Hubbry Logo
Henry II, Holy Roman EmperorHenry II, Holy Roman EmperorMain
Open search
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Community hub
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

Henry II (German: Heinrich II; Italian: Enrico II; Latin: Henricus; 6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry, Obl. S. B.,[a] was Holy Roman Emperor (Latin: Romanorum Imperator) from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024, and was the last ruler of the Ottonian line. As Duke of Bavaria, appointed in 995, Henry became King of the Romans (Latin: Rex Romanorum) following the sudden death of his second cousin, Emperor Otto III in 1002, was made King of Italy (Latin: Rex Italiae) in 1004, and crowned emperor by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

Key Information

The son of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, and his wife Gisela of Burgundy, Emperor Henry II was a great-grandson of German king Henry the Fowler and a member of the Bavarian branch of the Ottonian dynasty. Since his father had rebelled against two previous emperors, the younger Henry spent long periods of time in exile, where he turned to Christianity at an early age, first finding refuge with the Bishop of Freising and later during his education at the cathedral school in Hildesheim. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria in 995 as Henry IV. As duke, he attempted to join his second-cousin, Emperor Otto III, in suppressing a revolt against imperial rule in Italy in 1002. Before Henry II could arrive, however, Otto III died of fever, leaving no heir. After defeating several contenders to the throne, Henry II was crowned King of Germany on 9 July 1002 as the first in a line of kings to adopt the title Rex Romanorum as an antedate to his coronation in Rome as Imperator Romanorum.[2] On 15 May 1004, he was anointed King of Italy (Rex Italiae). In that same year, Henry II joined Duke Jaromír of Bohemia in his struggle against the Poles, thus effectively incorporating the Duchy of Bohemia into the Holy Roman Empire.[3]

Unlike his predecessor Otto III, who had imposed plans on sovereign administration and active political involvement in Italy, Henry spent most of his reign concerned with the renovation ("renewal") of the imperial territories north of the Alps, a policy summed up on his seal as Renovatio regni Francorum, which replaced Otto's Renovatio imperii Romanorum.[4] A series of conflicts with the Polish Duke Bolesław I, who had already conquered a number of countries surrounding him, required Henry II's full attention and years of political and military maneuvering. Henry did, however, lead three expeditions into Italy to enforce his feudal claim (Honor Imperii): twice to suppress secessionist revolts and once to address Byzantine attempts to obtain dominance over southern Italy. On 14 February 1014, Pope Benedict VIII crowned Henry Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.

The rule of Henry II has been characterized as a period of centralized authority throughout the Holy Roman Empire. He consolidated his power by cultivating personal and political ties with the Catholic Church. He greatly expanded the Ottonian dynasty's custom of employing clerics as counter-weights against secular nobles. Through donations to the Church and the establishment of new dioceses, Henry strengthened imperial rule across the Empire and increased control over ecclesiastical affairs. He stressed service to the Church and promoted monastic reform. For his remarkable personal piety and enthusiastic promotion of the Church, he was canonized by Pope Eugene III in 1146. He is the only medieval German monarch ever to have been honoured as a saint. Henry II's wife was the equally pious Empress Cunigunde, who was canonized in 1200 by Pope Innocent III.[5] As the union produced no children, the German nobles elected Conrad II, a great-great-grandson of Emperor Otto I, to succeed him after his death in 1024. Conrad was the first of the Salian dynasty of emperors.

Early life and marriage

[edit]

Henry was born in May 973,[6] the son of Duke Henry II of Bavaria, and Gisela of Burgundy.[7] Through his father, he was the grandson of Duke Henry I of Bavaria, and the great-grandson of King Henry I of Germany. By his mother, he was the grandson of King Conrad I of Burgundy, and the great-grandson of King Rudolf II of Burgundy.

The elder Henry came into conflict with his cousin Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, in 974. The elder Henry and Otto II disputed each other's claims to authority over the Duchy of Swabia: Henry claimed the duchy as his birthright while Otto II maintained his right to name a duke of his choosing. After an initial failed revolt, Otto II imprisoned the elder Henry in Ingelheim. After escaping, Henry again revolted against Otto II. When this second revolt failed, Otto II deposed Henry as Duke of Bavaria and sent him into exile under the custody of the Bishop of Utrecht in April 978. As a consequence of his revolt, the Emperor stripped the Duchy of Bavaria of its southeastern territories bordering Italy and formed the Duchy of Carinthia.

During his father's exile, the younger Henry lived in Hildesheim. As a child he was educated in the Christian faith by Bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg,[8] and then studied at the Hildesheim Cathedral. The Emperor himself ensured the younger Henry received an ecclesiastical education in order that by becoming a religious official he would be prevented from participating in the Imperial government.

The death of Otto II in 983 allowed the elder Henry to be released from custody and to return from exile. The elder Henry claimed regency over Otto III, the three-year-old child of Otto II. After a failed attempt to claim the German throne for himself in 985, the elder Henry relinquished the regency to the child's mother Theophanu. In return for his submission to the child king, Henry was restored as Duke of Bavaria. The younger Henry, now thirteen years old, was named his regent over Bavaria. When the elder Henry died in 995, the younger Henry was elected by the Bavarian nobles as the new duke to succeed his father.

In 999 Henry married Cunigunde of Luxembourg,[9][10] a daughter of Count Siegfried of Luxembourg. This marriage granted him an extensive network of contacts in Germany's western territories.

Reign as king

[edit]

Disputed succession

[edit]
Main article: 1002 German royal election
12th-century stained glass depiction of Henry II, Strasbourg Cathedral

In 1001, Emperor Otto III experienced a revolt against his reign in Italy. The Emperor sent word for Henry II to join him with reinforcements from Germany, but then died unexpectedly in January 1002. Otto was only 21 at the time of his death and had left no children and no instructions for the Imperial succession. In the Ottonian dynasty, succession to the throne had belonged to the Saxon branch, not the Bavarian line of which Henry was a member. Rival candidates for the throne, including Count Ezzo of Lotharingia, Margrave Eckard I of Meissen, and Duke Herman II of Swabia, strongly contested Henry's right to succeed Otto III.

As the funeral procession moved through the Duchy of Bavaria in February 1002, Henry met the procession in Polling, just north of the Alps. To legitimise his claims, Henry demanded Archbishop Heribert of Cologne give him the Imperial Regalia, chief among them being the Holy Lance. Heribert, however, had sent these ahead of the procession, possibly out of distrust of Henry and possibly because he favoured the succession of his relative Duke Herman II of Swabia as the next king. In order to force Herman II to relinquish the Holy Lance to him, Henry imprisoned the Archbishop and his brother the Bishop of Würzburg. With neither the symbols of imperial authority, the crown jewels, nor the cooperation of Heribert, Henry was unable to convince the nobles attending Otto III's funeral procession to elect him as king. A few weeks later, at Otto III's funeral in Aachen Cathedral, Henry again attempted to gain the support of the kingdom's nobles and was again rejected.

So it was without the support of the kingdom's nobility that Henry took the radical action of having himself anointed and crowned King of Germany ("Rex Romanorum") by Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz on 9 July 1002 at Mainz, in present-day Germany. Henry's action marked the first time a German king was not crowned in Aachen Cathedral since Emperor Otto I began the tradition in 936 and the first time a German king assumed the throne without election by the German nobility. Under the regal name of "King Henry II", he appeared before the Saxons in mid-July in full regal apparel. There, Henry convinced Bernard I, Duke of Saxony, to support his claims to the throne. In return for his support, Henry guaranteed Bernard's right to rule the Saxons and to represent their interests before him.

Shortly after gaining the support of the Saxons, Henry arranged for Archbishop Willigis to crown his wife, Cunigunde of Luxembourg as Queen of Germany on 10 August 1002 in Paderborn, in present-day Germany.[11][12]

Consolidation of power

[edit]

Henry II spent the next several years consolidating his political power within his borders. Herman II, Duke of Swabia, in particular fiercely contested Henry II's right to the throne. The Swabian Duke believed he was Otto III's true successor, as he had married a daughter of Liudof, eldest son of Emperor Otto I. Armed conflicts between Henry II and Herman II broke out but proved to be inconclusive. This forced the two men to fight each other politically for the support of the Swabian nobles.

Unable to decisively defeat Herman in Swabia, Henry II attempted to legitimize his seizing the throne by traveling throughout the various duchies of his kingdom – Saxony, Bavaria, Swabia, Upper Lorraine, Lower Lorraine, Franconia. This was done in order to obtain the general consent of his subjects as opposed to traditional election. Henry II's familial ties to the Ottonian dynasty eventually caused the kingdom's nobles to accept him as king. After being defeated at a battle near Strasburg, Herman II submitted to Henry II's authority on 1 October 1002. In exchange for this surrender, Henry II allowed Herman II to remain Duke of Swabia until his death the following year, after which, although recognizing the minor Hermann III as his father's titular successor, Henry II effectively assumed all power over the Duchy himself.

