Henry II (951–995), called
the Wrangler or
the Quarrelsome, in German
Heinrich der Zänker, was the son of
Henry IHenry I was Duke of Bavaria.He was the second son of the German King Henry the Fowler and his wife Matilda. He attempted a revolt against his older brother Otto I in 938 in alliance with Eberhard of Franconia and Giselbert of Lorraine, believing he had a claim on the throne. In 939 he was defeated...
and
Judith of BavariaFor the second wife of Louis the Pious, see Judith, daughter of WelfJudith , was Duchess of Bavaria. She was the eldest daughter of Arnulf the Bad of Bavaria and Judith of Friuli....
and a seventh generation descendant of
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
.
He succeed his father at the age of four, under the guardianship of his mother Judith. Heinrich married
Gisela of BurgundyGisela, Princess of Burgundy was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy and Adelaide of Bellay, Conrad's second wife whom he probably married for love, as he had already produced an heir by his first, more dynastic, marriage and was thus free to wed as he pleased...
, a niece of the empress
AdelaideSaint Adelaide of Italy, also called Adelaide of Burgundy was Holy Roman Empress and perhaps the most prominent European woman of the 10th century.-Life:...
, and resolved in 974 to oust Otto II from the throne of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
Henry II (951–995), called
the Wrangler or
the Quarrelsome, in German
Heinrich der Zänker, was the son of
Henry IHenry I was Duke of Bavaria.He was the second son of the German King Henry the Fowler and his wife Matilda. He attempted a revolt against his older brother Otto I in 938 in alliance with Eberhard of Franconia and Giselbert of Lorraine, believing he had a claim on the throne. In 939 he was defeated...
and
Judith of BavariaFor the second wife of Louis the Pious, see Judith, daughter of WelfJudith , was Duchess of Bavaria. She was the eldest daughter of Arnulf the Bad of Bavaria and Judith of Friuli....
and a seventh generation descendant of
CharlemagneCharlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 to his death. He expanded the Frankish kingdoms into a Frankish Empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe...
.
He succeed his father at the age of four, under the guardianship of his mother Judith. Heinrich married
Gisela of BurgundyGisela, Princess of Burgundy was the daughter of Conrad the Peaceful, King of Burgundy and Adelaide of Bellay, Conrad's second wife whom he probably married for love, as he had already produced an heir by his first, more dynastic, marriage and was thus free to wed as he pleased...
, a niece of the empress
AdelaideSaint Adelaide of Italy, also called Adelaide of Burgundy was Holy Roman Empress and perhaps the most prominent European woman of the 10th century.-Life:...
, and resolved in 974 to oust Otto II from the throne of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
. However, he was taken captive in Ingelheim - he escaped and instigated a revolt in Bavaria, but was defeated in 976 and stripped of his Duchy, and, following the
War of the Three HenriesThe War of the Three Henries was a brief rebellion of three German leaders all called Henry against the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II in 977. While Otto was campaigning against Boleslaus II of Bohemia, a conspiracy arose in Bavaria...
in 978, was placed under the custody of the Bishop of Utrecht. As a consequence of his revolt
BavariaBavaria , with an area of and almost 12.5 million inhabitants, is located in the southeast of Germany and is the largest state of Germany by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
lost her first southeastern marches including
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
.
After Otto's death he was released from captivity and tried once again to usurp the German throne, abducting the infant Otto III. Although he failed in his attempt to gain control of Germany, he did regain Bavaria.
His daughter
Giselle of BavariaGiselle of Bavaria was the daughter of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria and Gisela of Burgundy....
married
Saint Stephen I of HungarySaint Stephen I was Grand Prince of the Hungarians and the first King of Hungary ....
, while his son became the
Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
Henry IIHenry II , called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of Germany in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004. He is the only German king to have been canonized.He was...
.