FROM THE FIFTH TO THE FOURTEENTH CENTURIES
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLES
395 AD : Death of Theodosius. The Roman Empire is divided into two parts.
406: Start of the Germanic invasions of the West.
410: Capture of Rome by Alaric's Visigoths.
414: Alaric's successor, Astaulf, marries Galla Placidia, sister of the Emperor Honorius.
440-461: Pontificate of Leo the Great. The primacy of the Roman Church declared by him, is contested in the East (Canon 28 of the Council Chalcedon, 451).
451: The Huns invade the West. Battle of Chalons.
455: Death of Valentinian III. Sack of Rome by the Vandals.
476: Deposition of Romulus Augustulus by Odovacar. Italy suffers the same fate as the rest of the West, at that time completely in the hands of the Barbarians.
484-519: First Schism between the Western and Eastern Churches, caused by the policy of the emperors in relation to Monophysism.
492-6: Pontificate of Gelasius I.
481-511: Clovis, King of the Franks, conqueror (in 507) of the Visigoths, comes to Tours, where he is accorded an honorific Roman title by the Emperor Anastasius.
493-526: Theodoric King of the Ostrogoths, but also in control of the militia and a patrician.
526: Pope John I at Constantinople; quasi-imperial reception accorded to the Pontiff.
527-65: Reign of Justinian; partial restoration of the Western Empire.
537-55: Pontificate of Vigilius; the Papacy humbled by the imperial government.
568: The Lombards in Italy. Beginning of a conquest finally completed in the middle of the seventh century. Partition of Italy into two zones.
590-604: Pontificate of Gregory the Great. Beginning of the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons.
633-44: Beginning of the Arab conquests (Syria, Egypt, Persia).
638-81: Fresh break of Rome with the East. Monothelism Dispute.
663: The Emperor Constans in Rome. Last visit of a Roman Emperor to the West.
692: 'Quinisextus' Council of Constantinople; hostility towards Roman customs.
696-708: The Arabs conquer Africa.
708-15: Pontificate of Constantine I; in 710-11 he is received at Byzantium with the highest honours.
711: The Arabs conquer Spain; collapse of Visigoth rule.
726: Beginning of the Images Dispute; edict issued by the Emperor Leo III.
726-30: Italian Revolution. Encouraged by Gregory II, Rome and Ravennabreak free from Byzantine domination.
731-51: The Lombards, under their kings Liutprand and Aistulf, once more menace Rome; they take possession of Ravenna.
733: Victory of Charles Martel over the Arabs near Poitiers.
741-7: Pope St. Boniface, apostle of Germany, reforms the Frankish Church.
751: Accession of the Carolingian dynasty; anointing of Pepin by (Pope) St. Boniface.
754: Stephen II's voyage to Francia; the Papacy and the Carolingian dynasty form an alliance. The Pope anoints Pepin a second time, also his two sons, conferring the title of Roman patrician on all three. In the East, the Emperor Constantine V condemns the worship of images.
755-56: The Franks carry out expeditions into Italy. The Papal States takes shape.
c. 756-60: The Donation of Constantine is composed.
768: Charlemagne succeeds to the throne; beginning of a reign directed towards a simultaneous aggrandisement of the Kingdom of the Franks and dilatatio imperii Christiani.
773: At the request of Pope Hadrian I, Charlemagne declares war on the Lombards.
774: Easter-Charlemagne's first visit to Rome; he is received in the style of an emperor or his representative. He promises a donation to Hadrian. June-fall of Pavia; annexation of the kingdom of Lombardy.
781: In Byzantium, Constantine VI succeeds to the throne under the guardianship of his mother Irene. The King of the Franks makes his second stay in Rome; plans for a marriage between his daughter Rothrude and Constantine.
785: Pope Hadrian I decrees prayers of thanksgiving for the victory of Charlemagne over the Saxons.
787: The worship of images is re-instated by the Second Nicene Council.
788: Charles' third visit to Rome; anti-Byzantine policy.
790-2: Preparation of the Caroline Books.
794: Council of Frankfurt, representing the western Church.
795: Accession of Pope Leo III. Strengthening of the alliance between Charles and the Papacy.
796: Leo III sends the standard of the city of Rome to the King of the Franks.
797: Constantine VI blinded and deposed on the orders of Irene; the imperial throne is declared vacant.
