View source for Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor

{{Short description|Holy Roman Emperor from 1312 to 1313}}

{{Infobox royalty|
| name         = Henry VII
| image        = Henry Lux head.jpg
| image_size   = 170px
| caption      = Detail of a miniature depicting Henry VII, {{circa}} 1380–1400<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220701104309/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=8466&CollID=16&NStart=200307 Detailed record for Royal 20 C VII], ''Catalogue of illuminated manuscripts''.</ref>
| succession   = [[Holy Roman Emperor]]
| reign        = 29 June 1312 – 24 August 1313
| predecessor  = [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]]
| successor    = [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]]
| coronation   = 29 June 1312, [[Rome]]
| succession1  = [[King of the Romans]]
| reign1       = 27 November 1308 – 24 August 1313
| predecessor1 = [[Albert I of Habsburg|Albert I]]
| successor1   = [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]]
| coronation1  = 6 January 1309, [[Aachen]]
| succession2  = [[King of Italy]]
| reign2       = 6 January 1311 – 24 August 1313
| predecessor2 = [[Conrad IV of Germany|Conrad IV]]
| successor2   = [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]]
| coronation2  = 6 January 1311, [[Milan]]
| succession3  = [[Count of Luxembourg]] and [[Arlon]]
| reign3       = 5 June 1288 – 24 August 1313
| predecessor3 = [[Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg|Henry VI]]
| successor3   = [[John of Bohemia|John I]]
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Margaret of Brabant]]|1292|1311|end=died}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
* [[John, King of Bohemia]]
* [[Marie of Luxembourg, Queen of France|Marie, Queen of France]]
* [[Beatrice of Luxembourg|Beatrice, Queen of Hungary]]
}}
| house        = [[House of Luxembourg]]
| father       = [[Henry VI of Luxembourg]]
| mother       = [[Beatrice d'Avesnes]]
| birth_date   = 12 July 1275
| birth_place  = [[Valenciennes]], [[County of Hainaut]]
| death_date   = 24 August 1313 (aged 38)
| death_place  = [[Buonconvento]], [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Italy]]
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = [[Duomo di Pisa]], [[Pisa]]|
}}

'''Henry VII''' (German: ''Heinrich''; [[Vulgar Latin]]: ''Arrigo''; 12 July 1275<ref>Cf. Kurt-Ulrich Jäschke, Peter Thorau: ''Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter Rudolf, Adolf, Albrecht, Heinrich VII. 1273–1313. 4. Abteilung: Heinrich VII. 1288/1308–1313, 1. Lieferung: 1288/1308 – August 1309.'' Vienna 2006, Request a ([http://www.regesta-imperii.de/id/0000-00-00_1_0_6_4_1_1_a online]).</ref> – 24 August 1313),<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494">Kleinhenz, pg. 494</ref> also known as '''Henry of Luxembourg''', was [[Count of Luxembourg]], [[King of Germany]] (''[[King of the Romans|Rex Romanorum]]'') from 1308 and [[Holy Roman Emperor]] from 1312. He was the first emperor of the [[House of Luxembourg]]. During his brief career he reinvigorated the imperial cause in [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Italy]], which was racked with the partisan struggles between the divided [[Guelph and Ghibelline]] factions, and inspired the praise of [[Dino Compagni]] and [[Dante Alighieri]]. He was the first emperor since the death of [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] in 1250, ending the [[Great Interregnum]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]; however, his premature death threatened to undo his life's work. His son, [[John of Bohemia]], failed to be elected as his successor, and there was briefly another [[anti-king]], [[Frederick the Fair]], contesting the rule of [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]].

