Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor (1273-24 August 1313) was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 29 June 1312 to 24 August 1313, succeeding Conrad IV of Germany and preceding Louis IV of Germany.
Biography[]
Henry was born in 1273 in Valenciennes, France, son of Count Henri VI of Luxembourg and Beatrice d'Avesnes. Henry was raised at the court of the Kingdom of France, and he ruled over French-speaking parts of the Holy Roman Empire such as Luxembourg. On 5 June 1288, he succeeded his father as County of Luxembourg, and he decided to become a vassal of King Philip IV of France to protect his weak fiefdom. After the assassination of Albert I of Germany on 1 May 1308, a succession crisis began as King Philip sought to appoint his brother Charles of Valois as the new "King of the Romans", but the plotting Henry secured his own nomination to the throne in 1308, becoming King of Germany. In 1310, he entered Italy and was crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy on 6 January 1311, and he fought against the Guelphs of Brescia, Bologna, Lucca, Siena, and Florence, and he allied with Frederick III of Sicily to put pressure on King Robert of Naples. Henry died of malaria at Buonconvento while besieging Siena, and he was succeeded as Count of Luxembourg by the future John of Bohemia and as Emperor by Louis IV of Germany.