Holy Roman Empire (VI): Conrad II 1
16. Conrad II
Conrad II (German: Konrad II) (c. 990 – 4 June 1039), also known as Conrad the Elder and Conrad of Salian, King of the Roman People (reigned 1024–1039), King of the Italians (1026–1039), King of the Burgundy (1033–1039) and Holy Roman Emperor (coronation 1027). When the Saxon dynasty came to an end, he was elected king in 1024, beginning the Salian dynasty's rule in Germany.
Conrad II was the son of Henry, Earl of Speyer, and Adelaide of Alsace, who succeeded counts of Speyer and Earl Worms after his father's death. When the Roman Emperor henry II of the Saxon dynasty died without heirs in 1024, he was elected king and established the rule of the Salian dynasty that ruled Germany for a century, and was crowned in Mainz on September 8 of that year.
Conrad II continued the Saxon dynasty's policy of suppressing German princes. In his struggle with the princes, he won the support of the small feudal lords and helped them not to be bullied by the great feudal lords. In 1037 Conrad II enacted the so-called "Fief Law" in Italy, which made the nobles' caiyi hereditary, so as to prevent the large lords from arbitrarily annexing the small lords' territories. These positive measures guaranteed the strengthening of the royal power. Conrad II also used the traditional practice of appointing bishops and abbots by the emperor (the so-called episcopal power) to consolidate the effective control of the crown over the church.
In 1028, Conrad II took advantage of the turmoil in Poland to seize Upper Luzcze from King Messko II of Poland.
In 1032, king Rudolf III of Arles died without heirs, and he bequeathed his kingdom (including the two separate Burgundy kingdoms that had been formed earlier, which were later given to Conrad II due to a political deal between Rudolf II and the Provencal ruler Hugues in 933). By 1034, Conrad II had overwhelmed all opponents and became the owner of the land. The kingdom was quite large, encompassing almost all of the territory of present-day southeastern France, as well as two major French feudal fiefdoms in western Switzerland, Franche-Comte and Dorfine. However, it did not include the smaller Duchy of Burgundy (ruled by a branch of the French Capetian royal family). Conrad II transferred it to his son Henry (later Henry III) as a caiyi.
In 1039, Conrad II fell ill and died in Utrecht (in present-day Netherlands).
(1) Family background
The Salian dynasty began with Werner V, Earl of Worms, a middle-class Frankish nobleman in the Principality of Franconia on the rhine in Germany. His son, the red-haired Conrad, succeeded him in 941 as Earl and was appointed Duke of Lorraine by Otto I, later Holy Roman Emperor. Conrad then married Liutgard of Saxony (died 953), Ottu's daughter, in 947 and became one of the king's closest allies. However, when Otto refused to abide by the treaty signed between Conrad, his negotiator in Italy, and the rebel Berengar II of Italy, their relationship cracked. At the same time, Conrad was dissatisfied with Otto's brother Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, who was growing stronger and threatening his power. In 953, Conrad joined the rebellion of Otto's son Louisdorff, but the rebellion was quelled by Otto, who was subsequently stripped of his title as Duke of Lorraine. Soon, thanks to Conrad's exploits at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, Conrad reconciled with Otto. Although the Germans succeeded in stopping the Hungarian invasions of Europe, Conrad also lost his life in the war. In 956, Conrad's son Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, succeeded him to the throne. Between 965 and 970, Otto's son Henry of Speyer was born. Little history knows about him, and he died between 985 and 990, leaving behind his son Conrad and his wife Adelaide. Adelaide then remarried to another Frankish nobleman, abandoning Conrad.
In 978, Emperor Otto II, after stripping the rebels of the War of the Three Henries (977–978) of the title of Duke of Carinthia, appointed his nephew Otto, Count of Worms, as Duke of Carinthia. After the title was conferred, Ottu lost the title of Count of Worms, which was given to Bishop Hildebold, the royal adviser of Otto II. When Ottu II died suddenly in 983, his young son Otto III succeeded him to the throne and was regent by Otto III's mother, Theophanu. Theofhanu wanted to reconcile with the deposed Henry I and in 985 reinstated his title as Duke of Carinthia, while Ortu of Worms was returned to his Count of Worms. Subsequently, Henry IV, Duke of Bavaria, was knighted as Duke of Carinthia. In 996, Otto III appointed Bruno, son of Otto of Worms, as Pope Gregory V. After the death of Otto III in 1002, Otto and Henry IV of Worms became candidates for the German throne. Otto made a compromise and launched a battle for the throne, and received the title of Duke of Carinthia from Henry IV, later Emperor Henry II. Eventually, Otto transferred his assets in Worms to his longtime political rival, Burchard of Worms, Bishop of Worms. Burchard continued to take care of Conrad, educating him until 1000.
