Henry II the Saint

King of Germany (r. 1002-1024) and Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1014-1024)

• Born: May 6, 0973
• Birthplace: Abbach, Bavaria (now in Germany)
• Died: July 13, 1024
• Place of death: Near Göttingen, Saxony (now in Germany)

Using patience, common sense, and a realistic approach to the intrigues and problems of eleventh century Germany and Italy, Henry restored the monarchy north of the Alps and supported and encouraged church reforms.

Early Life

The son of Duke Henry II of Bavaria and Gisela (daughter of Conrad, king of Burgundy), Henry could claim direct descent through his father’s line from Henry the Fowler. In addition, his grandfather was the younger brother of the emperor Otto the Great. When Duke Henry I was imprisoned by Otto III for leading a rebellion against the emperor, young Henry was placed in the care of Abraham, bishop of Freising, and then sent to Hildesheim, where he was reared and educated. Because it was believed that he would enter the Church, his education was that of a cleric and scholar, not of a soldier and king.

When his father was freed and restored to his duchy, however, the boy returned to Bavaria, where his education and training were put into the hands of Wolfgang of Ratisbon. The death of his father in 995 made him duke of Bavaria at the age of twenty-two. Shortly thereafter, he married Kunigunde, the daughter of Siegfried, count of Luxemburg. As duke of Bavaria, Henry remained loyal to Otto III, accompanying him on two Italian campaigns, until the emperor’s death in 1002.

Otto died without an heir, thus ending the direct male line of Otto the Great and opening the way for a struggle to determine the new king of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor. The former was decided by heredity or by election; the latter required the cooperation of the pope. Several of the great German dukes wished to succeed Otto as king of Germany, notably the duke of Carinthia, grandson of Otto the Great. Others who sought the kingship were Henry of Bavaria, who was descended from the direct, male, imperial line, and Eckhard, Margrave of Meissen, who was the choice of the Saxon princes. When Eckhard was killed in April, 1002, and Otto pledged his support to Henry, however, the matter was settled. Henry was elected king of Germany and crowned on June 7, 1002, at Mayence (Mainz).

The new German king was a well-educated, pious, and sensitive young man. Although not brilliant, he possessed the admirable qualities of common sense and good judgment, which served him well throughout his life. His physical appearance seems to have been quite ordinary, as there is little written on the subject. Allegations that he was lame are legends, not facts. His health was generally poor, however, and should be considered when assessing the limited success of his reign.

Life’s Work

Henry’s coronation at Mayence was not universally recognized by the German nobility. He had little more than the support of the Bavarians and Franconians. Following his coronation, Dietrich, duke of Upper Lorraine, pledged his support, but Lower Lorraine, Saxony, and Swabia refused to accept Henry. He first secured recognition from the Saxon nobility by agreeing to respect their local laws and customs. Then he turned his attention to Lower Lorraine and through diplomacy won over its support. Only Swabia remained; when the local duke found himself isolated, he negotiated and finally submitted. Germany was at last, if only temporarily, united, but Henry’s troubles had only begun. As the emperor’s heir apparent, he also aspired to the vacant imperial throne. Otto III, however, had left a weakened and disunited empire: Poland, Bohemia, and Lombardy were all in varying stages of rebellion.

The most serious challenge came from the east. Bolesław Chrobry, the son of Mieszko, had been installed as duke of Poland in 992 on the death of his father. He united the various tribes of the Oder and Vistula and won major concessions from Otto III. With the death of the emperor in 1002, Bolesław sought total independence from German vassalage. At the head of a strong army, he conquered the lands west of the Elbe and when Henry refused to recognize his conquests, took advantage of the turbulent conditions in Bohemia to add that duchy to his expanded holdings. Henry was unable to deal with this eastern threat, because internal problems required his full attention. He first put an end to disloyalty in Lorraine and then turned to face a more serious rebellion, supported by the duke of Poland, that included his own brother, Bruno. The fighting, bitter at times, lasted into 1004, but the king prevailed; once again peace and order were restored within the kingdom.