798: All Papal instruments are dated in Rome according to the years of Charlemagne's reign. The Pope has the two famous mosaics executed in the apse of St Susanna and the triclinium of the Lateran.
799: Insurrection in Rome against Leo III; the Pope visits Francia and appeals to Charlemagne for his support. Meeting at Paderborn.
800: Charlemagne's fourth visit to Rome - 23rd December, the Pope takes an oath disclaiming the charges made against him. Arrival of an embassy from the Patriarch of Jerusalem, brining Charlemagne the keys of the Holy Sephulcre and of the city. 25th December, coronation of the Emperor.
801: In Rome, Charlemagne sits in judgement on the authors of the revolt against Leo III, in accordance with the Lex Romana.
802: Dethronement of Irene in Constantinople; accession of Nicephorus I.
804-10: Conflict between the 2 empires in Venetia and Dalmatia.
806: Ordinatio Regni. No mention of the Empire. The notion of the unity of the Regnum is nevertheless maintained despite the projected partition.
811: Accession of Michael I.
812: Peace between the 2 empires.
813: Louis the Pious is made the Emperor's associate.
814: 28th January - Death of Charlemagne; accession of Louis the Pious.
816: Pope Stephen IV anoints Louis the Pious emperor at Rheims.
817: Ordinatio Imperii. Lothair is made the Emperor's associate.
823: Pope Paschal I anoints Lothair at Rome.
824: Constitutio Romana. Organisation of the Emperor's supreme authority at Rome.
843: Treaty of Verdun.
847: The Saracens plunder St. Peter's at Rome.
850: Louis II anointed emperor.
855: Death of Lothair.
858-68: Pontificate of Nicholas I.
869: Charles the Bald, King of the Western Franks, is anointed King of Lorraine at Metz.
871: Louis II's letter to the Emperor Basil I.
875: Death of Louis II. Pope John VIII raises Charles the Bald to the imperial throne.
876: Italy and Western Francia confirm the Pope's initiative. Charles the Bald defeated at Andernach by the sons of Louis the German.
877: Death of Charles the Bald.
881: Charles the Fat, last of the sons of Louis the German, anointed Emperor by Pope John VIII.
880-7 Reconstruction of the former Carolingian Empire followed by its definitive dismemberment into a number of kingdoms.
891: Guy and Lambert of Spoleto accede to the Empire.
896: Arnulf, King of Germany, who had seized Rome by force, is anointed Emperor by Pope Formosus.
899: Death of Arnulf.
901: Louis of Provence is anointed Emperor.
917: Alfonso III, King of Leon, is referred to as Emperor in a document issued by his successor.
919: The Carolingian dynasty extinguished in Germany.
924: Death of the Emperor Beringar of Friuli; the imperial throne unoccupied.
925: Union of Lorraine and the Kingdom of Germany.
924-30: Athelstan, King of England; the title of emperor makes its appearance in England.
926: Henry I acquires the Holy Lance.
924-54: Alberic's principate in Rome. 'Renovation' of the institutions of the past within the city.
933: Henry I's victory over the Hungarians in Thuringia.
936: Otto I's accession; he is anointed king at Aix-la-Chapelle.
940-50: Otto I intervenes in French affairs on several occasions.
942: Otto imposes his guardianship, if not sovereignty, on the Kingdom of Burgundy.
c. 950: Adso of Montierender composes his treatise on the Antichrist.
951: Otto becomes king of Italy.
955: August - Otto I's victory over the Hungarians at the Lechfeld.
October - Otto's victory over the Slavs at Recknitz.
December - Accession of John XII at Rome.
955-83: Christianity and Germanism advance between the Elbe and the Oder and even beyond (Otto gains sovereignty over the Warthe region).
962: 2nd February-Otto I crowned emperor.
963: Accession of Nicephorus Phocas in Byzantium.
966: In Southern Italy the princes of Capua and Benevento recognise Otto I's sovereignty; cause of conflict between the new Empire and Byzantium.
967: Pope John XIII places the imperial crown on the head of Otto II.
968: Military defeat of Otto I at Bari. Liutprand of Cremona goes on a mission to Byzantium.
969: Revolution in Constantinople - Nicephorus assassinated and replaced by John Zimisces.
972: Celebration of the marriage in Rome of Otto II and Theophano, niece or great-niece of John Zimesces.
973: 23rd March - Assembly of Quedlinburg.
