Henry I (; d.1061), was

Count Palatine of Lotharingia This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire bet ...

from 1045 until 1060. He was the son of Hezzelin I, Count in Zülpichgau, and a member of the Ezzonid dynasty. Historians have given several nicknames to Heinrich: ''Furiosus'' (the Violent/the Insane), because he murdered his wife, and ''Monachus'' (the Monk), because he was confined into an abbey to treat his insanity.

Life

Henry was the son of Hezzelin I and his wife, whose name is unknown and who was probably a daughter of Conrad I of

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

. Around 1048 Henry married Mathilda of Verdun (born abt 1025, died 27 July 1060), daughter of Duke Gozelo of Lotharingia, and sister of pope Stephen IX. He received the Mosellan castle of

Cochem Cochem () is the seat of and the biggest town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just over 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the Kusel district, as Germany's second smallest district seat. Since ...

from his cousin, Queen Richeza of Poland. He was elected as successor for the German kingdom during Emperor Henry III's illness. Shortly after 1058, Henry began to show signs of insanity, for which he was confined to the abbey of

Gorze Gorze (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Sites and monuments Gorze Abbey was confiscated as public property during the French Revolution; it has since been restored and utilised for a variety of ...

. He escaped however, and thinking that his wife Matilda had been unfaithful to him, he killed her (27 July 1060). Henry then was definitely enclosed into the

abbey of Echternach The Abbey of Echternach is a Benedictine monastery in the town of Echternach, in eastern Luxembourg. The abbey was founded in the 7th century by St Willibrord, the patron saint of Luxembourg. For three hundred years, it benefited from the pat ...

, where he died in 1061. His office and counties were confiscated by

Anno II, archbishop of Cologne Anno II ( – 4 December 1075) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1056 until his death. From 1063 to 1065 he acted as regent of the Holy Roman Empire for the minor Emperor Henry IV. Anno is venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church. Life He was ...

, who became the guardian of their only son, the later count palatine Hermann II (1064-1085).''Vita Annonis Archiep. Coloniensis'', ch. 32, p. 480.
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References

* *Boehmer, J. F. (1868) ''Fontes Rerum Germanicarum'', vol. IV (Stuttgart)

Notes

{{Authority control Counts Palatine of Lotharingia Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Forcibly monasticised