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) and
Eichsfeld The Eichsfeld ( or ; 'Oak-field') is a historical region in the southeast of the state of Lower Saxony (which is called , 'lower Eichsfeld') and northwest of the state of Thuringia (, 'upper Eichsfeld') in the south of the Harz mountains in Germany ...
from 1083 onwards, and was the
Margrave of Frisia 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. He was, by his patrimony of Rittigau and Eichsfeld, one of the most influential
Saxon
The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...
princes of his age. In 1086 he married the widow
Gertrude of Brunswick
Gertrud of Brunswick (; – 9 December 1117) was Countess of Katlenburg by marriage to Dietrich II, Count of Katlenburg, Margravine of Frisia by marriage to Henry, Margrave of Frisia, and Margravine of Meissen by marriage to margrave Henry ...
, 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
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the to ...
Valley, where he became the sole landholder. Further, he was the ''
Vogt
An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...
'' of
Helmarshausen
Helmarshausen is a village and a part (''Stadtteil'') of the town of Bad Karlshafen in Hesse, central Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North ...
and founded a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
monastery at
Bursfelde in 1093.
During the
civil wars of the early 1080s, which were part of the wider
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...
, Henry sided with his father, Otto, and the
anti-king
An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry ...
Herman of Salm, 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,
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
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. 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
Henry and Gertrude, Henry had three children:
* Otto III of Nordheim, who inherited his father's patrimony
* Richenza, married Emperor Lothair II
* Gertrude (''c''. 1090 – bef. 1165), who was heiress of Bentheim and Rheineck. 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
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*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