In 1003 Henry of Schweinfurt, Margrave of Nordgau in Bavaria, revolted against Henry II's rule. Henry II had promised to install the Margrave as his successor to the Duchy of Bavaria in exchange for supporting his claim to the German crown. Upon assuming the throne, however, Henry II refused to honour his promise and instead supported the rights of the Bavarians to elect their own duke. With Henry II's support, Count Henry I of Luxembourg became the Duke of Bavaria as Henry V. Betrayed by the King, Margrave Henry allied with Bolesław I of Poland against him. However, his rebellion was soon quashed and the Nordgauian Margrave was deposed in 1004. Henry II then abolished the March of Nordgau, established the Diocese of Bamberg in 1007, and transferred secular authority over the March's former territory to the Diocese in order to prevent further uprisings.[13]

First Italian expedition

[edit]

The death of Otto III in 1002 and the resulting political turmoil over his successor allowed Italy to fall from German control. Margrave Arduin of Ivrea proclaimed himself King of Italy at Pavia soon after the Emperor's death.[14] Accompanied by Archbishop Arnulf II of Milan, Arduin won the support of the Italian territorial magnates. Arduin, however, had been excommunicated in 997 for the murder of the Bishop of Vercelli. This allowed Arduin's enemies in the Church, led by Archbishop Frederick of Ravenna, to side with the German King Henry II as the rightful ruler of Italy. Henry II sent Duke Otto I of Carinthia, over the March of Verona to face Arduin, but Arduin successfully defeated Otto's troops at the Battle of Fabrica in 1003.[15]

In 1004 Henry II responded to calls for aid from Italian bishops and led an invasion into Italy against Arduin. Henry II gathered his troops at Augsburg and marched through the Brenner Pass to Trento, Italy. After initial military successes, much of the Italian clergy and some noble families swore allegiance to Henry II, including Archbishop Arnulf II. Joining Henry II in Bergamo, Arnulf II crowned him as King of Italy ("Rex Italiae") on 14 May 1004 in Pavia, in the Basilica of San Michele Maggiore.[6][16] Unlike his predecessors, after gaining the Kingdom of Italy Henry II wore two crowns, one for Germany and one for Italy, instead of a common crown representing both realms.

After the coronation a dispute arose between some of the residents and Henry's people. It escalated to where the residents attacked the palace where the king was dining. The army encamped outside the city swiftly moved to protect the king, and in the onslaught the city caught fire and many residents were killed.[17]

After receiving the homage of the remaining Italian nobles, Henry returned to Germany in the early summer of 1004 without first traveling to Rome to claim the Imperial crown. This is most likely due to opposition from Pope John XVIII. Henry would not return to Italy for a decade, leaving the Kingdom to govern itself. Henry returned to Germany to take military action against the rebellious Bolesław I of Poland.

Conflict with Poland

[edit]
Main article: German–Polish War (1003–1018)

Polish relations

[edit]
Emperor Henry II, from the Manuscript of St. Gregory's Moralia in Job, Bamberg State Library
Bolesław I of Poland in a drawing by Jan Matejko

The untimely death of Emperor Otto III at age 21 in 1002 upset the young Emperor's ambitious renovatio plans, which were never fully implemented. Henry II reversed Otto III's eastern policies,[18] damaging the excellent relationship Germany and Bolesław I of Poland had enjoyed during Otto III's reign. Bolesław I had been a loyal supporter of Otto III, but Henry II's actions caused Bolesław I to seek new German allies. Of the major candidates seeking to succeed to the German throne, Bolesław I supported Margrave Eckard I of Meissen over Henry. Only after Eckard was assassinated by Saxon nobles in April 1002 did Bolesław I lend his support to Henry II.[19]

Bolesław I traveled to Merseburg on 25 July 1002 and paid homage to the new German king. Bolesław I had taken advantage of Germany's internal strife following Otto III's death, occupying important German territories west of the Oder River: the March of Meissen and the March of Lusatia. Bolesław I took control of these territories following the assassination of Margrave Eckard I. Henry II accepted Bolesław I's gains, allowing the Polish Duke to keep Lusatia as a fief, with Bolesław I recognizing Henry II as his overlord. Henry II refused to allow Bolesław I to keep possession of Meissen, however. Shortly after Bolesław I's departure from Merseburg, an assassination attempt was made against him. Though the attempt failed, Bolesław I was seriously injured. The Polish Duke accused Henry II of instituting the attack, and relations between the two countries were severed.[20] Bolesław I also refused to pay tribute to Germany.

Prior to open rebellion in 1004, Boleslaus III, Duke of Bohemia, was ousted in a revolt in 1002. Bolesław I intervened in the Bohemian affair and reinstalled Boleslaus III upon the Bohemian throne in 1003. Boleslaus III soon undermined his own position, however, by ordering a massacre of his leading nobles. Bohemian nobles secretly sent a messenger to Bolesław I, requesting his direct intervention in the crisis. The Polish duke willingly agreed and invited the Bohemian duke to Poland. There, Boleslaus III was captured, blinded, and imprisoned, where he would remain until his death some thirty years later. Claiming dominion over Bohemia for himself, Bolesław I invaded Bohemia in 1003 and conquered the duchy without any serious opposition. Bohemia had previously been under the influence and protection of Germany, with the Polish invasion further increasing tension between Germany and Poland.

Bolesław I openly rebelled against Henry II's rule in 1004, burning down the castle in Meissen in an act of war. Returning from Italy after reclaiming the Italian throne, Henry II launched a military campaign against Poland in 1004 that would last until 1018, spanning three wars and several smaller campaigns.[21]

First Polish War

[edit]

Returning from his first expedition to Italy, in 1004 Henry II gathered an army to march against Poland. The previous year in 1003, Henry II had formed an alliance with the pagan Slavic Lutici tribe. As a consequence of their military alliance, Henry II halted Christianization efforts among the Slavic peoples. The new alliance with the Western Slavs against Poland was controversial, however. Many German nobles had hoped for continued missionary work and the direct submission of the Elbe Slavs. In addition, many German nobles opposed the war because they had developed family ties with Poland during Otto III's reign. It interfered with Bishop Bruno of Querfurt's mission to Poland, so he set out for Hungary.[22]

In preparation for Henry II's coming military invasion, Bolesław I developed a similar alliance with other Slavic peoples. With his conquest west of the Oder River in 1002, his domain stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathian Mountains. Furthermore, the Polish Duke was connected by kinship to numerous princes of Scandinavia.

Henry II answered Bolesław I's rebellion by invading in the summer of 1004, reaching the Ore Mountains in northern Bohemia. He then conquered the castle at Žatec and wiped out the Polish army left there. At the same time, Jaromir (the younger brother of the deposed Bohemian Duke Boleslaus III) invaded Bohemia with German military support. At Merseburg, Jaromír promised to hold Bohemia as a vassal under Henry II, definitively incorporating Bohemia into the Holy Roman Empire. Forcing Bolesław I to flee, Jaromír occupied Prague with a German army and proclaimed himself Duke. The state he regained was a small one, however, as Polish forces would hold Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia until 1018.[19]

During the next part of the offensive, Henry II retook Meissen and, in summer 1005, his army advanced deep into Poland, suffering significant losses along the way. At the Polish city of Poznań, the German forces were ambushed by the Polish army and suffered significant losses. Meeting in Poznań, Henry II and Bolesław I signed a peace treaty.[23] According to its terms, Bolesław I lost Lusatia and Meissen and was forced to give up his claim to the Bohemian throne. The peace lasted only two years as neither party recognized the claims of the other.

Second Polish War

[edit]

In 1007, Henry II denounced the Peace of Poznań, resulting in Bolesław I's attack on the Archbishopric of Magdeburg as well as his re-occupation of the marches of Lusatia and Meissen, including the city of Bautzen. The German counter-offensive began three years later in 1010. It was of no significant consequence, beyond some pillaging in Silesia. In 1012, a second peace treaty between Germany and Poland was signed. Bolesław I quickly broke the peace, however, and once again invaded Lusatia. Bolesław I's forces pillaged and burned the city of Lubusz.[23] In 1013, a third peace treaty was signed at Merseburg, requiring in part that Bolesław I recognize Henry II as his overlord in exchange for receiving the March of Lusatia and the March of Meissen as fiefs. To seal their peace, Bolesław I's son Mieszko II married Richeza of Lotharingia, daughter of the Count Palatine Ezzo of Lotharingia, granddaughter of Emperor Otto II.[21]

Reign as emperor

[edit]

Imperial coronation

[edit]
Henry II crowned as Emperor by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.

John XVIII reigned as pope from 1003 until 1009. He was succeeded by Sergius IV from 1009 to 1012. Both John XVIII and Sergius IV, though the nominal Pope, were subservient to the power John Crescentius. As leader of the Crescentii clan and Patrician of Rome, John Crescentius was the effective ruler of the city. John Crescentius' influence prevented Henry II from meeting the Pope on numerous occasions, preventing him from claiming the imperial title. Following Sergius IV's death in 1012, Benedict VIII was elected to succeed him. Upon assuming the chair of St. Peter, however, Benedict VIII was forced to flee Rome by Gregory VI, an antipope, whom John Crescentius installed as the new head of the Catholic Church. Fleeing across the Alps to Germany, Benedict VIII appealed to Henry II for protection. Henry II agreed to restore Benedict VIII to his papal throne in return for his coronation as emperor.

Near the end of 1013, Henry II gathered his army at Augsburg to march into Italy. Earlier in 1013, Henry signed a peace treaty with Duke Bolesław of Poland at Merseburg. The peace with Poland gave Henry opportunity to address affairs in Italy. On the march across the Alps, Henry was accompanied by his wife, Queen Cunigunde, and a number of clerics. Upon reaching Pavia other bishops and abbots joined him. Henry's forces trapped the King of Italy Arduin in his capital of Ivrea, where he remained until 1015.

Henry II arrived in Rome in early 1014, restoring Benedict VIII as pope. On 14 February 1014, the Pope crowned Henry II as Holy Roman Emperor ("Romanorum Imperator") in St. Peter's Basilica.[6] Then, under the presidency of the Emperor and Pope, a synod was held in Rome, appointing five bishops, issuing decrees against simony and promoting chastity within the clergy, and ordering the restitution of Church property. Shortly afterwards, the Emperor moved north again where he established the Diocese of Bobbio. Celebrating Easter in Pavia and Italy, Henry then returned to Germany in mid-May 1014. He left the rule of Rome to the Pope and thereafter rarely intervened in the politics of Italy or the Papal States.[24]

In 1015 the conflict with Arduin came to a close when Arduin became ill and sought peace with Henry II. He resigned the office of Margrave of Ivrea to become a monk in a monastery at Fruttuaria. He died on 14 December 1015. His brief "reign" as King of Italy would be the last time a native Italian would reign over Italy until its unification under Victor Emmanuel II in 1861. After Arduin's death Henry ordered the Margravate of Ivrea, which had given the Ottonian emperors so much trouble, dissolved.