974: The Romans revolt against the imperial Pope Benedict VI. The position is restored with difficulty.
978: King Lothair's expedition to Aix-la Chapelle; Otto II beneath the walls of Paris.
982: Otto II beaten by the Saracens at Cape Colonna.
983: General rising among the trans-Elbe Slavs. Assembly of Verona at which Otto III is proclaimed king. Death of Otto II.
983-91: Regency of Theophano; situation gradually restored.
984: John Crescentius assumes the title of patrician in Rome. The city is de facto independent of the Empire.
987: Accession of Hugh Capet in France.
996: Otto III starts to rule in person. First Italian expedition. Gregory V becomes Pope and crowns Otto. John Crescentius is exiled but returns after the Emperor has departed.
997: Battles against the Liutizes of Brandenburg.
998-9: Otto's second visit to Italy. Renovatio Imperii Romanorum.
1000: Otto III's pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Adalbert in Gnesen.
The Polish Church is established. Boleslav, duke of Poland, becomes co-adjutor of the Empire. Otto opens Charlemagne's tomb at Aix-la-Chapelle.
1001: Otto III visits Italy again. The 'Donation of Constantine' is denounced. A king's crown is sent to Stephen of Hungary. The Emperor is driven out of Rome by a revolt starting in February and a number of movements in opposition to him make themselves felt.
1002: 24th January - Death of Otto III and accession of Henry II. End of the dreams of 'universality'.
1014: Henry II crowned Emperor. Rome in the hands of the House of Tusculum. The beginning of Church reform.
1018: Last appearance of the title of 'Emperor' in England.
1024-39: Reign of Conrad II; the Empire supreme in Europe.
1027: Conrad II crowned by (Pope) John XIX, in the presence of Rudolf, King of Burgundy, and Canute, King of Denmark. Increasing Romanisation of the concept of 'empire'.
1033: The Kingdom of Burgundy incorporated into the Empire.
1037-65: Ferninand I, King of Leon and Castile; the title of emperor is attributed to him.
1039-56: Reign of Henry III.
1046: Henry intervenes in the affairs of the Roman Church; three rival Popes are deposed and a new Pontiff, Clement II, is nominated, who crowns Henry emperor. Henry also takes possession of the insignia of the order of patricians.
1048-54: Pontificate of Leo IX; the party in favour of Church reform seizes control of the Holy See.
1054: Schism of Michael Caerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople.
1056: Accession of Henry IV; difficulties during his minority; troubles in Germany.
1057: Death of Victor II, the last of the series of German Popes which had begun in 1046. Election of Stephen IX. Cardinal Humbert's treatise Adversus Simoniacos.
1059: Nicholas II's decree on Papal elections.
1060: The Papacy enters into an alliance with the Norman princes of Southern Italy.
1073: Accession of Gregory VII. Dictatus Papae
1076: Start of the Investiture Controversy. The German Synod of Worms declares Gregory VII deposed from the Pontificate. Gregory VII deposes Henry IV.
1077: Canossa. Henry IV's German opponents elect Rudolf of Rheinfelden king. Civil war in Germany. Alfonso VI, King of Leon and Castile, takes the title of Emperor in official documents.
1080: Henry IV presides over the Synod of Brixen, which deposes Gregory VII and names as his successor Guibert of Ravenna (Pope Clement III).
1081-4: Henry IV faces Rome. Composition of the false prerogatives of Investiture. The Ravenna jurist, Peter Crassus, draws up his Defence of Henry IV.
1084: Henry IV in control of those parts of Rome which lie on the left bank of the Tiber. He is crowned emperor by Clement III. The Normans enter the town after he leaves it.
1085: Death of Gregory VII at Salerno.
1086: Ad Heinricum by Benzo of Alba.
1088-99: Pontificate of Urban II; victory of the Gregorian reform.
c. 1088: Foundation by Irnerius of the Bologna School of Roman Law.
1095: Urban II preaches in favour of a Crusade at the Council of Clermont.
1106: Death of Henry IV. Accession of his son, Henry V, who with the support of Pope Paschal II had been in revolt against his father since 1104. Conflict immediately breaks out again.
1110-17: Alfonso the Battler takes the title of Emperor.
1111: Concordat of Sutri; Henry V crowned emperor; receives from Paschal II the prerogative of investiture.
