Henry of Eppenstein (usually numbered Henry III; – 4 December 1122) was
Duke of Carinthia and
Margrave of Verona
The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast Marches, 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, Holy Roman ...
from 1090 to 1122. He was the last duke from the House of
Eppenstein.
He was the son of Count Markwart of Eppenstein (d. 1076) and his wife Liutbirg of Plain, the younger brother of
Liutold of Eppenstein, who was enfeoffed with the Carinthian duchy after the deposition of the
Zähringen duke
Berthold
Berthold or Berchtold is a Germanic given name and surname. It is derived from two elements, ''berht'' meaning "bright" and ''wald'' meaning "(to) rule". It may refer to:
*Bertholdt Hoover, a fictional List_of_Attack_on_Titan_characters, character ...
by King
Henry IV of Germany in 1077. Both brothers had been loyal allies of the king during the fierce
Investiture Controversy and the
Walk to Canossa. When the
princes elected
Rudolf of Rheinfelden anti-king, the Eppensteins ensured King Henry's safe passage back to
Germany.
In or shortly after 1077, Henry IV granted the marches of
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 ...
to Henry of Eppenstein. When Duke Liutold died childless in 1090, Henry IV vested him with Carinthia and the Veronese march, but transferred Carniola to the
Patriarchate of Aquileia and Istria to
Poppo of Weimar-Orlamümde. Duke Henry served as ''
Vogt'' (bailiff) of the patriarchate under his brother Patriarch
Ulrich I. With Ulrich he backed King
Henry V of Germany
Henry V (german: Heinrich V.; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125, in Utrecht) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-r ...
when he enforced the abdication of his father Emperor Henry IV in 1105. In the course of the ongoing Investiture Controversy he entered into an armed conflict with Prince-Archbishop
Conrad I of Salzburg in 1121.
With Henry's death in 1122, the Eppenstein line became extinct. The Carinthian duchy was taken over by his godson
Henry from the rising
House of Sponheim.
References
*Florin Curta. ''Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250''. Cambridge University Press, 2002. pg. 255
*John Eldevik. ''Episcopal Power and Ecclesiastical Reform in the German Empire: Tithes, Lordship, and Community, 950–1150''. Cambridge University Press, 2012. pg. 261
*I. S. Robinson. ''Henry IV of Germany, 1056–1106''. Cambridge University Press, 2003. pg. 289
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 02, Duke of Carinthia
Dukes of Carinthia
1050s births
1122 deaths
11th century in Croatia
12th century in Croatia