ENRICO VII, EMPEROR
Son of Count Henry III of Luxembourg, born between 1270 and 1280, died at Buonconvento on 24 August 1313. At the death of Albert of Habsburg (19 May 1308), through the intervention of his brother Baldwin, Bishop of Trier, and despite the intrigues of Philip the Fair, who wished to have his brother Charles of Valois elected, he was unanimously raised to the imperial throne of Germany (27 November 1308). He was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on 6 January 1309 and confirmed by Clement V in the following July.
Of noble character, but more a knight than a sovereign, to lend greater splendor to the greatness of the Empire, which he regarded as the only universal monarchy, he sought papal coronation in Rome. Having settled affairs in Germany, with the approval of the Pope, to whom he had hinted at the idea of a Crusade, in the autumn of 1310 he set out for Italy to achieve his aim. The very political factions that were tearing apart the peninsula with continual revolutions and fratricidal strife welcomed the Emperor’s coming, hoping that his intervention would bring peace and tranquility. In October 1310, at Turin, he received the homage of many lords and bishops; then he passed into Lombardy, where he was greeted with great enthusiasm, and on 6 January 1311 received the Iron Crown at Milan. But a few days later, because of his exorbitant demands for money and hostages,
a revolt broke out; other cities rebelled, and then Henry, abandoning his mission as a mediator above the factions, openly took the side of the Ghibelline party. During his stay in Lombardy, several cities were destroyed. In February 1312, passing through Genoa, he went to Tuscany, where he placed some cities under ban, and in May he arrived in Rome. The city was held by the troops of Robert of Naples, leader of the Guelph party; Henry could occupy only the Lateran, where on 29 June he was crowned. Now in open conflict with the Guelph party, he allied himself with Frederick, King of Sicily, and in August returned to Tuscany, determined to punish and subjugate Florence, which was at the head of the opposition, but had to withdraw. When the truce imposed by Clement V in favor of Robert of Naples had expired, and scorning the threats of excommunication, with the help of Frederick and the Ghibelline cities of Italy he planned to invade Apulia, but death overtook him at Buonconvento, overwhelmed by events greater than himself. With Henry, the idea of a universal German empire, so long cherished at that time, especially by Dante, vanished forever.