Henry IV

Introduction
Early years
Role in the Investiture Controversy
Later crises in Italy and Germany
Legacy

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Henry IV summary

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Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles.

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"Napoleon Crossing the Alps" oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David, 1800; in the collection of Musee national du chateau de Malmaison.

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Related Questions

How did Archbishop Adalbert of Bremen gain influence over Henry IV?
How did Empress Agnes’s grants of duchies weaken Henry IV’s future power?
How did Henry IV defend his right to appoint bishops?
How did Henry IV gain control of Rome in 1084?
How did Henry IV regain control in Germany after returning from Italy in 1097?
How did Henry IV rely on ministeriales to strengthen royal power?
How did Henry IV’s absolution at Canossa affect the German princes opposing him?
How did Henry IV’s conflict with the papacy weaken the Holy Roman emperor’s authority?
How did Henry IV’s excommunication affect the loyalty of German nobles and bishops?
How did Pope Victor II help Empress Agnes govern during Henry IV’s minority?
How did the death of Rudolf of Rheinfelden help Henry IV regain power?
How did the election of Pope Nicholas II change relations between the papacy and the German court?
What caused the Saxon rebellion against Henry IV in 1073?
What did Henry IV agree to in the peace treaty with the Saxons in 1074?
What did Henry IV demand from Pope Gregory VII at the assembly of Worms in 1076?
What happened to Henry IV during the kidnapping at Kaiserswerth in 1062?
When and where was Henry IV born?
Where did Henry IV defeat the Saxon rebels in 1075?
Where was Henry IV crowned king in 1054?
Who crowned Henry IV Holy Roman emperor in 1084?
Who organized the kidnapping of Henry IV at Kaiserswerth?
Who served as regent for Henry IV during his childhood?
Who was Guibert of Ravenna, also known as Clement III?
Who were Henry IV’s parents?
Why did Archbishop Anno of Cologne take control of Henry IV’s government?
Why did Empress Agnes support Cadalus of Parma as Antipope Honorius II?
Why did German princes confirm the succession of Henry IV’s son Conrad in 1075?
Why did German princes elect Rudolf of Rheinfelden as an antiking in 1077?
Why did Henry IV build royal castles in the Harz Mountains?
Why did Henry IV claim that the Saxons had broken the peace agreement?
Why did Henry IV flee to Worms during the Saxon rebellion?
Why did Henry IV invade Italy again in 1090?
Why did Henry IV plan to go on a crusade in 1103?
Why did Henry IV remove Otto of Nordheim from the duchy of Bavaria?
Why did Henry IV travel to Canossa in 1077?
Why did Pope Gregory VII excommunicate Henry IV for a second time in 1080?
Why did Pope Gregory VII flee Rome after Henry IV’s invasion?
Why did Pope Gregory VII oppose lay investiture?
Why did Saxon peasants and nobles oppose Henry IV’s policies in the Harz region?
Why had German princes sworn loyalty to Henry IV before he became king?
Why was Adalbert of Bremen removed from Henry IV’s court?
What happened to Adolf Eichmann after the end of World War II?
What were John Maynard Keynes’s jobs?
What did John Maynard Keynes write?
How did Joseph Goebbels rise to power in the Nazi Party?
How did Joseph Goebbels affect the Nazi movement?
How was Hermann Göring captured?
What were Wilhelm II’s main policies as German emperor?
What role did Wilhelm II play in World War I?
Where was Angela Merkel educated?
What did Angela Merkel accomplish?

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History Today - Henry IV of Germany: a ï¿½Bad Kingï¿½?

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Henry IV

Holy Roman emperor

Also known as: Henry VIII

Written by

Franz-Josef Schmale

Former Professor of Medieval History, University of the Ruhr, Bochum, Germany. Editor of Quellen zur Geschichte Kaiser Heinrichs IV.

Franz-Josef Schmale

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026 •History

Henry IV (born November 11, 1050, Goslar?, Saxony—died August 7, 1106, Liège, Lorraine) was the duke of Bavaria (as Henry VIII; 1055–61), German king (from 1054), and Holy Roman emperor (1084–1105/06), who engaged in a long struggle with Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII) on the question of lay investiture (see Investiture Controversy), eventually drawing excommunication on himself and doing penance at Canossa (1077). His last years were spent countering the rebellion of his sons Conrad and...

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