1118: Irnerius, in Henry V's service, reads out the forged prerogatives of investiture to the people of Rome.
1122: Termination of the Investiture Contest. Concordat of Worms.
1125: Accession of Lothair of Supplinburg, very devout supporter of the Church.
c. 1126 onwards: Increasing use of the title of 'emperor' by Alfonso VII, King of Leon and Castile.
c. 1130: Writings of Honorius Augustodunensis.
1135: Alfonso VII crowned emperor.
1137: Accession of Conrad III, first ruler of the Hohenstaufen dynasty.
c. 1140: The treatise by Pseudo-Turpin records that, in accordance with a decision made by Charlemagne, the Kingdom of France, successor of the former country of Gaul, is independent of all foreign domination.
1143: The Commune of Rome takes shape.
1143-6: Otto of Freising writes his history of the Two Cities.
1145: Arnold of Brescia in Rome.
1149-50: Conrad III enters into an alliance with the Byzantine Empire against Roger II, King of Sicily.
c. 1150: The Kaiserchronik is written by a Ratisbon cleric.
1152: Accession of Frederick I Barbarossa, who immediately uses the title of emperor in a number of official documents.
1154: The Emperor's first contact with the school of Bologna.
1155: 18 June-Frederick I is crowned emperor.
1156: Rainald of Dassel becomes Frederick's chancellor.
1157: Diet of Besancon-the Papal doctrine of empire, put forward by Cardinal Roland, clashes with the concept of empire held by Frederick and Rainald. A letter to the Emperor from Henry II, King of England. Death of Alfonso VII; disappearance of the title of emperor in Spain.
1158: Frederick's second Italian expedition. Diet of Roncaglia.
1159: Two Papal elections: Alexander III (Roland) and Victor IV (of moderate views).
1160: Meeting at the instigation of the Emperor, the Council of Pavia proclaims Victor IV.
1162: Diet of Dole. Rainuld proclaimed Victor IV as lawful Pope, in the name of the emperor who rules over Rome. Frederick is unable to persuade Louis VII to support him.
1163: Third Italian expedition; imperial sovereignty is re-established over Tuscany.
1164: Death of Victor IV. Rainald has (Pope) Paschal III elected.
1165: Meeting at Wurzburg, the majority of the German bishops decide to support Paschal III.
29th December-Canonisation of Charlemagne at Aix-la-Chapelle.
1167: Fourth Italian expedition; Frederick in control of Rome; an epidemic of plague in his army compels him to leave the town.
1176: Fifth expedition. Frederick defeated at Legnano by the towns of Lombardy.
1177: The Emperor makes his peace with Alexander III at Venice.
1180: Accession of Philip Augustus in France.
1186: Henry, the Emperor's second son, is crowned King of Italy (electus Romanorum Imperator) at Milan, and celebrates his marriage with Constance, heiress to the Kingdom of Sicily.
1187: Treaty of Toul - Alliance between the Emperor and Philip Augustus.
1188: At the Diet of Mainz, Frederick takes up the Cross, ie. vows to go on a Crusade.
1190: Death of the Emperor, drowned in the Saleph in Cilicia.
1191: Henry VI crowned emperor.
1193: Richard Lionheart, Henry VI's prisoner, pays homage to him for England and receives the Kingdom of Arles in fief.
1195: Henry VI takes up the cross. His brother, Philip of Swabia, marries Irene Angelus.
1195-6: Henry VI prepares a plan designed to ensure that the Empire will remain the hereditary right of the House of Hohenstaufen, but the Pope and the German princes refuse to co-operate. All Henry can achieve is the election of his young son, Frederick, as king of the Romans.
1197: 28th September - Death of Henry VI at Messina.
1198: 8th January - Accession of Innocent III. Collapse of imperial sovereignty over Italy; the commune of Rome seized by the Pope. Sicily breaks away from the Empire. Two kings elected in Germany - Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick.
1201: Pope Innocent III accords recognition to Otto, who has paid homage to the Church from the outset.
1202: When Philip's electors make a strong protest (on the grounds that the elections should be independent) Pope Innocent replies with his Decretal Venerabilem: the doctrine of the Translatio
1202-8: Civil war in Germany. Period of conflict between Plantagenets and Capetians.
1204: Decretal Par Venerabilem, giving legal recognition of the complete sovereignty of the King of France.