Henry was now ready to address the problems of the empire. While the Polish/Bohemian situation may have been the most serious, it would also be the most difficult to resolve. A favorable solution in Italy, on the other hand, seemed more attainable. Thus Henry gathered his army and crossed the Alps. The campaign itself was successful, but it did not solve the German monarch’s fundamental problem of lasting control. Marching by way of Trent and Verona, picking up support along the way, he reached Pavia in May, 1004. There he was elected king of the Lombards on May 14 and crowned the following day in the Basilica of Saint Michael. His rival, Ardoin, marquess of Ivrea, who had himself been crowned king of the Lombards two years earlier in the same church, fled to the west as his support faded. Henry’s triumph seemed complete, although it was marred when fighting broke out between the Germans and Italians in Pavia. The city was partially destroyed, with substantial loss of life. Unfortunately, Henry was not able to remain in Italy to consolidate his newly won position. Bohemia and Bolesław required his immediate attention. In June, Henry marched back across the Alps leaving behind a dubiously loyal Lombardy.

On his return to Germany, Henry reorganized his army and prepared for a Bohemian campaign. Crossing the Erzgebirge without opposition, he was joined by Jaromir, the deposed duke of Bohemia. The Bohemians, who had no love for the duke of Poland, posed no obstacle. Bolesław, fully aware of the approaching danger and without local support, withdrew to the north. Henry entered Prague amid rejoicing and restored Jaromir. The duke of Bohemia, realizing that his position depended on German assistance, remained faithful to Henry and supported him in his Polish wars. Bolesław’s setback, however, in no way eliminated Henry’s eastern problems: Although a temporary peace was made while Bolesław turned his attention to Kiev, Henry was forced to make repeated campaigns in order to secure his eastern frontier. Finally, a more lasting peace was signed at Bautzen in 1018, although it represented no German victory, merely recognizing the status quo. Bolesław kept the lands east of the Elbe and was virtually independent of any German control, even proclaiming himself king of Poland before Henry’s death. Bohemia, however, remained loyal, and at last Henry had true peace on his eastern border.

In the west, Henry also had problems. The great nobles of Lorraine defied him at every opportunity, and he was forced to make several campaigns across the Rhine in order to maintain even nominal control. Burgundy was also defiant. King Rudolf III was a weak monarch who struggled constantly (and usually unsuccessfully) with his nobles. In 1016, he sought Henry’s support. The German king, who claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne of Burgundy when his uncle should die, was very willing to intervene. Rudolf acknowledged Henry’s right of succession, and in 1018, having secured his eastern border, Henry undertook an expedition into Burgundy. The affair was not a success. The Burgundian nobility remained lawless, and Henry’s claim remained doubtful; it became a moot issue when he died before Rudolf.

Italy provided yet another source of frustration. In the ten years that passed following his first expedition south of the Alps, Henry’s authority and influence had waned, and civil war was the normal state of affairs. The pro-German faction, primarily the bishops and abbots, rallied about Bishop Leo of Vercelli. Ardoin, the deposed Lombard king, led the defiant faction, which was largely secular. Henry not only needed to restore his rule in Lombardy but also wished to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. This additional title would add strength to his position in both Germany and Italy. Therefore, he marched south accompanied by Queen Kunigunde in late fall of 1013. By Christmas, he was in Pavia, and in January, 1014, he moved on to Ravenna. At a synod he convened in Ravenna, Henry put the affairs of northern Italy in order; Ardoin’s support melted away. He reached Rome on February 14 and was crowned that same day by Pope Benedict VIII. Unfortunately, within a week of the coronation fighting broke out between his German entourage and the Romans. Withdrawing from the city, Henry returned to Lombardy and in June recrossed the Alps. Henry’s second Italian expedition was at least a partial success: New life was given to the empire and relations were established between the pope and the new emperor. Yet northern Italy remained unsettled. With the emperor’s departure, civil war again broke out, and even after the abdication and later death of Ardoin, the Lombards resisted Henry’s authority.

He made one last expedition to Italy in 1021-1022. The principal purpose of the journey was a campaign against the Byzantine province in the south, where some Lombard princes had allied themselves with the Byzantine forces. At Verona in early December, Henry’s formidable German army was joined by his Italian supporters; in January, 1022, they marched south. Sickness became rampant in his army, however, and he turned back, having made only a minor impact on southern Italy. Back in Lombardy, he turned his attention to church reform and was more successful than he had been with political affairs. In the autumn, he returned to Germany, where he died on July 13, 1024, and was buried in Bamberg.

