The Salian century

"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 interpretive 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 who held influence over eleventh-century Germany."--BOOK JACKET.