 For instance, in the 1080s, the "Song of the Saxon War" praised him as a "king second to none in his piety" who defended the widows and the poor and gave laws to the lawless Saxons.The "Vita Heinrici IV imperatoris", an anonymous biography completed in the early 1110s, described him as a vigorous and warlike monarch who employed learned officials and enjoyed conversations about spiritual themes and the liberal arts.In contrast Lambert of Hersfeld stated Henry had inherited a peaceful realm, but he "rendered it filthy, despicable, bloodstained, a prey to internal conflicts".