General Notes

Henry VII, or Henry of Luxemburg, born c.1274, d.  Aug.  24, 1313, was the
first Holy Roman emperor of the Luxemburg dynasty, which was to remain
prominent for a century.  He grew up under French cultural influence.  This
made him acceptable to the aggressive Philip IV of France, and he was
therefore elected (1308) German king as a compromise candidate after the
assassination of Albert I.
Since 1250 no German ruler had worn the crown of Holy Roman emperor.  Henry
determined to acquire it, to rebuild imperial power, and thus to pacify
Germany.  First, he laid the territorial foundation for his family's strength
by acquiring (1310) the kingdom of Bohemia for his son John.  Then, in October
1310, he entered Italy.  Hoping to end the strife between Guelphs and
Ghibellines, Henry was crowned (1311) king of the Lombards at Milan.  After
encountering opposition, however, he openly embraced the Ghibelline
(traditionally proimperialist) cause and made Pisa his base.  Henry was
crowned emperor by cardinals in Rome on June 29, 1312, but he immediately
found Pope Clement V in Avignon, Philip of France, and Robert of Naples allied
with the Guelph cities against him. He was moving south to attack Robert when
he died.  Henry was greatly admired by Dante.