Henry, Margrave of Frisia
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Henry the Fat ( – 1101), also known as Henry of Nordheim or Northeim, was
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
in Rittigau (part of
Liesgau The Liesgau was a shire ('' Gau'') of the Duchy of Saxony in the early medieval period, roughly corresponding to the former Osterode district of Lower Saxony. It was situated on the south-west side of the Harz Mountains in what is now the German s ...
) and
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; English: ''Oak-field'') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called "Untereichsfeld" = lower Eichsfeld) and northwest of the state of Thuringia ("Obereichsfeld" = upper Eichsfeld) in th ...
from 1083 onwards, and was the
Margrave of Frisia Of the first historically verifiable rulers of Frisia, whether they are called dukes or monarch, kings, the last royal dynasty below is established by the chronicles of Merovingian kings of the Franks, with whom they were contemporaries. In these ...
from 14 April 1099 until he was murdered in 1101. He was the father of Empress Richenza.


Life

Henry was the eldest son of Otto of Nordheim and
Richenza of Swabia Richenza (also spelled as ''Richeza'' or ''Richza'') ( – before 1083) was a German noblewoman. By her first marriage, she was Countess of Werl. By her second marriage, she was Countess of Northeim, and from 1061 to 1070, Duchess of Bavaria ...
. He was, by his patrimony of Rittigau and Eichsfeld, one of the most influential
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
princes of his age. In 1086 he married the widow Gertrude of Brunswick, which allowed him to unite her inheritance of property from the Brunonen dynasty and from the Counts of Katlenburg to his Northeimer Länderei. From the counts of Bilstein Henry inherited parts of the Werra Valley, where he became the sole landholder. Further, he was the ''
Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...
'' of
Helmarshausen Helmarshausen is a village and a part (''Stadtteil'') of the town of Bad Karlshafen in Hesse, central Germany. It was formerly the location of Helmarshausen Abbey, an Imperial abbey (''Reichsabtei'') of the Holy Roman Empire. Helmarshausen lies o ...
and founded a
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
monastery at
Bursfelde Bursfelde is a village, now administratively joined with Hemeln as Bursfelde-Hemeln, in the northern part of Hann. Münden in the district of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. The village lies on the east side of the Weser River. It is best known ...
in 1093. During the
civil wars A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
of the early 1080s, which were part of the wider
Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest (German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture) and abbots of monast ...
, Henry sided with his father, Otto, and the anti-king
Herman of Salm Herman(n) of Salm ( – 28 September 1088), also known as Herman(n) of Luxembourg, the progenitor of the House of Salm, was Count of Salm and elected German anti-king from 1081 until his death. Life Hermann was a son of Count Giselbert of L ...
, to whom he was related by marriage, against Henry IV of Germany. In 1086 he and his brothers, Kuno and Otto, changed sides to support Emperor Henry IV. Henry's wife, Gertrude, was the only sister of Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen, whose own marriage remained childless. By the right of inheritance Henry stood to receive Egbert's counties in Frisia on the margrave's death in 1090, though Meissen was granted by the Emperor to another Henry. These Frisian counties, however, had been annexed from Egbert during the latter's rebellion in 1089 and were being administered by
Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...
,
Bishop of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...
. When Conrad was assassinated on 14 April 1099, the Emperor finally bestowed the counties on Henry. Henry immediately tried to regulate Frisian shipping and ignored the privileges granted to the town of Staveren. The Church, feeling threatened by Henry, allied with the merchant class and the townsmen. Though they received him on seeming friendly terms, he perceived their threat and tried to flee by boat. His ship was attacked at sea and sunk, Henry was killed, but his wife escaped the assault.''Annales Hildesheimenses'', a.1100, p. 50


. The day of his death is not known precisely, but he was buried in Bursfelde on 10 April 1101.


Issue

With his wife, Gertrude, Henry had three children: *
Otto III of Nordheim 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 ...
, who inherited his father's patrimony * Richenza, who inherited the Katlenburger and Brunonen territories and united them to the
House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...
by her marriage to the future
Emperor Lothair II Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 before ...
. * Gertrude (''c''. 1090 – bef. 1165), who was heiress of Bentheim and
Rheineck Rheineck is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Rheineck is first mentioned about 1163 as ''castellum Rinegge''. In 1218 it was mentioned as ''Rinegg''. An older ...
. She married first Siegfried I of Weimar-Orlamünde and then Otto I, Count of Salm. Henry's widow, Gertrude, married the aforementioned Henry, Margrave of Meissen.


References

*A. Thiele, ''Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band I, Teilband 1'' *H. Jäkel, ''Die Grafen von Mittelfriesland aus dem Geschlechte König Ratbods.'' (Gotha 1895). *L. Fenske, ''Adelsopposition und kirchliche Reformbewegung im östlichen Sachsen'', (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Göttingen 1977). *K-H. Lange, ''Die Grafen von Northeim 950-1144'' (Kiel 1958).


Notes


External links


Heinrich der Fette at Genealogie Mittelalter
(in German) {{Authority control 1101 deaths Margraves of Germany 1050s births Counts of Brunswick Counts of Frisia