==Life==

===Election as King of the Romans===
[[File:Arms of the Counts of Luxembourg.svg|thumb|100px|Arms of the House of Luxembourg.|left]]
Born 12 July 1275<ref>Cf. the new ''Regesta Imperii'' Kurt-Ulrich Jäschke, Peter Thorau: ''Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter Rudolf, Adolf, Albrecht, Heinrich VII. 1273–1313. 4. Abteilung: Heinrich VII. 1288/1308–1313, 1. Lieferung: 1288/1308 – August 1309.'' Böhlau, Vienna 2006, Regest a ([http://www.regesta-imperii.de/id/0000-00-00_1_0_6_4_1_1_a online]).</ref> in [[Valenciennes]], he was a son of Count [[Henry VI of Luxembourg]] and [[Beatrice d'Avesnes|Béatrice]] from the [[House of Avesnes]].<ref>Georgina R. Cole-Baker, ''The Date of the Emperor Henry VII's Birth,'' in: ''The English Historical Review'', Vol. 35, No. 138 (Apr. 1920), pp. 224–231, here pg. 227.</ref> Raised at the French court, he was the lord of comparatively small properties in a peripheral and predominantly French-speaking part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 530">[https://books.google.com/books?id=LOS1c0w91AcC&q=%22elected+by+six+votes%22 Jones, pg. 530]</ref> It was symptomatic of the empire's weakness that during his rule as the [[Count of Luxembourg]], he agreed to become a French vassal, seeking the protection of King [[Philip IV of France|Philip the Fair]] of France.<ref>Jones, pg. 517</ref> During his rule of [[Luxembourg]], he ruled effectively, especially in keeping the peace in local feudal disputes.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494" />[[File:Armoiries Henri VII de Luxembourg.svg|thumb|100px|Arms of Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor.|left]]Henry became caught up in the internal political machinations of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] with the assassination of King [[Albert I of Habsburg|Albert I]] on 1 May 1308.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494" /> Almost immediately, King Philip of France began aggressively seeking support for his brother, [[Charles of Valois]], to be elected the next [[King of the Romans]].<ref>Jones, pg. 529</ref> Philip thought he had the backing of the French [[Pope Clement V]] ([[Avignon Papacy|established at Avignon]]), and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors.<ref name="Jones, pg. 530" /> Although Charles of Valois had the backing of [[Heinrich II von Virneburg|Henry, Archbishop of Cologne]], a French supporter, many were not keen to see an expansion of French power, least of all Clement V.<ref name="Jones, pg. 530" /><ref>Comyn, pg. 408</ref> The principal rival to Charles appeared to be [[Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria|Rudolf]], the [[Count Palatine]].{{cn|date=August 2023}}

Given his background, although he was a vassal of Philip the Fair,<ref name="Jones, pg. 530" /> Henry was bound by few national ties, an aspect of his suitability as a compromise candidate among the electors,<ref>Comym, pg. 410</ref> the great territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades, and who were unhappy with both Charles and Rudolf. Henry's brother, [[Baldwin of Luxemburg|Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier]], won over a number of the electors, including the Archbishop of Cologne, in exchange for some substantial concessions.<ref name="Jones, pg. 530" /> Consequently, Henry skillfully negotiated his way to the crown, elected with six votes at [[Frankfurt]] on 27 November 1308.<ref name="Jones, pg. 530" /> The only elector who did not support him was [[Henry of Bohemia|Henry, King of Bohemia]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 530" /> Henry was subsequently crowned at [[Aachen]] on 6 January 1309.<ref name="Jones, pg. 530" />

In July 1309, Pope Clement V confirmed Henry's election.<ref name="Jones, pg. 531">Jones, pg. 531</ref> He agreed to crown Henry emperor at [[Candlemas]] 1312 personally, the title having been vacant since the death of [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 532">Jones, pg. 532</ref> Henry in exchange, swore an oath of protection to the Pope,<ref name="Jones, pg. 532" /> agreed to defend the rights and not attack the privileges of the cities of the [[Papal States]], and also agreed to [[Crusades|go on Crusade]] once he had been crowned emperor.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494" /> Yet the newly crowned king had local issues to deal with before he could seek the imperial crown. Henry was approached by part of the Bohemian nobility and some important and influential ecclesiastics to intervene in [[Bohemia]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 531" /> Unhappy with the rule of [[Henry of Carinthia]], and wary of the claims of the [[Habsburgs]] who had some legitimate claim on the crown, they convinced Henry to marry his son [[John I, Count of Luxemburg]] to [[Elizabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330)|Elizabeth]], the daughter of [[Wenceslas II]], and so establish a claim to the Bohemian crown. In July 1310 he engineered the removal of Henry of Carinthia.<ref name="Jones, pg. 531" />

