Hildegard of Bingen experienced five Roman-German Kings and emperors: Amongst the last reigning Salians, Henry IV (1056-1106) and his son Henry V (1106-1125), the royalty found itself in the bitterly fought Investiture Controversy with the Papacy between 1176 and 1122. As a consequence, many religious offices were duplicated, which was considered a serious threat to the salvation of the people. The conflict was certainly a topic in Hildegard’s family, because its consequences were felt by all believers. During the reign of Lothar III (1125-1137), who followed the Salians to the throne, the King worked closer with the Popes again. During this time, Hildegard still lived a secluded life in the nun’s convent on the Disibodenberg, but certainly knew about what happened in the world. When Lothar died, Conrad III from the house of Staufen (1138-1152) secured himself the monarchy by some way of „revolt“. As a consequence of this, the conflict between the newly elected King and his former opponent for the crown, Henry the Proud, started off the long dispute between the houses of Staufen and Welf. Despite the unsecure situation in the Empire resulting from this conflict, Bernard of Clairvaux could persuade the King during his crusade sermon in Speyer in 1146 to take the cross and depart for the Holy Land. That this undertaking would fail could soon be seen when Conrad’s army suffered severe losses in Anatolia in 1147. Pope Eugenius III must have learned about this while being at a synod in Trier (1147(1148) requested by Henry I, the Archbishop of Mainz, , in order to deal with Hildegard’s visionary writings and to investigate them. Amongst Hildegard’s letters is also one by Conrad III who addressed the prophet seeking her advice and consolation as well as her support through prayer. It was at the time when Hildegard together with her nuns had managed their relocation to the monastery on the Rupertsberg and had been left by her friend and confidant Richardis of Stade when Conrad III died in 1152. His nephew Frederick, Duke of Swabia, who was called Barbarossa because of the colour of his beard, became his successor. Amongst the numerous letters of congratulation that Frederick I Barbarossa (1152-1190) received was also one from Hildegard. She – as well as many inhabitants of the Empire – hoped that Frederick, whose mother was from the house of Welf and father from the house of Staufen, would be able to unite both families. After first attempts to bring the situation in the Empire to order, he went to Rome in 1154 in order to be crowned as Emperor, which was executed by Pope Hadrian IV in summer of 1155. When the Emperor did not comply with the conditions agreed on with the Pope in the so called „Treaty of Constance“, both powers more and more alienated themselves from each other. In order to emphasize equality of the Empire compared to the Papacy and the Sancta Ecclesia, as of 1157 it was called Sacrum Imperium in official documents. After Hadrian IV died, the so called Alexandrian Schism (1159-1177) occurred in 1159. Due to an ambiguous election, Alexander III as well as Victor IV, who was loyal to the Emperor, considered themselves to be the legitimate Pope. In 1160, Frederick I intended to end the schism at the council of Pavia convened by himself. What probably would have been successful under Ottonian or Salian rulers, failed in 1160 due to the changed requirements of power. This was because the papacy had long before grown out of its inferior position – and the possibility to convene a council had already become disputable. When Victor died in 1164, the schism seemed to be over, but Rainald of Dassel, who as the Archbishop of Cologne was also Chancellor of Italy, made sure that it would continue with the election of Paschal III. For the reasons mentioned before, it was an unbearable situation for Hildegard, which made her write clear words to Barbarossa: „He Who Is say: By My own power, I do away with the obstinacy and rebellion of those who scorn Me. Woe, O woe to the evil of those wicked ones who spurn Me! Hear this, O King, if you wish to live. Otherwise, my sword will pierce you.“ Only in 1177, two years before Hildegard’s death, was the schism ended by the Treaty of Venice concluded between Emperor Barbarossa and Pope Alexander III.