page_title: Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
section_title: Height of power
hierarchical_section_title: Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor / Height of power
caption_attribution_description: Heinrich III
context_page_description: Henry III, called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian Dynasty, he was the eldest son of Emperor Conrad II of Germany and Gisela of Swabia.
  Henry was raised by his father, who made him Duke of Bavaria in 1026, appointed him co-ruler in 1028 and bestowed him with the duchy of Swabia and the Kingdom of Burgundy ten years later in 1038. The emperor's death the following year ended a remarkably smooth and harmonious transition process towards Henry's sovereign rule, that was rather uncharacteristic for the Ottonian and Salian monarchs. Henry succeeded Conrad II as Duke of Carinthia and King of Italy and continued to pursue his father's political course on the basis of virtus et probitas, which led to an unprecedented sacral exaltation of the kingship. In 1046 Henry ended the papal schism, was crowned Emperor by Pope Clement II, freed the Vatican from dependence on the Roman nobility and laid the foundation for its empire-wide authority. In the duchies Henry enforced sovereign royal right of disposition, thereby ensuring tighter control. In Lorraine, this led to years of conflict from which he emerged victorious.
context_section_description: Henry settled political issues with the Lombard magnates at Augsburg. In Goslar he invested Otto with the duchy of Swabia, the Count palatine, Henry I with the Lorraine and Baldwin with the Margraviate of Antwerp. During the preparations of the jaunt to Hungary where Henry had intended to spend Pentecost with King Peter, a wooden floor collapsed in a residence where Bruno, Bishop of Würzburg was killed. In Hungary, Peter presented Henry with the Golden Lance and pledged an oath of fealty among his nobles. The crown of Hungary was bestowed on Peter in perpetuity and the kingdoms of Germany and Hungary were at peace. In July, Godfrey surrendered and was imprisoned at Giebichenstein.
caption: statue of Henry III in Hamburg
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