Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
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History: In 1056 at Aachen, Henry IV was enthroned as the King of the Germans by Pope Victor II, while his mother, Agnes of Poitou, became regent. In 1062 the young king was kidnapped as a result of the Coup of Kaiserswerth, a conspiracy of German nobles led by Anno II, Archbishop of Cologne. Henry, who was at Kaiserwerth, was persuaded to board a boat on the Rhine; it was immediately unmoored and the king jumped into the river, but he was rescued by one of the conspirators and carried to Cologne. Agnes retired to a convent, and the government was placed in the hands of Anno. His first action was to back Pope Alexander II against the antipope Honorius II, whom Agnes had initially recognized but subsequently left without support. Anno's rule proved unpopular.
The education and training of Henry were supervised by Anno, who was called his magister, while Adalbert of Hamburg, archbishop of Bremen, was styled Henry's patronus. Henry's education seems to have been neglected, and his willful and headstrong nature developed under the conditions of these early years. The malleable Adalbert of Hamburg soon became the confidante of the ruthless Henry. Eventually, during an absence of Anno from Germany, Henry managed to obtain control of his civil duties, leaving Anno with only an ecclesiastical role.
First years of rule and the Saxon Wars
Recent Events:
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