1209: Otto IV, crowned emperor by Innocent III, endeavours to reinstate imperial domination in Italy. The Pope excommunicates him and raises up a rival in the person of Frederick II, King of Sicily.
1211: Frederick II acclaimed emperor at Rome and elected king at Frankfurt.
1214: Philip Augustus, Frederick II's ally, defeats Otto IV at Bouvines - a victory for the French Carolingian concept. Frederick II is soon in control of Germany.
1220: Frederick II receives the imperial diadem from Honorius III, Pope Innocent's successor, having first had his son Henry elected king in Germany.
1225: Frederick, (who took up the Cross in 1215) Marries Isabella of Brienne, heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and immediately adopts the title himself.
1211-27: The Mirror of the Saxons (Sachsenspiegel) is written: the ordo of the world is conducted by the Two Swords (the civil power and the religious power), which are equal.
1226-70: Reign of St. Louis.
1227: Accession of Pope Gregory IX, who breaks with the Emperor.
1228-9: Frederick's Crusade. He achieves the restitution of the Holy Places to the Christians and crowns himself king at the Holy Sephulcre.
1234: King Henry rebels against his father in Germany and the latter declares war on the league of the Lombardy towns.
1237: Conrad IV is elected king at Vienna. Frederick vanquishes the Lombardy towns at Coutenuova.
1239: The Emperor is excommunicated for the second time by Gregory IX.
1245: Innocent IV, Gregory's successor, deposes Frederick at the Council of Lyons.
1246: Innocent IV supports some princes who elect Henry Raspe King of the Romans.
1247: On the death of Henry Raspe, William of Holland is elected.
1250: 13th December - Death of Frederick II after five years of bitter fighting in Italy.
1252: Brancaleone dictator of Rome; electors in Brunswick pronounce their views on the election of kings.
1256: Death of William of Holland; Alfonso X proclaimed King of the Romans and emperor, at Soria in Castile.
1257: Alfonso of Castile and Richard of Cornwall both elected king in Germany. Beginning of the Great Interregnum.
1258: Frederick II's son, Manfred, crowned king of Sicily.
1261: Richard of Cornwall and Manfred both elected to the Roman senate. Accession of Pope Urban IV.
1263-4: The Kingdom of Sicily granted in fief to Charles of Anjou by Urban IV. August
1263: Charles of Anjou becomes a Roman senator for the first time.
1265: Accession of Pope Clement IV.
1266: Charles of Anjou, having defeated Manfred at Benevento, conquers the Kingdom of Sicily.
1267: Henry of Castile becomes a Roman senator. Charles of Anjou acts as 'peacemaker' in Tuscany.
1268: Conradins' expedition. Charles of Anjou again elected a Roman senator. The Carolingian legend becomes attached to him. The Guelf party wins a victory.
1271: Accession of Pope Gregory X, who seeks to find a formula for a settlement.
1273: End of the Interregnum. Defeat of the first French candidate for the imperial throne. Rudolf of Hapsburg is elected King of the Romans and receives his title from Gregory X.
1275-6: The Mirror of the Swabians (Schwabenspiegel) acknowledges the Pope's right to possess the Two Swords (religious and temporal political power).
1278: Pope Nicholas III produces his 'Constitution', Fundamenta Militantis Ecclesiae, and has himself elected a Roman senator in his personal capacity.
1280: Proposal by Rudolf of Hapsburg to give the Kingdom of Arles in fief to Charles of Anjou.
1281: Accession of Pope Martin IV. Alexander of Roes writes his Memoriale.
1282: 30th March - The Sicilian Vespers at Palermo. Charles of Anjou loses Sicily which passes into the hands of Peter III of Aragon, a kinsman of the Hohenstaufens.
1285: Death of Charles of Anjou. Accession of Philip the Fair in France.
1287: Meeting of the German Council of Wurzburg where apprehensions are openly expressed about possible changes in the structure of the Empire. Alexander of Roes writes his Noticia.
1292: Adolf of Nassau elected king of the Romans.
1296-7: First phase of the conflict between (Pope) Boniface VIII (elected in 1294) and the King of France.
1298: Adolf of Nassau deposed by the German princes; election of Albert of Hapsburg who defeats and kills the former king at the battle of Gollheim. Boniface VIII appoints himself judge of the matter.
1300: First Roman Jubilee.
