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Henry the Proud (c. 1108 – 20 October 1139) was the Duke of Bavaria (
Henry X, 1126–1139),
Duke of SaxonyThis article lists Dukes, Electors, and Kings ruling over territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 9th century to the end of the Saxon Kingdom in 1918.-Dukes of Saxony:...
(
Henry II, 1137–1139), and Margrave of Tuscany (1137-1139).
Life and reign
He was the son of
Henry the BlackHenry IX , called the Black, a member of the House of Welf, was duke of Bavaria from 1120 to 1126.-Life and reign:...
, Duke of Bavaria, and Wulfhild, daughter of
Magnus BillungMagnus was the duke of Saxony from 1072 to 1106. Eldest son and successor of Ordulf and Wulfhild of Norway, he was the last member of the House of Billung....
, Duke of Saxony, and thus a member of the
WelfThe House of Welf is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century.The House of Welf is the older branch of the House of Este, a dynasty whose oldest known members lived in Lombardy in the 9th century. For this reason, it is sometimes also...
family, and, what was quite important, senior heir of the
BillungThe House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries.The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811...
family. His father and mother both died in 1126 (father became a monk shortly before his death), and as his elder brother Conrad had entered the church and died before their parents, Henry became duke of Bavaria. He shared the family possessions in
SaxonyThe mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
,
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...
and
SwabiaSwabia, Suabia, or Svebia is both a historic and linguistic region in Germany. Swabia consists of much of the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg , as well as the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia...
with his younger brother, Welf.
In 1127 he was married to
GertrudeGertrud of Süpplingenburg was the only child of Emperor Lothar III , Duke of Saxony, and his wife Richenza of Northeim....
, the only child of
Lothair III, Holy Roman EmperorLothair III of Supplinburg , was Duke of Saxony , King of Germany , and Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 to 1137. He was the son of Count Gebhard of Supplinburg.-A note on the ordinal:...
, whose marriage and inheritance Henry's father had been promised as reward for his changing to support Lothair in the royal election of 1125. Gertrude was heir of the properties of three Saxon dynasties: the House of Supplinburg, the Brunones, and the House of
NortheimNortheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with a population of 31,000 . It's located on the German Framework Road.-History:...
. The couple had only one son,
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
. After the marriage, Henry took part in the warfare between the king and the
HohenstaufenThe House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufen also became Kings of Sicily...
brothers,
Frederick II, Duke of SwabiaFrederick II , called the One-Eyed, was the second Hohenstaufen duke of Swabia from 1105. He was the eldest son of Frederick I and Agnes....
(who was Henry's brother-in-law, having been married with his sister Judith), and
ConradConrad III may refer to:*Conrad III of Germany*Conrad III of Provence *Conrad III of Dachau*Conrad III of Jerusalem*Conrad III of Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Salzburg*Conrad III Zoellner of Rotenstein*Conrad III, Duke of Bavaria...
, Duke of Franconia, afterwards the German king Conrad III. While engaged in this struggle Henry was also occupied in suppressing a rising in Bavaria, led by Frederick, Count of Bogen, during which both duke and count sought to establish their own candidates in the
Bishopric of RegensburgThe Bishopric of Regensburg was a small prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. was elevated to the Archbishopric of Regensburg in 1803 after the dissolution of the Archbishopric of Mainz, but became a bishopric again in 1817....
. After a war of devastation, Frederick submitted in 1133, and two years later the Hohenstaufen brothers made their peace with Lothair. In 1136, Henry accompanied his father-in-law to Italy, and taking command of one division of the imperial army marched into southern Italy, devastating the land as he went. Having distinguished himself by his military abilities during this campaign, Henry was appointed as margrave of
TuscanyTuscany is a region in North-Central Italy. It has an area of and a population of about 3.6 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence.Tuscany is known for its landscapes and its artistic legacy...
and as Lothair's successor in the
Duchy of SaxonyThe mediæval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...
. He was also given the former properties of
Matilda of TuscanyMatilda of Canossa , called la Gran Contessa or the Great Countess, was an Italian noblewoman, the principal Italian supporter of Pope Gregory VII during the Investiture Controversy. She is one of the few medieval women to be remembered for her military accomplishments...
.
When Lothair died in December 1137, Henry's wealth and position made him a formidable candidate for the German crown, but the same qualities which earned him the surname of Proud, aroused the jealousy of the princes and so prevented his election. The new king, Conrad III, demanded the imperial insignia which were in Henry's possession, and the duke in return asked for his investiture with the Saxon duchy. But Conrad, who feared his power, refused to assent to this on the pretext that it was unlawful for two duchies to be in one hand. Attempts at a settlement failed, and in July 1138 Henry was deprived of his duchies. In 1139 Henry succeeded in expelling his enemies from Saxony and was preparing to attack Bavaria when he suddenly died in
Quedlinburg AbbeyQuedlinburg Abbey was a former house of secular canonesses in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Founded in 936 on the initiative of the widow of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, as his memorial, for many centuries it enjoyed great prestige and influence....
. Henry was buried in the Collegiate Church of
KönigslutterKönigslutter am Elm is a city of 17,000 inhabitants in the district ofHelmstedt, Lower Saxony, Germany, near the Elm hills. Königslutter is twinned with Taunton in Somerset, in the southwest of England....
next to his parents-in-law.
His son was
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
, who was underage. Henry's duchy of Bavaria was given to Leopold IV, Margrave of Austria, a half-brother of the new king Conrad. Saxony, which he had attempted to hold but was not officially invested with, was given to Albert the Bear, son of the younger daughter of the last Billung duke, Magnus.