What if Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV of the Salian Dynasty had contracted a fever in the midst of his penitence ritual at Canossa in 1077 AD, which he was doing in order to forfeit his excommunication by Pope Gregory VII, and perished?
What effects does this have on...
The Investiture Controversy? IMO, this could result in an earlier pro-Papal solution to this political conflict.
The Holy Roman Empire? Would future HR Emperors still execute campaigns against Italy in order to be crowned as King in the region, or would Italy be heretofore forfeited as the Pope's territory? How would the internal enemies of the Salians, such as the Dukes of Saxony, take advantage of this situation?
Any other areas of interest?
 
The Investiture Controversy? IMO, this could result in an earlier pro-Papal solution to this political conflict.

IMO, It could go either way, really. On one hand, the popes could claim Heinrich's death as divine punishment. OTOH, whoever has a beef with the papacy can say "look at what they did, Heinrich would never have died if Gregorius had not forced him to do that. Our Lord would've never..."
 
IMO, It could go either way, really. On one hand, the popes could claim Heinrich's death as divine punishment. OTOH, whoever has a beef with the papacy can say "look at what they did, Heinrich would never have died if Gregorius had not forced him to do that. Our Lord would've never..."
Perhaps, but, aside from the Holy Roman Emperor, what other important figure or institution is opposed to the Pope? The Byzantines are too far away and too occupied with internal struggle to care.
 
Perhaps, but, aside from the Holy Roman Emperor, what other important figure or institution is opposed to the Pope? The Byzantines are too far away and too occupied with internal struggle to care.

I didn't necessarily mean that it would happen at that precise moment. But perhaps if Heinrich dies and there's the usual quarrel about who is the next emperor. One gets crowned by the pope (or at least the pope's representative/or has papal support) and the other one goes "tk. what for?"
 
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