Henry II, Duke of Austria
| Henry II Jasomirgott | |
|---|---|
Agnes of Germany |
Henry II (
Family
Henry was the second son of Margrave
Henry's nickname, Jasomirgott, was first documented during the 13th century in the form of Jochsamergott, the meaning of which is unclear. According to popular etymology, it is derived from the Middle High German form of the oath joch sam mir got helfe (meaning: "Yes, so help me God").
Reign
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When Margrave Leopold III died in 1136, he was succeeded by his third-born son Leopold IV, probably because Henry already administered the Rhenish possessions of his mother's now-extinct Salian dynasty. In April 1140, the Hohenstaufen king Conrad III of Germany enfeoffed him with the County Palatine of the Rhine, which he ruled for only a short time as he was appointed Bavarian duke and margrave of Austria when his younger brother Leopold IV unexpectedly died in October 1141. Leopold had received the Duchy of Bavaria in 1139, after King Conrad had deposed Duke Henry the Proud in the course of the dispute between the Welf and Hohenstaufen dynasties.
Henry took his residence in the Bavarian capital of Regensburg (Ratisbona). In May 1142 he married Gertrude, daughter of Emperor Lothair and widow of Henry the Proud. She died after less than one year, giving birth to her only child with Henry.
The duke remained a loyal follower of the Hohenstaufens and in May 1147 accompanied King Conrad on the
Elected king of Germany in 1152, Frederick Barbarossa tried to reach a compromise with the Welfs and endowed Henry the Lion, son of the late Henry the Proud, with the Duchy of Bavaria in 1156. A replacement duchy had to be found for the Babenberg family, which was accomplished by the Privilegium Minus, through which Frederick elevated Henry's Margraviate of Austria to a duchy with complete independence from Bavaria.
Unlike his father, who had resided in Klosterneuburg most of the time, Henry moved his Austrian residence to Vienna in 1145. Only by this act could Vienna surpass other cities within the duchy, such as Krems, Melk, and Klosterneuburg. Since then, it has remained the capital of the country. In addition, in 1147 the first St. Stephen's Church was completed, becoming a visible landmark for the city and showing its prominence. In 1155, Henry founded the Schottenstift monastery in Vienna, in the courtyard of which a statue of him stands to this day.
In November 1176, while his Austrian lands were campaigned by the forces of Duke Soběslav II of Bohemia, Henry II with his horse fell from a rotten bridge near Melk and suffered a femoral neck fracture. Henry II succumbed to his injuries on 13 January 1177 in Vienna. According to his last will, he was buried in the Schottenstift monastery.
Marriage and children
Until 1143, Henry II was married to
Henry had one child by Gertrude of Süpplingenburg:
- Richenza (1143 – unknown), married to Heinrich Landgraf von Steffling
Henry had three children by Theodora Komnene:
- Agnes of Austria (c. 1154 – 13 January 1182), married to King Stephen III of Hungary, secondly married to Duke Herman of Carinthia[3]
- Leopold V, Duke of Austria (1157 – 31 December 1194)[3]
- Vladislav II of Bohemia.
References
Sources
- Beller, Steven (2007). A Concise History of Austria. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521478861.
- Brooke, Z. N. (1938). A History of Europe: From 911 to 1198. London: Methuen & Company Ltd. ISBN 978-1443740708.
- Dopsch, Heinz (1999). Österreichische Geschichte 1122-1278. Vienna: Ueberreuter. ISBN 3-8000-3973-7.
- Lechner, Karl (1976). Die Babenberger: Markgrafen und Herzoge von Österreich 976–1246. Vienna: Böhlau. ISBN 978-3205085089.
- Leeper, Alexander W. (1941). History of Medieval Austria. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0404153472.
- Lingelbach, William E. (1913). The History of Nations: Austria-Hungary. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company. ASIN B000L3E368.
- Loud, Graham A.; Schenk, Jochen, eds. (2017). The Origins of the German Principalities, 1100-1350: Essays by German Historians. Routledge.
- Lyon, Jonathan R. (2013). Princely Brothers and Sisters: The Sibling Bond in German Politics, 1100–1250. Cornell University Press.
- Pohl, Walter (1995). Die Welt der Babenberger. Graz: Verlag Styria. ISBN 978-3222123344.
- Rickett, Richard (1985). A Brief Survey of Austrian History. Vienna: Prachner. ISBN 978-3853670019.
- Wegener, Wilhelm (1965). Genealogischen Tafeln zur mitteleuropäischen Geschichte. Vienna: Verlag Degener.
External links
