Henry IV (November 11 1050 - August 7 1106) was King of Germany from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084, until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the eleventh century. His reign was marked by the Investiture Controversy with the Papacy and several civil wars with pretenders to his throne in Italy and Germany.

Conrad II (c. 990-June 4, 1039) was the son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelheid of Alsace, who inherited the titles the Salian Count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty. From his power base in Worms and Speyer as he matured he came to be well known by many noblemen in The Germanies, and when the Saxon line died off and the elected monarchy for the Eastern German realm was up for grabs, …

Henry V (11 August 1086 - 23 May 1125) was King of Germany (from 1099) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111), the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor. By the settlement of the Concordat of Worms, he surrendered to the demands of the second generation of Gregorian reformers.

Henry III (29 October 1017 - 5 October 1056, German: Heinrich III), called the Black or the Pious, was a member of the Salian Dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. He was the eldest son of Conrad II of Germany and Gisela of Swabia and his father made him duke of Bavaria (as Henry VI) in 1026, after the death of Duke Henry V. Then, on Easter Day 1028, his father having been crowned Holy Roman Emperor, …

The Hohenstaufen (or the Staufer(s)) were a dynasty of Germanic Kings (1138-1254), many of whom were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Dukes of Swabia. In 1194 the Hohenstaufen became also Kings of Sicily. The proper name, taken from their castle in Swabia, is Staufen. Therefore the dynasty is sometimes also called Swabian dynasty after the family's origin.

Gisela of Swabia (November 11, 995-February 14, 1043) was the daughter of Herman II of Swabia and Gerberga of Burgundy. She first married Ernest I and became regent for their son Ernest II after his death in 1015. She was then removed from the regency on grounds of her being too closely related to her late husband. Her second marriage was to Bruno of Braunschweig, who died soon after.

Agnes of Poitou or Empress Agnes (c. 1025-December 14, 1077) was regent of the Holy Roman Empire from 1056 to 1062.

Pope Leo IX (June 21, 1002 - April 19, 1054), born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg, was Pope from February 12, 1049 to his death. He is regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with the feast day of April 19.

Gunhilda of Denmark (c. 1020 - 18 July, 1038) was the first wife of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor.

Agnes of Germany (1072 - September 24, 1143), was the daughter of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Bertha of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Otto, Count of Savoy, Aosta and Moriana and Adelaide, Marchioness of Turin and Susa. Agnes married firstly, in 1089, Frederick I, Duke of Swabia. They had several sons and daughters, amongst whom were Frederick II of Swabia (1090 - 1147) (the father of Frederick Barbarossa) and Conrad III of Germany (1093 - 1152).

Eupraxia of Kiev (1071- 20 July, 1109) was the daughter of Vsevolod I, Prince of Kiev and second wife of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. She was the sister of Vladimir Monomakh. Eupraxia was first married to Henry the Long, Markgraf of Nordmark. They had no children before his death in 1087. Eupraxia went to live in the convent of Quedlinburg, where she met Henry, who was then the Saxon king.

Bertha of Savoy, also called Bertha of Turin (21 September 1051 - 27 December 1087 in Mainz) was the first wife of Emperor Henry IV, and was German Queen and Holy Roman Empress. She is buried in the cathedral of Speyer. She was a daughter of Otto of Savoy and Adelaide of Susa. Her maternal grandparents were Ulric Manfred II of Turin and Bertha of the Obertenghi As children, during the lifetime of Emperor Henry III, …

Empress Matilda (February 1101 - September 10, 1167; Saxon form Maud or Maude), also called Matilda, Countess of Anjou or Matilda, Lady of the English, was the daughter and dispossessed heir of King Henry I of England. She was married to Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, and then to Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, by whom she became the mother of Henry II of England.

Otto (died 4 November 1004), called Otto of Worms, was duke of Carinthia from 978 to 985 and again from 1002 until his death. The only son of Conrad the Red, Duke of Lotharingia and Luitgarde, daughter of Otto and Edith. Otto I was appointed duke of Carinthia and margrave of Verona when Henry I, Duke of Carinthia, had unsuccessfully rebelled against the king during the War of the Three Henries and was deposed.

Bruno (died 26 May 1045) was prince-bishop of Würzburg from 1034 until his death. He was the son of Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia, and served as counselor to his relative, Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor. Bruno was not formally canonized by the Roman Catholic Church, but is revered as a saint. His feast day is May 27.

