Henry VII of Luxembourg
Henry VII was the first emperor to go to Rome in over sixty years, and he died in Italy before he could do anything with it. Born around 1275, he was Count of Luxembourg, a minor lord of a small territory on the French border who had done homage to Philip IV of France and spoke French rather than German. The electors chose him in 1308 after Albert I of Habsburg was murdered, and they chose him precisely because he was small — a candidate too weak to threaten them, over the French king's brother, whom the pope did not want. His first act was the one that lasted. He married his son John to the heiress of Bohemia in 1310 and secured him the crown, which made Luxembourg a great dynasty and eventually produced Charles IV. He then did what nobody expected. He went to Italy in 1310 with a small force and the intention of restoring imperial authority there, and of reconciling Guelph and Ghibelline — a programme almost everyone regarded as obsolete and which Dante regarded as salvation. Dante wrote him three public letters and put him in Paradiso, in a throne reserved and waiting. The reconciliation failed on contact. Florence and the Guelph cities resisted, Milan revolted behind him, and Robert of Naples and eventually the pope turned against him. He was crowned emperor in Rome in June 1312, in the Lateran rather than St Peter's, which was held by his enemies. He died of fever near Siena in August 1313 preparing to attack Naples.
- Lived: 1275 CE – 1313 CE
- Nationality: German
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state, military_leader
