Henry V crowned Holy Roman Emperor
April 13, 1111
After kidnapping Pope Paschal II and extracting an agreement at swordpoint in St. Peter's, Henry received the imperial crown from a pope whose fingers still trembled. The coerced settlement collapsed within weeks and plunged Germany back into civil war. The spectacle of a pope held hostage in his own basilica horrified Christendom and hardened the reformist clergy's determination to free the church from imperial interference once and for all.
In context
Also in 1111 (3 other events on record)
- Death of al-Ghazali · Middle East · Religion
- Su Song's astronomical clock at Kaifeng · East Asia · Technology
- Ananda Temple completed at Pagan · Southeast Asia · Culture
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.