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Henry III (c. 940 – 5 October 989), called the Younger, a member of the
Luitpolding The Luitpoldings were a medieval dynasty which ruled the German stem duchy of Bavaria from some time in the late ninth century off and on until 985. Origins The descent of the East Frankish Luitpoldings has not been conclusively established. The ...
dynasty, was the first
Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...
from 976 to 978,
Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...
from 983 to 985 and again Duke of Carinthia from 985 to 989.


Life

Henry the Younger was the only surviving son of Duke Berthold of Bavaria, who at the time of his birth was a loyal supporter of the royal
Ottonian dynasty The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...
descending from
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
. In 921 Henry's uncle
Arnulf the Bad Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (german: der Schlimme), the Evil (''der Böse'') or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of Duke of Bavaria from about 907 until his death in 937. He ...
after two years of struggle had finally acknowledged the rule of
Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler (german: Heinrich der Vogler or '; la, Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936) was the Duke of Saxony from 912 and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he ...
as
King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empir ...
and in turn achieved a certain autonomy for his
Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under Fr ...
. However, this exceptional status was denied by King Henry's son and successor
Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
, who in 938 had Arnulf's son and successor Duke
Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire * Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, D ...
deposed and banned. King Otto appointed Arnulf's younger brother Berthold duke instead, after he had pledged allegiance and renounced the Bavarian privileges. Duke Berthold remained a loyal vassal of the king, however, his son Henry the Younger was still a minor upon his father's death in 947 and King Otto I took the occasion to cede the Bavarian duchy to his own younger brother
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
. As Henry I about 937 had married
Judith, Duchess of Bavaria Judith of Bavaria (925 – 29 June after 985), a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, was Duchess consort of Bavaria from 947 to 955, by her marriage with Duke Henry I. After her husband's death, she acted as regent of Bavaria during the mino ...
, a daughter of the late duke Arnulf the Bad, he could raise claims to the ducal title.


Early years

After he became of age, Henry the Younger waited patiently, though it seemed that Bavaria was ultimately lost for the Luitpoldings, when upon the death of the Ottonian duke Henry I in 955 he was succeeded by his four-year-old son Henry the Wrangler (as Henry II) under the tutelage of his mother Judith. Coming of age, Duke Henry II of Bavaria increased his power: in 954 his sister Hadwig had married Duke
Burchard III of Swabia Burchard III (c. 91512 November 973), a member of the Hunfriding dynasty, was the count of Thurgau and Zürichgau, perhaps of Rhaetia, and then Duke of Swabia from 954 to his death. He was the son of Burchard II, Duke of Swabia and Regilinda. ...
, in 972 he himself married
Gisela of Burgundy Gisela is the name of: People Full name * Gisela, Abbess of Chelles (757–810), daughter of Pepin the Short, sister of Charlemagne ** Gisela, daughter of Charlemagne (781–808) * Gisela, daughter of Louis the Pious (born 821), consort of Eberha ...
, the niece of Emperor Otto's wife
Adelaide of Italy Adelaide of Italy (german: Adelheid; 931 – 16 December 999 AD), also called Adelaide of Burgundy, was Holy Roman Empress by marriage to Emperor Otto the Great; she was crowned with him by Pope John XII in Rome on 2 February 962. She was the ...
. The tables began to turn upon Otto's death on 7 May 973, followed by the death of Henry's brother-in-law Duke Burchard III of Swabia on 12 November: Duke Henry II, not satisfied with Bavaria, raised claims to Burchard's
Duchy of Swabia The Duchy of Swabia (German: ''Herzogtum Schwaben'') was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German Kingdom. It arose in the 10th century in the southwestern area that had been settled by Alemanni tribes in Late Antiquity. While the ...
upon, trading on the difficulties of the new emperor, his cousin
Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. ...
, to establish his rule. His demands were denied, when Emperor Otto II enfeoffed his nephew
Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...
, son of late Duke Liudolf, with Swabia. The next year Duke Henry II of Bavaria openly revolted against his Ottonian cousin Emperor Otto II, backed by Bavarian and Saxon nobles, and even obtained the support of Duke
Boleslaus II of Bohemia Boleslaus II the Pious ( cs, Boleslav II. Pobožný pl, Bolesław II. Pobożny; c. 940 – 7 February 999), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 972 until his death. Life and reign Boleslaus was an elder son of Duke ...
and
Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was the first ruler of Poland and the founder of the first independent Polish state, the Duchy of Poland. His reign stretched from 960 to his death and he was a member of the Piast dynasty, a son of Siemomysł and ...
. Emperor Otto II had to struggle for his rule, finally in 976 he marched against the Bavarian capital
Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
and declared Duke Henry II deposed.


