- wöchentlichErscheinungsrhythmus
- 28 mintypische Länge
- 17. Sept. 2024letzte Folge
The century of Salian rule from 1024 to 1125 is the crucial turning point not just for German, but for European history more generally. It is in this period that the Investiture Controversy pits Popes against Emperors. The dispute is nominally about the role secular powers play in the selection of bishops and abbots. But in reality, it is about much more than that. It is about whether the monarch acts as the representative of God, or as mere mortal, subject to Papal authority. It is about whether Europe becomes a coherent political entity ruled by an all-powerful emperor or whether it becomes a fragmented system of interlocking states, cities, and lordships under a parallel church infrastructure. It is about whether Europe becomes a uniform society or the diverse structure that will give birth both to endless warfare and misery as well as the Reformation, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment (to name just a few). move from the unexpected election of Konrad II to his son Henry III becoming the undisputed senior ruler in Western Europe. The backlash against the emerging command monarchy culminates in Emperor Henry IV kneeling in the snow outside the Castle of Canossa begging Pope Gregor VII to receive him back into the mother church.
This podcast is part of the broader History of the Germans podcast that aims to track the history of the German people from the Early Middle Ages to Reunification in 1991. If you enjoy this show, check out any of the other seasons or follow the main show.
So far I have the following seasons:
The Ottonians (919 AD-1024 AD)
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy (1024 AD-1125 AD)
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen (1125-1190)
Frederick II Stupor Mundi (1190-1268)
Saxony and Eastward Expansion
The Hanseatic League
The Teutonic Knights
The Holy Roman Empire (1250 AD -1356 AD)
The Reformation before the Reformation (1356AD -1439 AD)
The Empire in the 15th Century
The Fall and Rise of the Habsburgs (1439AD -1519 AD)
Folgen
Ep. 21 (42) - A World Revolution?
In this episode we will come to the end of the Investiture controversy, the end of the Salian dynasty and the end of Season 2 – and ask the question, what was all that about? Does the conflict between spiritual and temporal power rank along
Ep. 20 (41) - The Duke's Rebuke - Henry V has to accept the Concordat of Worms
In this week’s episode the last of the Salians will find that despite all his efforts, the tide of history cannot be stemmed, almost leaving him in exactly the same place his father ended up in 1076. The music for the show is Flute Sonata i
Ep. 19 (40) - Henry V's Cunning Plan - Pope Paschal II offers to hand back all imperial fiefs which causes havoc
In this episode we will see whether young Henry V will do any better at ending the conflict between Pope and Emperor, featuring one of the most audacious political moves seen in this conflict. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-fla
Ep. 18 (39) - The End of Emperor Henry IV
This week we will talk about the last years of Henry IV, which, as hard as it is to believe, holds a final humiliation that capped the pain this man had already endured. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl
Ep. 17 (38) - The First Crusade - Crusaders attacking the Jewish communities in Mainz, Speyer and Worms
In 1095 Pope Urban II launches the First crusade. Emperor Henry IV and his allies would rather be strung up below a beehive covered in honey than join a scheme devised by the Gregorian Pope. The lack of support by the high aristocrats did n
Ep. 16 (37) - The Two Grooms - Countess Matilda of Tuscany marries a man 25 years her junior
The wheel of fortune turns again, tumbling our antihero Henry IV down from the heights he had so recently scaled. We will see him sink to the point of utter despair. And all that because a 43 year old woman marries an 18 year old. The music
Ep. 36 - Henry IV is Coming Home
His coronation barely two months hence, Henry IV leaves Rome without capturing Gregory VII. The Pope's powerful vassal, Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia and greatest of Norman warlords was approaching with an army of 36,000. Henry no longer
Ep. 14 (35) - To Rome! To Rome! - Henry IV takes revenge on pope Gregory VII
The Rebellion in Germany under control Henry can finally go after his true nemesis, Pope Gregory VII. He sets out for Rome on a journey he thought may just take four months but ended up taking four years.. The music for the show is Flute So
Ep. 13 (34) - Gaining the Upper Hand - Henry IV defeats the anti-king Rudolf von Rheinfelden
Henry IV departs from Canossa having been released from the ban. But does that mean all his troubles are over? Far from it. His enemies in Germany gather to elect a new king and the war of words turns into a war of swords. The music for the
Ep. 12 (33) - Canossa Finally!
