The Gelnhausen Charter was a charter written by the Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
deposing
Duke Henry XII for committing treason and "gravely oppressing … the nobles …
yoccupying their possessions and diminishing their rights." It split the duchies of
Westphalia
Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants.
The territory of the regio ...
and
Angria
Angria or Angaria (german: Engern, ) is a historical region in the present-day German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The chronicler Widukind of Corvey in his ''Res gestae saxonicae sive annalium libri tres'' denoted it as ...
away from the
Duchy of Saxony
The Duchy of Saxony ( nds, Hartogdom Sassen, german: Herzogtum Sachsen) was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 and incorporated into the C ...
.
Background
Henry XII was previously supporting the emperor's campaigns in Italy, however he stopped supporting as much. When the emperor asked Henry to help with his campaign against the
Lombard League, he asked for the city of Goslar, which was an important city with many silver mines. The emperor refused. Henry was charged with treason in 1181 and was stripped of his titles.
Effects
After Henry was stripped of his titles he started a war against the Holy Roman Empire. He found initial success, however due to poor management of his vassals and foreign policy, he lost. Saxony was split into Angria, which was granted to one of
Albert of Brandenburg's sons, and Westphalia, which was given to the
Sigwin the Pious, Archbishop of Cologne. The Gelnhausen Charter forced Henry to go into exile, and he fled to
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
's court. He briefly attempted to get his lands back, however he failed and made peace with
Henry VI.
[{{Cite book , last=Huffman , first=Joseph P. , url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Social_Politics_of_Medieval_Diplomac/yTaw3wmnlo8C?hl=en&gbpv=1 , title=The Social Politics of Medieval Diplomacy , publisher=University of Michigan Press , year=2009 , isbn=9780472024186 , pages=153 , language=en]
References
1180s in the Holy Roman Empire
Medieval documents