Significance

Henry II’s life was a continual struggle to revive the political institutions of the German kingdom and Holy Roman Empire following their decline. He was able to achieve a considerable degree of success in Germany but was less successful in Italy. His greatest triumphs were the improvement of church-state relations and religious reform. Henry strengthened the position of the Church in both Germany and Italy, following an aggressive policy of granting lands and titles to the bishops and abbots as a means of reducing the power and influence of the secular nobility, over whom he had less influence and control. Having the right to nominate, Henry installed loyal bishops on whom he could depend to remain faithful in his unceasing wars with his vassals. He also strongly supported reform within the Church, particularly the Cluniac movement. At the synod of Pavia, August, 1022, with the support of Pope Benedict, he was able to secure the denunciation of clerical marriage in both Germany and Italy.

Saxon Kings of Germany, 919-1024

Reign

• King

919

• Henry I the Fowler (Saxon, not crowned)

936-973

• Otto I

973-983

• Otto II

983-1002

• Otto III

1002-1024

• Henry II the Saint

1024

• Franconian/Salian line begins (Conrad II)

Bibliography

Bryce, James. The Holy Roman Empire. Rev. ed. New York: Macmillan, 1922. This work provides a good general introduction to the medieval German Empire, although it does not deal with Henry in detail.

Eyck, Frank. Religion and Politics in German History: From the Beginnings to the French Revolution. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. An analysis of how Germanic peoples preserved links with classical civilization through their ability to assimilate other cultures and peoples, from their alliances with eighth century popes through the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. The initial bond between the Germanic rulers and popes turned to conflict as the Papacy gained power. Tables, maps, bibliography, index.

Fisher, Herbert. The Medieval Empire. 2 vols. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1969. Although Fisher wrote these two volumes at the turn of the century, they continue to hold up well under modern scrutiny. His approach is topical rather than chronological, thus the reign of Henry is found in several chapters in both volumes.

Gwatkin, H. M., J. P. Whitney, J. R. Tanner, and C. W. Previté-Orton, eds. The Cambridge Medieval History/Middle Ages. Vol. 3, Germany and the Western Empire. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1957. Chapter 10 of this volume, entitled “The Emperor Henry II,” provides one of the most comprehensive accounts of the life and times of Henry II. It is primarily a political history of his reign, although other chapters cover related individuals and events that are not central to his life. There is an extensive bibliography and index.

Henderson, Ernest F. A History of Germany in the Middle Ages. Reprint. New York: Haskell House, 1968. Chapter 11 of Henderson’s straightforward political narrative is devoted to the reigns of Henry II and Conrad II. A good starting point for a study of the last male descendant of Otto the Great.

Jeep, John M., et al., eds. Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 2001. An A-Z encyclopedia that addresses all aspects of the German- and Dutch-speaking medieval world from 500 to 1500. Entries include individuals, events, and broad topics such as feudalism and pregnancy. Bibliographical references, index.

Mann, Horace K. The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages. Vols. 4-5, The Popes in the Days of Anarchy: Formosa to Damascus II, 891-1048. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1925. This work provides a good account of the reign of Henry II from the point of view of the Papacy, as well as portraying the Church in both Germany and Italy. Although concentrating on Pope Benedict VIII and his relationship with the emperor, because of the involvement of the clergy in secular affairs, the study also considers political intrigues and warfare.

Moore, Robert Ian. The First European Revolution, c. 970-1215. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2000. According to the publisher, “a radical reassessment of Europe from the late tenth to the early thirteenth centuries [arguing that] the period witnessed the first true ’revolution’ in European society,” supported by transformation of the economy, family life, political power structures, and the rise of the non-Mediterranean cities. Bibliography, index.

Thompson, James Westfall. Feudal Germany. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1928. 2d ed. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1962. Thompson treats medieval German history primarily in terms of the relationship between church and state and tends to emphasize the conflict between Henry II and Benedict VIII.