Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Henry II (972 – 13 July 1024), called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty.
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[edit] Biography
Some sources give Henry date of birth as 6 May 973. He was the son of Henry the Quarrelsome of Bavaria. As his father had rebelled against two previous emperors, he was often in exile. This led the younger Henry to turn to the Church at an early age, first finding refuge with Bishop Abraham of Freising and later being educated at the Cathedral School of Hildesheim. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria in 995 as Henry IV.
[edit] Emperor
Henry was on his way to Rome to save his besieged cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, when the emperor died in January 1002. Knowing that opposition to his succession was strong, Henry quickly seized the royal insignia from his dead cousin's companions. Rivals such as Ezzo of Lotharingia, Eckhard of Meissen and Duke Herman of Swabia strongly contested Henry's election, but with the aid of Willigis, archbishop of Mainz he was able to secure his election and coronation on (7 June 1002 in Mainz), though it would be a year before he was universally recognized.
Henry spent the next several years consolidating his political power on his borders. He waged a successful campaign against King Boleslaus I of Poland and then moved into Italy to confront Arduin of Ivrea, who had styled himself King of Italy and had previously defeated a German army sent against him by Henry, and commanded by Otto I of Carinthia. Arduin tried to block the German King on the Adige Valley, as he had previously did with Otto, but Henry chose the Valsugana to enter Italy. Arduin's vassals disarranged and he was forced to return to his lands of Ivrea.
Henry occupied Verona and was crowned King of Italy at Pavia on May 15, 1004, receiving the Iron Crown from the archbishop of Milan Arnulf I. After bloodily suppressing a revolt of the citizens, Henry remained in Pavia until May 25, when, feeling that Italy could be considered settled, he decided to return to Germany through the St. Gotthard Pass. Here he launched a second campaign against Boleslaus, allying with the pagan Liutitians against the Christian Poles and waged successful campaigns that culminated in a lasting compromise peace with the Poles in 1018 in which Boleslaus was allowed to retain Lusatia and Misnia but gave up Bohemia.
Henry returned to Italy for another campaign in 1013, called by the northern Italy clergy against Arduin, who first tried to resist in his palace of Ivrea but then resigned from power to become a monk. Subsequently Henry went straight to Rome, where Pope Benedict VIII crowned him Holy Roman Emperor on 14 February 1014. He took his duties to Italy seriously and appointed German officials to administer the country. He returned in Germany in May.
[edit] Politics
Henry's most significant contributions as emperor came in the realm of Church-State relations and Church administration within the Empire. He supported the bishops against the monastic clergy and aided them in establishing secular rule over broad territories to go with their spiritual power. He made sure to enforce celibacy amongst the clergy so that the land he granted would not be passed on to heirs. This ensured that the bishops remained loyal to him and provided a powerful bulwark against rebellious nobles and ambitious family members. Henry also founded the diocese of Bamberg in 1007, which quickly became a center of scholarship and art.
In 1020, the pope visited him at Bamberg and consecrated his new cathedral there. After setting some contrasts with the bishops of Mainz and Würzburg, Benedict VIII convinced him to return to Italy for a third (and final) campaign, to counter the growing power of the Byzantines, who had submitted the Lombard princes. In 1022, he set out commanding a large force down the Adriatic coast. He sent Pilgrim, Archbishop of Cologne, ahead with a slightly smaller army along the Tyrrhenian littoral to subjugate Capua. This he did and took the prince, Pandulf IV, captive. A third army, smaller still, under the command of Poppo of Aquileia, went through the Apennines. All three divisions joined to besiege Troia, the new fortress of the Byzantine catepan Basil Boiannes. Henry almost executed the treacherous prince of Capua, but relented at the last moment. He failed to take Troia, but left the south well aware that Western imperial authority still extended that far. On his return journey, he attended a synod at Pavia where he advocated Church reform.
[edit] Death
Henry had been working with the Pope to call a church council to confirm his new system of politico-ecclesiastical control when he died suddenly in 1024, leaving this work unfinished. Henry and his wife, Cunigunde of Luxemburg, had no children, reportedly because they had taken a mutual vow of chastity. The Church canonized Henry (1146) and Cunigunde (1200) after their deaths.
Henry is buried in the Bamberg Cathedral, which also has the tomb of Pope Clement II making the only place both a Pope and Holy Roman Emperor are buried (with the exception of Otto II who is buried in the crypt at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome).
[edit] Miscellanea
- He is the patron saint of the city of Basel, in Switzerland.
- Patron Saint of St Henry's Marist Brothers' College ,Durban, South Africa
| Preceded by Otto III |
King of Germany 1002–1024 |
Succeeded by Conrad II |
| Holy Roman Emperor 1014–1024 |
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| Preceded by Henry II |
Duke of Bavaria 995–1005 |
Succeeded by Henry V |
