CONRAD

n.

born 0441; 990

died June 4, 1039, Utrecht, Ger.

German king (1024–39) and emperor (1027–39), founder of the Salian (or Franconian) dynasty.

In 1016 he married a duchess to whom he was distantly related, and the emperor Henry II used the marriage as a pretext to have him exiled. The two men were later reconciled, and Conrad was crowned king of Germany in 1024. A rebellion of German nobles and princes of Lombardy collapsed (1025), and Conrad was made successively king of Italy (1026) and emperor (1027). He instituted legislative reforms, issuing a new set of feudal constitutions for Lombardy. His son Henry was elected king in 1028 and became his chief counselor. Conrad defeated Poland (1028), regaining lands lost earlier. He inherited Burgundy (1034) and resolved dissensions among the great princes in Italy (1038).