Hello and welcome to the history of the Germans, Episode 29, the last years of Henry III.

Last episode we left Henry III at the height of his power.

He had deposed three popes and put a new set of popes in place who responded

to the great desire of Christenom, the reform of the church. The new popes would fight

the corruption of simony, the licentiousness of priests and renewed discipline in monasteries.

In 1046, Henry III was not just master of the spiritual world, he also believed he had absolute

dominion over his realm. Oh, Henry, cherished the moment, because this is not to last.

We already heard that the Saxons were chafing under the rule of a southern overlord.

Henry's policy of expending the crown domain into Saxony, and his support to the bishops

of Hildesheim, Halberstadt, and most of all Hamburg Bremen, irritated the Dukes of Saxony and

its major nobles.

In 1046, Mark Graf Eckhard of Meissen, one of Saxony's wealthiest,

and most powerful magnates, died childless. When he bestowed all his possessions to Henry

III, the Saxons saw the encroachment tightening further. At the same time, the Slavs to the

east of the Duchy resumed hostilities.

The defending Saxon nobles did not receive any support from the Emperor, and even the Bishop Briggs in Saxony failed to contribute to the defence of the realm.

In 1056, a major Saxon army was defeated near the mouth of the Harville River, a defeat blamed on the

absent emperor and his hostile policy towards the ancient heartland of the empire. Miraculously,

Saxony does not rebel yet. That is something that cannot be said about the recently subjugated Hungarians.

In 1044 Henry III had fought the successful battle of Menphu and had put King Peter

Orseolo back on the throne.

This improbable king of the Hungarians, whose father had been the Doge of Venice, had stubbornly

...