Henry X, Duke of Bavaria

Henry X the Proud
Henry X the Proud
Imperial Cathedral of Königslutter
Noble family	House of Welf
Spouse(s)	Gertrude of Süpplingenburg
Issue	Henry III / XII the Lion
Father	Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Wulfhilde of Saxony

Henry the Proud (

election as King of the Romans but was defeated by Conrad of Hohenstaufen

.

Family

He was the second son of Duke

Cistercian Order, Henry was enfeoffed with the Duchy of Bavaria. He shared the family possessions in Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia with his younger brother Welf VI.^[1]

In 1127 he married

House of Supplinburg, the Brunonids, and the counts of Northeim. The marriage marked the expansion of power of the Welf dynasty, Bavarian dukes since 1070, to the northern parts of Germany. The couple had a son, Henry the Lion

.

Career

Henry was a loyal supporter in the warfare between his father-in-law King Lothair and the Hohenstaufen brothers, Duke Frederick II (who was Henry's brother-in-law, having been married with his sister

bishop of Regensburg. After a war of devastation, Count Frederick submitted in 1133, and two years later the Hohenstaufen brothers made their peace with Emperor Lothair.^[1]

In 1136, Henry accompanied his father-in-law to Italy, and taking command of a Bavarian division of the Imperial army marched into the south Italian Kingdom of Sicily up to Bari, devastating the land as he went. Having distinguished himself by his military abilities during this campaign, Henry was appointed as margrave of Tuscany, succeeding Engelbert III of Sponheim, and as Lothair's successor in the Duchy of Saxony.^[1] He was also given the private properties of late Margravine Matilda of Tuscany from the hands of Pope Innocent II.

When Emperor Lothair died on his way back from Italy in December 1137, Henry's wealth and position made him a formidable candidate for the German crown. According to the contemporary chronicler Otto of Freising, after his appointment as Duke of Saxony he boasted of a realm stretching "from sea to sea, from Denmark to Sicily".^[3]

However, the same qualities which earned him the

princes and so ultimately prevented his election. The new king, Conrad III, demanded the Imperial Regalia which Henry had received from Lothair, 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.^[1]

Attempts at a settlement failed, and when in July 1138 Henry refused to take the oath of allegiance, he was

Babenberg margrave Leopold IV 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 the Ascanian count Albert the Bear, son of Eilika of Saxony

, a younger daughter of the last Billung duke Magnus.

Death and aftermath

In 1139 Henry succeeded in expelling his enemies from Saxony and was preparing to attack Bavaria when he suddenly died in

Imperial Cathedral of Königslutter next to his parents-in-law Emperor Lothair and Richenza of Northeim. His death left his son Henry the Lion underage who later would be given Saxony, while Henry II, Duke of Austria received Bavaria.^[4]

Chanson de Roland, while in Henry's service, at the request of Queen Gertrude.^[5]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Chisholm 1911, p. 293.
^ C. W. Previté-Orton, Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 1, The Later Roman Empire to the Twelfth Century, (Cambridge University Press, 1979), 554.
^ Chronica de duabus civitatibus VII 23 (A. Hofmeister (ed.), 1912, p. 345).
^ ^a ^b C. W. Previté-Orton, 559.
^ Chisholm 1911, p. 294.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Henry "The Proud"". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 293–294.

Regnal titles
Henry X, Duke of Bavaria House of Welf Born: c. 1108 Died: 20 October 1139
Preceded by Lothair	Duke of Saxony 1137–1139	Succeeded by Albert the Bear
Preceded by Henry the Black	Duke of Bavaria 1126–1138	Succeeded by Leopold the Generous
Preceded by Engelbert	Margrave of Tuscany Duke of Spoleto 1137–1139	Succeeded by Ulrich

[FOOTNOTEChisholm1911293-1] Chisholm 1911, p. 293.

[2] C. W. Previté-Orton, Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 1, The Later Roman Empire to the Twelfth Century, (Cambridge University Press, 1979), 554.

[3] Chronica de duabus civitatibus VII 23 (A. Hofmeister (ed.), 1912, p. 345).

[Previté-Orton559-4] C. W. Previté-Orton, 559.

[FOOTNOTEChisholm1911294-5] Chisholm 1911, p. 294.

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