Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Saint Henry II (German : Heinrich II., Latin : Henricus II, Italian : Enrico II del Sacro Romano Impero) (6 May 973[1] – 13 July 1024), called the Holy or the Saint, was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Saxon (or Ottonian) dynasty from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of Germany in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004. He was the only German king to be canonised.
He was the son of Henry II, Duke 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 Abraham, Bishop 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.
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[edit] Disputed succession
Henry was on his way to Rome to save his besieged cousin the 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. Rival candidates for the throne — such as Ezzo of Lotharingia, Eckard I of Meissen, and Herman II of Swabia — strongly contested Henry's succession, but with the aid of Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz, he was able to secure his royal 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 German borders. He waged a successful campaign against Boleslaus I of Poland and then moved into the Kingdom of Italy to confront Arduin of Ivrea, who had been elected King of Italy by a faction opposed to Henry. Arduin had previously defeated a German army sent against him by Henry and commanded by Otto I of Carinthia. Now he tried to block the German king in the Adige valley, as he had previously done with Otto, but Henry entered Italy at the Valsugana. Arduin's vassals fled in disarray at Henry's approach and their king was forced to return to the March of Ivrea. Henry occupied Verona and was crowned rex Italiae (King of Italy) at Pavia on 15 May 1004 by the Archbishop of Milan, Arnulf II, with the famous Iron Crown.
[edit] War against Poland
After bloodily suppressing a revolt of the citizens of Pavia, Henry remained there until 25 May, when, feeling that Italy could be considered settled, he decided to return to Germany through the Saint Gotthard Pass. From Germany 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: Boleslaus was allowed to retain Lusatia and Meissen, but had to give up Bohemia.
[edit] Italian campaigns
[edit] Rebellion of Arduin
Henry was called to Italy by the clergy for another campaign in 1013. Arduin had risen in revolt again. At first he tried to resist Henry from his palace in Ivrea, but then resigned 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 in Italy seriously and appointed German officials to administer the country. He returned in Germany in May.
[edit] Invasion of southern Italy
In 1020, the pope visited him at Bamberg and consecrated his new cathedral there. After settling some controversies 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 Byzantine Empire in the south, where the Lombard princes had made submission to the Greeks. In 1022, he set out down the Adriatic coast for southern Italy commanding a large force. He sent Pilgrim, Archbishop of Cologne, ahead with a slightly smaller army along the Tyrrhenian littoral with the objective of subjugating the Principality of Capua. A third army, smaller still, under the command of Poppo, Patriarch of Aquileia, went through the Apennines to join Henry in besieging the Byzantine fortress of Troia. Pilgrim did capture Pandulf IV of Capua and extract oaths of allegiance from both Capua and Salerno, but all three divisions failed to take Troia. Henry almost executed the treacherous prince of Capua, but relented at the last moment at Pilgrim's pleading and instead sent him off to Germany in chains and appointed Pandulf of Teano to replace him as prince. Though his main objective had been missed, Henry left the south in the knowledge that western imperial authority still extended that far. On his return journey, he attended a synod at Pavia where he advocated Church reform.
[edit] Ecclesiastical politics
Henry's most significant contributions as emperor came in the realm of church-state relations and ecclesiastic administration within the Empire. He supported the bishops against the monastic clergy and aided them in establishing their temporal rule over broad territories. He strongly enforced clerical celibacy in order that the public land and offices he granted the chuch would not be passed on to heirs. This ensured that the bishops remained loyal to him, from whom they received their power, and provided a powerful bulwark against rebellious nobles and ambitious family members. Henry founded the Diocese of Bamberg, which quickly became a center of scholarship and art, in 1007.
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 canonised Henry (1146) and Cunigunde (1200) after their deaths.
Henry is buried in Bamberg Cathedral, which also has the tomb of Pope Clement II. He is the patron saint of the city of Basel, Switzerland, and of St Henry's Marist Brothers' College in Durban, South Africa.
[edit] Sources
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[edit] Notes
- ^ Perhaps 972.
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry II | Duke of Bavaria 995–1005 | Succeeded by Henry V |
| Preceded by Arduin | King of Italy 1004–1024 | Succeeded by Conrad II |
| Preceded by Otto III | King of Germany 1002–1024 | |
| Holy Roman Emperor 1014–1024 | ||
Holy Roman Emperors | |
|---|---|
Carolingian Empire | |
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