Third Polish War

[edit]
Main articles: German–Polish War (1003–1018) and Peace of Bautzen

The peace agreement of 1013 between Henry II and Bolesław I of Poland quickly deteriorated. In 1014, with Henry II absent from Germany, Bolesław I sent his son Mieszko II Lambert to the Duchy of Bohemia in order to persuade the new Bohemian Duke Oldřich into an alliance against Henry II. The mission failed and Oldřich imprisoned Mieszko II. He was released only after the intervention of the Emperor, who, despite the planned invasion of Poland, loyally acted on behalf of his nominal vassal Bolesław I. As a result, Mieszko II was sent to Henry II's imperial court in Merseburg as a hostage. Henry II probably wanted to force the presence of Bolesław I in Merseburg and make him explain his actions. The plan failed, however, because, under pressure from his relatives, the Emperor soon agreed to release Mieszko II.[25]

At the same time, Henry II entertained Yaroslav, the pretender to the throne of the Kievan Rus'. A son of Kievan Grand Duke Vladimir the Great, he was vice-regent of the Principality of Novgorod at the time of his father's death in 1015. Yaroslav's eldest surviving brother, Sviatopolk I of Kiev, killed three of his other brothers and seized power in Kiev. Henry II's support of Yaroslav was in direct opposition to not only Sviatopolk but to Bolesław I as well. Years before, Bolesław I had married one of his daughters to Sviatopolk, making the new Kievan Grand Duke a son-in-law to the Polish Duke.

Henry II returned to Germany in 1015 after being crowned Emperor by Pope Benedict VIII and prepared for a third invasion of Poland. With three armies at his command, the largest contingent since the beginning of the conflict in 1004, the Imperial army simultaneously marched in a pincer movement from the German north, south, and center. Henry II himself commanded the center army, supported by allied Slavic tribes, and moved from Magdeburg to cross the Oder river into Poland. Henry II was soon joined from the south by Bohemian Duke Oldřich and from the north by Duke Bernard II of Saxony.

As the Imperial army crossed the Oder river and marched across Poland, Henry II's forces killed or captured several thousand Poles, including women and children. But the Imperial army suffered heavy losses throughout the campaign. Bolesław I sent a detachment of Moravian knights under the command of Mieszko II in a diversionary attack against the Empire's Eastern March. The Imperial army retreated from Poland to Merseburg in order to address the assault without making any permanent territorial gains east of the Oder River. During the retreat to Germany, Gero II, margrave of the Eastern March, was ambushed by Polish forces and killed late in 1015. Following the attack on the Eastern March, Bolesław I's forces took the offensive. Bolesław I sent Mieszko II to besiege Meissen in 1017, then under the command of Mieszko II's brother-in-law Margrave Herman I. His attempt at conquering the city failed, however, and he was forced to retreat back to Poland.[25]

Henry II and Bolesław I then opened peace negotiations and a ceasefire was declared in summer 1017. As negotiations failed by autumn 1017, Henry II again marched his army into Poland. His army reached Głogów, where Bolesław I was entrenched, but it was unable to take the city. Henry II then besieged Niemcza, but was likewise unable to capture the city. As his army besieged Niemcza, disease brought about from the winter cold devastated the Imperial forces. His attacks unsuccessful, Henry II was forced to retreat back to Merseburg in Germany. With this defeat, Henry II was ready to end the war and begin serious peace negotiations with Bolesław I.

On 30 January 1018, Henry II and Bolesław I signed a fourth peace treaty, known as the Peace of Bautzen.[26] The Polish duke was able to keep the contested marches of Lusatia and Meissen on purely nominal terms of vassalage, with Bolesław I recognizing Henry II as his feudal lord.[27] Henry II also promised to support Bolesław I in the Polish ruler's expedition to Kiev to ensure his son-in-law, Sviatopolk, claimed the Kievan throne.[28] To seal the peace, Bolesław I, then a widower, reinforced his dynastic bonds with the German nobility by marrying Oda of Meissen, daughter of the Saxon Margrave Eckard I of Meissen.[21]

Conflict with Byzantium

[edit]

Henry II's involvement in Italian politics and his coronation as emperor inevitably brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Empire. In 969, Emperor Otto I entered into an alliance with Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes in which both Eastern and Western Empires would jointly-govern southern Italy. Otto I's death in 973 and John I's death in 976 caused this alliance to deteriorate. Otto I's successor in the West, his son Emperor Otto II, and John I's successor in the East, his nephew Basil II, brought the two empires once again into conflict over control of southern Italy.

Under Otto I and Otto II, the Lombard leader Pandulf Ironhead expanded Western imperial control over central and southern Italy. Originally appointed by Otto I as Prince of Benevento and Capua in 961, Pandulf waged war against the Byzantines as a loyal lieutenant of Otto II. By 978, Pandulf had incorporated all three of the southern Lombard principalities – Benevento, Capua, and Salerno – into the Holy Roman Empire.[29] Pandulf's death in 981, however, weakened Western dominance over the Byzantine Empire in southern Italy.[30] By 982, the entire area once ruled by Pandulf had collapsed. The Byzantines still claimed sovereignty over the Lombard principalities, and the lack of single leader to prevent their advances into Lombard territory allowed the Byzantines to make inroads further north. While in Byzantine territory, Otto II encountered a large Muslim army brought into the region by Abu al-Qasim, Emir of Sicily, and was soundly defeated in the ensuing battle of Stilo on 14 July 982. The defeat shifted the balance of power in southern Italy into Byzantine favor. While preparing to counterattack the Byzantine advance, Otto II suddenly died while in Rome, with his infant son Otto III succeeding him. With an infant as ruler and a political crisis to address, the Western Empire was unable to challenge Byzantine dominance. This allowed Basil II to build of his defense forces in preparation for a future Western counterattack.

In 1017, aided by Norman mercenaries, the Lombard noble Melus of Bari led a successful rebellion against Byzantine control of Apulia. The Byzantine Empire struck back in 1018 under Catepan of Italy Basil Boioannes, delivering a devastating defeat to the joint Lombard-Norman force at the Battle of Cannae. Melus fled to the Papal States following the defeat. With the Byzantine successes in southern Italy, Pope Benedict VIII took an unusual step in 1020, traveling north across the Alps into Germany to discusses the state of affairs in southern Italy with the Emperor. Meeting Henry II in Bamberg, the Pope was accompanied by a large number of Italian secular and ecclesiastical leaders, including Melus. Henry II granted Melus the empty title Duke of Apulia for his actions against the Byzantines. But Melus died just a few days later, on 23 April 1020. After settling some controversies with the bishops of Mainz and Würzburg, the Pope convinced Henry II to return to Italy for a third campaign to counter the growing power of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1022, Henry II set out down the Adriatic coast for southern Italy commanding a large force. He sent Archbishop Pilgrim of Cologne ahead with a slightly smaller army along the Tyrrhenian littoral with the objective of subjugating the Principality of Capua. A third army, smaller still, under the command of Patriarch Poppo of Aquileia went through the Apennines to join Henry II in besieging the Byzantine fortress of Troia. Though Patriarch Pilgrim captured Pandulf IV of Capua and extracted oaths of allegiance from both Capua and the Principality of Salerno, all three of Henry II's armies failed to take Troia. The Byzantine troops could not be forced into a pitched battle, and Henry II was forced to turn back, his army weakened by diseases and suffering heavy losses. Henry II almost executed the treacherous prince of Capua, but he relented at the last moment at Pilgrim's pleading. Instead, Henry II sent him off to Germany in chains and appointed Pandulf V to replace him as prince of Capua. The expedition ultimately achieved little, and Pandulf IV would be reinstated as Prince of Capua as a Byzantine ally in 1026.

Imperial Policies

[edit]

Upon assuming the German throne, Henry II revised many policies of his predecessor, Emperor Otto III. Whereas Otto III had promoted a policy of "Restoration of the Roman Empire" (Renovatio imperii Romanorum), Henry II sought a policy of "Restoration of the Frankish Kingdom" (Renovatio regni Francorum). Compared to the other members of the Ottonian dynasty, Henry II spent relatively little time in Italy, only traveling south of the Alps three times during his twenty-two year reign. He was absent from the Italian peninsula for over a decade between his expulsion of Margrave Arduin of Ivrea in 1004 and his return in 1014 to claim the imperial title, allowing the kingdom to mostly govern itself.

Henry II's absence from Italy was primarily due to his continued conflict with Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland. During the reign of Otto III, Bolesław I had been a loyal ally of the Empire. However, the protracted German-Polish wars brought the two nations into open warfare for over sixteen years.

Ecclesiastical affairs

[edit]

Henry II inherited several unresolved ecclesiastical disputes from his predecessor Otto III. Issues of particular importance were the reestablishment of the Diocese of Merseburg and the settlement of the Gandersheim Conflict.[31]

  • The Diocese of Merseburg had been established by Emperor Otto I in 968 to commemorate his victory against the pagan Hungarians at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. Established to conduct missionary work among the pagan Slavs, the Diocese was all but abandoned in 983 following a major Slavic revolt against Imperial rule. In 1004, Henry II ordered the reestablishment of the Diocese to resume missionary work among the Slavs and appointed the German chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg to serve as its bishop.[32]
  • In 987, during the regency of Otto III's mother Theophanu, the Gandersheim Conflict, centering around the jurisdiction of Gandersheim Abbey, first flared up. Both the Archbishop of Mainz and the Bishop of Hildesheim claimed authority over the Abbey, including the authority to invest the Abbey's nuns. Otto III and Theophanu's intervention eased the tensions between the parties, but did not permanently settle the issue. Henry II only succeeded in suppressing the argument in 1007, and again in 1021. Still unsolved after his death in 1024, a compromise was pushed at an Imperial synod in 1030 in the presence of his successor Emperor Conrad II. Hildesheim was eventually given jurisdiction.[33]

In May 1017, Empress Cunigunde became seriously ill, while staying at the imperial estates in Kaufungen. Henry II vowed to found a monastery on the site if she recovered. Upon her recovery in 1018, Henry ordered the construction of the Kaufungen Abbey. After Henry II's death in 1024, Cunigunde retreated to the Abbey, where she remained until her own death in 1040.