Duke of Carinthia

Now the patient Luitpolding heir Henry the Younger finally gained some compensation, when the emperor took the occasion to rearrange the southeastern German territories. He severed the lands of the former
March of Carinthia The March of Carinthia was a frontier district (march) of the Carolingian Empire created in 889. Before it was a march, it had been a principality or duchy ruled by native-born Slavic (or semi-Slavic) princes at first independently and then un ...
from Bavaria and Henry the Younger was enfeoffed with the newly established Duchy of Carinthia (as Henry I), including the rule over the
marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...
of
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
,
Carniola Carniola ( sl, Kranjska; , german: Krain; it, Carniola; hu, Krajna) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region sti ...
and
Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
, as well as the Italian
March of Verona The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I of Germany in 952, ...
(his father Berthold had already received the title of a Carinthian duke by King Henry I of Germany in 927). The scaled-down Bavarian duchy passed to the loyal Ottonian duke Otto I of Swabia, while Count Leopold of Babenberg was vested with the remaining Bavarian
Margraviate of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (german: Markgrafschaft Österreich) was a medieval frontier march, centered along the river Danube, between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods (''Wienerwald''), within the territory of modern Austrian provinces of Up ...
. In 978 however, Henry the Younger himself was banned, probably because he now had joined the rebellion against Emperor Otto II in the War of the Three Henries, instigated by his predecessor the deposed duke Henry the Wrangler and Bishop Henry I of Augsburg during the emperor's campaign against Bohemia. Together with the forces of Duke Boleslaus II they occupied the Bavarian town of
Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...
, but were defeated by Otto's troops. At the Easter Imperial Diet of
Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
, the emperor deposed Henry the Younger and enfeoffed his
Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...
nephew
Otto of Worms Otto I (c. 950 – 4 November 1004), called Otto of Worms, a member of the Salian dynasty, was Duke of Carinthia from 978 to 985 and again from 1002 until his death. Biography Otto was the only son of Conrad the Red, Duke of Lotharingia, and Liu ...
with the Carinthian duchy. All Southern German duchies — Swabia, Bavaria and Carinthia — then were held by the emperor's relatives.


Later years and death

Enfeebled by his defeat against the Sicilian
Kalbids The Kalbids () were a Muslim Arab dynasty in the Emirate of Sicily, which ruled from 948 to 1053. They were formally appointed by the Fatimids, but gained, progressively, ''de facto'' autonomous rule. History In 827, in the midst of internal ...
at the 982
Battle of Stilo The Battle of Stilo (also known as Cape Colonna and Crotone) was fought on 13 or 14 July 982 near Crotone in Calabria between the forces of Holy Roman Emperor Otto II and his Italo-Lombard allies and those of the Kalbid emir of Sicily, Abu'l- ...
, Emperor Otto II upon the death of Duke Otto I of Swabia and Bavaria recalled Henry the Younger from banishment in 983 and instated him as Bavarian duke (as Henry III) at the Imperial Diet of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
. Nevertheless, his rule still remained contested by Henry the Wrangler and after the emperor died in the same year, Dowager Empress
Theophanu Theophanu (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor Ott ...
on behalf of the succession of her minor son
Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...
finally reconciled with him in 985. Duke Henry III had to renounce Bavaria in favour of Henry the Wrangler and again was given the Duchy of Carinthia instead, which Otto of Worms was forced to cede to him. When Henry the Younger died without issue in 989, the male line of the Luitpoldings became extinct. He was succeeded in Carinthia and Verona by Henry the Wrangler, who thereby once again united the Bavarian and Carinthian estates under his rule. Henry the Younger was buried at
Niederaltaich Abbey Niederaltaich Abbey (Abtei or Kloster Niederaltaich) is a house of the Benedictine Order founded in 741, situated in the village of Niederalteich on the Danube in Bavaria. Foundation and early history After its foundation in 741 by Duke Odilo o ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry Iii, Duke Of Bavaria 940s births 989 deaths 10th-century dukes of Bavaria Dukes of Carinthia Luitpoldings