[[File:Balduineum Wahl Heinrich VII.jpg|thumb|255px|left|The seven prince-electors voting for Henry, ''[[Balduineum]]'' picture chronicle, 1341]]
On 15 August 1309, Henry VII announced his intention to travel to Rome, having sent his ambassadors to Italy to prepare for his arrival, and so consequently expected his troops to be ready to travel by 1 October 1310. Prior to leaving Germany, he sought to smooth relations with the Habsburgs, who had been forced against their will to accept the accession of Henry's son in Bohemia, cowed by the threats of making the [[Archduchy of Austria|Duchy of Austria]] dependent on the Bohemian crown. He therefore confirmed them in their imperial fiefs by October 1309; in exchange, [[Leopold I, Duke of Austria|Leopold of Habsburg]] agreed to accompany Henry in his Italian expedition, and to provide a body of troops as well.<ref name="Jones, pg. 531" />

Henry felt he needed to obtain a papal imperial coronation, partly because of the lowly origins of his house, and partly because of the concessions he had been forced to make to obtain the German crown in the first place.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494" /> He also saw it, together with the crowns of [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] and [[Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles|Arles]], as a necessary counterweight to the ambitions of the French king.<ref name="Jones, pg. 531" /> To ensure the success of his Italian expedition, Henry entered into negotiations with [[Robert, King of Naples]] in mid-1310, with the intent of marrying his daughter, [[Beatrix of Luxembourg|Beatrix]] to Robert's son, [[Charles, Duke of Calabria]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 532" /> It was hoped that this would lessen the tensions in Italy between the anti-imperial [[Guelphs]], who looked to the [[King of Naples]] for leadership, and the pro-imperial [[Ghibellines]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 532" /> Negotiations broke down due to Robert's excessive monetary demands, as well as through the interference of Philip, who did not want such an alliance to succeed.<ref name="Jones, pg. 532" />

===Descent into Italy===
{{multiple image
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 | image1 = Codex Balduini Trevirensis - Alpenüberquerung Heinrich VII.JPG
 | alt1 =
 | caption1 = Henry VII and the [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] army crossing the [[Alps]] into [[Italian peninsula|Italy]]
 | image2 = Rimska jizda.jpg
 | alt2 =
 | caption2 = The knights of emperor Henry VII defeat the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelph]] faction of [[Guido della Torre]] in Milan
 | image3 = Brusati.jpg
 | alt3 =
 | caption3 = Torture and execution of the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelph]] captain Teobaldo Brusati at the siege of [[Brescia]]
 | image4 = Romefahr.jpg
 | alt4 =
 | caption4 = The Emperor in Italy.
 }}

While these negotiations were taking place, Henry began his descent into northern Italy in October 1310, with his eldest son John remaining in [[Prague]] as the [[Imperial vicar]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 532" /> As he crossed the [[Alps]] and travelled into the Lombard plain, nobles and prelates of both Guelph and Ghibelline factions hastened to greet him, and [[Dante]] circulated an optimistic open letter addressed to the rulers and the people.<ref name="Jones, pg. 533">Jones, pg. 533</ref> As emperor, Henry had planned to restore the glory of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], but he did not reckon on the bitterly divided state that Italy had now become.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494" /> Decades of warfare and strife had seen the rise of dozens of independent city-states, each one nominally Guelph or Ghibelline,{{cn|date=August 2018}} backed by either urban nobles supporting a powerful ruler (such as [[Milan]]), or the rising non-noble merchant classes embedded in oligarchic republican states (such as [[Florence]]).<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494" /> Each of these contests had created bitter losers, each of whom looked to the emperor-elect for restitution. Henry expressed both his high-minded idealism and lack of political craft in his plan to require all the cities of [[Lombardy]] to welcome back their exiles, of whatever their political stripe. He received both parties, Guelph or Ghibelline, courteously; in the beginning he showed no obvious favoritism to either party, hoping that his magnanimity would be reciprocated by both sides.<ref name="Sismondi, pg. 253">Sismondi, pg. 253</ref> Nevertheless, he insisted that the current rulers in all of the Italian city-states had usurped their powers. He insisted that the towns should come under the immediate control of the Empire, and that their exiles should be recalled. He eventually forced the cities to comply with his demands, and the despots had to surrender their keys. Although Henry rewarded their submission with titles and fiefs, it did cause a great deal of resentment that only grew over time.<ref name="Sismondi, pg. 253" /> This was the situation confronting the king when he arrived in [[Turin]] in November 1310, at the head of 5,000 soldiers, including 500 cavalry.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 494" />

