He was small and insignificant before the glory of his father. His father, who shared his name, had been far more successful than him in the affairs of the Empire. Under his rule, almost no one had dared to challenge his authority in the Empire—not even the so-called Pope of Rome.
He had personally deposed three Popes and installed four. He was the Lord's undisputed Governor on earth.
The memory of his sister, Mechthild, who had died at thirteen in an unnaturally early marriage, was always filled with regret and bitterness.
As he traveled to Canossa for an audience with that venomous Pope, that grasping charlatan, he decided to bring them with him.
He planned to ask the Pope to hold a mass for them, allowing them to be reburied in Rome.
'Such groveling would surely please the detestable Hilbrand.'
Moreover, the dire situation in the northern Empire made him anxious about leaving them there.
