The Great Saxon Revolt was a

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

fought between 1077 and 1088, early in the history of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. The revolt was led by a group of opportunistic

German princes German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

who elected as their figurehead the

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

Rudolf of Rheinfeld Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt an ...

, who became the

anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch.OED "Anti-, 2 ...

. Rudolf was a two-way brother-in-law of the young

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son ...

, who had been crowned at the age of six and had taken the reins of power at age sixteen. The Great Revolt followed the

Saxon Rebellion The Saxon Rebellion or Rebellion of the Saxons (german: Sachsenkrieg), also commonly called the Saxon Uprising (not to be confused with the Saxon Wars, also called the Saxon Uprising), refers to the struggle between the Salian dynasty ruling the H ...

of 1073–75.

Background

The duke had played power politics with the young emperor several years earlier in his reign, and was demonstrably ruthless (kidnapping and forcing the marriage to Henry's sister) even without the support of the other princes of the

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...

. The allied nobility were moved to take advantage of the momentary weakness of the Emperor in a period when he was at odds and had been excommunicated by

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

over the issue of who was entitled to appoint whom, who was therefore subservient to whom, as well as a dispute over the Emperor-elect's desire to divorce from his arranged wife.

Rebels' Forchheim meeting

After meeting with a penitent Henry IV in the fall of 1076, the pope had removed the first excommunication of the impetuous and hot-headed 26-year-old monarch. However, during the same fall-winter season the organizers of the revolt by the nobility were arranging for all to meet in late winter to further their own ends against the interests of the young emperor-elect. With the delays of news and events imposed by

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

travel, communications heralding the rapprochement were delayed enough that the decision was made to just go ahead and meet anyway. The diverse council of Saxon, Bavarian, and Carinthian princes met in the March 1077, about as soon as early spring travel conditions allowed, in

Forchheim Forchheim () is a town in Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Franconian Switzer ...

(Oberfranken), and despite the reconciliation between the pope and Henry decided to press forward with their desires to expand their own powers.

The rebels and their policies

The group consisted of high-ranking secular rulers as well as churchmen—who had up until the very recent

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...

and crisis been appointed by the Holy Roman Emperor—the new canon law reforms which set up the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

had heavily involved

. Prior to Henry's crowning at the age of six as the Emperor, the Emperor had been crowned by the Pope, who in turn he'd appointed. Henry's age of inheritance had been a flash point leading to much discussion and controversy spurring the reform. As the elected

, Rudolf hoped to achieve the greater nobilities' backing by promising to respect the electoral concept of the monarchy (thus accepting a more limited and greater circumscribed set of powers as

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empir ...

) and the pope's backing by openly declaring his willingness to be subservient to the pope, as

King of the Romans King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German k ...

Rudolf's crowning and first battles

Despite these difficulties, Henry's situation in Germany improved in the following years. When Rudolf was crowned at Mainz in May 1077 by one of the plotters, Siegfried I, Archbishop of Mainz, the population revolted and forced him, the archbishop, and other nobles to flee to Saxony. Positioned there, Rudolf was geographically and then militarily deprived of his territories (later he was also stripped of Swabia) by Henry. After the inconclusive

Battle of Mellrichstadt Battle of Mellrichstadt was fought between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and the German anti-king Rudolf of Swabia on 7 August 1078 near Mellrichstadt. Henry's army met the army of Rudolf's Saxon allies before they could meet up with the Swabians ...

(7 August 1077) and the defeat of Henry's forces in the

Battle of Flarchheim The Battle of Flarcheim was fought between German king Henry IV and the German anti-king Rudolf of Swabia on January 27, 1080 near Flarchheim. Prelude Rudolf appeared to be vulnerable after losing the support of some of the Saxon princes. He ...

(27 January 1080), Gregory VII, who had a personal grudge against the Emperor-elect due to his intemperate language in earlier discourse, decided to flip-flop his decision supporting Henry to instead support the revolt and launched a second anathema (excommunication) against Henry in March 1080, thereby supporting the anti-king duke Rudolf. However, there was ample evidence that Gregory's actions were rooted in hate for the Emperor-elect instead of theology and so had an unfavorable personal impact on the Pope's reputation and authority, leading much of Germany to re-embrace Henry's cause.