After a brief stay at [[Asti]] where Henry intervened in the political affairs in the town, much to the consternation of the Italian Guelphs,<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495">Kleinhenz, pg. 495</ref> Henry proceeded to [[Milan]], where he was crowned [[King of Italy]] with the [[Iron Crown of Lombardy]] on 6 January 1311.<ref name="Jones, pg. 533" /> The Tuscan Guelphs refused to attend the ceremony, and began preparing for resistance to Henry's imperial dreams.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> As part of his program of political rehabilitation, he recalled the [[Visconti of Milan|Visconti]], the ousted former rulers of Milan from exile. [[Guido della Torre]], who had thrown the Visconti out of Milan, objected and organised a [[Milan uprising (1311)|revolt against Henry]] that was ruthlessly put down, and the Visconti were returned to power, with Henry appointing [[Matteo I Visconti]] as the Imperial vicar of Milan.<ref name="Jones, pg. 534">Jones, pg. 534</ref> He also imposed his brother-in-law, [[Amadeus V, Count of Savoy|Amadeus of Savoy]], as the vicar-general in Lombardy.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> These measures, plus a massive levy imposed on the Italian towns,<ref name="Jones, pg. 443">Jones, pg. 443</ref> caused the Guelph cities to turn against Henry, and he encountered further resistance when he sought to enforce imperial claims on what had become communal lands and rights, and attempted to replace communal regulations with imperial laws.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> Nevertheless, Henry managed to restore some semblance of imperial power in parts of northern Italy. Cities such as [[Parma]], [[Lodi, Lombardy|Lodi]], [[Verona]] and [[Padua]] all accepted his rule.<ref name="Jones, pg. 534" />

At the same time any resistance of the north [[Italian commune]]s was ruthlessly suppressed; however, the punishments levied on cities that submitted stiffened the resistance of others. [[Cremona]] was the first to feel Henry's wrath, after the Torriani family and their supporters<ref name="Sismondi, pg. 232">Sismondi, pg. 232</ref> had fled from Milan,<ref name="Jones, pg. 534" /> falling on 26 April 1311, after which he razed the city walls.<ref name="Jones, pg. 443" /> Henry then expended much of his initial capital of good-will with delays, such as the four-month siege of [[Brescia]] in 1311, delaying his journey to Rome. Popular opinion began to turn against Henry, with [[Florence]] allying itself with the Guelph communities of [[Lucca]], [[Siena]] and [[Bologna]], and engaging in a propaganda war against the king.<ref name="Jones, pg. 534" /> This was successful in that Pope Clement V, under increasing pressure from King Philip of France, began to distance himself from Henry and to take up the cause of the Italian Guelphs who had been appealing to the [[Papacy]] for support.<ref name="Jones, pg. 534" />

Despite plague and desertions, he managed to extract Brescia's surrender in September 1311.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> Henry then passed through [[Pavia]] before arriving in [[Genoa]], where he again tried to mediate between the warring factions within the town.<ref name="Jones, pg. 534" /> During his stay in the city, his wife [[Margaret of Brabant]] died.<ref name="Comyn, pg. 447">Comyn, pg. 447</ref> Also while in Genoa he discovered that King Robert of Naples had decided to oppose the spread of imperial power in the Italian peninsula, and resumed his traditional position as head of the Guelph parties,<ref>Comyn, pg. 444</ref> as Florence, Lucca, Siena and [[Perugia]] all declared their support for Robert.<ref name="Comyn, pg. 447" /> Henry attempted to intimidate Robert by ordering him to attend his imperial coronation, and to swear fealty for his imperial fiefs in [[Piedmont]] and [[Provence]].<ref name="Jones, pg. 535">Jones, pg. 535</ref> With Florence's encouragement, much of [[Lombardy]] flared into open rebellion against Henry, with uprisings throughout December 1311 and January 1312,<ref name="Jones, pg. 535" /> while in the [[Romagna]], King Robert strengthened his position. Nevertheless, Henry's supporters managed to capture [[Vicenza]], and he received an embassy from [[Venice]], who offered him the friendship of their city.<ref name="Comyn, pg. 447" /> Henry also began legal proceedings against Florence, laying charges of [[Lèse majesté]] against the city and placing it under an [[Imperial ban]] in December 1311.<ref name="Jones, pg. 535" />

