11) From Conrad II to Henry III, 1024-56

Henry II failed to produce an heir, and there are many theories as to why this is. But whatever the reason, there was once again no heir following a king's death. The ruling classes seemed to be especially dismayed over this as this was the second time running that the throne had been left without an heir. In the space of 6 weeks, an assembly had been convened at Kamba on the Rhine. It was here than Conrad II, formerly known as Conrad the Elder, was elected king. He marked the beginning of the Salians and the end of the Ottonians.

Conrad was descended from the famous warrior, Conrad the Red whose exploits at the Battle of Lech were much celebrated. So, Conrad had an outstanding lineage.

The Salians were also distinguished by their success in applying new ideas about lordship coming from West Frankia to the development of their family's position. This was a development towards a more aggressive approach to lordship involving the consolidation of lands and judicial rights so they were geographically contiguous and they had overlapping claims to jurisdiction within these territories. It was also a development towards the subjection of the peasantry to the arbitrary use of force so they would be intimidated into surrendering their lands, themselves and their descendants to their lord's control.

A new sort of fortress was a symbol of this new style of lordship. They were small but strong castles made of stone and garrisoned with small forces of mounted warriors. Historians used to argue that their intention was to intimidate the peasantry into accepting demands for additional services and arbitrary taxation. Most now dispute this view, but the castles certainly did prevent lands and rights being usurped by rival lords. They started appearing in the late 10th and early 11th centuries, used by lords in the 10th but becoming more widespread in the 11th.

A key difference between east and west Frankia though was that lords in the east favoured the use of military retainers of servile rather than free or noble status, known as ministerials. These men were often treated well, but were tied to their lord's service and couldn't legally depart from it. They were used to administer and protect estates and to fulfill military obligations. When not on campaign, the lords could also use them to dominate their peasants and neighbours.

The Salians had made use of these methods to consolidate their lands and rights in their native region. Their counties had been held by the leaders of the family since Conrad the Red's father, Count Werner. The Salians' efforts to enhance their dominance of the region threatened Bishop Burchard of Worms who appealed to Henry II for help. The leading males of the family all held the land in succession.

They later promoted the economic development of their region by allowing the establishment of small communities of Jews whose money-lending lubricated local commerce. This Jewish money-lending allowed capital to be available to lords, and the money-lenders  had capital available to them from elsewhere too. The money-lenders were also charged by the kingdom for providing them with military protection, which further increased the influx of money.

The Salian's success and evident commitment to the survival of the family clearly played a part in the magnates' decision to elect Conrad II.

In many areas, there's little hint that the change of dynasty resulted in a significant shift in the character of royal government. In their ruler portraits, the Salians deployed the same sorts of Christocentric and imperial imagery as the later Ottonians. They also had to deal with multiple border wars, and so it seems there was much continuity from the previous regime.

Another sign of continuity can be seen in the way the Salians re-modelled the Reichskrone. The full extent of the work is unclear as there is uncertainty as to when the panels were produced.

There is significant change, however, in the nature of the architectural projects sponsored by the king in this period. The Ottonians had family monasteries but were also quite individualistic in their sponsorship of religious projects with each ruler investing in his own great church or religious centre. They had a preference for their own ecclesiastical projects devoting their money to their own monastery in which they would be buried. Their individual burial churches were endowed significantly for the bishops to pray for their soul following their death.

The Salians were far more focused. Each generation invested heavily in the erection of a single great church, the cathedral at Speyer. It was begun by Conrad II and enhanced by each member of the family in succession. The church was treated as a mausoleum for the whole family, despite being a cathedral serving a diocese. The ruling family maintained a powerful commitment to this dynastic church across each successive generation. They seemed to be committed to enhancing their own reputation in this world.

The Salians were drawn to east Saxony for 2 crucial factors:

• Silver was discovered at Goslar in 968 with more mines being opened up in the 11th century. Henry III turned the royal manor here into a major palace for the purpose of asserting his claim to this important new source of wealth. This discovery of silver was very important to the development of Europe.
• There was also the possibility of recouping significant lands in this region for the 'royal fisc'. Some of these lands had been granted out as grants half way between 'benefices' or fiefs and as allods. The nature of the expected service wasn't defined, but ultimate ownership lay with the king. They tried to make the most of this recouperated land and so re-granted them on terms that strengthened their hold on them. They tried to retain the best of these lands for themselves to expand the royal demesne in south-eastern Saxony.

Henry III could have also have been concerned wth Saxony because he had been established as the direct ruler of the southern duchies and the kingdom of Burgundy before he became king, and so he needed to assert his authority in the north.

The Salians also began to build a network of castles in south-eastern Saxony that were different in character to the fortresses that the Liudolfings built to defend the area from the Slavs and Magyars. They were built in stone, were in high and elevated areas, and were garrisoned with warriors of servile origin recruited from outside the region, mainly from the Rhineland and Suabia. The ministerials based in these castles were used to enforce the Salians' efforts to recoup and consolidate the Ottonians' rights and lands in south-eastern Saxony. These were bound to cause conflict though with the efforts of Saxon aristocrats to build up their own lands and power.

The Salians' policies, especially those pursued in Saxony, were bound to cause conflict with the aristocracy. They believed the king was behaving more like a competitor than a fair arbitrator of their disputes. He wasn't delegating control of his castles to local men, but using them to undermine their power and rights. He was creating new offices and filling them with foreign ministerials of servile status rather than members of the local nobility.