Sincerely religious, Henry II supported service to the Church (he was celibate) and promoted various monastic reforms. He also strongly enforced clerical celibacy, perhaps partly in order that the public land and offices he granted to clerics would not be devised to heirs. He encouraged the reform of the Church, fostered missionary activity, and made several charitable foundations for the poor.[8]

Henry II wished to become a monk, and in virtue of his imperial power he ordered the Abbot of Verdun to accept him in his monastery. Thereupon, the Abbot ordered him, in virtue of the vows he had professed, to continue the administration of the empire. Henry II fulfilled his duties in the spirit of humility and service, being convinced that temporal power was given by God for the good of the people.[8]

Henry II succeeded in persuading Pope Benedict VIII to include the word "Filioque" in the Nicene Creed. The addition of the term provided that the Holy Spirit emanated from both God the Father and God the Son. Together with the concept of Papal primacy, dispute over this doctrine was one of the primary causes of the Great Schism of the Church in 1054.[34][35]

Empire–Church relations

[edit]
Gospel Book of Henry II

The Ottonian dynasty's traditional policy of investing celibate clerics in the secular governance of the empire – the Imperial Church System – reached its climax under Henry II. Introduced by Emperor Otto I, the Ottonians appointed and integrated the higher clergy into the imperial administration, seeking to establish a non-hereditary counter-balance to the fiercely independent and powerful German Stem duchies.[36] The dukes have always preferred political particularism, looking to the interests of their respective duchies above the interests of the Empire as a whole. In an effort to unify the Empire under their leadership, the Ottonians increasingly associated themselves with the Church, claiming "divine right" to rule the Empire and presenting themselves as the protectors of Christendom.[37] A key element of this policy was to grant land and bestow the title of Prince of the Empire (Reichsfürst) to appointed bishops and abbots at the expense of the secular nobility. Unlike the dukes, these ecclesiastic figureheads would not be able to pass titles and privileges down a dynastic line. The Ottonian monarchs reserved the right to appointment and investiture of bishops of the empire's proprietary churches for themselves and commanded loyalty, but this contradicted canon law, which demanded absolute dedication to the universal Church.

Under Henry II, an increasing number of counties were assigned to secular rulership by bishops. He granted numerous and lavish donations of imperial regalia and land to the monasteries and dioceses of the Empire; in fact, no other Holy Roman sovereign was named as often in the memorial records.[13] With these extensive donations and the expanded powers of the emperor, the Catholic church gradually lost its autonomy. The imperial monasteries and other clerical institutions became so numerous, donations and secular privileges granted them so regular, that they eventually developed into an imperial bureaucracy. The chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg states that the cooperation of Henry II and the bishops of the empire was more intense than any other ruler of the Middle Ages, as the dividing lines between secular and ecclesiastical affairs were blurred beyond recognition. The clergy increasingly viewed Henry II as their feudal lord, particularly with regards to military matters.[38] The cleric princes came to make up a large part of Henry II's imperial army. For most of Henry II's campaigns against Poland and the Byzantine Empire, the cleric princes constituted the largest contingent. Henry II thus strengthened his control over the empire through the clergy, while gaining a greater control over the Church's spiritual policies.[13][39]

Diocese of Bamberg

[edit]
Main articles: Diocese of Bamberg and Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg
Bamberg Cathedral

In 1003, Henry of Schweinfurt, Margrave of the Nordgau in Bavaria, revolted against Henry II's rule. Henry II had promised to install the margrave as his successor to the Duchy of Bavaria in exchange for supporting his claim to the German crown. Upon assuming the throne, however, Henry II refused to honour his promise. Instead, Henry II deposed Margrave Henry in 1004 and abolished the March outright. To assume secular authority over the March's former territory, in 1007, Henry II announced his desire to establish a new diocese in Germany: the Diocese of Bamberg. Growing up in the Duchy of Bavaria, Henry II was fond of Bamberg, even giving his estates there to his wife Cunigunde of Luxembourg as her dower upon their marriage. Mission work among the Slavs of the region had previously been conducted by the Imperial Abbey at Fulda as part of the Diocese of Würzburg. To establish his diocese, Henry II needed to overcome the considerable resistance of the Bishop of Würzburg, as the new diocese would comprise about one-fourth of the former's territory. Henry II desired the new Diocese to aid in the final conquest of the pagan Slavs in the area around Bamberg.

Henry II held a synod in Frankfurt on 1 November 1007, to build consensus among the bishops of the Empire on the establishment of the Diocese of Bamberg. The Bishop of Würzburg, who hoped that the loss of territory from the formation of the new Diocese would result in his elevation to the rank of Archbishop, was not in attendance. Henry II also assigned a portion of the territory from the Diocese of Eichstätt to his planned Diocese. At the synod, Henry II obtained permission for the foundation of the Diocese. It was also decided that Eberhard, Henry II's Imperial Chancellor, would be ordained by Willigis, the Archbishop of Mainz and Primate of Germany, to head the new Diocese. Henry II made many wide-ranging gifts to the new Diocese to ensure its solid foundation. Henry II assigned many counties in the Duchy of Franconia, the Duchy of Saxony, the Duchy of Carinthia, and the Duchy of Swabia.[21]

Policy towards the nobility

[edit]

As under his predecessors Otto II and Otto III, the various German dukes of the Empire grew increasingly independent from Henry II. A "German" identity had begun to develop. South of the Alps, Italy also saw the various regional lords grow independent. Increasingly, the Empire's duchies were becoming personal possessions of their respective ducal families as opposed to component parts of the Empire.

Henry II's policy towards the nobles was focused on overcoming these family structures within the duchies in order to restore imperial dominance. Henry II, as well as the other Ottonians, relied upon his connection with the Church to justify his power over the dukes. However, unlike under Otto I and Otto II, the various German dukes were no longer bound to Henry II by close family ties. While the Duchy of Franconia and the Duchy of Saxony formed the core imperial support, the Duchy of Swabia and the Duchy of Bavaria had grown increasingly rebellious.

Unlike his predecessors, Henry II was unwilling to show clemency to those dukes who had rebelled against his authority. This caused a sharp rise in conflict with the secular nobility, which forced Henry II to reinforce the position the clergy enjoyed in the governance of the Empire. It was only through the support of the clergy that Henry II survived the numerous noble revolts against his rule during the first decade of his reign. Even his relatives, such as his brothers-in-law Duke Henry V of Bavaria, and Count Frederick of Moselle, rebelled. As a result, Henry II systematically reduced the internal power structures of the Bavarian and Swabian dukes. Henry II's lack of sensitivity to the secular nobility also resulted in the series of wars against Poland. Under Otto III, Polish Duke Bolesław I Chrobry had been viewed as a valued ally; Henry II, however, saw him only as a subject.

In 1019, the once loyal Duke Bernard II of Saxony, grandson of Emperor Otto I's trusted lieutenant Hermann Billung, rebelled against Henry II, having grown frustrated at his lack of respect for the secular nobility.

Death and successor

[edit]
Tomb of Henry and Cunigunde by Tilman Riemenschneider

Returning to Magdeburg, Germany from southern Italy to celebrate Easter, Henry II fell ill in Bamberg. After celebrating Easter, Henry retired to his imperial palace in Göttingen. He died there on 13 July 1024 at the age of 51, after suffering from a chronic, painful urinary infection. Henry had been working with the Pope to convene a Church council to confirm his new system of imperial-ecclesiastical relations before he died, leaving this effort unfinished.

Empress Cunigunde arranged for Henry to be interred at Bamberg Cathedral. Though he left the Empire without significant problems, Henry II also left the Empire without an heir. Some speculate that both he and Cunigunde had taken mutual vows of chastity, because of their piety and the fact that they had no royal issue, but this is disputed. Their marriage being childless, the Saxon dynasty of the Ottonians died with Henry.[40]

In early September 1024, the German nobles gathered in Kamba and began negotiations for selecting a new king. The nobles elected the Franconian noble Conrad II as Henry II's successor, who became the first member of the Salian dynasty.

Veneration

[edit]
Saint

Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor

O.S.B
St. Henry and Cunigunde, as depicted in 15th century
Holy Roman Emperor
Born6 May 973
Abbach, Bavaria, Germany, Holy Roman Empire
Died13 July 1024
Göttingen, Germany, Holy Roman Empire
Venerated inCatholic Church
Russian Orthodox Church[41][42]
CanonizedJuly 1147, Rome, Papal States by Pope Eugenius III
Feast13 July
PatronageBenedictine Oblates, handicapped people, those rejected from religious orders

Henry II was canonised in July 1147 by Pope Eugenius III; Henry's spouse, Cunigunde was canonised on 29 March 1200 by Pope Innocent III. Henry's relics were carried on campaigns against heretics in the 1160s. He is the patron saint of the city of Basel, Switzerland, and of St Henry's Marist Brothers' College in Durban, South Africa.[43][31]

Henry's feast day was inserted in 1631 in the General Roman Calendar as a commemoration on 13 July, the day of his death. In 1668, the feast was moved to 15 July as a semidouble. This rank was changed by Pope Pius XII in 1955 to a simple, and by Pope John XXIII in 1960 to a third-class feast. In 1969, the feast date was changed to 13 July again as an optional memorial.[44]

Henry II was an oblate of the Order of St. Benedict and is venerated as the patron saint of Benedictine oblates.[45]

Family

[edit]
Main article: Ottonian dynasty

Henry II was a member of the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emperors who ruled the Holy Roman Empire (previously Germany) from 919 to 1024. In relation to the other members of his dynasty, Henry II was the great-grandson of Henry I, great-nephew of Otto I, first cousin once removed of Otto II, and a second cousin of Otto III.

