Election as King of the Romans Born probably between 1275 or 1278/79 in
Valenciennes, he was a son of Count
Henry VI of Luxembourg and
Béatrice from the
House of Avesnes. Raised at the French court, he was the lord of comparatively small properties in a peripheral and predominantly French-speaking part of the
Holy Roman Empire. It was symptomatic of the empire's weakness that during his rule as the
Count of Luxembourg, he agreed to become a French vassal, seeking the protection of King
Philip the Fair of France. During his rule of
Luxembourg, he ruled effectively, especially in keeping the peace in local feudal disputes. Philip thought he had the backing of the French
Pope Clement V (
established at Avignon), and that his prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the hope of bribing the German electors. The principal rival to Charles appeared to be
Rudolf, the
Count Palatine. Given his background, although he was a vassal of Philip the Fair, the great territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor for decades, and who were unhappy with both Charles and Rudolf. Henry's brother,
Baldwin, Archbishop of Trier, won over a number of the electors, including the Archbishop of Cologne, in exchange for some substantial concessions. He agreed to crown Henry emperor at
Candlemas 1312 personally, the title having been vacant since the death of
Frederick II. Henry in exchange, swore an oath of protection to the Pope, As emperor, Henry had planned to restore the glory of the
Holy Roman Empire, but he did not reckon on the bitterly divided state that Italy had now become. Nevertheless, he insisted that the current rulers in all of the Italian city-states had usurped their powers. He insisted that the towns should come under the immediate control of the Empire, and that their exiles should be recalled. He eventually forced the cities to comply with his demands, and the despots had to surrender their keys. Although Henry rewarded their submission with titles and fiefs, it did cause a great deal of resentment that only grew over time. Henry proceeded to
Milan, where he was crowned
King of Italy with the
Iron Crown of Lombardy on 6 January 1311. He also imposed his brother-in-law,
Amadeus of Savoy, as the vicar-general in Lombardy. caused the Guelph cities to turn against Henry, and he encountered further resistance when he sought to enforce imperial claims on what had become communal lands and rights, and attempted to replace communal regulations with imperial laws. had fled from Milan, Also while in Genoa he discovered that King Robert of Naples had decided to oppose the spread of imperial power in the Italian peninsula, and resumed his traditional position as head of the Guelph parties, as Florence, Lucca, Siena and
Perugia all declared their support for Robert. With Florence's encouragement, much of
Lombardy flared into open rebellion against Henry, with uprisings throughout December 1311 and January 1312,
Wars against Florence and Robert of Naples Rome was in a state of confusion as Henry approached the city walls. The
Orsini family had adopted the cause of Robert of Naples, while the
Colonna family threw their weight behind Henry. who had decided, with help from the Florentines The imperial party was fired upon by hostile crossbowmen in the Lateran’s banqueting hall shortly after the coronation. Robert of Naples, in the meantime, had made increasing demands upon Henry, including Henry making Robert's son the Imperial vicar of Tuscany, and that Henry had to depart Rome within four days of his coronation. as a rebel vassal. Meanwhile, at
Carpentras near
Avignon, Clement was unwilling to fully support Henry, since Robert, of a cadet line of the French, was the representative of French power in Italy, and Clement was far from independent of French policies, as well as considerations about encirclement by Henry should he successfully defeat Robert. So began the siege of Florence, Henry possessing some 15,000 infantrymen and 2,000 cavalry, up against a combined Florentine strength of 64,000 defenders. he began his long delayed campaign against Robert of Naples on 8 August 1313. ==Legacy==