Henry I (919/921 – 1 November 955), a member of the
German royal
Ottonian dynasty
The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxons, Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German ...
, was
Duke of Bavaria
The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...
from 948 until his death.
Life
He was the second son of the German king
Henry the Fowler
Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 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 established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...
and his wife
Matilda of Ringelheim. After the death of his father, the royal title passed to Henry's elder brother
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...
, who immediately had to face the indignation of several
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 ...
nobles. Moreover, the late king's son from his first marriage,
Thankmar
Thankmar (or Tankmaro, or Tammo) (c. 908 – 28 July 938) was the eldest (and only) son of Henry I of Germany (Henry the Fowler) by his first wife, Hatheburg of Merseburg. His mother had been previously married and widowed, after which she enter ...
, revolted in alliance with Duke
Eberhard of Franconia
Eberhard (c. 885 – 2 October 939), a member of the Conradines, Conradine dynasty, was Duchy of Franconia, Duke of Franconia, succeeding his elder brother, King Conrad I of Germany, Conrad I, in December 918. From 926 to 928, he also acted as ru ...
and had young Henry captured and arrested. While Thankmar was killed by his own henchmen in 938, Henry, in custody, chose to join the insurgents. In alliance with Duke Eberhard and Duke
Gilbert of Lorraine he attempted a revolt against his elder brother King Otto in 938, believing he had a claim on the throne as firstborn son after King Henry's coronation in 919.

In 939 Henry's forces were
defeated at Birten (near
Xanten
Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel.
Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...
) and he himself was wounded. Both his allies Duke Eberhard and Duke Gilbert were killed at the
Battle of Andernach
The Battle of Andernach, between the followers and the opponents of King Otto I of Germany, took place on 2 October 939 in Andernach on the Rhine river and ended with a decisive defeat of the rebels and the death of their leaders.
Duke Eberhard ...
on 2 October. Henry fled, first to his sister
Gerberga, widow of Duke Gilbert of Lorraine, later to the court of King
Louis IV of France
Louis IV (920/921 – 10 September 954), called ''d'Outremer'' or ''Transmarinus'' ("From overseas"), reigned as King of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the only son of king Charles the Simple and his s ...
. When Otto's troops invaded
Lorraine
Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...
(Lotharingia) and marched against
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Henry returned and submitted to his elder brother. He and Otto were reconciled in 940, and Henry was awarded the Lotharingian duchy. However, he could not assert his authority in Lorraine against the local nobility tending to France, and as a result he was stripped of his position when the king appointed Count
Otto of Verdun duke. Embittered Henry again plotted to assassinate King Otto in Easter 941 at the
Imperial palace of
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...
, but was discovered and put in captivity in
Ingelheim
Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein (), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen Districts of Germany, district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's left bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat sin ...
, being released after doing penance at Christmas of that year.
Over the years, the relationship between the brothers improved. After the death of the
Luitpolding duke
Berthold of Bavaria, Otto, at the instigation of his mother Matilda, enfeoffed Henry with the
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria () was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarians, Bavarian tribes and ruled by List of rulers of Bavaria, dukes (''duces'') ...
in 948. Henry had ties to Bavaria through his marriage with
Judith
The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...
, a daughter of late Duke
Arnulf. Though he was met with resistance by local nobles, he first defended, and then enlarged his duchy in wars with the
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
. In 951 he accompanied King Otto on his
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
campaign against King
Berengar II and acted as matchmaker for his brother, when he brought Queen
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
to
Pavia
Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086.
The city was a major polit ...
. In turn he received the newly established
March of Verona
March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...
with
Friuli
Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...
,
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...
, and
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...
at the 952
Imperial Diet in
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
. In 953–954 Henry, temporarily deserted by his Bavarian subjects, brutally suppressed a revolt by Otto's son, Duke
Liudolf of Swabia and Duke
Conrad of Lorraine.
While his brother gained a victory over the Hungarians in the
Battle of Lechfeld
The Battle of Lechfeld also known as the Second Battle of Lechfeld was a series of military engagements over the course of three days from 10–12 August 955 in which the Kingdom of Germany, led by King Otto I the Great, annihilated the Hungaria ...
, Henry fell ill in 955 and died on 1 November in
Pöhlde Abbey
Pöhlde Abbey was a Premonstratensian (previously Order of St. Benedict, Benedictine) monastery at Pöhlde, now a small village and part of the town of Herzberg am Harz, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
History
The lands of Pöhlde were given in dower ...
. His son and heir was
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria. He was laid to rest in the abbey of
Niedermünster in
Regensburg
Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
, Bavaria, where his wife Judith is also buried.
Marriage and issue
Henry married
Judith
The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...
, daughter of
Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria
Arnulf II (birth unknown; died 14 July 937), also known as the Bad (), the Evil () 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 is numbered in succession to A ...
. They had:
*
Gerberge, abbess to Gandersheim
*
Hadwig, married to
Burchard III, Duke of Swabia
Burchard III (c. 91512 November 973), a member of the Hunfridings, Hunfriding dynasty, was the count of Turgowe, Thurgau and Zürichgau, perhaps of Rhaetia, and then Duke of Swabia from 954 to his death.
Life
Burchard was the son of Burchard II ...
*
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria (v.951 † 995)
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 01, Duke of Bavaria
10th-century births
955 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
10th-century dukes of Bavaria
Ottonian dynasty
Burials at Niedermünster, Regensburg
Sons of kings
Children of Henry the Fowler