Sources

[edit]
Page of Thietmar's Chronicle

Between 1012 and 1018 Thietmar of Merseburg wrote a Chronicon, or Chronicle, in eight books, which deals with the period between 908 and 1018. For the earlier part he used Widukind's Res gestae Saxonicae, the Annales Quedlinburgenses and other sources; the latter part is the result of personal knowledge. The chronicle is nevertheless an excellent authority for the history of Saxony during the reigns of the emperors Otto III and Henry II. No kind of information is excluded, but the fullest details refer to the bishopric of Merseburg, and to the wars against the Wends and the Poles.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Henry II (c. 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry or Henry the Good, was the last of the , ruling from 1014 until his death. Born as the son of Duke Henry II the Quarrelsome of Bavaria and Gisela of Burgundy, he was elected King of the Germans in 1002 after the death of his cousin Otto III, securing the throne amid rival claims through ecclesiastical support and strategic alliances. He was crowned in 1004 and by in on 14 February 1014. His reign emphasized the consolidation of imperial authority via the Imperial Church System, including the foundation of the in 1007 to facilitate , administrative control in , and counterbalance secular nobility. Henry endowed the see generously, promoting education and liturgy, while supporting broader ecclesiastical reforms aligned with Cluniac ideals. Military efforts defined much of his rule, with campaigns against Slavic tribes, a protracted conflict with of from 1003 to 1018—resolved by the Peace of —and interventions in to suppress rebellions and restore papal-imperial relations, though these yielded mixed long-term stability. Married to of in 999, their union produced no heirs and was reputedly chaste, reflecting their deep piety; both were later canonized—Henry in 1146 and Kunigunde in 1200—venerating them as a model imperial couple devoted to faith over dynastic continuity. Childless upon his death from illness at Grona near , Henry bequeathed the throne to Conrad II of the , ending Ottonian rule after a century of dominance in and .

Early Life and Background

Birth, Upbringing, and Education

Henry II was born on 6 May 973 in , as the son of Duke Henry II the Quarrelsome of and Gisela of , both members of the Ottonian dynasty's Bavarian branch. His father, a great-grandson of King Henry I the Fowler, had inherited the in 955 but faced repeated conflicts with the imperial house, reflecting the dynasty's internal tensions over regional power. Raised in a ducal household steeped in Ottonian traditions of royal piety and clerical influence, Henry experienced the instability of his father's deposition by Emperor in 976, when the three-year-old was thrust into a period of family exile and custody under episcopal oversight. This event, part of the War of the Three Henries, disrupted Bavarian governance but highlighted the Ottonian lineage's endurance, as Duke Henry was restored in early 985 following 's accession, allowing the family to reclaim authority when young Henry was about twelve. Henry's education emphasized learning, fostering a lifelong commitment to Christian kingship amid the monastic and courtly culture of the Ottonians; traditions attribute his formation to Wolfgang of Regensburg, who instilled virtues of devotion and administrative rigor suited to imperial rule. Such , common for Ottonian to counter secular ambitions through church ties, equipped him with theological and skills while exposing him to the resilience required in dynastic politics.

Inheritance of Bavaria and Marriage to Cunigunde

Henry succeeded his father, Duke Henry II the Quarrelsome, as Duke of upon the latter's death on 28 August 995, a transition facilitated by prior family reconciliations with Emperor Otto III that had reinstated the Bavarian line after earlier depositions and rebellions. This inheritance restored the Ottonian cadet branch's influence in one of the empire's core duchies, providing Henry with a strategic base in . Following Otto III's unexpected death without heirs on 23 January 1002, Henry navigated a contentious succession by leveraging his ducal authority in to rally support among nobles and clergy, thereby consolidating his regional power amid rival claims from figures like Duke Hermann II of and Margrave Eckbert of . On an unspecified date in 999, Henry married Cunigunde, daughter of I, Count of , a union designed to forge alliances with influential Lotharingian and nobility, enhancing his connections beyond to western frontier regions. The marriage yielded no surviving children, directly contributing to the end of the in the male line and prompting later Salian succession. While 12th-century hagiographic accounts, drawing on vitae composed after their canonizations, promoted a narrative of voluntary vows to underscore their sanctity, contemporary chroniclers such as documented the childlessness without reference to such , attributing it instead to divine will or natural causes and leaving room for interpretations ranging from to pragmatic political . Henry's early piety, evidenced by endowments to Bavarian monasteries like , which he supported with lands and privileges shortly after assuming the , established a reliance on networks for legitimacy and administration— a causal mechanism rooted in the Ottonian tradition of church-state symbiosis rather than mere personal devotion, as these gifts secured clerical loyalty crucial for quelling local unrest and extending influence. This pattern of strategic benefaction, unadorned by later saintly legends, underscored the political utility of religious in stabilizing his ducal against potential challengers.

Ascension and Reign as King of Germany (1002–1014)

Disputed Election and Suppression of Rivals

The unexpected death of Emperor Otto III on 23 January 1002 in Paterno, , from illness during a campaign against a revolt, created a power vacuum in the Kingdom of , as he left no heirs and his Italian-focused policies had alienated some German nobles. This triggered a contested succession among multiple candidates, including Duke Henry IV of (a distant Ottonian relative), Eckard I of (backed by Polish Duke Bolesław I Chrobry for his administrative experience), and Bolesław himself, who asserted claims through marital ties and eastern influence. Eckard's in April 1002 by unknown assailants, possibly linked to rival factions, eliminated a strong contender and shifted momentum toward Henry, who seized the royal insignia en route from to assert dynastic continuity. Henry capitalized on his Bavarian ducal base, which provided military resources and regional loyalty, alongside clerical endorsements from bishops wary of non-Ottonian outsiders like Bolesław. He convened assemblies to formalize his , securing as at on 7 June 1002, followed by coronation and oaths of fealty that emphasized elective tradition over strict heredity. This pragmatic process, rooted in noble consensus rather than force, reflected the kingdom's decentralized structure, where strong leadership could stabilize fragmented claims through targeted alliances and land incentives rather than universal appeal. To consolidate power, Henry swiftly suppressed internal rivals, notably , who revolted in early 1003 claiming a promise of the Bavarian duchy for electoral support. Henry's forces besieged and razed Schweinfurt's fortifications, compelling submission through superior mobilization and confiscation of estates, achieving victory by mid-1003 despite Polish aid to the rebel. These actions, combining military pressure with redistributive grants to loyalists, enforced oaths of allegiance and deterred further challenges, establishing a precedent for elective monarchy's viability under decisive rule without broader civil war.

Internal Consolidation and Administrative Measures

Following his election as king on 7 June 1002, Henry II moved swiftly to reassert royal prerogatives over the duchies, countering the autonomy of secular nobles through targeted interventions and the leverage of ecclesiastical institutions. In , where Duke Hermann II had mounted a rival claim to the , Henry pressured the duchy after Hermann's on 4 May 1003, systematically curtailing its ducal powers to prevent the consolidation of regional challenges to . Similarly, in —his familial base—Henry suppressed a rebellion by the Counts of in 1003, confiscating their estates and redirecting them to the royal , which diminished ducal fiscal independence and enhanced the king's direct revenue streams. Henry maintained administrative continuity with Ottonian precedents by integrating the imperial church into , appointing bishops and abbots as key administrators who doubled as chancellors; of the 64 bishops installed during his , 24 held the chancellorship, enabling coordinated oversight of territories without reliance on hereditary ducal lines. This approach prioritized loyal prelates over lay magnates, fostering a network of dependent agents who provided , financial, and judicial support to while checking noble overreach. To enforce this structure, Henry employed itinerant kingship, traveling extensively between episcopal residences and royal monasteries to hold court assemblies (placita) and synods, where he adjudicated disputes and issued charters affirming royal rights. Over his reign, he convened 15 synods, including key gatherings at Merseburg in 1002—securing Saxon loyalties—and 1013, which dispensed justice directly and bypassed local feudal courts. These measures promoted fiscal self-sufficiency through preserved royal domains and standardized prerogatives like tolls and mints, as evidenced in diplomas from 1002–1010 that confirmed holdings while subordinating lay claims; by 1007, his charters invoked the title rex Romanorum, underscoring centralized authority.

First Italian Campaign and Lombard Affairs

In response to Arduin of Ivrea's usurpation of the Lombard throne in 1002–1003 following Otto III's death, Henry II mobilized an army and crossed the into in early 1004 to reassert royal authority. Arduin, a local lacking widespread noble or backing, had seized and challenged the German king's overlordship, prompting Henry to intervene decisively after initial diplomatic overtures failed. Henry outflanked Arduin's blocking forces at the narrow passes of the or Chiusa di Ceraino, avoiding a direct confrontation and advancing rapidly into without significant pitched battles. Upon reaching , the traditional seat of Lombard kingship, he compelled Arduin's submission and was crowned on 15 May 1004 by Archbishop Arnulf II of using the of Lombardy, a relic symbolizing continuity with prior Ottonian claims. The coronation affirmed Henry's title as Rex Italiae, though his forces faced sporadic resistance from Arduin's partisans, including riots in that German troops suppressed through massacre and pillage. To consolidate control, Henry relied on the Italian episcopate, installing or confirming loyal bishops in key sees such as and , whose territorial immunities had previously encroached upon; these prelates provided administrative and military support, reinforcing the church's role as a bulwark against local autonomy. However, full pacification proved elusive amid ongoing unrest and the logistical strain of maintaining a distant occupation. By late 1004, Henry ordered a strategic withdrawal northward, prioritizing the eastern frontier where Bolesław I of Poland had exploited his absence by raiding , Merseburg, and besieging , thereby illustrating the causal tension between Italian ambitions and Slavic threats that necessitated selective engagement over permanent garrisons. This restraint contrasted with III's Roman-centric policies, which had overextended resources and culminated in his untimely death in amid instability; Henry's measured approach secured nominal overlordship without provoking broader rebellion, fostering intermittent Lombard loyalty through episcopal intermediaries rather than direct rule.