After spending two months in Genoa, Henry continued on to Pisa by ship, where he was eagerly received by the inhabitants, who were the traditional enemies of Florence and were Ghibelline.<ref name="Jones, pg. 535" /> Here he again began negotiating with Robert of Naples, before deciding to enter into an alliance with [[Frederick III of Sicily]], strengthening his position and hopefully putting pressure on Robert of Naples.<ref name="Comyn, pg. 447" /> He left Pisa in 1312 to go to [[Rome]] to be crowned as emperor, but on his way he discovered that Clement V was not going to crown him there.<ref name="Jones, pg. 472">Jones, pg. 472</ref>

===Wars against Florence and Robert of Naples===

Rome was in a state of confusion as Henry approached the city walls. The [[Orsini family]] had adopted the cause of Robert of Naples, while the [[Colonna family]] threw their weight behind Henry.<ref name="Comyn, pg. 447" /> With their partisans fighting in the streets, Henry was also confronted with the news that the [[Castel Sant'Angelo]] and the Vatican quarter were securely in the hands of Robert, the Angevin king of Naples,<ref>Bryce, pg. 279</ref> who had decided, with help from the Florentines<ref name="Jones, pg. 472" /> that his own dynastic interests were not in favour of renewed Imperial presence in Italy.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

[[File:HenryLux.jpg|thumb|The Coronation of Henry VII by three cardinals.]] On 7 May 1312, Henry's German troops forced their way across the [[Ponte Milvio]] and entered Rome, but found it impossible to throw out the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin]] troops from around [[St. Peter's Basilica]].<ref name="Comyn, pg. 447" /> As the Colonna family had possession of the area around the [[Basilica of St. John Lateran]], [[Santa Maria Maggiore]] and the [[Colosseum]], Henry was forced to perform his coronation on 29 June 1312 at the Lateran.{{cn|date=August 2018}} The ceremony was performed by three Ghibelline cardinals who had joined Henry on his way through Italy.<ref name="Jones, pg. 534" /><ref name="Comyn, pg. 448">Comyn, pg. 448</ref> The imperial party was fired upon by hostile crossbowmen in the Lateran’s banqueting hall shortly after the coronation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Peter H. |title=The Holy Roman Empire - A Thousand Years of Europe's History |pages=68}}</ref> Robert of Naples, in the meantime, had made increasing demands upon Henry, including Henry making Robert's son the Imperial vicar of Tuscany, and that Henry had to depart Rome within four days of his coronation.<ref name="Jones, pg. 535" /> Henry, in his turn, declared that the imperial prerogative overrode papal authority, and that the entirety of Italy was subject to the emperor.<ref name="Jones, pg. 535" /> He then refused to commit, as Pope Clement V had requested, to seek a truce with Robert of Naples, and he didn't rule out attacking the southern kingdom.<ref name="Jones, pg. 535" /> After Henry concluded a formal treaty signed with Robert's rival to the Sicilian throne, [[Frederick III of Sicily|Frederick of Aragon]], the chaos in the city of Rome forced Henry to leave, and, following the advice of Tuscan Ghibellines, he travelled north to [[Arezzo]].<ref name="Comyn, pg. 448" />[[File:HRE under Henry VII.JPG|thumb|The Empire under Henry VII,<br />{{legend|violet|House of Luxembourg}}|left]]

At Arezzo, in September 1312, Henry proceeded to pass a sentence against Robert of Naples,<ref name="Jones, pg. 536">Jones, pg. 536</ref> as a rebel vassal.<ref>As [[Count of Provence]], Robert was technically Henry's vassal, though Provence had been removed from Imperial circles for centuries.</ref> Meanwhile, at [[Carpentras]] near [[Avignon]], Clement was unwilling to fully support Henry, since Robert, of a cadet line of the French, was the representative of French power in Italy, and Clement was far from independent of French policies, as well as considerations about encirclement by Henry should he successfully defeat Robert.<ref name="Jones, pg. 536" /> But before Henry could move against Robert of Naples, he had to deal with the troublesome Florentines,<ref name="Jones, pg. 536" /> who had been sending money to the Lombard cities that held out against Henry, and who had been strengthening the city's fortifications in anticipation of a siege.<ref name="Comyn, pg. 448" />

