Henry III (jun 10, 1039 – oct 5, 1056)

Description:

Eldest son of Conrad II of Germany and Gisela of Swabia. King of Germany with his father from 1028-1039, Holy Roman Emperor from 1046. He was one of the most powerful of the Holy Roman Emperors: his authority as king in Burgundy, Germany, and Italy was only rarely questioned, his power over the church was at the root of what the reformers he sponsored later fought against in his son, and his achievement in binding to the empire her tributaries was clear. Nevertheless, his reign is often pronounced a failure in that he apparently left problems far beyond the capacities of his successors to handle. The Investiture Controversy was largely the result of his church politics, though his popemaking gave the Roman diocese to the reform party. He united all the great duchies save Saxony to himself at one point or another but gave them all away. His most enduring and concrete monument may be the impressive palace at Goslar.

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