Henry II, Duke of Bavaria

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Henry II
Duke of Bavaria
Henry II of Bavaria, Niedermünster Abbey Book of Rules, c. 990
Born951
Died28 August 995
Gandersheim Abbey
SpouseGisela of Burgundy
IssueHenry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Gisela of Hungary
Bruno of Augsburg
DynastyOttonian
FatherHenry I, Duke of Bavaria
MotherJudith, Duchess of Bavaria

Henry II (951 – 28 August 995), called the Wrangler or the Quarrelsome (

Duke of Bavaria from 955 to 976 and again from 985 to 995, as well as Duke of Carinthia
from 989 to 995.

Life

He was the son of Duke

Otto I of Germany (Emperor from 962)), and the elder Henry's wife Judith. Henry succeeded his father at the age of four, under the guardianship of his mother. His sister Hadwig was married to Duke Burchard III of Swabia in 954. In 972 Henry married Princess Gisela of Burgundy,[2] herself a niece of Empress Adelaide
.

Duke Henry in the pedigree of the Ottonian dynasty, Chronica sancti Pantaleonis, Cologne, 13th century

Upon Emperor Otto's death in 973, Henry could rely on his ties to the South German duchies of

Kingdom of Burgundy. He installed his cousin Henry as Bishop of Augsburg, denying the investiture rights of Emperor Otto's son and successor Otto II. Henry's actions in naming a bishop in a duchy not his own and without Imperial direction brought him into conflict with both Otto II and Burchard III. Not desiring civil war, Otto II, on 22 September 973, invested Henry's nominee as bishop. When his brother-in-law Duke Burchard III died without heirs, he raised claims to his Swabian duchy. However, Otto II enfeoffed his own nephew Otto of Swabia
against the tenacious opposition of Burchard's widow Hadwig.

In 974 Duke Henry resolved to oust Otto II from the throne. With support of his sister Hadwig, he forged alliances with Bavarian and

Ingelheim - though he also had to deal with rebellious nobles in the County of Hainaut and the Bishopric of Cambrai as well as with the raids of the Danish king Harald Bluetooth in Holstein
.

In 976 Henry managed to escape and instigated a revolt in Bavaria, but was defeated when Otto II occupied

Folcmar of Utrecht
.

When in 983 Otto II suddenly died from

Otto III and, according to the medieval chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg, had himself proclaimed King of the Romans at the graves of Emperor Otto I and King Henry the Fowler in Magdeburg and Quedlinburg
. However, it turned out that he had lost the support of the German dukes and also was not able to oust Duke Henry the Younger from Bavaria.

Through the agency of Archbishop Willigis of Mainz, Henry in 985 finally submitted to Empress Theophanu and her mother-in-law Adelaide at an Hoftag assembly in Rohr. Although he failed in his attempt to gain control of Germany, he did regain Bavaria and in 989 also received the Carinthian duchy.

Marriage and children

Henry and his wife Gisela of Burgundy[3] had the following children:

References

  1. ISBN 9780198662624
  2. ^ Burgundy and Provence, 879-1032, Constance Brittain Bourchard, The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 3, C.900-c.1024, ed. Rosamond McKitterick and Timothy Reuter, (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 342.
  3. ^ a b C. W. Previté-Orton, Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 1, The Later Roman Empire to the Twelfth Century, (Cambridge University Press, 1979), 433.
  4. ^ Burgundian Notes, Reginald L. Poole, The English Historical Review, Vol. 26, No. 102 (Apr., 1911), 314-315.
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria
Ottonian dynasty (Liudolfings)
Born: 951 Died: 995
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Duke of Bavaria

955–976 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Duke of Bavaria

985–995 		Succeeded by
Duke of Carinthia

989–995
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