Henry Berengar
Henry Berengar (1136/7–1150), sometimes numbered Henry (VI),[1] was the eldest legitimate son of Conrad III of Germany and his second wife, Gertrude von Sulzbach. He was named after his father's maternal grandfather, the Emperor Henry IV, and his mother's father, Count Berengar II of Sulzbach. He was groomed for the succession, but predeceased his father.
Conrad had the princes elect Henry, then ten years old, as co-King of Germany at a diet in Regensburg on 13 March 1147, before Conrad left on the Second Crusade.[2][3] Henry was crowned on Laetare Sunday (30 March) in Aachen.[3] During his father's absence on crusade (June 1147–May 49), he was placed under the tutorship of the powerful abbot Wibald and the notary Heinrich von Wiesenbach.[3][4] For his services, Heinrich was raised to the rank of master (magister) or protonotary (protonotarius).[3] From this period of Henry's "reign", nine royal letters survive (eight in full).[3]
The young Henry was the winning general at the Battle of Flochberg (1150) against Welf VI and Welf VII.[5] The military prowess of the young ruler was emphasised in letters (dated the week of 16–20 April 1150 at Würzburg) to the Byzantine emperor Manuel I and the empress Irene, Gertrude's sister, informing them of the victory at Flochberg.[6][7] Henry died later that year[8] and was buried at the monastery of Lorch.
Notes
- ^ Fuhrmann 1986, p. 202.
- ^ Fuhrmann 1986, p. 130.
- ^ a b c d e Hausmann 1969, p. 519.
- ^ Bumke 1991, p. 461.
- ^ Reuter 2001, p. 153.
- ^ Hausmann 1969, pp. 404–06, for Conrad's letter (no. 229) to Irene
- ^ Hausmann 1969, pp. 530–31, for Henry's letter (no. 10) to Manuel, and pp. 531–32 for his letter (no. 10) to Irene.
- ^ Fuhrmann 1986, p. 132.
Sources
- Bumke, Joachim (1991). Courtly Culture: Literature and Society in the High Middle Ages. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Fuhrmann, Horst (1986). Germany in the High Middle Ages: c.1050–1200. Translated by Timothy Reuter. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Hausmann (1969). Diplomata. Vol. 21. Vienna: Monumenta Germaniae Historica.
{{cite book}}:|editor-first=missing|editor-last=(help) - Reuter, Timothy (2001). "The 'Non-Crusade' of 1149–50". In Phillips, Jonathan; Hoch, Martin (eds.). The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 150–63.