The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition (The Middle Ages Series) [Hardcover]

Stefan Weinfurter (Author), Barbara M. Bowlus (Translator)

Book Description

Series: The Middle Ages Series | Publication Date: September 3, 1999

Historical scholarship often has overlooked the sheer energy that the Salian rulers devoted to shaping and solidifying their kingship. Indeed, changes in the German realm during the Salian era, 1024-1125, affected German history for centuries to come. This dynasty began relying on a new class of royal officials to consolidate its power, gained and lost dominance over the papacy, and stubbornly insisted on its imperial prerogatives even as it was clashing with changing social and spiritual values. In his interpretative study, the German historian Stefan Weinfurter takes a fresh look at the lives and ambitions of the Salian emperors and closely examines their interaction with the princes, bishops, and popes held influence over eleventh-century Germany.

Drawing richly upon primary sources and modern political and socioeconomic analysis, Weinfurter addresses such topics as Henry III's intervention in Rome in 1046 and the Saxon uprising of 1073. He discusses the significance of the building of Speyer cathedral, at one time the largest church in Europe, as a representation of regal power. And he persuasively argues against the prevailing view that the confrontation between Henry IV and Pope Gregory, known as the Investiture Conflict, played the defining role in the decline of the Salian dynasty.

Generously illustrated with maps and figures, The Salian Century provides a splendidly accessible overview of the fundamental transformations that occurred in the German kingdom and German society in the course of the eleventh century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An important interpretation of a major epoch in German history."--John Freed, Illinois State University

"The Salian Century offers the best current interpretation of the German monarchy during the critical period of its development (1024-1125)."--John Van Engen, University of Notre Dame

"Learned and highly original."--Choice

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press (September 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812235088
• ISBN-13: 978-0812235081
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fundamental synthesis of medieval German history, June 7, 2000

By 

Steven D. Fletcher (Sioux Falls, SD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition (The Middle Ages Series) (Hardcover)

The Salian 's century of rule (1024-1125) witnessed events of paramount importance for the history of medieval Germany. Weinfurter's account of these developments, primarily political and institutional, is always enlightening and occasionally brilliant, particularly in the use of art and architecture to supplement the literary evidence, but not always convincing. Two parallel, competing themes can be traced: the growth of royal power and prestige under the Salian kings on the one hand, opposed by the growing importance and self-assertiveness of the German nobility on the other. The growth of royal power under the Salians is best seen in Weinfurter's account of the reign of Conrad II, the first Salian king. The author demonstrates that the Salian's territorially based lordship and dynastic self-consciousness, combined with the newly evolving concept of transpersonal kingship, aided the new royal family's consolidation of power. Less certain, however, is whether these developments are the novel departure that the author contends they are. Indeed, the evidence presented also supports the argument that Conrad ruled in a manner entirely in keeping with that of his predecessor, albeit one that was more systematic and intensive -precisely what one would expect of a newly established royal family in need of legitimization. The Salian's authority peaked during the reign of Conrad's son, Henry III, only to be followed by a reversal of fortune during the reigns of his grandson and great-grandson, Henry IV and Henry V. This decline of royal authority in the face of the growing confidence and self-assertiveness of the secular and ecclesiastical nobility is the book's other central theme. Although Weinfurter never argues it explicitly, one cannot help but to be struck by the notion that the Salians, so successful in imposing their ideas of dynastic, territorially based, institutionalized lordship upon the German nobility, had those ideas used against them in the noble reaction that followed. This in turn resulted in the rise of the territorial princes, political and juridical decentralization, and the eclipsing of royal power. The very things that made the Salians so successful proved their undoing. The translation of this substantial work is a welcome addition to the literature on this crucial period in German history.