The Holy Emperor Henry "the First" As One of the Dragon's Heads of Apocalypse: On the Image of the Roman Empire under German Rule in the Tradition of Joachim of Fiore

“The Holy Emperor Henry "the First" As One of the Dragon's Heads of Apocalypse: On the Image of the Roman Empire under German Rule in the Tradition of Joachim of Fiore." The article reflects on the Strange fact that the holy emperor Henry "the First" figures as one of the seven heads of the apocalyptic dragon in the work of the Calabrian abbot Joachim of Fiore. The author tries to show what meaning this representation has in Joachim's thinking concerning Henry as a person and the Roman-German Empire as an institution. In a second step, the tradition originating with Joachim- Petrus Johannis Olivi, Jean de Roquetaillade, and pseudo-joachimist writings- is surveyed with respect to the use of the dragon's head motive. In addition to the function of this theme within Joachim's historico-eschatological concept, one can point out as a main result the interrelationship between the actual political role of the Empire and the importance an author gave to that theme.