Emperor Conrad GERMANY, II

   Another name for Conrad was BURGUNDY King.

   Ancestral File Number: 9HMT-5L. User ID: 605111964.

   General Notes:

King of BURGUNDY, Emperor of GERMANY.

BOOKS
Wall Chart of World History, Edward Hull, 1988, Studio Editions, Germany 1024: "Conrad II, Duke, Elected King of Germany 1024-1039, Switzerland Helvetia Subject to Germany 1032..."

The New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975, p630, Conrad II: "Born Abt 990, Died 1039, Holy Roman Emperor (1027-1039), and German King (1024-1039), first of the Salian Dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. With the end of the Saxon lineon the death of Henry II, the succession passed to the matrilineal descendants of Otto I. 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 N Italy into submission (1026-1027) and was crowned emperor at Rome. He suppressed two more revolts (1027, 1030) by Ernest and won (1031) Lusatia from Poland. In 1034 he annexed the kingdom of Burgundy under the terms of a treaty (1006) 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 (1037) the Constitution of Pavia. In Germany also Conrad favored the small nobility, thus reversing the policy of Otto I and Henry II, who had depended for support on the Church. He promoted the servile classes to administrative office, thus building a new hereditary class of ministeriales to replace the ecclesiastics in the civil service. Conrad's administration was economical, and he encouraged commerce by grantingmarket and mint privileges. At his death, his son Henry III ascended the throne at the height of its wealth and power."

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1981, Micropaedia, Vol III, p89, Conrad II Emperor: "Born Abt 990, Died 4 Jun 1039 Utrecht Netherlands, German King (1024-1039) and Western Emperor (1027-1039), founder of the Salian dynasty.
"Although he failed to inherit the territory of his father Count Henry of Speyer, and entered into a conflict with the Emperor Henry II, Conrad, who was a descendant of the Saxon house, was elected to succeed Henry as the German King (1024). Overcoming his opponents, he was also crowned King of Italy (1026) and Emperor (1027). Conrad was an enterprising legislator, and he secured the succession for his son Henry and also enlarged his domain by conquering some Polish territory (1028) and inheriting the Kingdom of Burgundy (1032). In addition, he gained ascendancy over the heathen Slav tribe of Liutizians. In the few years preceding his death, he campaigned in Italy to suppress the rebellion of his former ally Archbishop Ariberto da Antimiano of Milan (1036-1038), but lost the bulk of his army, which succumbed to an epidemic, on his return to Germany."

Macropaedia, Vol V, p27, Conrad II Emperor: "German King and Western Emperor, in a short reign from 1024 to 1039, proved that the German monarchy had become a viable institution. Since the survival of the monarchy was no longer primarily dependent on a compact between sovereign and territorial nobles, it was henceforth invulnerable to prolonged rebellion on their part. Conrad also proved that at that time- within certain limits and despite the elective character of the monarchy- a self-made mancould rise to kingship and establish a new Salian dynasty, which would last for almost a century.
"Conrad was born around 990, the son of Count Henry of Speyer, who had been passed over in his inheritances in favour of a younger brother.Henry was descended through the marriage of his great-grandfather Conrad the Red to a daughter of Emperor Otto, from the Saxon house. Left poor, Conrad was brought up by the Bishop of Worms and did not receive much of a formal education; but conscious of the deprivations suffered by him and his father, he matured early...In 1016 he married Gisela, the widowed Duchess of Swabia and a des- cendant of Charlemagne. Conrad, however, was distantly related to Gesela. When strict canonists took exception to the marriage Emperor Henry II who was jeal- ous of the growth of Conrad's personal influence, used their findings as an ex- cuse for forcing Conrad into temporary exile. The two men later became reconciled, and, by the time Henry II died, in 1024, Conrad presented himself to the electoral assembly of the princes at Kamba on the Rhine as a candidate for the succession. After prolonged debates, the majority voted for him, and he was crowned king in Mainz on 8 Sep 1024...
"...Early in 1026, Conrad was able to go to Milan, where Archbishop Ariberto crowned him king of Italy. After brief fighting, Conrad overcame the opposition of some towns and nobles and managed to reach Rome, where he was crowned emperor by Pope John XIX on Easter 1027...He was compelled, after all, to campaign against Poland in 1028. After severe fighting , Mieszko- Boleslaw's son and heir- was forced to make peace and surrender lands that Conrad's pre- decessor had lost... "Although occupied intermittently in the east, Conrad was able to gain political triumphs in the west. Earlier, the childless King Rudolf of Burgundy had offered the succession to his crown to Emperor Henry II, who, however died before Rudolf. Thus, when Rudof died in 1032, he left his kingdom to Conrad over the opposition of the Burgundian princes, who two years later, on 1 Aug 1034 paid homage to Conrad at Zurich.
"In 1036, Conrad appeared for a second time in Italy, where he proceeded with equal vigour against his old ally, Archbishop Aribert of Milan...Through luck and skillful diplomacy, Conrad succeeded in isolating Aribert from his Lombard supporters as well as from his friends in Lorraine. Conrad was thus able to proceed in 1038 to southern Italy, where he installed friendly princes in Salerno and Anversa...
"On his return to Germany the same year along the Adriatic coast, his army succumbed to a midsummer epidemic in which both his daughter-in-law and stepson died...Conrad himself fell ill during the following year (1039) and died on June 4 in Utrecht. He was buried in the newly built cathedral of Speyer."

Anchor Atlas of World History, 1974, Vol I, p147, The Frank or Salian Emperors (1024-1125): "1024-1039 Conrad II, great-grandson of Duke Conrad the Red, was elected at Kamba across Oppenheim on Franconian soil (dyn. principle) and crowned at Mainz. He granted hereditary rights to his vassals and made their fiefs inalienable (1037). He surrendered the March of Schleswig to Canute the Great (1025)..."

The Story of Civilization, Will Durant, Vol IV, The Age of Faith, Bk IV, The Dark Ages, Ch XX, The Rise of the North, Sec VI, Germany, p513: "...Conrad II (1024-1039), beginning the Franconian or Salian line of emperors, pacified Italy, and added to Germany the kingdom of Burgundy or Arles. Needing funds, he sold bishoprics for sums so large that his conscience irked him; he swore never again totake money for an ecclesiastical appointment, and `almost succeeded in keeping his oath'"

ANCESTRAL FILE
Ancestral File Ver 4.13 9HMT-5L King of BURGUNDY Born Aft ?1080 Died 4 Jun 1039.

   Marriage Information:

Conrad married Duchess Gisela SWABIA, daughter of Duke Hermann SWABIA, II and Gerberga De BOURGOGNE, on 21 Nov 1017. (Duchess Gisela SWABIA was born on 11 Nov 999 in , Schwaben, Bavaria, died on 14 Feb 1043 and was buried on 16 Feb 1043.)