Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II (6 May 973 – 13 July 1024), also known as Saint Henry, Obl. S. B., was Holy Roman Emperor from 1014. He died without an heir in 1024 and was the last ruler of the Ottonian line. As Duke of Bavaria, appointed in 995, Henry became King of the Romans (Latin: Rex Romanorum) following the sudden death of his second cousin, Emperor Otto III in 1002, was made King of Italy (Latin: Rex Italiae) in 1004, and crowned emperor by Pope Benedict VIII in 1014.
The son of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, and his wife Gisela of Burgundy, Henry was a great-grandson of German king Henry the Fowler and a member of the Bavarian branch of the Ottonian dynasty. Since his father had rebelled against two previous emperors, the younger Henry spent long periods of time in exile, where he turned to Christianity at an early age, first finding refuge with Bishop Abraham of Freising and later during his education at the cathedral school in Hildesheim. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria in 995 as Henry IV (Henry III having briefly interrupted his father's rule). As duke, he attempted to join his second-cousin, Emperor Otto III, in suppressing a revolt against imperial rule in Italy in 1002. Before Henry could arrive, however, Otto III died of fever, leaving no heir. After defeating several contenders to the throne, he was crowned Henry II, King of Germany, on 9 July 1002 as the first in a line of kings to adopt the title Rex Romanorum as an antedate to his coronation in Rome as Imperator Romanorum. On 15 May 1004, he was anointed King of Italy (Rex Italiae). In that same year, Henry II joined Duke Jaromír of Bohemia in his struggle against the Poles, thus effectively incorporating the Duchy of Bohemia into the Holy Roman Empire.
Unlike his predecessor Otto III, who had imposed plans on sovereign administration and active political involvement in Italy, Henry spent most of his reign concerned with the renovation ("renewal") of the imperial territories north of the Alps, a policy summed up on his seal as Renovatio regni Francorum, which replaced Otto's Renovatio imperii Romanorum. A series of conflicts with the Polish Duke Bolesław I, who had already conquered a number of countries surrounding him, required Henry II's full attention and years of political and military maneuvering. Henry did, however, lead three expeditions into Italy to enforce his feudal claim (Honor Imperii): twice to suppress secessionist revolts and once to address Byzantine attempts to obtain dominance over southern Italy. On 14 February 1014, Pope Benedict VIII crowned Henry Holy Roman Emperor in Rome.
In the Martyrology
- July 13 Saint Henry, Holy Roman Emperor