The following is a reworking of my former TL, which can be found here. Enjoy, more updates are on the way...
In late summer, Adolf of Berg-Altena, Prince Archbishop of Cologne dies of fever at his estates in northern Germany. The sudden loss of the prelate is well received by Emperor Heinrich VI (b. 1165) at his court in Palermo, as the archbishop has been the most outspoken opponent of any imperial attempt to increase the powers of the crown in the face of its vassals, both lay and spiritual.[FONT="]
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Drawing on this recent fortune, Emperor Heinrich VI summons the imperial diet at Frankfurt in the spring of 1195, with the aim of implementing his Erbreichsplan(1). The Emperor is easily able to gather the support of the secular princes by promising in return to confirm hereditary succession to all imperial fiefs. Further, he effectively buys the support of the ecclesiastical princes by abolishing the practice of Jus Spolii(2).
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The ruling of the diet is secured in the Edict of Frankfurt, which receives official imperial assent in the fall of 1196; the edict vests the succession to the imperial crown in the heirs male of Emperor Heinrich VI and the House of Staufer. The law also confirms the hereditary succession to imperial fiefs granted by the Emperor in the male line and guarantees the right of the Emperor’s vassals to subdivide up their own fiefs between multiple heirs.[FONT="]
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Emperor Heinrich’s eldest son, Friedrich (b. 1194), is proclaimed ‘King of the Romans’ at Frankfurt in accordance with the new edict, as he is now hereditary heir to the crown.[FONT="]
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Horrified at this potential increase in imperial power (not to mention the personal union it will create between the Sicilian and Roman crowns, Pope Celestine III refuses to recognize the Edict of Frankfurt, reclaiming the rights of the papacy expressed by Pope Gregory VII of ‘overlord of all temporal princes’.
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At this time, Emperor Heinrich is unable to confront the pope directly, the Emperor currently being occupied with crushing the revolts of his Arab subjects in Sicily, and is thus not seen as a threat by the Holy See. By the close of 1197, however, after nearly two years of warfare, the rebellions are mercilessly crushed via both the Emperor’s own personal forces and reinforcements sent by his German vassals—his power still strong in the Empire, despite the objections of the Pope.
In 1198, however, Pope Celestine III dies, aged ninety-two. Immediately the emperor begins maneuvering with the cardinals of the Papal Conclave. He is determined at this time to see a pro-imperial candidate brought to power, in order to secure his many ambitions. After nearly four months of debate and heavy imperial bribery, the cardinals finally select the seventy-eight year old Konrad of Bavaria, Archbishop of Mainz and a loyal supporter of the Emperor. He is duly crowned as Pope Clement IV.
The following year, good to his word to the Emperor, the new Pope Clement IV confirms the Edict of Frankfurt via the Golden Bull of 1199. The bull not only recognizes the hereditary succession to the imperial crown in the male line of the House of Hohenstaufen, but also confers the right of Emperor Heinrich’s heirs to assume the title of ‘Emperor of the Romans’ immediately upon succession, and thus removes the necessity for a papal coronation.
(1) The proposal formulated by the Holy Roman Emperor for making the imperial crown hereditary in the House of Staufer.[FONT="]
(2) The right of secular lords to seize the property of deceased prelates.[/FONT]
Part I: Ordo ab chao, 1195-1199[FONT="][/FONT]
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Drawing on this recent fortune, Emperor Heinrich VI summons the imperial diet at Frankfurt in the spring of 1195, with the aim of implementing his Erbreichsplan(1). The Emperor is easily able to gather the support of the secular princes by promising in return to confirm hereditary succession to all imperial fiefs. Further, he effectively buys the support of the ecclesiastical princes by abolishing the practice of Jus Spolii(2).
[FONT="]
The ruling of the diet is secured in the Edict of Frankfurt, which receives official imperial assent in the fall of 1196; the edict vests the succession to the imperial crown in the heirs male of Emperor Heinrich VI and the House of Staufer. The law also confirms the hereditary succession to imperial fiefs granted by the Emperor in the male line and guarantees the right of the Emperor’s vassals to subdivide up their own fiefs between multiple heirs.[FONT="]
[/FONT][/FONT]
Emperor Heinrich’s eldest son, Friedrich (b. 1194), is proclaimed ‘King of the Romans’ at Frankfurt in accordance with the new edict, as he is now hereditary heir to the crown.[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Horrified at this potential increase in imperial power (not to mention the personal union it will create between the Sicilian and Roman crowns, Pope Celestine III refuses to recognize the Edict of Frankfurt, reclaiming the rights of the papacy expressed by Pope Gregory VII of ‘overlord of all temporal princes’.
[FONT="] [/FONT]
At this time, Emperor Heinrich is unable to confront the pope directly, the Emperor currently being occupied with crushing the revolts of his Arab subjects in Sicily, and is thus not seen as a threat by the Holy See. By the close of 1197, however, after nearly two years of warfare, the rebellions are mercilessly crushed via both the Emperor’s own personal forces and reinforcements sent by his German vassals—his power still strong in the Empire, despite the objections of the Pope.
In 1198, however, Pope Celestine III dies, aged ninety-two. Immediately the emperor begins maneuvering with the cardinals of the Papal Conclave. He is determined at this time to see a pro-imperial candidate brought to power, in order to secure his many ambitions. After nearly four months of debate and heavy imperial bribery, the cardinals finally select the seventy-eight year old Konrad of Bavaria, Archbishop of Mainz and a loyal supporter of the Emperor. He is duly crowned as Pope Clement IV.
The following year, good to his word to the Emperor, the new Pope Clement IV confirms the Edict of Frankfurt via the Golden Bull of 1199. The bull not only recognizes the hereditary succession to the imperial crown in the male line of the House of Hohenstaufen, but also confers the right of Emperor Heinrich’s heirs to assume the title of ‘Emperor of the Romans’ immediately upon succession, and thus removes the necessity for a papal coronation.
(1) The proposal formulated by the Holy Roman Emperor for making the imperial crown hereditary in the House of Staufer.[FONT="]
(2) The right of secular lords to seize the property of deceased prelates.[/FONT]