The child, Henry IV., had already been crowned King of Germany, and his mother, the Empress Agnes, was chosen regent during his minority. The Bishop of Augsburg was her adviser, and her first acts were those of prudence and reconciliation. Peace was concluded with Godfrey of Lorraine and Baldwin of Flanders, minor troubles in the States were quieted, and the Empire enjoyed the promise of peace. But the Empress, who was a woman of a weak, yielding nature, was soon led to make appointments which created fresh troubles. The reigning princes used the opportunity to make themselves more independent, and their mutual jealousy and hostility increased in proportion as they became stronger. The nobles and people of Rome renewed their attempt to have a share in the choice of a Pope; and, although the appointment was finally left to the Empress, the Pope of her selection, Nicholas II., instead of being subservient to the interests of the German Empire, allied himself with the Normans and with the republican party in the cities of Lombardy. At home, the troubles of the Empress Agnes increased year by year. A conspiracy to murder the young Henry IV. was fortunately discovered; then a second, at the head of which was the Archbishop Hanno of Cologne, was formed to take him from his mother's care and give him into stronger hands. In 1062, when Henry IV. was twelve years old, Hanno visited the Empress at Kaiserswerth, on the Rhine. After a splendid banquet, he invited the young king to look at his vessel, which lay near the palace; but no sooner had the latter stepped upon the deck, than the conspirators seized their oars and pushed into the stream. Henry boldly sprang into the water; Count Ekbert of Brunswick sprang after him, and both, after nearly drowning in their struggle, were taken on board. The Empress stood on the shore, crying for help, and her people sought to intercept the vessel, but in vain: the plot was successful. A meeting of reigning princes, soon afterwards, appointed Archbishop Hanno guardian of the young king. He was a hard, stern master, and Henry IV. became his enemy for life. Within a year, Hanno was obliged to yield his place to Adalbert, Archbishop of Bremen, who was as much too indulgent as the former had been too rigid. The jealousy of the other priests and princes was now turned against Adalbert, and his position became so difficult that in 1065, when Henry IV. was only fifteen years old, he presented him to an Imperial Diet, held at Worms, and there invested him with the sword, the token of manhood. Thenceforth Henry reigned in his own name, although Adalbert's guardianship was not given up until a year later. Then he was driven away by a union of the other Bishops and the reigning princes, and his rival, Hanno, was forced, as chief counsellor, upon the angry and unwilling king. [Sidenote: 1066.]