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In 1024 the German tribal families elect the Earl of the Worms district, from the Salian family, Konrad II to become German ruler and with the death of his great-grandson, Emperor Henry V, buried in Speyer cathedral in 1125, the male line of a hundred years’ rule of kings and emperors finally dies out.
The Salian rule forms the high-point of the power of the German medieval emperors and at the same time it is the historical turning-point for the formation of other powers which from now on decide the historical development of Europe.
Whereas still in 1046 at the Sutri Synod near Rome, Emperor Henry III, as the undisputed ruler, dismisses popes and names new ones, in 1077 his son Henry IV is forced, with the pilgrimage to Canossa, to accept pope and church as as an independent entity.
At the Worms Concordat in 1122 Henry V is forced by law to accept this new reality. In connection with the freeing of the church from worldly rule is the concern for lasting reform which is shown by a turning-away from politics to more emphasis on spiritual and charitable work.
 Originally loyal followers of their ruler, the Dukes of the kingdom with their vast land possessions gradually develop into political, independent powers which in 1125 are so strong that they elect one of their own instead of a Salian successor.
In opposition are the new social groups with political power, who are supported by the current rulers: citizens and servants of the towns – the forerunners of a new officialdom.
Ursprünglich treue Gefolgsleute des Herrschers, entwickeln sich die Herzöge des Reiches - gestützt auf ihre landschaftsbezogene Macht - zusehens zu politisch eigenständigen Kräften, die dann 1125 so erstarkt sind, dass sie einen aus ihrer Mitte an Stelle des salischen Erben zum König erheben. Demgegenüber entstehen als neue soziale Gruppen mit politischer Kraft, die beim Reichsinhaber Rückhalt finden, Bürger der Städte und Dienstleute - Vorläufer einer Beamtenschaft.
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