{{anchor|Siege_of_Florence}}
In mid September, Henry approached the city and very quickly, it was obvious that the city militia and the Guelph cavalry could not match the emperor in an open battle against his battle-hardened soldiers from the north. The Florentine army was outmanoeuvred and lacking in provisions, so it retreated back into Florence during the night. Siena, Bologna, Lucca, and smaller cities, sent men to help man the walls.<ref name="Sismondi, pg. 294">Sismondi, pg. 294</ref> So began the siege of Florence, Henry possessing some 15,000 infantrymen and 2,000 cavalry, up against a combined Florentine strength of 64,000 defenders.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> Florence was able to keep every gate open except that which faced the emperor, and it kept all of her commercial routes open.<ref name="Sismondi, pg. 294" /> For six weeks Henry battered the walls of Florence, and was eventually forced to abandon the siege. Nevertheless, by the end of 1312, he had subdued a large part of Tuscany, and had treated his defeated enemies with great leniency.<ref name="Jones, pg. 536" /> By March 1313, Henry was back in his stronghold of Pisa, and from here he formally charged Robert of Naples with treason<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> after Robert finally agreed to accept the office of the captain of the Guelph League.<ref name="Jones, pg. 536" /> By now his patience was at an end, and he ordered that throughout Italy, all the inhabitants of all rebellious cities were to be captured, stripped and hanged for treason.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> While he loitered in Pisa, waiting for reinforcements from Germany, he attacked [[Lucca]], a traditional enemy of Pisa.<ref name="Sismondi, pg. 232" /> Henry now prepared for his next move; after taking as much money as he could from Pisa (Henry ultimately cost Pisa some 2 million [[Florin (Italian coin)|florins]]),<ref>Sismondi, pg. 271</ref> he began his long delayed campaign against Robert of Naples on 8 August 1313.<ref name="Kleinhenz, pg. 495" /> His Italian allies were loath to join him, and so his army consisted of some 4,000 knights, while a fleet was prepared to attack Robert's realm directly.<ref name="Jones, pg. 536" />

His first target was the Guelph city of Siena, which he began to besiege, but within a week, Henry succumbed to [[malaria]], which fast saw him become seriously ill. Fading rapidly, he left Siena on 22 August, and was sheltering in the little town of [[Buonconvento]] near [[Siena]] when he died on 24 August 1313.<ref name="Jones, pg. 536" /> His body was taken to Pisa. Henry was only 38 years old when he died, and the high hopes for an effective Imperial power in Italy died with him.<ref>Jones, pg. 537</ref>

==Legacy==
At Henry's death, and for the following decades, the central figure in Italian policy remained his nemesis, Robert of Naples.<ref>H. Header and D.P. Waley, eds, ''A Short History of Italy'' (Cambridge) 1963:60.</ref> In the Empire, Henry's son, [[John I, Count of Luxemburg|John the Blind]], was elected [[Kingdom of Bohemia|King of Bohemia]] in 1310. After the death of Henry VII, two rivals, the [[Wittelsbach]] [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Ludwig of Bavaria]] and [[Frederick I of Austria (Habsburg)|Frederick the Handsome]] of the [[House of Habsburg]], laid claim to the crown. Their dispute culminated in the [[Battle of Mühldorf]] on 28 September 1322, which was lost by Frederick. Ludwig's Italian expedition (1327–29), made in the spirit of righting the wrongs done to Henry, was also abortive. The legacy of Henry was clearest in the successful careers of two among the local despots he made Imperial Vicars in northern cities, [[Cangrande I della Scala of Verona]] and [[Visconti of Milan|Matteo Visconti of Milan]].<ref>''History'' 1963:72.</ref>

==Tomb==
{{Multiple image
| image1            = Tod Heinrichs VII..jpg
| caption1          = Tomb of Henry VII, Codex Balduini Trevirensis (ca 1340).
| image2            = Tomb of Henry VII Holy Roman Emperor.jpg
| caption2          = Tomb of Henry VII, August 2012.
| width             = 170
}}
Pisa was a [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Ghibelline]] city, which means that the city supported the Holy Roman Emperor. When Henry VII died, Pisans built a monumental tomb inside their [[Duomo di Pisa|cathedral]]. The tomb was centered behind the High Altar in the apse. The choice of place was intended to demonstrate the devotion of the Pisans to the Emperor.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

