HENRY VII

From Agepedia

HENRY VII, emperor of Germany, son of the duke of Luxembourg, was chosen emperor Nov. 29, 1308, after an interregnum of seven months from the death of Albert I. He was the first German emperor who was chosen solely by the electors, without the interference of the other estates of the empire. Charles of Valois was his competitor. Henry, however, obtained the preference, chiefly through the agency of Clement V, who, although a Frenchman by birth, declared himself secretly in favor of the prince of Lorraine. One of the first acts of his government was to punish the murderers of Albert I. (q. v.) By the marriage of his son John with the heiress of Bohemia, Henry secured to his family this important kingdom, to the exclusion of Henry, duke of Carinthia, who was the next heir. He then undertook an expedition to Italy, and compelled the Milanese to place upon his head the iron crown of Lombardy. Henry suppressed, by force, the revolt which then broke out in Upper Italy; took Cremona, Lodi, Brescia, by storm; caused his chancellor Turiani, the secret leader of this insurrection, to be burnt, and then went to Rome, of which Robert, king of Naples, had possession, and refused him entrance. Having captured the city, he was crowned Roman emperor by two cardinals, while, in the streets and different quarters of the city, the work of murder and pillage was still going on. He then marched to Florence, put Robert of Naples under the ban of the empire, and threatened the inhabitants of Florence and Lucca with death if they did not instantly surrender. Notwithstanding this, they defended themselves vigorously ; and, as Henry was marching against Naples, he died suddenly at Buonconvento, A ug. 24, 1313, in the 51st year of his age. There is a story that he died of poison, administered by a Dominican named Mon tepulciano, in the consecrated wine of ths eucharist. Clement V immediately excommunicated the bodjr of the emperor, and absolved Robert of Naples from the ban. After the empire had remained without a head during 14 months, Louis of Bavaria was chosen emperor, John, king of Bohemia, and son of Henry, 30 years after his father's death, formally acquitted the Dominicans from the suspicion of having poisoned him.