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The First Battle of Langensalza was fought on June 9, 1075 between forces of German King Henry IV and several rebellous Saxon individuals on the River Unstrut. The battle was a complete success for Henry, resulting in the subjugation of Saxony shortly before the Investiture Controversy commenced. June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ...
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The following list of German Kings and Emperors is one of several Wikipedia lists of incumbents. ...
Henry IV (November 11, 1050 – 1106) was King of Germany from 1056 and Emperor from 1084, until his abdication in 1105. ...
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The Unstrut is a tributary of the Saale. ...
The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. ...
Background
From the start of his reign, Henry had suffered numerous setbacks in Saxony. Attempts to restore royal rights over the forests were not received well by the Saxon freedmen, and efforts to extend the crownlands in general as well as the increased demands laid upon the fisc, were opposed. A policy of building castles, continued from the time of his father, implemented by the King fostered resentment among multiple groups. In particular, the Harzburg became a symbol of Imperial tyranny and impeding on traditional Saxony rights. Like his father, Henry desired to set Goslar as the fixed capital of the German Kingdom. Henry had already had to put down a rebellion led by Otto of Nordheim and Magnus Billung (1070–1071). The King kept Magnus prisoner at the Harzburg, even after the latter succeeded his father to the Duchy of Saxony in 1072. This heightened tensions between the royal court and the Saxons; Magnus' subsequent release in exchange for seventy Swabians captured in Lüneburg did little to provide a thaw in relations. In anger, the King rejected several Saxon petitions for redress. Map of Germany showing Goslar Goslar is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. ...
The Billung Family were Saxon dukes and rulers, who can be traced back to AD 500. ...
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Map of Germany showing Lüneburg Lüneburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 50km southeast of Hamburg. ...
In 1073 several bishops and nobles organized a resistance. Several castles were besieged, and the King was forced to escape from the Harzburg to Hessewech. In February 1074 he proceeded to Gerstungen, where the insurrection, numbering twice the size of his forces, met him; he agreed to several concessions, reasoning that the Saxons would break their end of the deal eventually. The freedmen, who felt betrayed by the nobles due to the peace, sacked the Harzburg in a frenzy, destroyed the castle, and committed such acts of sacrilege (tossing the bones of members of the royal family, along with those of an abbot and St. Anastasius) that they shocked the local population and the religious authorities. Henry used the destruction as a pretext for renewed hostilities. He gained the support of several bishops, the lower feudality and city burghers. While Henry was conducting a campaign against the Magyars to the side, papal legates were attempting to create support for the Saxon rebels. In 1075 Otto of Nordheim, together with the count palatine in Saxony and Bishop Burckhardt of Halberstadt openly declared their hostility, using Henry's violations of the Gerstungen treaty as an excuse. They gained many Saxon and Thuringian freedmen, but many nobles and peasants did not join. Events Cardinal Hildebrand elevated to papacy as Pope Gregory VII, succeeding Pope Alexander II Emperor Shirakawa ascends the throne of Japan Rabbi Yitchaki Alfassi finishes writing the Rif, an important work of Jewish law. ...
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This article is about the Magyar people. ...
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The Free State of Thuringia (German Freistaat Thüringen) lies in central Germany and is among the smaller of the countrys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 sq. ...
The King made camp in Bredingen, and manage to gain the defections of some lower Saxon nobles with promises to listen to their grievences. In June, he moved to Langensalza. Langensalza is a town located in Thuringia, Germany, with a 1960 population of 16,000. ...
The Battle Henry's move to Langensalza put him closer to the Saxon encampment. The two sides met for battle at Homburg on June 9. Homburg was also the name of a style of formal hat that was popular with politicians and diplomats in the mid-twentieth century. ...
The Saxon army contained several thousand men, but in typical Saxon tradition, most of them were on foot. Their ranks consisted of nobles and their vassals, along with freedmen and some serfs. Many of them were poorly trained. On the other hand, Henry's army was well-organized in typical feudal fashion, with a large amount of mounted warriors.
The engagement that followed was less of a battle than a rout. A charge by the Swabians under Duke Rudolf almost instantly destroyed the Saxon center. The leaders took to their horses and fled, but the foot soldiers were slaughtered. It was reported that several thousand died when they drowned in the Unstrut. Many spoils were gained by Henry's army.
The Aftermath The defeat was stunning. It shocked the Saxons, and the supporters of the rebellion became frantic. The Archbishop of Mainz threatened excommunication against the Thuringians in order to gain funds to finance the insurrection. Unfortunately, Henry and his army ravaged the Saxon and Thuringian countryside, bringing starvation. The Archbishop of Magdeburg eventually conceded and requested the terms the King would hold the rebels to. Henry demanded a short imprisonment for all the leaders, as well as confiscation of their fiefs and their redistrubution among loyal Imperial partisans. As harsh as the terms were, the complete victory Henry gained at Langensalza convinced them to accept. In a humiliating gesture, the rebel bishops, nobles and peasants walked barefoot between the ranks of the King's army and submitted to him. The King then convened a meeting of princes at Goslar on Christmas to determine the future of Saxony; he ended up freeing Otto of Nordheim and making him his viceroy to Saxony. Henry considered the Saxon question settled, but the Investiture conflict would quickly undo the peace. Between 780/82 AD and 1802 AD the Archbishop of Mainz, was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince of the middle ages. ...
View of Magdeburg with the cathedral, from the tower of the Johanniskirche Magdeburg, the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, lies on the Elbe river. ...
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