The tomb, constructed in 1315 by Sienese sculptor [[Tino di Camaino]],<ref name="V&A"/> was built above the grave itself, with the statue of Henry VII lying above it and many other statues and angels. The tomb did not have a long life: for political reasons it was dismantled and the parts were reused in other places in the square. By 1985, the grave of the Emperor had been shifted to the right transept of the cathedral, near the tomb of [[Rainerius|Saint Ranieri]]; a couple of statues were put on the top of the façade and a number of statues portraying Henry VII himself and his counsellors were in the Cemetery. Nowadays the statues, the textiles and goldwork gathered around the funeral shroud have been moved to and are featured in the {{ill|Museum of the Opera del Duomo|it|Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Pisa)}} in [[Pisa]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Opera del Duomo Museum |url=https://www.opapisa.it/en/square-of-miracles/opera-del-duomo-museum/ |website=Opera della Primaziale Pisana: sito ufficiale |publisher={{ill|Museum of the Opera del Duomo|it|Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Pisa)}} |access-date=23 August 2021}}</ref> while the tomb remains in the cathedral.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

There is a plaster cast (1890) of the tomb in the Cast Courts of the [[Victoria and Albert Museum]].<ref name="V&A">{{cite web |title=Tomb of Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg {{!}} Camaino, Tino di |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O127974/tomb-of-emperor-henry-vii-plaster-cast-camaino-tino-di/ |website=V&A Explore The Collections |publisher=[[Victoria and Albert Museum]] |access-date=23 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Henry VII is the famous ''alto Arrigo'' in Dante's ''[[Paradiso (Dante)|Paradiso]]'', in which the poet is shown the seat of honor that awaits Henry in Heaven. Henry in ''Paradiso'' xxx.137f is "He who came to reform Italy before she was ready for it". Dante also alludes to him numerous times in ''[[Purgatorio]]'' as the savior who will bring imperial rule back to Italy, and end the inappropriate temporal control of the Church.{{cn|date=August 2021}} In 1921, on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of Dante's death, Henry VII's tomb was opened and examined.<ref name="UPisa">{{cite web |title=A medieval treasure in the tomb of Enrico VII |url=https://www.unipi.it/index.php/english-news/item/4200-a-medieval-treasure-in-the-tomb-of-enrico-vii |website=www.unipi.it |publisher=University of Pisa |access-date=23 August 2021 |date=19 May 2014}}</ref>

Henry VII's tomb was opened and studied again in 2013, 700 years after his death. The remains had been wrapped in a large rectangular colorful silk [[shroud]], described in the 1921 study as "a fine shroud woven in bands", which was retrieved from the coffin for analysis and subsequently moved to be displayed at the Museum of the Opera del Duomo.<ref name="UPisa"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Magnificent Silk |url=https://www.medieval.eu/magnificent-medieval-silk-henry-vii-pisa/ |website=Medieval Histories |access-date=23 August 2021 |date=25 October 2013}}</ref> The skeleton was recomposed and its analysis led to the estimation that Henry VII's height was 1.78 metres.<ref name="UPisa"/> The bones were also examined by [[X-ray crystallography|X-ray diffraction]], [[infrared spectroscopy]], and [[Scanning electron microscope|scanning electron microscopy]] to study medieval post-mortem practices.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Scorrano |first1=Gabriele |last2=Mazzuca |first2=Claudia |last3=Valentini |first3=Federica |last4=Scano |first4=Giuseppina |last5=Buccolieri |first5=Alessandro |last6=Giancane |first6=Gabriele |last7=Manno |first7=Daniela |last8=Valli |first8=Ludovico |last9=Mallegni |first9=Francesco |last10=Serra |first10=Antonio |title=The tale of Henry VII: a multidisciplinary approach to determining the post-mortem practice |journal=Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences |date=September 2017 |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=1215–1222 |doi=10.1007/s12520-016-0321-4|bibcode=2017ArAnS...9.1215S |s2cid=163989438 }}</ref>

