continued to style himself “King of the Romans” until his death. His reign saw the start of the conflicts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. He was involved in the failed Second Crusade with King Louis VII of the Franks, where he would fight and lose at Doryleum and would later fall ill and return to Constantinople.
After recuperating, he went to Jerusalem but would experience a string of failed sieges. Later returning from the Crusade, he was entangled in some conflicts with Welf VI’s claim to the Duchy of Bavaria. On his deathbed, he designated his nephew Frederick Barbarossa as his successor instead of his son, Friedrich of Swabia.
Friedrich Barbarossa, who had accompanied his uncle on the unfortunate crusade, forcefully pursued his advantage and was duly elected King of the Romans-Germany in Cologne a few weeks later. The young son of the late King Conrad III was given the Duchy of Swabia and became Duke Friedrich IV of Swabia.
King Conrad III left no male heirs by his first wife, Gertrude von Komburg a daughter of Henry, Count of Rothenburg, and Gepa of Mergentheim.
In 1136, he married Gertrude of Sulzbach, who was a daughter of Berengar II of Sulzbach and Adelheid of Wolfratshausen who was a daughter of Otto II, Count of Wolfratshausen and his wife Justizia.
Berengar II’s sister Bertha was married to the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I. Gertrude was the mother of Conrad’s children and the link which cemented his alliance with Byzantium.