Wars with Bolesław I of Poland

Upon ascending the throne in June 1002, Henry II faced immediate challenges from Bolesław I of Poland, who had exploited the following Otto III's death to seize control of the and Lusatian marches, territories vital to German eastern defenses. These regions, previously under margraves allied with the Ottonians, provided buffer zones against Slavic incursions, and Bolesław's occupation threatened imperial authority by integrating them into Polish administration. Henry prioritized reclamation, allying with pagan tribes to counter Bolesław's expansion, reflecting pragmatic over ideological concerns. Initial clashes intensified in 1003–1005 amid Henry's suppression of internal Saxon unrest. In 1004, Henry launched a major offensive into , besieging the fortified settlement of Niemcza after Polish forces under Bolesław fled the field; the site surrendered following a prolonged assault, allowing Henry to raze it and secure temporary gains in the region. Bolesław regrouped with reinforcements, prompting Henry to advance toward the Oder River in 1005, where disease and logistical strains forced withdrawal despite Polish retreats into and Kievan Rus'. , a contemporary with access to court records, notes Henry's strategic devastation of borderlands to deny Bolesław resources, though Polish alliances delayed full recovery of lost marches. Escalation resumed in 1007 when Henry abrogated the fragile truce, citing Bolesław's refusal to remit tribute and overtures to Wendish pagans; German forces crossed the , employing scorched-earth tactics to ravage Polish heartlands up to the vicinity of , compelling Bolesław to seek Hungarian aid. In 1009, Henry, bolstered by Bohemian contingents, besieged but aborted the operation due to torrential rains flooding camps and eroding morale, as detailed in Thietmar's account emphasizing environmental factors over Polish resistance. Subsequent raids in 1010 targeted , where Bolesław's fortifications withstood sieges, but Henry's persistent pressure exploited Polish overextension. By 1013, exhaustive campaigning culminated in the siege of Kruszwica, where Bolesław's depleted forces sued for terms at Merseburg; the resulting peace recognized Polish control over parts of in exchange for tribute and nominal submission, though Bolesław's unyielding ambitions—rooted in Piast consolidation—ensured ongoing friction without decisive German dominance. These conflicts underscored the marches' strategic value, with Henry's coalitions and yielding marginal border stabilization but highlighting the limits of overlordship against a unified Slavic power. Thietmar's , while biased toward Saxon perspectives, provides the most contemporaneous evidence, corroborated by logistical feats in sustaining armies over 300 miles from assembly points.

Coronation and Reign as Emperor (1014–1024)

Imperial Coronation in Rome

Henry II launched his second Italian campaign in late 1013, motivated by the desire to secure imperial coronation and restore papal stability amid Roman factional strife. Advancing rapidly to Rome, his forces overcame opposition from the influential Crescentii family, who had contributed to the exile of Pope Benedict VIII, allowing Henry to reinstate the pope as a key ally in exchange for the coronation rite. This expedition, distinct from earlier ventures focused on Lombard submission, positioned the imperial title as a renewal of authority through ecclesiastical sanction rather than mere military conquest. The coronation occurred on 14 February 1014 in , where Benedict VIII anointed and crowned Henry as Romanorum Imperator, affirming the translatio imperii—the doctrinal transfer of Roman imperial legitimacy from antiquity through the Carolingians to the Ottonian line. The ritual underscored Henry's continuity with predecessors like Otto I, portraying the German monarchy as the rightful steward of universal Christian empire, independent of Byzantine claims. Henry's participation emphasized a symbiotic imperial-papal relationship, with the emperor's protective oaths reinforcing his duty to safeguard the Church while preserving royal prerogatives against encroaching theocratic tendencies. In the immediate aftermath, Henry convened a in to address clerical reforms and jurisdictional disputes, consolidating short-term governance over the city without establishing a permanent , unlike Otto III's immersive Roman residency. Departing northward by May 1014, he leveraged the prestige of the to bolster alliances with Italian bishoprics, fostering stability through enforced papal authority and curbing local aristocratic overreach. This calculated brevity in causalized enhanced northern legitimacy, enabling focused ecclesiastical patronage while averting entanglement in volatile Roman politics.

Final Campaigns Against Poland

Following his imperial coronation in 1014, Henry II renewed hostilities against Duke Bolesław I of in July 1015, aiming to reassert control over the contested regions of and Milceni after previous truces had faltered. Mobilizing a large force including Saxon levies, Bavarian contingents, and allied Bohemian troops, Henry advanced into and laid siege to the fortified town of , a key Polish stronghold. Bolesław responded by marching to relieve the siege, leading to skirmishes and a near the River around September 1, 1015, where German forces repelled Polish assaults but suffered significant attrition from constant harassment, disease, and supply difficulties. Unable to breach Głogów's defenses despite employing siege engines and combined infantry-cavalry tactics, Henry withdrew after inflicting tactical defeats on Bolesław's relieving army, though the campaign yielded no decisive territorial gains and highlighted the logistical challenges of extended operations in hostile terrain. In 1017, Henry launched a second major offensive into , besieging the formidable fortress of Niemcza in August, which controlled vital routes and symbolized Polish resistance. Commanding an estimated at around 30,000, including heavy armored knights and corps for undermining walls, Henry encircled the stronghold for three weeks, repelling sorties and Bolesław's counterattacks with disciplined formations that leveraged superior for flanking maneuvers. Bolesław's forces, reinforced by Slavic allies, inflicted heavy casualties through guerrilla tactics and arrow barrages, forcing Henry to abandon the siege due to dwindling supplies and mounting losses from and wounds, though German troops claimed victory in the ensuing field engagements by scattering Polish units. This campaign underscored Henry's strategic use of sieges to draw out and attrit the enemy but exposed vulnerabilities in sustaining prolonged blockades without unchallenged naval or riverine support, as per contemporary accounts emphasizing the role of fortified positions in Polish defense. The 1018 campaign proved decisive, as Henry mobilized once more, advancing deep into Polish territory and prompting Bolesław to seek terms amid fears of total subjugation and internal pressures. Negotiations culminated in the Treaty of on January 30, 1018, where Bolesław performed homage to Henry, acknowledging imperial overlordship, and agreed to annual tribute payments, provision of 1,200 armed auxiliaries for imperial wars, return of captives, and cession of direct control over and Milceni—territories restored to Henry but partially enfeoffed back to Bolesław as fiefs in exchange for . This outcome reflected Henry's pragmatic military acumen in achieving submission through persistent pressure rather than outright conquest, as Bolesław's homage and tribute obligations empirically demonstrated recognition of German superiority, though the duke retained de facto influence over the ceded marches. Primary chronicler , a Saxon bishop with access to court records, portrayed the treaty as a vindication of Henry's resolve, though his narrative reflects institutional biases favoring imperial expansion. These final campaigns strained imperial resources, requiring repeated musters of feudal levies and contributions that tested noble loyalty and fiscal capacity, revealing the limits of centralized warfare without broader aristocratic consensus for indefinite conflict. Henry's avoidance of overextension by accepting a negotiated peace preserved manpower and for other fronts, pragmatically balancing offensive gains against the causal realities of attrition in warfare, where Polish familiarity with local and fortifications offset numerical disadvantages.

Diplomatic Engagements with Byzantium and Hungary

Following his imperial coronation, Henry II pursued diplomatic stability on the empire's eastern flanks through alliances rather than conquest, prioritizing resource preservation amid ongoing Polish conflicts. Relations with the Kingdom of under King I (r. 997–1038) were anchored in familial bonds, as Stephen had married Gisela of , sister to Henry's consort , forging a brother-in-law connection that underpinned mutual non-aggression and border security along the . This kinship facilitated recognition of Stephen's Christian kingship—formalized by Pope Sylvester II's of Stephen around 1000–1001—and ensured Hungary's neutrality or support in imperial affairs, stabilizing the region without military expenditure. By 1016, these ties contributed to border delineations that averted incursions, reflecting pragmatic reciprocity wherein both rulers acknowledged each other's to counter common threats like Slavic polities, though the dissolved post-Henry's death in 1024 under Conrad II. Such engagements exemplified causal realism: leveraging to secure peripheries, enabling Henry to allocate forces toward core territories rather than peripheral expansion. Tensions with , under Emperor (r. 976–1025), centered on , where Byzantine catechurs exercised de facto control amid Lombard unrest and raids. In 1022, at Pope Benedict VIII's urging, Henry dispatched a substantial southward to restrain Byzantine influence, besieging key fortresses like but achieving limited territorial gains; Lombard princes realigned with imperial authority, yet Byzantine holdings endured, averting escalation into full imperial war. This intervention, framed as papal-mediated restoration of order, underscored Henry's restraint—campaigning decisively yet withdrawing without overcommitment, thus preserving imperial cohesion without the fiscal drain of prolonged eastern entanglement. No formal alliances materialized, but the episode highlighted cultural via Italian intermediaries, prioritizing flank security over ideological rivalry with the "two emperors" .

