Henry VII of Luxembourg

Henry VII of Luxembourg (1275-1313) was elected King of Germany towards the end of 1308, and crowned as Emperor by Pope Clement V in Milan in December 1310. Dante saw him as inspiring new hope, not only because of Henry’s stated wish to restore imperial power and peace in Italy, but also because his election appeared to stem from a balance between temporal and spiritual power. In a letter of autumn 1310, addressed to all of Italy’s nobles, Dante hailed the Emperor as a “new Moses” come to save his people from hatred and destruction (Epistle V).

Before long, however, Henry’s plans turned out to be yet another illusion. Immediately after his coronation, he was greeted with favour and homage paid both by the Guelfs and the Ghibellines, but strong opposition soon followed. The first city to rebel was Milan, followed by several cities of the Po Valley. In the control of the Black faction, Florence attempted to create anti-imperial alliances with the Pope, who by that time had moved to Avignon, and with Robert of Anjou, King of Naples. An indignant Dante sent a ferocious letter in March 1311 to the “villianous Florentines” (Epistle VI), which was followed in mid-April, by a letter to Henry himself suggesting that he concentrate solely on Florence, the root of all evils (Epistle VII). In September, fearful of the imperial army, the Commune of Florence decided to recall Florence’s exiles, issuing a general amnesty, which of course excluded Dante. The imperial troops engaged in combat on several occasions, but their advance came to an end when Henry died of malaria in Buonconvento near Siena, on 24 August 1313. As can be seen in Par., XXX, Dante even assigns a place in the Empyrean to Henry, the unsuccessful symbol of his political ideal.