Conrad II.

Conrad II., king of the Germans, and Roman emperor, was elected after the extinction of the Saxon imperial family in 1024. He was the son of Henry, Duke of Franconia, and is by many considered as the founder of the Franconian dynasty. Immediately after his election he commenced a tour through Germany to administer justice. In 1026 he crossed the Alps, chastised the rebellious Italians, was crowned at Milan as king of Italy, and he and his wife Gisela were anointed emperor and empress of the Romans by the pope. He was soon recalled to Germany to put down four formidable revolts, in which he succeeded so well that by 1033 peace was restored. In 1032 he had succeeded to the kingdom of Burgundy, which he annexed to the empire. In 1036 a rebellion in Italy again compelled him to cross the Alps; but his efforts to restore his authority were this time unsuccessful, and he was forced to grant various privileges to his Italian subjects. Shortly after his return he died at Utrecht, 4th June 1039. Conrad was one of the most remarkable of the earlier monarchs of Germany. He reduced the dangerous power of the great dukes of the empire, and defended the rights of the humbler people against oppression by the nobility.