1301-2: The struggle between Boniface VIII and Philip the Fair enters its acute phase. The King of France opposes the theocratic doctrine, and proclaims his own absolute sovereignty.
1302: 18th November - the (Papal) Bull Unam Sanctam.
1303: Boniface VIII proclaims Albert king and in April replies to the King of France by declaring the universal authority of the Emperor of the Romans, who is himself a vassal of the Papacy.
1305: Clement V, second Pope after Boniface VIII, did not ever reside in Rome; established from 1309 in Avignon.
1307: Pierre Dubois, jurist in the service of Philip the Fair, draws up his De recuperatione Terrae sanctae.
1308: Death of Albert of Hapsburg; failure of Charles of Valois' candidature for the Empire. Election of Henry VII, count of Luxemburg.
c. 1308: Treatise De ortu, progressu et fine Romani Imperii, by Engelbert of Admont.
1310: October - Henry VII sets off for Italy. He has already made a number of very solemn promises to the Pope and concluded an agreement with Philip the Fair stipulating absolute parity between the two signatories.
1311: Oecumenical Council meets in Vienne. Bernard Gui submits a memorandum beforehand proposing that national kingdoms should replace the Empire.
1312: 29th June - Henry VII is crowned emperor; the following day the Emperor declares Robert, King of Naples, guilty of the crime of lese-majeste and enters into a struggle with him. Great display of polemics in both camps.
1313: The Romans rise in support of Henry VII. 24th August - death of the Emperor.
c. 1313: Dante's De Monarchia
1313-4: Clement V and Robert of Naples argue against the concept of empire.
1314: Election of two kings in Germany - Frederick of Austria and Louis of Bavaria.
1316: Accession of Pope John XXII.
1317: John XXII declares the imperial throne vacant, reserves the administration of the Empire to himself and appoints Robert of Naples the Emperor's representative in Italy.
1322: Battle of Muhldorf - Louis of Bavaria victor over Frederick of Austria, immediately renews his relations with the Ghibellines of Italy.
1323: Beginning of the conflict between John XXII and Louis of Bavaria.
1324: Sachsenhausen Appeal. Charles IV the Fair, King of France, appears for a brief period as a candidate for the Empire.
1326: Marsilius of Padua, who completed his Defensor Pacis in 1324, takes refuge at the court of Louis of Bavaria.
1327: Roman revolution - dictatorship of Sciara Colonna.
1328: 17th January - Louis of Bavaria receives the imperial diadem from the Roman people. April-May: John XXII deposed, with the encouragement of the Emperor, and the anti-Pope Nicholas V elected.
1330-31: Louis of Bavaria seeks a compromise with the (Papal) court of Avignon.
1334-7:
1338: The struggle enters an acute phase; the Emperor is greatly influenced by the leaders of the Minorites who are in revolt against the Papacy (William of Occam). May - States of the realm meet at Frankfurt; the 'Constitution' Fidem Catholicam. July - Decree on the method of electing a king of the Romans, issued by the electors at Rhens. 6th August - the imperial 'Constitution' Licet Iuris, general declaration on the Law of the Empire. September - Diet of Coblenz; alliance between Louis of Bavaria and Edward III of England.
1339: A new declaration, made by the Emperor at the Diet of Frankfurt, reduces the coronation of the emperor to a simple ceremony.
1340: Lupold of Bebenburg writes his treatise De Jure Regni et Imperii Romani.
1342: Accession of Pope Clement VI.
1346: 13th April - The Pope proclaims the dethronement of Louis of Bavaria. 11th July - Charles of Moravia, grandson of Henry VII, elected king.
1347: 20th May-15th December - Cola di Rienzo, tribune at Rome.
October - Death of Louis of Bavaria; to oppose Charles IV, his party puts up an anti-king Gunther of Schwarzburg, who dies in 1349.
1349: 25th June - Charles IV anointed king at Aix-la-Chapelle.
1350: Second Jubilee year. Rienzo unable to persuade Charles IV to assume the role of 'Messianic Emperor'.
1354: Konrad von Megenberg dedicates his treatise De Translatione Imperii to Charles IV.
October - Cola di Rienzo returns to Rome, charged by Pope Innocent VI with the task of re-establishing the Pope's authority in the city. He dies in a riot.
1355: Charles IV crowned emperor.
1356: Charles IV issues the Golden Bull.
[ Previous | Main Contents ]