Decisive Battle of Elster

On 14 October 1080 the armies of the two rival kings met at the

White Elster The White Elster
Accessed on 16 Jan 2011. (, ) is a long river in central

Battle of Elster in the plain of

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and Henry's forces again suffered a military defeat; however, the strategic outcome turned into a victory for Henry, as Rudolf was mortally wounded and died the next day at nearby

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a dioces ...

, leading to the rebellion against Henry losing much of its momentum.

Henry's victory over the pope

Henry convoked a synod of the highest German clergy in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

and

Brixen Brixen (, ; it, Bressanone ; lld, Porsenù or ) is a town in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography First mentioned in 901, Brixen is the third largest city and oldest town in the province, and the artistic and ...

(June 1080). Here Henry had Pope Gregory (whom he had dubbed "The False Monk") deposed and replaced him by appointing the primate of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, Guibert (now known as the

Antipope Clement III Guibert or Wibert of Ravenna ( 10298 September 1100) was an Italian prelate, archbishop of Ravenna, who was elected pope in 1080 in opposition to Pope Gregory VII and took the name Clement III. Gregory was the leader of the movement in the chur ...

), reasserting the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

s' traditional right to appoint the pope for his side of the

—though who was in the right was unclear in the day—the emperor reacting to retain his traditional prerogatives against the new

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

appointing the pope via the

. For the next few years, the civil war shifted south of the Alps.

Hermann, the new anti-king

While Henry campaigned there, the German aristocracy replaced their king Rudolf with the belated election of king

Hermann of Salm Herman(n) of Salm ( – 28 September 1088), also known as Herman(n) of Luxembourg, the progenitor of the House of Salm, was Count of Salm and elected German anti-king from 1081 until his death. Life Hermann was a son of Count Giselbert of ...

( 1035 – 28 September 1088), also known as Herman of Luxembourg, as their new anti-king in August 1081, but he was fought successfully to a stalemate by

Frederick I, Duke of Swabia Frederick I (c. 1050 – 1105) before 21 July was Duke of Swabia from 1079 to his death, the first ruler from the House of Hohenstaufen (''Staufer''). Life Frederick was the son of Frederick of Büren (c. 1020–1053), Count in the Riesgau and S ...

(Frederick of Swabia)—Rudolf's Henry-appointed successor in Swabia who had married Henry's daughter Agnes. In 1084, Henry was crowned

while Pope Gregory was in exile. This left the anti-king Hermann of Salm in an awkward position as partisans of Henry supported the deposition of Gregory and the elevation of Clement III. Hermann's plan to gather an army on the banks of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and march into Italy in support of the pope was dashed by the death of his main retainer,

Otto of Nordheim Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 – 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany. Life Family Otto was bor ...

. When Henry, now the crowned Holy Roman Emperor, returned north and came into Saxony with an army in 1085, Hermann fled to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He returned, however, in alliance with

Welf I, Duke of Bavaria Welf I (c. 1035/10406 November 1101) was Duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the genealogy of the Elder House of Welf, he is counted as Welf IV. Bio ...

, and defeated the emperor at the Battle of Pleichfeld in 1086 on the

River Main The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, Hesse. The cities of Mainz and Wiesb ...

, taking

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

.Rogers, pp. 129-130 and p. 201.

End of the revolt

Soon after his victory, however, Hermann tired of being a pawn in the hands of the grandees and retired to his familial estates. The Great Saxon Revolt civil war may have ended in 1088, for in 1089 Countess

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

married Duke Welf II of Bavaria, but Duke

Welf I Welf I or Welfo (died before 876) was a Swabian nobleman. He was a member of the Elder House of Welf. Welf was probably a son of Conrad I of Auxerre, and seems to have taken over his father's offices in Swabia, namely: count of Alpgau, count o ...

only died in 1101.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * {{refend 11th-century rebellions History of Saxony Wars involving the Holy Roman Empire 11th century in Europe 11th-century conflicts 1070s in the Holy Roman Empire 1077 in Europe 1078 in Europe Medieval rebellions in Europe