GERMANY. 
artlibiflioprics of Mentz and Cologne being two of the 
beft in our difpofal, we might liave filled our coffers by 
expofing them to tale, inftead of bellowing them gra- 
tuitoully upon perfons who have made fo unworthy a 
return for our benevolence. Alas! we begin to fink 
under the.accumulated weight of age and forrow, and 
but little of our mortal pilgrimage is left unperformed : 
fuffer that little to be concluded in peace, and feck not 
To terminate.our reign with raifery, by becoming parti- 
fans of thofe who, in defiance of gratitude and alle¬ 
giance, have lifted up their hands againll their lawtul 
Ibvereign.” 
As this pathetic addrefs produced no effe< 5 l on the 
minds of the unfeeling prelates, Henry put on his royal 
ornaments, and, feating himfelf in a chair ot Hate, re¬ 
newed his remonflrance to thiscffebl; “Here are the 
enfigns of that royalty with which we were invelled by 
God and the princes of the empire : if you difregard 
the wrath of heaven, and the eternal reproach of man¬ 
kind, fo much as to lay violent hands upon your fove- 
reign, and (trip us of them by force, we are not in a 
condition to defend ourl’elves from fuch an outrage.” 
This expolhilation had no more eft'ed't than the former 
upon the ecclefialtic deputies, who immediately fnatched 
the crown from Henry’s head, and, dragging him from 
liis feat, pulled off the imperial robes by force ; whilft 
lie lifted his hands to heaven, acknowdedging the fins of 
his youth, and imploring God to punifli the perjury and 
infolence of his enemies. Soon after this heart-rending 
occurrence, an all'embly of the princes obliged the old 
emperor to make a voluntary refignation of his autho¬ 
rity in favour of his unworthy fon. With this tad ne- 
cellity he complied ; and his fpirit was fo effeftually 
broken, that he threw himfelf at the feet of the pope’s 
legate, and earneftly befought him to abfolve him from 
the fentence of excommunication; but his requeff was 
refufed, on pretence that he could receive abfolution 
from no other than the fovereign pontiff himfelf. 
In contemplating the hard fate of this prince, who 
was hurled from the pinnacle of greatnefs to the lowefl: 
abyfs of mifery, diverted of his honours, deprived of 
fupport, abandoned by his friends, and eventually 
thrown into prifon by comirund of his Ion, we are na¬ 
turally led to fuppofe that his courage murt have been 
utterly extinguilhed, and his mind overwhelmed with 
defpair. This furmifisj however, is unfounded; for, 
after the firft excefs of his grief had fubfided, he found 
means to elude the vigilance of his keepers, and re¬ 
paired to the Low-countries, where he raifed^a conft- 
derable body of forces to attempt his rertoration, and 
wrote circular letters to all the princes in Chrirtendom, 
to intereft them in his misfortunes. He even wrote to 
the pope, ort'ering terms ot accommodation ; and he 
liad tJie latisfaCtion of feeing many of his fubjetts re¬ 
turn to their allegiance : but before any thing of im¬ 
portance could take place, he died at Liege, in the 
fitt)'-fixth year ot his age, and the forty-ninth of his 
reigti. His remains were interred in the cathedral with 
becoming folemnity ; but his unfeeling fon ordered them 
to be dug up and depofited in the chapel of Afron, 
where they remained five years unburied, on account of 
his dying under the fentence of excommunication. 
Upon an impartial review of the chequered life of 
Henry IV. it appears that he was endowed with great 
courage, and many other excellent qualities; and, if 
he had not excited the indignation of his liibjeifs by 
his youthful excefies, and inflamed the hatred of the 
Romans by an obliinate a.dJierence to the rights of his 
prerogative, he might have eclipfed the glory of all his 
anceftors. A peculiar air of dignity was rtamped upon 
his countenance ; his converfation was lively and inte- 
vefting ; he poifelfed a mild and merciful temper; and 
lie was fo extremely charitable, that he is faid to have 
entertained the fick, the lame, and the blind, at his own 
table, and even to have lodged fome of them in his own 
VoL. VJlIl. No, 
477 
apartments, that he might be at hand to minirter to 
tlveir necertities. From the twelftli year of his age, lie 
had been conrtantly engaged in the toils of vv'ur; he liad 
commanded in fixty pitched battles, and furv.ved many 
fecret attempts that were made upon his life. He fre¬ 
quently exprelfed a lively contrition for tlie enormities 
which had difgraced the commencement of his reign; 
and he met his death, A. D. 1197, with equal fortitude 
and refignation. 
