When I was looking at the consequences of William Adelin avoiding dying on the white ship in 1120, one of the things that came up was who Matilda would marry after her husband, Heinrich V, King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, died in 1125. As a result, I would like to ask, what would happen if Heinrich V had in fact survived and lived a long and healthy life? It seems that his death was probably as the result of cancer, so let's assume (for the sake of this thread) that he doesn't contract and die of cancer - either he's not genetically predisposed to cancer, or avoids carcinogens or just gets lucky, but other than that he's the same person. Oh, and unlike in the other thread, his brother-in-law William Adelin is dead as OTL.
When he died in our timeline, Heinrich V had no heir: if he had a son with Matilda this child died in infancy, but records of this child aren't the best; his brothers were all dead; as were his uncles. As a result the Salian dynasty died out and the throne was awarded to Lothair of Supplinburg, Duke of Saxony, after an election in which he beat Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (a Hohenstaufen), Heinrich V's nephew and chosen successor. Lothair III was chosen by the church as he was already 50 by the time of accession, and had no heir, so could be easily manipulated, and promised another chance to elect someone when he died. Notably this election was a move away from the dynastic system, which had existed since 1024, to the electoral succession that later defined the Holy Roman Empire, and also led to a civil war between the Hohenstaufens and the Welfs.
Heinrich V's reign was (I would say) on the whole positive. The Concordat of Worms, signed in 1122, brought an end to the antagonism that had existed between the Holy Roman Emperors and the Papacy, and slowly managed to return Germany to imperial control before his death.
Had he lived, what might the consequences have been? Assuming he had produced a viable heir with Matilda (and there's no reason to believe that Matilda couldn't have children, she was still young, and in our timeline went on to have 3 sons with Geoffrey of Anjou), it's reasonable that this hypothetical child would have inherited the thrones held by Heinrich V, namely those of Italy, Germany and Arles (Burgundy), which combined like a medieval Megazord to form the Holy Roman Empire. With the Salian dynasty surviving a little longer, Imperial power within Germany probably stays a little stronger, as Heinrich V was managing to get it together just as he died.
When Henry I of England dies in 1135, his daughter, Heinrich V's wife, is his named successor, but presumably the barons support the claim of Stephen of Blois over her. Would Heinrich V support his wife's claim to the throne of England, leading to an alternative anarchy? If Matilda beats Stephen of Blois, any son she and Heinrich V have stands to inherit the thrones of Italy, Germany, Arles and England, and would be one of the most powerful men in Europe (Henry VI of the Holy Roman Empire and II of England?), though it would seem that there might be problems with being King of the Germans and the English, with plenty of powerful land owners in both ready to exploit your weaknesses, so perhaps if she had more than one son the eldest would get Germany, and the second son England. Or perhaps England would have been added to the Holy Roman Empire as a fourth kingdom, though as I said, I think the distance involved would have prevented it from being workable for long.
Anyway, I hope that this interests some of you, looking forward to seeing some responses
When he died in our timeline, Heinrich V had no heir: if he had a son with Matilda this child died in infancy, but records of this child aren't the best; his brothers were all dead; as were his uncles. As a result the Salian dynasty died out and the throne was awarded to Lothair of Supplinburg, Duke of Saxony, after an election in which he beat Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (a Hohenstaufen), Heinrich V's nephew and chosen successor. Lothair III was chosen by the church as he was already 50 by the time of accession, and had no heir, so could be easily manipulated, and promised another chance to elect someone when he died. Notably this election was a move away from the dynastic system, which had existed since 1024, to the electoral succession that later defined the Holy Roman Empire, and also led to a civil war between the Hohenstaufens and the Welfs.
Heinrich V's reign was (I would say) on the whole positive. The Concordat of Worms, signed in 1122, brought an end to the antagonism that had existed between the Holy Roman Emperors and the Papacy, and slowly managed to return Germany to imperial control before his death.
Had he lived, what might the consequences have been? Assuming he had produced a viable heir with Matilda (and there's no reason to believe that Matilda couldn't have children, she was still young, and in our timeline went on to have 3 sons with Geoffrey of Anjou), it's reasonable that this hypothetical child would have inherited the thrones held by Heinrich V, namely those of Italy, Germany and Arles (Burgundy), which combined like a medieval Megazord to form the Holy Roman Empire. With the Salian dynasty surviving a little longer, Imperial power within Germany probably stays a little stronger, as Heinrich V was managing to get it together just as he died.
When Henry I of England dies in 1135, his daughter, Heinrich V's wife, is his named successor, but presumably the barons support the claim of Stephen of Blois over her. Would Heinrich V support his wife's claim to the throne of England, leading to an alternative anarchy? If Matilda beats Stephen of Blois, any son she and Heinrich V have stands to inherit the thrones of Italy, Germany, Arles and England, and would be one of the most powerful men in Europe (Henry VI of the Holy Roman Empire and II of England?), though it would seem that there might be problems with being King of the Germans and the English, with plenty of powerful land owners in both ready to exploit your weaknesses, so perhaps if she had more than one son the eldest would get Germany, and the second son England. Or perhaps England would have been added to the Holy Roman Empire as a fourth kingdom, though as I said, I think the distance involved would have prevented it from being workable for long.
Anyway, I hope that this interests some of you, looking forward to seeing some responses