==Family and children==
Henry was married in [[Tervuren]] 9 July 1292 to [[Margaret of Brabant]], daughter of [[John I, Duke of Brabant]],<ref name="Gades119">Gades, pg. 119</ref> and had the following children:
* [[John of Bohemia|John I, King of Bohemia]] (10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346)<ref name="Gades119" />
* [[Marie of Luxembourg, Queen of France|Marie]] (1304 – 26 March 1324, [[Issoudun]]), married in Paris 21 September 1322 to King [[Charles IV of France]].<ref name="Gades119" />
* [[Beatrice of Luxembourg|Beatrix]] (1305 – 11 November 1319), married 1318 to King [[Charles I of Hungary]]. Beatrix died in child birth.<ref name="Gades119" />

== See also ==

* [[Towers and palaces of the Roero]]
{{commons category}}
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|editor=Kurt-Ulrich Jäschke, Peter Thorau|title=Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter Rudolf, Adolf, Albrecht, Heinrich VII. 1273–1313.|chapter=Heinrich VII. 1288/1308–1313, part one 1288/1308 – August 1309|publisher=Böhlau|location=Vienna|date=2006|isbn=3-412-01906-2|url=http://www.regesta-imperii.de/regesten/6-4-1-heinrich-vii.html}}
* {{cite book|editor=Kurt-Ulrich Jäschke, Peter Thorau|title=Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter Rudolf, Adolf, Albrecht, Heinrich VII. 1273–1313.|chapter=Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter Heinrich VII. 1288/1308–1313, part two 1. September 1309–23. Oktober 1310 |publisher=Böhlau|location=vienna|date=2014|isbn=978-3-412-22181-2}}
* {{cite book|editor=Michel Pauly|title=Gouvernance européenne au bas moyen âge. Henri VII de Luxembourg et l’Europe des grandes dynasties Actes des 15es Journées Lotharingiennes, 14 – 17 octobre 2008|publisher= Université du Luxembourg|location=Linden, Luxemburg|date=2010|isbn=978-2-919979-22-6|language=fr}}
* {{cite book|last=Jones|first=Michael|series=The New Cambridge Medieval History|volume=VI|title=c. 1300-c. 1415|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|date=2000|isbn=1139055747}}
* {{cite book|last=Kleinhenz|first=Christopher|title=Medieval Italy: an encyclopedia|volume= 1|publisher=Routledge|location=London |date=2004|isbn=9781351664448}}
* {{cite book|last=Bryce|first=James|title=The Holy Roman Empire|date=1913|location=New York|publisher=Schocken Books|oclc=968255}}
* {{cite book|last=Sismondi|first=J. C. L.|title=History of the Italian Republics in the Middle Ages|date=1906|location=London|publisher=Routledge|oclc=1907981}}
* {{cite book|last=Comyn|first=Robert|title=History of the Western Empire, from its Restoration by Charlemagne to the Accession of Charles |volume=I |date=1851|location=London|publisher=Allen|oclc=633936454}}
* {{cite book|first=William M.|last= Bowsky|title=Henry VII in Italy|location=Lincoln|date=1960|publisher=University of Nebraska|oclc=163786531}}
* {{cite book|first=Maria Elisabeth|last=Franke|title=Kaiser Heinrich VII. im Spiegel der Historiographie : eine faktenkritische und quellenkundliche Untersuchung ausgewählter Geschichtsschreiber|location=Köln|publisher=Böhlau|date=1992|isbn=3412103926|language=de}}
* {{cite book|first=John A. |last=Gades|title=Luxemburg in the Middle Ages|publisher=Brill|date=1951|location=Leiden|oclc=264628222}}

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{{Monarchs of Luxembourg}}
{{German monarchs}}
{{Holy Roman Emperors}}
{{Antique Kings of Italy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 07, Holy Roman Emperor}}
[[Category:Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor| ]]
[[Category:1270s births]]
[[Category:1313 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:13th-century Luxembourgian people]]
[[Category:14th-century Luxembourgian people]]
[[Category:14th-century Holy Roman Emperors]]
[[Category:13th-century monarchs of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:14th-century monarchs of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:People from Valenciennes]]
[[Category:Counts of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:House of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:Burials at Pisa Cathedral]]
[[Category:Luxembourgian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Luxembourgian soldiers]]
[[Category:Deaths from malaria]]
[[Category:13th-century counts in Europe]]
[[Category:14th-century counts in Europe]]