Hello and welcome to the history of the Germans, Episode 41, the Duke's rebuke.

In this episode, the last of the Salians will find that despite all his efforts, the tide of history cannot be stemmed, almost leaving him in exactly the same place his father ended up in 1076.

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Last episode, we left Emperor Henry V in May 1111, returning from his journey to Rome in triumph.

The Pope had confirmed the full ancient rites of investiture to the Emperor.

Not just that, but the Pope had also promised not to bother him ever again about

investiture, and had renounced any possibility of ever excommunicating him again.

And to top it all off, Henry V had secured the unimaginably rich inheritance

of the great Countess Matilda of Tuscany upon her soon-to-be-expected demise. With more than anything

anyone could have hoped to achieve, why the long faces, even amongst Henry's friends.

Henry's close supporters, many of them bishops and abbots, were still reeling from the events

in Rome that happened before the Pope's hand was dragged over the signature box of the

agreement by a rough-looking imperial retainer. You see, before all this heavy-handedness, the Pope had made a deal with the Emperor,

whereby the Church would hand back all the counties, the estates, the market rights, the mills,

and mince that had been awarded by the Crown, and in exchange, the Emperor would renounce any

involvement in the selection and investiture of prelates.

...