Henry the Proud () (20 October 1139), a member of 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 Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...
, 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 ...
(as Henry X) from 1126 to 1138 and
Duke of Saxony
This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918.
The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast ...
(as Henry II) as well as
Margrave of Tuscany
The March of Tuscany (; Modern ) was a march of the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Located in northwestern central Italy, it bordered the Papal States to the south, the Ligurian Sea to the west and Lombardy to ...
and
Duke of Spoleto
The Duke of Spoleto was the ruler of Spoleto and most of central Italy outside the Papal States during the Early and High Middle Ages (c. 500 – 1300). The first dukes were appointed by the Lombard king, but they were independent in practice. Th ...
from 1137 until his death. In 1138 he was a candidate for the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
as
King of the Romans
King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward.
The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...
but was defeated by
Conrad of Hohenstaufen.
Family
Henry was the second son of Duke
Henry IX of Bavaria and
Wulfhilde, daughter of Duke
Magnus of Saxony. He was thus not only a member of the Welf family, but, what was quite important, also senior heir of the Saxon House of
Billung
The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries.
The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudol ...
. Henry came of age in 1123, in 1126 his father retired to
Weingarten Abbey where he and his wife died shortly afterwards. As his elder brother
Conrad entered the
Cistercian Order
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
, Henry was enfeoffed 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'') ...
. He shared the family possessions in
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, Bavaria and
Swabia
Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...
with his younger brother
Welf VI
Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph).
...
.
In 1127, Henry married
Gertrude, the only child of King
Lothair III of Germany. Henry's father had been promised her marriage and inheritance as reward for his changing to support Lothair in the royal election of 1125 against the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...
rival Duke
Frederick II of Swabia
Frederick II (, 1090 – 6 April 1147), called the One-Eyed (), was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138.
Life Early career
Fr ...
. Gertrude was heir of the properties of three Saxon dynasties: the
House of Supplinburg, the
Brunonids
The Brunonids (or Brunonians, , , i.e. "Brunos") were a Saxon noble family in the 10th and 11th centuries, who owned property in Eastphalia (around Brunswick) and Frisia.
The Brunonids are assumed to be descendants of Brun, Duke of Saxony (d. ...
, and the counts of
Northeim
Northeim (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the Northeim (district), district of Northeim, with a population of 30,118 as of 31 December 2023. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road.
History
Northeim is first mentioned in ...
. The marriage marked the expansion of power of the Welf dynasty, Bavarian dukes since 1070, to the northern parts of
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The couple had a son,
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty.
Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...
.
Career
Henry was a loyal supporter in the warfare between his father-in-law King Lothair and the Hohenstaufen brothers, Duke Frederick II (who was Henry's brother-in-law, having been married to his sister
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 ...
) and Conrad, then duke in
Franconia
Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
and
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 ...
of Germany. While engaged in this struggle, Henry was also occupied in suppressing a rising in Bavaria, led by Count Frederick of
Bogen, during which both duke and count sought to establish their own candidates as
bishop of Regensburg
The Bishops of Regensburg (; or ) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. . After a war of devastation, Count Frederick submitted in 1133, and two years later the Hohenstaufen brothers made their peace with Emperor Lothair.
In 1136, Henry accompanied his father-in-law to
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, and taking command of a Bavarian division of the Imperial army marched into the south Italian
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily (; ; ) was a state that existed in Sicily and the southern Italian peninsula, Italian Peninsula as well as, for a time, in Kingdom of Africa, Northern Africa, from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was ...
up to
Bari
Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...
, devastating the land as he went. Having distinguished himself by his military abilities during this campaign, Henry was appointed as margrave of
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, succeeding
Engelbert III of Sponheim, and as Lothair's successor in the Duchy of Saxony. He was also given the private properties of late Margravine
Matilda of Tuscany
Matilda of Tuscany (; or ; – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa ( ), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was on ...
from the hands of
Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II (; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as Pope was controversial, and the first eight years o ...
.
When Emperor Lothair died on his way back from Italy in December 1137, Henry's wealth and position made him a formidable candidate for the German crown. According to the contemporary chronicler
Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising (; – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carry valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was the bishop of Freising from 1138. Ot ...
, after his appointment as Duke of Saxony he boasted of a realm stretching "from sea to sea, from Denmark to Sicily".
[''Chronica de duabus civitatibus'' VII 23 (A. Hofmeister (ed.), 1912, p]
345
.
However, the same qualities which earned him the
cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...
of "the Proud" aroused the jealousy of the
princes
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some ...
and so ultimately prevented his election. The new king, Conrad III, demanded the
Imperial Regalia
The Imperial Regalia, also called Imperial Insignia (in German ''Reichskleinodien'', ''Reichsinsignien'' or ''Reichsschatz''), are regalia of the Holy Roman Emperor. The most important parts are the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, C ...
which Henry had received from Lothair, and the duke in return asked for his investiture with the Saxon duchy. But Conrad, who feared his power, refused to assent to this on the pretext that it was unlawful for two
duchies to be in one hand.
Attempts at a settlement failed, and when in July 1138 Henry refused to take the oath of allegiance, he was
banned
A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...
and deprived of both his duchies. Bavaria was given to the
Babenberg
The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria fr ...
margrave
Leopold IV of Austria, a half-brother of the new king Conrad. Saxony, which he had attempted to hold but was not officially invested with, was given to the
Ascanian count
Albert the Bear
Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.
Life
Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...
, son of
Eilika of Saxony
Eilika of Saxony ( – 16 January 1142) was a daughter of Magnus, Duke of Saxony and a member of the Billung dynasty. Through marriage to Otto of Ballenstedt, she was countess of Ballenstedt.
Life
Eilika was the younger daughter of Magnus, ...
, a younger daughter of the last Billung duke Magnus.
Death and aftermath
In 1139 Henry succeeded in expelling his enemies from Saxony and was preparing to attack Bavaria when he suddenly died in
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 ...
.
[C. W. Previté-Orton, 559.] Henry is buried in the
Imperial Cathedral of
Königslutter
Königslutter am Elm is a town in the district of Helmstedt in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
It is located on the northeastern slopes of the Elm hill range, within the Elm-Lappwald Nature Park, about east of Brunswick, west of the distr ...
next to his parents-in-law Emperor Lothair and
Richenza of Northeim
Richenza of Northeim (c. 1087/1089 – 10 June 1141) was Duchess of Saxony from 1106, Queen of Germany from 1125 and Holy Roman Empress from 1133 as the wife of Lothair of Supplinburg.
Family
Richenza was the daughter of Count Henry the Fat ...
. His death left his son
Henry the Lion
Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty.
Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...
underage who later would be given Saxony, while
Henry II, Duke of Austria received Bavaria.
Conrad the Priest probably wrote the , a German version of the , while in Henry's service, at the request of Queen Gertrude.
References
Sources
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 10, Duke of Bavaria
12th-century Saxon people
1100s births
1139 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
12th-century dukes of Bavaria
Henry 02
House of Welf