Henry III, called the Black or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia.
Monogram of Henry III
Henry III established the Salian Kaiserpfalz (imperial residence) and spiritual center at Goslar, that includes the emperor's palace, the collegiate church of St. Simon and St. Jude, the palace chapel of St. Ulrich and the Church of Our Lady
Conrad II and his wife Gisela kneel in front of the Majestas Domini, Codex Aureus Escorialensis, around 1045/46, Madrid, Biblioteca del monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial
Gisela of Swabia
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Gisela of Swabia, was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II. She was the mother of Emperor Henry III. She was regent of Swabia for her minor son Duke Ernest II of Swabia in 1015, although it seems at that time her husband Conrad was the one who held the reins of government, leading to the enmity between stepfather and stepson.
Hair of Conrad and Gisela, preserved in the Speyer Cathedral. The strand of blond hair belongs to Gisela.
Gisela's epitaph in Speyer Cathedral
Conrad II brought back the corpse of their son Herman to Gisela (Conrad II. bringt seiner Frau Gisela die Leiche ihres Sohnes Hermann zurück, Wilhelm Zimmermann's Illustrirte geschichte des deutschen volkes, 1875)