Heinrich IV Römisch-deutscher König und Kaiser ¹

  General Notes:

HEINRICH, son of HEINRICH III King of Germany [Emperor HEINRICH II] & his second wife Agnes de Poitou ([Goslar] 11 Nov 1050-Liège 7 Aug 1106, bur Speyer Cathedral). The Annalista Saxo records the birth of "Heinrico inperatori filius quartus Heinricus" [416] . He was installed as HEINRICH VIII Duke of Bavaria 1053-1054. His father crowned him associate king of Germany at Aachen 17 Jul 1054. He succeeded his father in 1056 as HEINRICH IV King of Germany, under the regency of his mother until 1062 when she resigned after Heinrich was kidnapped by Anno [II] Archbishop of Köln, who continued as regent until the king was declared of age 29 Mar 1065. King Heinrich faced many difficulties with his nobility. He deprived Otto von Northeim of the duchy of Bavaria in 1070 after accusing him of an assassination plot. He imprisoned Magnus Billung Duke in Saxony, who had supported Otto von Northeim. He also lost the support of Rudolf von Rheinfelden Duke of Swabia, Berthold Duke of Carinthia and Welf IV Duke of Bavaria, who were said to have considered deposing him. King Heinrich was eventually forced to leave his fortress of Harzburg and seek protection in Worms, for which he rewarded the town with special privileges in 1074. Under the peace of Gerstungen in early Feb 1074, he was obliged to demolish his castles, except Harzburg although the latter was stormed by Saxon peasantry and destroyed. Difficulties with the papacy centred around the dispute about lay investiture in Germany. After King Heinrich's accession, the right of patricius to cast the first vote in papal elections was largely ignored, resulting in declining German influence in the selection of new Popes. Matters came to a head when the king sent Pope Gregory VII an accusatory letter, issued by the assembly at Worms held 21 Jan 1076. The Pope, in response, deposed and excommunicated the king, who was forced into obedience. King Heinrich crossed the Alps into Italy with his family and appeared in Jan 1077 as a penitent before the castle of Canossa, in which the Pope had taken refuge, and forced a reconciliation. The German princes, affronted by the withdrawal of the excommunication, elected Rudolf von Rheinfelden as rival king of Germany at Forcheim in Feb 1077. The Pope repeated his excommunication order in 1080, and declared support for the anti-king. King Heinrich responded by having Archbishop Wibert of Ravenna elected as Pope Clement III in Brixen in Jun 1080, and eventually bringing the rival pope to Rome for his enthronement at Easter 1084, after which Heinrich was crowned Emperor HEINRICH III 31 Mar 1084. In the deepening dispute between Church and empire, Emperor Heinrich enjoyed temporary success against Matilda Ctss of Tuscany, one of the Pope's most ardent supporters, and defeated her troops at Tresenta in 1091. However, the emperor was left without political support and was obliged to remain confined in a castle near Verona to avoid capture. He returned to Germany in 1097 after six years campaigning in Italy, and recovered some of his political power after reconciling himself with the Welf and Zähringen families. He held an assembly at Mainz in 1098 to regulate the succession, declaring his older son deposed and nominating his younger son as his successor. In 1102, Pope Paschal II renewed the excommunication against the emperor who largely ignored the move. At a general assembly in Mainz in 1103, the emperor proclaimed a four year peace for the empire, but in 1105 his son Heinrich rebelled against him, captured his father, forced him to hand over the royal insignia, and held him semi-prisoner at Ingelheim. The younger Heinrich declared himself sole king of Germany at an assembly in Mainz in early 1106. His father, however, escaped and rallied his forces around Liège, where he defeated his son's army. The victory was short-lived as Emperor Heinrich III died soon after. The Gesta Friderici of Otto of Freising records his death at Liège and burial at Speyer. The necrology of Prüm records the death "1106 7 Id Aug" of "Heinricus imperator filius Heinrici imperator". The Annales Spirenses record his burial at Speyer.

m firstly (betrothal Zürich 25 Dec 1055, Tribur 13 Jul 1066) BERTHE de Savoie, daughter of ODDON Comte de Chablais, Marchese di Susa & his wife Adelaida Marchese di Susa (21 Sep 1051-Mainz 27 Dec 1087, bur Speyer Cathedral). The Annalista Saxo names "Bertam filiam Ottonis marchionis de Italia et Adelheidis que soror erat comitis qui agnominatus est de Monte Bardonis in Italia et Immule seu Irmingardis" as wife of King Heinrich. Her husband proposed to repudiate her in 1069, but withdrew his demand. The dispute was not finally settled until 1077 when Empress Bertha's mother intervened to prevent any repudiation in return for mediating between the emperor and Pope Gregory VII in Canossa. The Annales Sancti Diibodi record the death in 1087 of "Bertha imperatrix" and her burial "apud Moguntiam". The necrology of Regensburg St Emmeran records the death "VI Kal Jan" of "Berhta imperatrix". The necrology of Speyer records the death "VI Kal Jan" of "Bertha imperatrix".

m secondly (14 Aug 1089, divorced 1095) as her second husband, IEVPRAXIA Vsevolodovna of Kiev, widow of HEINRICH III Graf von Stade Markgraf der Nordmark, daughter of VSEVOLOD Iaroslavich Grand Prince of Kiev & his second wife Anna of the Kumans ([1071]-1 Aug or 11 Nov 1109). The Annalista Saxo names "Eupracciam filiam regis Ruscie qui in nostra lingua vocobatur Adelheid, quam postea duxit Heinricus imperator" as wife of "Heinricus marchio". She was known as ADELHEID in Germany. Contemporary chroniclers were scandalised by the alleged sexual abuses inflicted on his second wife by Emperor Heinrich III. According to Helmold of Bossau Chronica Slavorum, King Heinrich "had made a public prostitute of his wife, subjecting her by force to the lust of other men". The emperor imprisoned his wife at Verona, from where she was released in 1094 by Matilda Ctss of Tuscany. The Chronicon of Bernold records that "Praxedis reginæ" made complaints about her treatment "inauditas fornicationum spurcicias" to the synod of Konstanz in 1094 and that her separation was agreed in 1095 at the same synod. The Annales Sancti Diibodi gives lengthy details concerning her divorce. The divorce is recorded in Annalista Saxo under 1094. The empress publicly denounced her husband at the council of Piacenza, presided over by Pope Urban II from 1 Mar 1095. She became a nun at Kiev in 1095. The Primary Chronicle records that Ievpraxia daughter of Vsevolod took the veil 6 Dec 1106, and the death 10 Jul 1109 of Ievpraxia daughter of Vsevolod and her burial place.

Emperor Heinrich III & his first wife had [six] children: Adelheid, Heinrich, Agnes, Konrad, [Mathilde] and Heinrich. ¹

Heinrich married Berthe de Savoie, daughter of Othon de Savoie Comte de Maurienne, Marchese di Susa and Adelaide di Susa Marchesa di Susa, on 13 Jul 1066 in Trebur, Kreis Groß-Gerau, Hessen, 65468, DE.¹ (Berthe de Savoie was born on 21 Sep 1051,¹ died on 27 Dec 1087 in Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, DE ¹ and was buried in Domkirche St. Maria und St. Stephan, Speyer, 67346, DE ¹.)

Heinrich next married Ievpraxia Vsevolodovna, daughter of Vsevolod Iaroslavich and Anna, on 14 Aug 1089.¹ (Ievpraxia Vsevolodovna was born about 1071 ¹ and died on 10 Jul 1109 ¹.)