Domestic Policies and Reforms

Strengthening the Imperial Church System

Henry II expanded the Ottonian model of the Kirchenstaat, or imperial church system, by intensifying the reliance on bishoprics and abbeys as pillars of royal administration, military support, and political loyalty, thereby subordinating ecclesiastical institutions more firmly to 's needs. Bishops, invested with temporal authority over extensive royal grants of land and jurisdiction, served as royal officials who dispensed justice, managed estates, and mobilized contingents for imperial armies, obligations formalized in their oaths of to the king. This arrangement proved causally effective in averting feudal , as episcopal holdings eschewed hereditary succession—reverting to upon a bishop's for reappointment—thus preserving undivided royal domains amid noble rivalries. Empirical instances include the provisioning of ecclesiastical levies and revenues from sees like and Würzburg, which financed and staffed Henry's campaigns against between 1003 and 1018, sustaining prolonged offensives without alienating secular fiefs. To bolster this framework, Henry prioritized the appointment of clerics oriented toward disciplinary reforms and royal fidelity, embedding them in strategic dioceses to execute policy and counter secular fragmentation. These prelates, selected through royal nomination and episcopal consecration under crown influence, advanced canonical standards while extending administrative reach, as seen in interventions resolving disputes like the 1007 Hildesheim-Goslar territorial conflict, where Henry adjudicated in favor of loyal church interests. Such placements diminished aristocratic leverage by vesting key territories in non-heritable hands, fostering a network of dependent yet capable agents. Henry reinforced episcopal subordination via royal charters and synodal decrees, exemplified by the synod of 1 1007, where he secured assent from approximately 35 assembled bishops on realignments, thereby affirming royal primacy in diocesan matters and curtailing monastic assertions of from oversight. These instruments mandated abbatial deference to bishops, channeling monastic resources into imperial service and preempting autonomous power bases that could erode centralized authority. By systematizing such controls, Henry mitigated risks of internal dissolution, as unified episcopal allegiance underpinned fiscal and logistical stability for external exertions.

Establishment of the Diocese of Bamberg

Henry II founded the Diocese of Bamberg on 1 November 1007 at the Synod of Frankfurt, carving new ecclesiastical territory from the dioceses of Würzburg and Eichstätt to strengthen royal control in the sparsely populated upper Main River region of Franconia. This initiative faced resistance from Würzburg's Bishop Heinrich I, who objected to the loss of lands and boycotted the synod, but Henry secured approval by convening the bishops and obtaining their signatures on the foundation deed. The establishment abolished the March of Nordgau and transferred its secular authority to the new bishopric, positioning it as an independent entity directly subordinate to the papacy rather than local secular powers. Henry II and his wife Cunigunde personally donated the castle and town of , along with extensive lands, forests, and rights across and beyond, while designating the as their primary heir to ensure its and . They appointed Eberhard, Henry's trusted , as the first (1007–1040), who rapidly expanded the diocese's possessions through further acquisitions and administrative measures aligned with imperial interests. The bishopric's grand , begun shortly after the foundation, was consecrated in 1012 with altars enshrining relics of prominent saints, strategically enhancing its spiritual prestige to attract pilgrims and solidify regional adherence to the crown. Archival evidence from the synodal protocol underscores the diocese's role as a bulwark against ducal encroachments, particularly from Bavarian rivals seeking to dominate Franconian territories; by elevating a loyal , Henry circumvented potential secular princely capture and maintained direct oversight. Subsequent bishops upheld this imperial alignment, resisting absorption into emerging lay principalities and preserving Bamberg's function as a counterweight to Bavarian influence for generations.

Cluniac Reforms and Papal Relations

Henry II actively endorsed the Cluniac reform movement, which sought to restore monastic discipline and combat clerical abuses such as simony and concubinage, viewing it as a means to cultivate a more obedient and effective ecclesiastical hierarchy under imperial influence. He became a principal patron of Cluny Abbey, inviting its monks to establish priories and participate in reforming German monasteries to instill stricter Benedictine observance and reduce local lay interference. In 1021, during a personal visit to Cluny, Henry presented Abbot Odilo—whom he consulted as a key advisor—with symbolic imperial regalia, including a crown and globe received from Pope Benedict VIII, underscoring his commitment to propagating Cluny's model of centralized monastic authority northward. Henry's papal relations, particularly with Benedict VIII (r. 1012–1024), facilitated joint efforts to address reform precursors like lay investiture and clerical immorality, reinforcing the emperor's role as protector of the Church while preserving his dominance over episcopal appointments. In exchange for military restoration to the papal throne in 1014 after ousting the Gregory VI, Benedict collaborated closely with Henry, culminating in the Synod of Pavia in 1022, where they promulgated seven canons prohibiting priestly , enforcing , condemning , and safeguarding ecclesiastical property from alienation. These measures aimed to purify the , thereby enhancing their administrative reliability for imperial governance rather than granting . While these initiatives strengthened Henry's leverage over the imperial church by aligning it with disciplined, reform-oriented prelates loyal to the crown, they provoked episcopal discontent through his autocratic interventions, such as overriding canonical elections and treating bishops as extensions of royal administration. Contemporary accounts reflect tensions, as Henry's demands for unqualified obedience transformed sees into instruments of policy, fostering resentment among bishops accustomed to greater independence despite the shared reformist rhetoric. This approach prioritized causal efficacy in maintaining centralized authority over untrammeled episcopal collegiality, yielding a clergy more amenable to royal directives amid ongoing threats from nobility and external foes.

Relations with Nobility and Empire Structure

Policies Toward Secular Lords and Principalities

Henry II sought to limit the autonomy of powerful secular lords, particularly dukes, by suppressing revolts and redistributing confiscated lands to more loyal subordinates rather than restoring strong ducal houses. Upon his election as in , he confronted opposition from dukes such as Adalbert of and Herman II of , who had backed rival claimants; Henry leveraged ecclesiastical alliances and military campaigns to neutralize these threats, avoiding the reinstatement of hereditary ducal lines that could challenge royal prerogatives. A key instance occurred in 1003, when Margrave Henry of Schweinfurt, backed by Bolesław I of Poland, rebelled in , aiming to exploit regional discontent against Henry's direct rule. Henry II mobilized forces, including clerical contingents, to crush the uprising, resulting in the margrave's defeat, the seizure of his estates, and their reallocation to figures like the Babenberg family, thereby fragmenting potential power bases. In place of empowering grand duchies, Henry favored elevating comital families through selective enfeoffments of counties and margraviates, as these smaller units fostered direct dependence on without fostering semi-independent principalities. This aligned with Ottonian precedents of delegating to nobles while retaining ultimate oversight, though it often required ongoing vigilance against aristocratic ambitions. Royal assemblies (Hoftage) served as mechanisms to enforce , where secular lords renewed homage and oaths, binding them personally to the king amid displays of imperial majesty. Such gatherings, convened regularly from onward, underscored Henry's insistence on vassalic obligations but highlighted tensions, as nobles chafed under what some chroniclers portrayed as coercive exactions. Historians note that this emphasis on containment through force and selective patronage maintained short-term control but sowed resentments, paving the way for the Salian dynasty's more integrative approach with the nobility under Conrad II.

Efforts to Maintain Centralized Royal Authority

Henry II employed an itinerant kingship model, traveling extensively across the realm to hold royal assemblies known as placita, where he personally adjudicated disputes and enforced royal justice, thereby reinforcing direct oversight amid decentralized feudal structures. This approach, inherited from prior Ottonian rulers, allowed him to maintain personal presence in diverse regions without a fixed administrative capital, compensating for the absence of a robust bureaucratic apparatus. Records indicate he convened such assemblies frequently, with over 200 documented placita during his reign, covering judicial, fiscal, and ecclesiastical matters to bind local lords to royal authority. To bolster fiscal independence and counter noble encroachments, Henry II vigorously asserted regalian rights, monopolizing prerogatives such as coinage, , tolls, and market operations, which generated revenue from royal domains and vacant benefices (). This minimized reliance on contributions, enabling sustained itinerancy and efforts; for instance, he exploited revenues from Italian campaigns and eastern marches to fund operations without alienating core German territories. By reclaiming alienated royal properties and limiting grants of fiscal rights to secular magnates, he preserved a core of crown lands estimated at several hundred estates, ensuring economic leverage for cohesion. In peripheral regions, Henry II countered fragmentation by promoting missionary expansion into Slavic territories east of the , aiming to Christianize pagan groups and foster assimilation under imperial oversight, distinct from purely subjugation. Building on earlier Ottonian foundations, he supported clerical missions in the marches, viewing conversion as a tool for cultural integration and loyalty to the crown, though setbacks like the 983 Slavic revolt had curtailed prior dioceses such as . These efforts stabilized borders by embedding ecclesiastical networks loyal to the emperor, reducing autonomous tribal resistance and extending de facto central influence. These systemic measures yielded short-term stability, with no major internal revolts during his 22-year reign, yet critics among later chroniclers and historians note their rigidity—rooted in without institutional deepening—exacerbated the Ottonian dynasty's extinction upon his death without a , paving the way for Salian succession. While effective against immediate centrifugal pulls from dukes and , the model's dependence on the monarch's vigor limited long-term centralization, as evidenced by the contested of 1024.

Death, Succession, and Legacy

Final Illness and Death

In the spring of 1024, during an imperial assembly at Merseburg, Henry II began suffering from a severe illness, identified in contemporary accounts as a recurrence of kidney stones or stone disease that had previously afflicted him in 1022. Seeking relief, he undertook a to the shrine of at Gommern, a site associated with miraculous healings, before traveling to the royal palace at Grona near . Henry's condition deteriorated rapidly, and he died on July 13, 1024, at Pfalz Grona, aged 51. His body was transported southward for burial in the , the bishopric he had personally established as a cornerstone of his policies. In the immediate aftermath, Empress Cunigunde assumed a regency role to manage imperial affairs pending the election of a successor, a necessity exacerbated by the couple's , which left no direct heir and exposed the fragility of dynastic continuity in the Ottonian system. Chroniclers noted Henry's stoic endurance of his final pains as consistent with his lifelong commitment to royal obligations, though medical details remain sparse beyond references to enduring fever and organ affliction.

