In the midst of these scenes of ambition, intrigue and violence, the Emperor Henry fell sick and died, in the fifty-second year of his age.

This unexpected event opened again to Frederic the prospect of the imperial crown, and all his friends, in the now very numerous branches of the family, spared neither money nor the arts of diplomacy in the endeavor to secure the coveted dignity for him.

A year elapsed after the death of Henry before the diet was assembled.

During that time all the German States were in intense agitation canvassing the claims of the several candidates.

The prize of an imperial crown was one which many grasped at, and every little court was agitated by the question.