Salian DynastyRoyal and imperial line that came to power with the election of a Salian Frank, Conrad of Swabia, as German king, after the Saxon dynasty of German kings and Holy Roman emperors died out in 1024. With the end of the Saxon line on the death of Henry II, the succession passed to the matrilineal descendants of Otto I, and Conrad, a Franconian noble, was elected (1024) as German king. Although the hereditary principle in Germany was strong enough to secure his election, it did not ensure Conrad support throughout the empire. His accession was contested by his stepson, Ernest of Swabia, and by the Lotharingians and the Italians. After the collapse of the revolts of Ernest and the Lotharingians, Conrad brought Northern Italy into submission (1026–27) and was crowned emperor at Rome. He suppressed two more revolts (1027, 1030) by Ernest and won Lusatia from Poland. In 1034 he annexed the kingdom of Burgundy under the terms of a treaty between Rudolf III, last independent king of Arles, and Holy Roman Emperor Henry II. In 1036, Conrad returned to Italy, where war was raging between the greater and the lesser nobles. He deposed Archbishop Aribert of Milan, a powerful ally of the great nobles, and made the fiefs of the lesser nobles hereditary by issuing the Constitution of Pavia. ..... continued THE CONFLICT OVER INVESTITURE BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE POPE |
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