Ep. 22 - Konrad II, Who Would Have Thought - Electing a most unlikely successor to Henry II

Published: July 8, 2021, 10:30 a.m.

On July 13th, 1024 Emperor Henry II died without an heir. not only that, but his family has so comprehensively died out, there is not a single descendant in the male line left. Fear of unrest and civil war grips the inhabitants of the empire. \n\nAn election is called for early September, as quickly as such things could be organised in the 11th century. The upper echelons of society debate a long list of candidates before agreeing on a shortlist of just two, both named Konrad, both from the same clan of Salian Franks. \n\nMedieval imperial elections have little in common with today's elections. there are no set rules about the electors, the purpose is not to determine the will of the people but to unveil the will of God. Decisions are unanimous, mainly because dissenters leave before the votes are cast.\n\nUltimately Konrad the elder (1024-1039) a giant of a man at 2m tall is elected. He appears in all and everything the opposite of his predecessor. But that may be just appearance...\n\nThe music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.\nHomepage with maps, photos and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com\nFacebook: @HOTGPod \nTwitter: @germanshistory\nInstagram: history_of_the_germans\nReddit: u/historyofthegermans\nPatroon: https://www.patreon.com/Historyofthegermans?fan_landing=true