Henry I (, died 23 June 1018), known as Henry the Strong (), was the
Margrave of Austria
From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, those states were part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the Ar ...
from 994 to his death in 1018. He was a member of the
House of Babenberg.
[Lingelbach 1913, p. 89.]
Biography
Henry the Strong was the son of
Leopold I, the first Margrave of Austria, and
Richardis of Sualafeldgau. At the time of Henry the Strong's investiture in 996, the land between the
Bisamberg and the
March
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 2 ...
river had not yet been settled by Germans.
[Leeper 1940, pp. 164–165.] In 1002, Emperor Henry II granted two land areas to the margrave: one of 18 square miles southwest of Vienna, and another of 22 hides between the
Kamp and the March rivers. Both grants were on the frontier—the former on the Hungarian, the latter on the Polish.
[Leeper 1940, p. 165.] Henry the Strong faced his most significant threat from the north. Following the death of Duke
Boleslaus II of Bohemia in 999, the area north of the Eastern March became unstable due to the brutality of his successor, Duke
Boleslav III the Red, who was soon defeated by Polish Duke
Bolesław I Chrobry, who became Duke of Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia.
After taking the marches of
Lusatia
Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...
and
Sorbian Meissen, and the cities of
Budziszyn and
Meissen
Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
in 1002, Bolesław I Chrobry refused to pay tribute to the Empire from the conquered territories. Emperor
Henry II
Henry II may refer to:
Kings
* Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014
*Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154
*Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...
, allied with the
Lutici, responded with an offensive in 1003, and by the autumn of 1004, the German forces deposed Bolesław I from the Bohemian throne. Bolesław I, however, retained control over
Moravia
Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The medieval and early ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
until 1018, and continued to threaten the eastern territories throughout these years. In 1015 and 1017, Bolesław I attacked the Eastern March and was defeated twice by Henry the Strong and his forces.
[Thietmar 2001, viii, pp. 19, 61.] Not long after his second victory against Bolesław I, on 23 June 1018, Henry I the Strong died "in his armour" according to one chronicler.
[Thietmar 2001, viii, p. 9.]
Ostarrîchi document
During the margravate of Henry the Strong, a document was issued by Emperor
Otto III on 1 November 996 in
Bruchsal to Gottschalk von Hagenau,
Bishop of Freising. The historical significance of the document lies in the fact that it is the first time that the name ''Ostarrîchi''—the linguistic ancestor of ''Österreich'', the German name for Austria—is mentioned, even though it applied only to a relatively small territory. The document concerns a donation of the "territory which is known in the vernacular as ''Ostarrichi''" (''regione vulgari vocabulo Ostarrichi''), specified as the region of
Neuhofen an der Ybbs (''in loco Niuuanhova dicto''). The emperor donated this land to the abbey of
Freising
Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising (district), with a population of about 50,000.
Location
Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in ...
as a
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
. The lands and some other communities in the vicinity, which the abbey acquired later, were held until 1803, when they were incorporated into Austria. The document is kept today in the Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv in Munich.
See also
*
List of rulers of Austria
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
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External links
Heinrich Ia
AEIOUAustrian Millennium Coin showing Heinrich I
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry I, Margrave Of Austria
10th-century births
Year of birth unknown
1018 deaths
10th-century margraves of Austria
11th-century margraves of Austria
People from Melk