Henry V. furnamed the Young, endeavoured to erta- 
blilh himfelf in the authority which he had fo balcly 
ufurped, by conciliating the elleem of ih.e eccleliaftics; 
but the natural haughtinel's of his temper foon induced 
him to change his condu6f, and a quarrel broke out be¬ 
tween him and pope Pafeal II. about tlie long-dilputed 
quertion of the invefiitures of bifiioprics, which threat¬ 
ened very ferious conl'equences. After an unfuccefslul 
invafion of Hungary, and a troublefome war with the 
Poles, the emperor croffed the Alps with an army ot 
eighty thoufimd men, and a great number of noblemen, 
in order to affert the rights of his crown in Italy, and 
to do himfelf jurtice either by negociation or force of 
arms. Having reduced fome cities which attempted to 
difpute his paffage, he lent a fplendid embalfy to Paf- 
chal, and foon afterwards concluded a treaty of peace 
at Sutri, to liis entire fatisfadtion. 
It appears, however, that the Roman pontiff was in- 
fincere in all his conceflions: for on the very day of the 
emperor’s entry into Rome, A. D. iiii, feveral perfons 
belonging to his train were grolsly infulied by the po¬ 
pulace ; the new treaty of peace was formally oppofed 
by the Italian prelates; and a fpirit of difarte£tion was 
pi edominant in the breaftsof the citizens. Exafperated 
at thefe indignities, Henry ordered his foldiers to feize 
the perfon of the pope, and petmitted them to infult 
the cardinals and bifhops without diftinition. The 
conful now put all the Romans under arms, and a battle 
was fought with equal fury aiid refoUuion. The citi¬ 
zens, however, were defeated with fuch (laughter, that 
the Tiber was rtained with- their blood ; the walls of 
the city were rafed in feveral places ; and the pope, 
after enduring an imprifonment, and witnelling the exe¬ 
cution of liis friends, was obliged to comply with all 
tlie demands of the conqueror, and to ratify the former 
accommodation. Upon the conclufion of this treaty, 
Henry was folemnly crowned at Rome ; and the pope, 
in token of perfect reconciliation, divided the hoil be¬ 
tween the emperor and himlelf. But, though Fafchal 
prelerved the exterior marks of friendfiiip, the court of 
Rome (till atted with its accultomed treachery ; and 
Henry had afterwards the mortification to hear that tlie 
new bull, relative to invefiitures, was publicly burnt, 
and himfelf excommunicated by the council of Late- 
ran, for having preiumed to revive the prerogative of 
his anceltors. Great difiurbances were now fomented 
between the courts of Rome and Germany, and an 
alarming confederacy was formed againlt the emperor: 
but, after feveral emba-fiies and negociations, a general 
council was convened at Rome, A.D. 1124, in which 
the long-contefted affair of invefiitures was fettled to 
the mutual laiisfadtion of all parties; and, in a fubfe- 
quent diet held at Worms, the pope’s legate adminif. 
tered the lacrament to Henry, as a token of perfect re¬ 
conciliation. 
Soon after this accommodation witli tlie Roman pon¬ 
tiff, Henry found himfelf engaged in a civil war, by the 
revolt of Holland; and, notwithfianding the general 
fuccefs of his arms, a Ipirit of (edition continued to 
fpread from town to town, and liis own life w'as expofed 
to the mofi imminent danger. Thefe misfortunes made 
a deep impreflion on Ids fpirits, and tire (uppofed to 
have hafiened his death, which happened at Utrecht, 
in the forty-fifth year of his age, and the nineteenth of 
his reign, A.D. 112^. In him became extinCt the 
male line of the Franponian emperors. Henry V. pol- 
^ F (clied 