Dynastic Transition to the Salians

Henry II died on July 13, 1024, at Grone near , leaving no children or close male relatives to claim the , which compelled the German magnates to convene assemblies for electing a successor. The absence of a designated heir broke from the Ottonian pattern of familial continuity, shifting reliance to the empire's elective tradition rooted in the 9th-century precedents. The decisive assembly occurred at (also known as Kamba) on September 4, 1024, where Conrad II, a Franconian count from the Salian family and distantly related to I through the female line, was elected by the assembled princes and bishops. Archbishop Aribo of , presiding over the gathering, cast the first vote in favor of Conrad, securing support from key figures reconciled with the late emperor's circle. Conrad's selection prevailed over other contenders, including those backed by external interests, due to his demonstrated loyalty and the backing of influential German nobles wary of foreign influence. Empress Cunigunde served as interim regent for the six weeks following Henry II's death, governing alongside her brothers and safeguarding the imperial until formally relinquishing them to Conrad upon his . Conrad's prompt anointing as shortly thereafter—followed by his queen Gisela's —facilitated a seamless handover, demonstrating the elective system's capacity to maintain stability amid dynastic rupture. This transition, while orderly, signaled the termination of the Saxon Ottonian lineage's direct centralized authority, paving the way for Salian adaptations that tested the monarchy's institutional framework against rising princely autonomies.

Historiographical Assessment and Veneration as Saint

Modern regards Henry II's reign (1002–1024) as the zenith of Ottonian centralization, achieved primarily through the reinforcement of the imperial church system, which subordinated bishoprics directly to royal authority and curbed the autonomy of secular nobles. Scholars highlight the foundation of the in 1007 as a strategic , creating a loyal enclave in to counterbalance eastern marcher threats and noble fragmentation, thereby sustaining centralized fiscal and military resources. This approach, building on predecessors like I, enabled effective border defense against Slavic incursions and Hungarian raids, though it provoked resistance documented in noble chronicles, such as those from Bavarian and Swabian houses, which portray Henry's interventions— including depositions of bishops—as tyrannical overreach that exacerbated ducal revolts. Empirical analysis of charter evidence supports the view that his policies yielded tangible gains in administrative coherence, outweighing the short-term costs of noble alienation, even as they failed to prevent the dynasty's extinction due to childlessness. Henry II's canonization on 15 July 1146 by occurred amid the investiture controversies and movements, with Bamberg clergy petitioning to elevate their founder as a model of pious rulership during tensions between Salians and claimants. subsequently flourished in Benedictine circles, positioning him as of rulers, the disabled, and childless couples, reflecting medieval ideals of sacral kingship where temporal power served divine order. However, hagiographic legends—promoted by 12th-century vitae from and —exaggerate his personal asceticism, including claims of a perpetually chaste to , vowed before consummation to prioritize spiritual over dynastic ends; these narratives, aligned with Cluniac emphasis on clerical purity, lack corroboration from contemporary sources like Thietmar of Merseburg's Chronicon, which describe routine royal conjugal relations without reference to abstinence. , the factual basis for such tales, aligns more plausibly with physiological realities than self-imposed vows, as no primary evidence indicates voluntary continence amid the era's dynastic imperatives. Causal assessment privileges Henry's instrumental —ecclesiastical alliances as tools for consolidating power against feudal dispersal—over romanticized sainthood, with verifiable achievements in reforming bishopric and securing imperial frontiers substantiating his legacy more than posthumous myths. Church-sponsored vitae, while instrumental in fostering cultic devotion, introduce ahistorical elements that medieval chroniclers like Adalbold of omitted, suggesting later accretions to buttress papal claims during 12th-century struggles. Thus, his sanctification reflects not innate holiness but the retrospective utility of Ottonian precedents in legitimating reformed monarchy, where policy efficacy in maintaining regnum integrity eclipses personal virtue in historical evaluation.

Family and Personal Life

Henry II was born on 6 May 973 in as the son of Henry II of Bavaria, known as the Wrangler for his repeated rebellions against imperial authority, and Gisela of , daughter of King . His father was deposed in 976 and again in 995, events that shaped Henry's early life under imperial oversight. Historical records indicate Henry had siblings, including a brother Bruno who became of , though they played limited roles in his reign. In approximately 998, Henry married , daughter of I, Count of Luxembourg, and Hedwig of Nordgau, to strengthen alliances in the western empire. The union produced no children, leading to the adoption of succession arrangements outside the direct line. Contemporary chroniclers like make no mention of marital discord or infertility causes, but later medieval narratives, including hagiographies composed after their deaths, assert the couple took a vow of chastity to devote themselves to religious life, a claim unsupported by 11th-century evidence and likely constructed to enhance their saintly cults. survived Henry, retiring to found the convent and dying in 1033. Henry's reflected deep , with reports of ascetic practices and frequent pilgrimages, though these intertwined with his political role in bolstering ecclesiastical authority. prompted no recorded personal crisis in primary sources, as Henry focused on imperial stability over dynastic continuity.

References

  1. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07227a.htm
  2. https://historyofthegermans.com/henry-ii-1002-1024/
  3. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/07/13/st-henry-ii-emperor.html
  4. https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BAVARIA.htm
  5. https://thecatholictravelguide.com/destinations/germany/bamberg-germany/bamberg-cathedral-tomb-of-saint-henry-ii/
  6. https://newdailycompass.com/en/saint-henry-ii-1-1-1-1
  7. https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/dailystory/permalink/cunegunda-from-empress-to-servant-to-saint
  8. https://rsj.winchester.ac.uk/articles/205/files/submission/proof/205-1-1288-1-10-20191212.pdf
  9. https://www.manchesterhive.com/downloadpdf/9781526112774/9781526112774.00008.xml
  10. https://www.historytoday.com/archive/death-emperor-otto-iii
  11. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/journal-of-medieval-military-history/eastern-campaigns-of-king-henry-ii-of-germany-100317/A1237EEC66960B184221F1B0153B3F99
  12. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-II-Holy-Roman-emperor
  13. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/henry-ii-saint
  14. https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2021/kandzha_iliana.pdf
  15. https://www.scribd.com/document/847752280/The-Holy-Roman-Empire-a-Very-Short-Introduction-Very-Short-Whaley-Joachim-A-Very-Short-Introduction-569-1-2018-Oxford-University-Press
  16. https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/sla/article/view/35846
  17. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004331488/BP000010.xml
  18. https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/sla/article/view/35846/30809
  19. https://www.regesta-imperii.de/id/1014-02-14_2_0_2_4_1_572_1800b
  20. https://www.domradio.de/artikel/vor-1010-jahren-wurde-kaiser-heinrich-ii-gekroent
  21. https://wuwr.pl/sobotka/article/download/16347/14659/23017
  22. https://timenote.info/en/events/Peace-of-Bautzen
  23. https://www.jassa.org/?p=10978
  24. https://www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/culture_society/war_kingdom-of-hungary_power-of-prayer_king-stephen/
  25. https://hungariancleveland.org/saint-stephen-first-king-of-hungary/
  26. https://brill.com/downloadpdf/book/edcoll/9789047404095/B9789047404095_s009.pdf
  27. https://historyofthegermans.com/19-2/
  28. https://catholicexchange.com/saint-of-the-day/st-henry-ii-emperor
  29. https://scholars.unh.edu/context/thesis/article/1036/viewcontent/1443595.pdf
  30. http://hubert-herald.nl/Griffin.htm
  31. https://www.bavarikon.de/object/bav:GDA-OBJ-0000000000000052?lang=en
  32. https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=7663
  33. https://www.academia.edu/102990049/The_Military_Organization_of_Ottonian_Germany_c_900_1018_The_Views_of_Bishop_Thietmar_of_Merseburg
  34. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5611&context=open_access_etds
  35. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26338377
  36. https://www.manchesterhive.com/view/9781526112774/9781526112774.00007.xml
  37. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1869131
  38. https://www.carlmueller-crepon.org/publication/itinerant_rule/MNKM_itin_rulers_20240424.pdf
  39. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv29mvtt0
  40. https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/pdf/10.1484/M.SCISAM-EB.5.118742
  41. https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/saints/fromanancientlifeofsthenry/
  42. https://www.historyofthegermans.com/henry-ii-1002-1024/
  43. https://www.scribd.com/document/810798560/Germany-in-the-Early-Middle-Ages-c-800-1056-Timothy-Reuter-Z-Library
  44. https://artsandculture.google.com/story/0AVBnTHsD1oz0w
  45. https://historyofthegermans.com/22-2/
  46. https://historyofthegermans.com/2021/09/election-konrad-ii/
  47. https://academic.oup.com/gh/article/41/2/153/7103628
  48. https://academic.oup.com/book/1833/chapter/141547586
  49. https://www.academia.edu/30203919/The_Nachleben_of_an_Ottonian_monarch_the_Canonization_of_Henry_II_and_Crusading_in_the_Twelfth_Century
  50. https://www.academia.edu/41334730/Virgins_on_the_Throne_The_Chaste_Marriage_of_Emperor_Henry_II_and_Empress_Cunigunde_in_Medieval_Narrative_Traditions
  51. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-henry-ii-520
  52. https://www.geni.com/people/Gisela-of-Burgundy-Duchess-of-Bavaria/6000000002214283343
  53. https://www.geni.com/people/Henry-ll-Holy-Roman-Emperor/4310105748700020120
  54. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kunigunde-german-empress-st
  55. https://rsj.winchester.ac.uk/articles/10.21039/rsj.205
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.