ENRICO VII, EMPEROR. – Son of Count Enrico III of Luxembourg, b. between 1270 and 1280, d. at Buonconvento on 24 Aug. 1313. Upon the death of Albert of Habsburg (1 May 1308), through the intervention of his brother Baldovino, bishop of Trier, and despite the intrigues of Philip the Fair, who wanted his own brother Carlo of Valois elected, he was unanimously elevated as emperor of Germany (27 Nov. 1308). He was crowned at Aachen on 6 Jan. 1309 and confirmed by Clement V in the following July.
Of noble character, but more a knight than a sovereign, in order to lend greater splendor and grandeur to the Empire, which he regarded as the sole universal monarchy, he sought papal coronation at Rome. Having therefore settled matters in Germany, with the approval of the Pope, to whom he had suggested the idea of a Crusade, in the autumn of 1310 he set out for Italy in order to achieve his aim. The very political parties that were tormenting the peninsula with continual revolutions and fratricidal struggles urged the Emperor’s arrival, hoping through his intervention to attain peace and tranquillity. In Oct. 1310 E. received the homage of many lords and bishops at Turin; he then passed into Lombardy, where he was welcomed with great enthusiasm, and on 6 Jan. 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 E. then abandoned his mission as a peacemaker above the factions and openly placed himself at the head of the Ghibelline party. During his stay in Lombardy, several cities accused of being Guelph were destroyed. In Feb. 1312, passing through Genoa, he went to Tuscany, where he placed some cities under the ban, and in May reached Rome. The city was garrisoned by the soldiers of Roberto of Naples, leader of the Guelph party; E. was able to occupy only the Lateran, where he was crowned on 29 June. By now at odds with the Guelph party, he allied himself with Federico, king of Sicily, and in Aug. returned to Tuscany, determined to punish and subjugate Florence, which stood at the head of the opposition, but was forced to withdraw. When the year-long truce imposed upon him by Clement V in favor of Roberto of Naples had ended, and scorning the threats of excommunication, with the aid of Federico and the Ghibelline cities of Italy he planned to invade Apulia, but death overtook him at Buonconvento, overwhelmed by events greater than himself. With E. the idea of a universal German empire, so much cherished at that time, especially by Dante, passed away forever.