Battle of Hohenmölsen
| date | October 15, 1080 |
|---|---|
| place | near Hohenmölsen on the White Elster |
| output | military victory for Rudolf, political victory for Henry IV. |
The battle of Hohenmölsen was the third and ultimately decisive military clash in the dispute between King Heinrich IV and the rival king Rudolf von Rheinfelden . It took place on Thursday, October 15, 1080 , near Hohenmölsen on the White Elster , and has therefore also become known as the Battle of the White Elster . Although not militarily victorious, Heinrich was able to end the conflict in his favor with this battle, as Rudolf was fatally wounded in the battle.
prehistory
In February 1076 had Pope Gregory VII. The excommunication on King Henry IV issued., The prince on the Assembly to Trebur followed in October the decision that Henry was deposed if he does not solve this spell within a year. The trip to Canossa in January 1077 brought the desired result, but did not prevent Heinrich's opponent from electing Rudolf von Rheinfelden as king on March 15 and having him anointed on March 26. In June Heinrich imposed an imperial ban on his opponent and began to campaign against him. After the two previous battles ( Battle of Mellrichstadt on August 7, 1078 and Battle of Flarchheim on January 27, 1080, both of which Rudolf had won), the opponents met again on October 15, 1080 near Hohenmölsen .
The course of the battle
Heinrich had marched from Hesse via Thuringia towards Saxony in order to unite with the contingents of the Margrave of Meissen and, above all, the Duke Vratislav of Bohemia . While he was marching in the direction of Erfurt , he had some horsemen carry out a mock attack on Goslar and thus directed the main Saxon force there. In the meantime he set fire to Erfurt and moved on towards Naumburg , until Rudolf's armed forces advancing from Goslar caught up with him near the White Elster and put him to battle near Hohenmölsen.
Heinrich took up position behind the Grunau swamp , which riders could only pass through in a few places. Rudolf decided to attack before the influx from Meissen and Bohemia strengthened the king even more. To this end, he began a slow cavalry battle at the few crossing points, while under the leadership of Otto von Northeim some of the knights dismounted, crossed the swamp, got into the rear of the royal army, conquered the camp of Henry IV and finally attacked his army from behind. This back attack decided the battle in Rudolf's favor. Henry IV fled the battlefield to the south, where Duke Vratislav II saved him and brought him to safety in Bohemia.
Rudolf von Rheinfelden, however, was fatally wounded during the battle. One of the knights of Henry IV, whose name has not been passed down despite his important deed, cut off the opposing king's right hand and stabbed him in the abdomen with a sword. Rudolf died of these injuries a day later and was laid out in Merseburg Cathedral and buried there. The severed hand was kept in the cathedral, as it was hoped that it could later become a relic . Nowadays the hand is in the exhibition of the Dom-Museum. The severed hand was examined and found that there was evidence that it was severed after death.
The consequences
Henry IV. Reacted to the news of Rudolf's death by collecting the remains of his army and the castles in which Rudolph's soldiers had entrenched themselves, Teuchern , Hohenmölsen, Grunau and Pegau , besieged , conquered and burned. In addition, he used Rudolf's death, especially the chopping off of his right hand, the hand of the oath , as a propagandistic judgment of God , with which he could further weaken the opposition to the nobility.
Three years later, in 1083, Heinrich stormed Rome , in 1084 he moved into the city himself, where he was crowned emperor on March 31st .
swell
- Sources on the history of Emperor Heinrich IV . (Selected sources on the German history of the Middle Ages. Freiherr vom Stein-Gedächtnisausgabe, Vol. 12). Scientific book club, Darmstadt 1968. Contains u. a .: Bruno von Merseburg: Brunonis Saxonicum bellum. Brunos Sachsenkrieg (translated by Franz-Josef Schmale , pp. 191–405, on Hohenmölsen in particular pp. 387–395) and Carmen de bello saxonico . The song from the Saxon war (translated by Franz-Josef Schmale, pp. 142–189).
Individual evidence
- ↑ See TV report " The Germans " Part 2: Heinrich and the Pope.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 10 ′ 1 ″ N , 12 ° 9 ′ 8 ″ E