Aribert or Heribert (Italian "Ariberto da Intimiano") (died 16 January 1045, Monza) was the archbishop of Milan from 1018, a quarrelsome warrior-bishop in an age in which such was not uncommon. Aribert went to Konstanz in June 1025, with other bishops of northern Italy, to pay homage to Conrad II of Germany, the beleaguered founder of the Salian dynasty. There, in exchange for privileges, he agreed to crown Conrad with the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

Constanze of Sicily (d. 1138) was the Queen consort of Conrad II of Italy.

Judith of Swabia was the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III and Agnes de Poitou. She was first married to Solomon of Hungary and then to Ladislaus I Herman, duke of Poland, the father of Boleslaw III of Poland. When she married she changed her name to Sophia von Hungary.

Conrad I (c.975 - 12 or 15 December 1011), of the Salian Dynasty, was the duke of Carinthia from 1004. He was the third son Duke Otto I and thus brother of both Henry of Speyer, father of the Emperor Conrad II, and Bruno, who was pope as Gregory V. He outlived both those elder brothers and his father. Along with his father, he was a candidate in the royal German election of 1002. In that year or thereabouts, Conrad married Matilda (c.988 - 29 July 1031 or 1032), …

Conrad II (probably 1003-20 July 1039), called the Younger, was the Salian duke of Carinthia from 1035. His father, Conrad I died in 1011 when he was a minor. Adalbero of Eppenstein was given the duchy of Carinthia. Instead Conrad became count in Nahegau, Speyergau, and Wormsgau. In 1024, as his father and grandfather in 1002, Conrad was a candidate for the German kingship after the death of the Emperor Henry II. It was his cousin, another Conrad II, …

Cunigunde of Swabia (born c.880) was the wife and Queen of Conrad, King of East Francia. She was a member of the Ahalolfinger Dynasty. Very little is known of her. She was the daughter of Berthold I, Count Palatine of Swabia, and of Gisela. Her maternal grandparents were Louis the German and Hemma. Her brother was Erchanger, Duke of Swabia. She married first Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria. Her sons by him were Arnulf the Bad, Duke of Bavaria, and Eberhard, Duke of Bavaria.

Conrad III (1093 - 15 February 1152) was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV. Conrad was appointed Duke of Franconia by his uncle, Henry V, in 1115. One year later he acted as regent for Germany, together with his elder brother, Frederick II of Swabia. At the death of Henry (1125), Conrad unsuccessfully supported Frederick for the kingship of Germany.

Egbert I (German: "Ekbert"; died 11 January 1068) was the Margrave of Meissen from 1067 until his early death the next year. Egbert was the Count of Brunswick from about 1038, when his father, Liudolf, Margrave of Frisia, died. His mother was Gertrude, the sister of Pope Leo IX. Egbert was the scion of the influential Eastphalian family of the Brunonen.

Gregory V, né "Bruno", Pope from May 3, 996 to February 18, 999, son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, who was a grandson of the Emperor Otto I the Great (936-973). Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV (985-996), when only twenty-four years of age. He was the chaplain of his cousin, Emperor Otto III (983-1002), who presented him as candidate. Gregory V was the first German Pope.

Adalbero of Eppenstein (980 - November 29 1039) was Duke of Carinthia from 1011 or 1012. He succeeded the Salian Conrad I. After political altercations with the Salians and an unsuccessful rebellion against the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, Adalbero was forced to renounce all his offices and fiefdoms, but Egilbert, Bishop of Freising, a councillor to Conrad's son Henry, advised the princes of Germany and Henry himself, who had been elected king, …

Conrad II (12 February 1074 - 27 July 1101) was the second son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. As such, he was King of Germany from 1087 to 1098 and also King of Italy from 1093 to 1098. Conrad was born in Hersfeld Abbey in 1074 to Henry and Bertha of Savoy. His elder brother Henry had been born and died in August 1071. As his father's heir, he was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine and Margrave of Turin in 1076, at the age of two.

Conrad the Red (German: "Konrad der Rote"; died 10 August 955) was the Duke of Lorraine and Franconia. He was the son of Werner, Count of the Nahegau, Speyergau, and Wormsgau. His mother was a sister of Conrad I of Germany. In 941, he succeeded his father in his counties and obtained an additional territory, the Niddagau. In 944 or 945, he was also invested with Lorraine by King Otto I. In 947, he married Liutgard, daughter of Otto and Edith, …