Battle of Flarcheim was fought between Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and the German anti-king Rudolf of Swabia on January 27, 1080 near Flarchheim

Flarchheim

Flarchheim is a municipality in the Unstrut-Hainich district of Thuringia, Germany.Flarchheim was the site of the Battle of Flarchheim in January 1080, one of the very few times the Holy Roman Empire attempted to wage a midwinter military campaign in northern Europe....

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Prelude

Rudolf appeared to be vulnerable after losing the support of some of the Saxon princes. Henry decided to take advantage of this vulnerability and marched out against him in the winter of 1079-1080. Rudolf sought out Henry and met him at Flachheim between Eisenach

Eisenach

Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...

 and Mühlhausen

Mühlhausen

Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...

 in Thuringia

Thuringia

The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

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Battle

Rudolf had arrayed his army on a hill behind a stream. Rather than attack Rudolf and possibly get caught with his forces straddling the stream, Henry opted to march around the obstacle.

What happened in the gathering dark and the ensuing snowstorm is not certain. On one hand there are reports of the Saxons being attacked and driven off after duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia

Vratislaus II of Bohemia

-Literature:*Vratislav Vaníček: Vratislav II. . První český král. Vyšehrad 2004, ISBN 80-7021-655-7*Hans Patze: Die Pegauer Annalen, die Königserhebung Wratislaws v. Böhmen und die Anfänge der Stadt Pegau. JGMODtl 12, 1963, 1-62...

 cut down the Saxon standard during the snowstorm. On the other hand, Ekkehard of Aura

Ekkehard of Aura

Ekkehard of Aura was the Abbot of Aura from 1108...

 reports that Otto of Nordheim

Otto of Nordheim

Otto of Northeim was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon revolt against Emperor Henry IV....

 attacked and plundered Henry's camp before forcing the surrender of the Franconia

Franconia

Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...

ns and the Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

ns. Berthold (possibly Berthold of Ratisbon

Berthold of Ratisbon

Berthold of Ratisbon was a Franciscan of the monastery of Ratisbon and the most powerful preacher of repentance in the thirteenth century.-Biography:He was born about 1210. He was probably a member of a well-to-do middle class family of Ratisbon named Sachs...

) states that the armies became separated in the dark and that Rudolf was forced to withdraw to a neighboring village by the cold.

The next day Rudolf returned to the field, but Henry had withdrawn to Franconia and disbanded his army. It is not clear if Henry was defeated or simply withdrew in the face of more resistance than he expected.