It is time - we are finally going to Canossa. Expect imperial power to disappear in smoke, greedy mothers-in-laws, frozen passes, hoisted horses and tobogganing empresses. All that ends with the enduring picture of a king first kneeling bef
Ep. 11 (32) - Hildebrand, not Pope but false Monk - Emperor Henry IV confronts the Pope
The rise of the papacy since 1046 is almost linear. The popes throw off the chokehold of the roman aristocracy, they take over leadership of the church reform movement from the emperors, and by the end of the pontificate of Alexander II the
Ep. 10 (31) - The (second) Saxon War - The nobles rebel against "the imperial tyrant"
In 1065 king Henry IV begins his personal rule. After 9 years of regency., the last 3 of which under a government of barons headed by archbishop Anno of Cologne, imperial power is much diminished. Prelates and lords are raiding the imperial
Ep. 9 (30) - Three Roads to Canossa - Lay Piety, Reform Papacy and the Saxon Rebellion
Emperor Henry III is dead. The realm is now in the hands of his widow, Agnes of Poitou who rules on behalf of the six-year-old king Henry IV. Agnes is no Theophanu and no Adelheid. Not that she is incompetent, she just isn't absolutely bril
Ep. 8 (29) - The Last Years of Henry III - Tyrant or consolidator of power?
In 1046 Henry III reached the zenith of his rule. He deposed three unworthy popes and replaced them with serious churchmen who will bring the necessary reforms about. Domestically he is in control of the three Eastern European states, Polan
Ep. 7 (28) - Three Popes with One Stone - The Council of Sutri in 1046
In 1046 Henry III finally has time to go to Rome and claim the imperial crown. All he wants is get in, get crowned and get out before the Malaria season. He encounters a problem when he finds out that the current pope Gregory VI has bought
Ep. 6 (27) - Peace in Our Time - The Peace of God in the Middle Ages
The main role of a medieval monarch is to bring peace to his subjects. Peace is not so much absence of major international conflict, but protection from feuding lords. Whilst in France central power is far too weak to maintain any semblance
Ep. 5 (26) - Henry III Comin' in Smoothly - The first seamless transition of power from father to son in 70 years
For the first time in almost 70 years the transition from one king/emperor to the next is smooth. Konrad II was not only one of the most successful medieval rulers, he also managed to live long enough for his son Henry III to grow up to adu
Ep. 4 (25) - Konrad II, the Construction of an Empire - Speyer Cathedral as a symbol of Salian power
In his last years Konrad tries to further strengthen his power, first by fighting the Hungarians, unseating the duke of Carinthia and a second Italian expedition. Al three of these endeavours backfire. The Hungarians win the war, the duke o
Ep. 3 (24) - Konrad II's Acquisition of Burgundy - The last addition to the Empire
The event looming over Imperial politics since around 1000 is the Burgundian succession. King Rudolf III is childless leaving several contenders with varying degrees of blood relations. If Henry II who was a nephew of Rudolf III had outlive
Ep. 2 (23) - Duke Ernst, Rebel and Legend - A medieval story about loyalty and friendship
In this episode Emperor Konrad II (1024-1039) consolidates his reign adding a secular leg to his control of the imperial church by placing his son Henry on the ducal throne of Bavaria,. This is the first of many ducal and royal titles he wi
Ep. 1 (22) - Konrad II, Who Would Have Thought - Electing a most unlikely successor to Henry II
On July 13th, 1024 Emperor Henry II died without an heir. not only that, but his family has so comprehensively died out, there is not a single descendant in the male line left. Fear of unrest and civil war grips the inhabitants of the empir