After the death of Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia, after conrad's uncle, conrad the elder's son, Conrad II, Duke of Carinthia, succeeded to the title of Count of Worms, while the title of Duke of Carinthia was held by Adalbero of Eppenstein because of his young age, while the "young" Conrad was cared for by Conrad.
(2) Adulthood
Conrad married the duchess of Swabia of Swabia, who had been widowed twice, in 1016. Gisela was the daughter of Herman II, Duke of Swabia, Duke of Swabia. Hermann II elected the German throne after the death of Otto III in 1002, losing to Henry II. In the same year, Gisela married Brun I, Count of Brunswick. After the death of Count Bruno I in 1010, Gisela married Ernest I, Duke of Swabia of the Babenberg family. Through this marriage, Erst I succeeded to the Duchy of Swabia after the death of Herman III, Duke of Swabia, gisela's younger brother in 1012. They had two children, Ernest II, Duke of Swabia and Hermann. After the death of Erst I in 1015, Emperor Henry II appointed Erster II as the new Duke of Swabia. As Gisela's new husband, Conrad hoped to serve as regent for his young stepson and administer the principality. He saw this as a good opportunity to elevate his status and get the claim of the Dukedom. Emperor Henry II saw his idea and in 1016 gave Poppo, archbishop of Trier, the patron of Erst II and the regent of Swaben. The already bad relationship between the Otu dynasty and the Salians was once again destroyed.
Conrad's desire for his dukehood was shattered, but his marriage brought him wealth. Gisela's mother, Gerberga of Burgundy, was the daughter of Conrad I of Burgundy, who was ruling the kingdom of Burgundy, and the granddaughter of King Louis IV of the Franks (Louis IV gave birth to Matilda of France, matilda gave birth to King Conrad of Burgundy). Gisela became a descendant of Charlemagne through the blood ties of her parents. However, there were problems with the marriage, as Gisela and Conrad were both descendants of Henry I of the Otu dynasty. Henry is the fourth generation, while Giselle is the fifth generation. Under church law, marriage within seven generations is not allowed. Although Conrad's marriage was no different from the common practice of the time, some harsh legal advocates condemned the marriage, and Emperor Henry II used this reason to temporarily expel Conrad. During his exile, Gisela bore Conrad a son, Henry III, on 28 October 1017. Conrad and Emperor Henry II eventually reconciled and were allowed to return to Germany.
(3) Elections
Emperor Henry II died in 1024. Because of his death without heirs, his death marked the end of the Otus dynasty, which had ruled Germany since 919. In the absence of a clear heir, Henry's widow Cunigunde of Luxembourg served as regent, while the German nobility began to elect a new king. Kunigund was helped by her brother Dietrich I of Metz and Duke of Bavaria, while archbishop of Mainz, Archbishop of Mainz, also supported her.
On 4 September 1024, German nobles gathered at Camba, a historic site on the east bank of the Rhine opposite Oppenheim. (Where Kamba is now located stands a monument depicting Conrad on horseback) Archbishop Elipo served as president of the council. Conrad appeared at the meeting as an electoral candidate, while his cousin Conrad II, Duke of Carinthia, also ran for the throne. They were all descendants of the former Emperor Otto I through their grandfather Worms (son of Liutgard of Saxony (died 953)). Although there were still collateral members of the Otto Dynasty at that time, they were not taken into account by the nobles. Conrad's priest, the historian Wipo of Burgundy, also attended the meeting and recorded its experience. When the Duke of Lorraine favored the young Conrad, the Duke of Saxony remained neutral. Most of the nobles present at the meeting favored the older Conrad because he had a seven-year-old son who would save him from trouble. As President of the Council, Archbishop Eleppo cast the first vote to the elder Conrad. Subsequently, other monks also supported the elderly Conrad. The secular nobles then voted for the elder Conrad, too. Only Archbishop of Cologne, Archbishop of Cologne, Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine, and Frederick II, Duke of Upper Lorraine, voted against it.
On 8 September 1024, at the age of 34, Conrad was crowned King of Germany by Archbishop Ellipper at the Mainz Cathedral. To commemorate the election, Conrad commissioned the establishment of the Speyer Cathedral in Speyer, near his ancestral home of Worms, in 1030. Archbishop Ellibo of Mainz was already the chief minister of Germany at the time. Conrad wanted to thank him for supporting him in the election, appointing Elipo as Italy's chief minister. This made Ellibo the Chief Minister of the Holy Roman Empire, gaining supremacy over ten thousand people under one person in the Empire.
But Elipo refused to crown Conrad's wife, Gisela, because their marriage violated canon law. Conrad subsequently denied Ehrippo's status. Archbishop Piergram of Cologne saw an opportunity to improve relations with the king because he did not support Conrad in the election. He crowned Gisela as queen on 21 September 1024. Piergraum's political turn also weakened the new king's hostile forces.