Henry V

Reign: 1111 – 1125
Life: 1086–1125

He was made co-ruler by his father, Henry IV, in 1098. In Emperor Henry IV's conflicts with the imperial princes and the struggle against the reform papacy during the Investiture Controversy, young Henry V allied himself with the opponents of his father. He forced Henry IV to abdicate on 31 December 1105 and ruled for five years in compliance with the imperial princes. He tried, unsuccessfully, to withdraw the regalia from the bishops. Then in order to at least preserve the previous right to invest, he captured Pope Paschal II and forced him to perform his imperial coronation in 1111. After he had failed to increase control over the church, the princes in Saxony and on the Middle and Lower Rhine, in 1121 the imperial princes forced Henry V to consent with the papacy.

During Henry V's reign, Inge the Younger ruled Sweden, Alexios I Komnenos ruled Rome, and Henry I of England ruled England.

Further reading: The Holy Roman Empire by Peter H. Wilson

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Henry V

The World During Their Reign

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Further Reading

The Holy Roman Empire