When the Saxon line died out in 1024, for the following 100 years kings were chosen from the Salian line, a Frankish tribe related to the Saxons. It was the kings from this line that ruled during the height of the Empire. Four kings ruled during the Salian Dynasty.

The first, Conrad II, was an astute and ruthless ruler, who began the development of a permanent administrative system based on a class of public officials made up of lesser nobles and lower class men that answered directly to the crown. This allowed him to assert royal authority over the rebellious princes once more.

As the first truly undisputed king of Germany, Henry III, the Black introduced the Truce of God to civil war-striken Germany. This truce granted respite from war between Wednesday nights through to Monday mornings and in this way the king had hopes of accomplishing permanent peace in the land.

056 was the year in which Henry IV, still a child, inherited the throne. Once grown up this opportunistic king set out to regain lost imperial power and land, stirring the enmity of the Saxons who strongly disliked the Salians. Continuing to confiscate land, he subdued and important Saxon rebellion in 1075.

Until this point in time, the Salian line had been so successful due to the alliance they had held with the church, which provided the support required to face the rebellious princes. However these bonds with the church began to break down when in 1075, what was known as the Investiture Contest took place. The militant reformist pope, Gregory VII wished to free the church from its ties with the monarchy and demanded that Henry IV renounce his rights over the German church. He also forbade lay investiture of popes and prohibited church officials to support Henry. Henry had Gregory VII deposed by the Synod of Worms in 1076 and the pope in turn excommunicated the king. As a measure to save his crown, the king travelled to Canossa in northern Italy in 1077 and was absolved after three days of doing penance. Meanwhile, a rival king, Rudolf of Swabia, was elected by the princes.

What followed was an arduous struggle with the papacy and the rebellious princes, resulting in strife that devastated German lands until the Concordat of Worms in 1122, an agreement stipulating that high church officials were to be appointed by the pope but the German king would enjoy his right to veto papal choices. Conflict continued however, both on the papal front and with regard to the dukes and princes.

Henry V, struggling to reassert his supremacy, was defeated in many campaigns and lost considerable stretches of territory and simply could not subdue the princes. Feudalism was instilled with full force and lords became powerful local rulers. The monarchy once again began to wane as relations with the church continued weak and as the lordly princes expanded their fiefdoms and took over administration of large territories with increasing military power.

Thus the two main effects of the Investiture Contest involved the decentralization of royal power in Germany, which was completely the opposite of what was taking place in England and France at the time, where strong monarchies were being established. And on a cultural level, German intellectuality also suffered, taking second place to the emperor-pope struggle, as it was not until later in the fourteenth century that German universities were founded.