St. Henry II
German King and
Holy Roman Emperor, son of Duke Henry II (the Quarrelsome) and of the
Burgundian Princess Gisela; b. 972; d. in his palace of Grona, at
Gottingen, 13 July, 1024.
Like his predecessor, Otto III, he
had the literary education of his time. In his youth he had been
destined for the priesthood. Therefore he became acquainted with
ecclesiastical interests at an early age.
Willingly he
performed pious practices, gladly also he strengthened the Church of
Germany, without, however, ceasing to regard ecclesiastical
institutions as pivots of his power, according to the views of Otto
the Great. With all his learning and piety, Henry was an eminently
sober man, endowed with sound, practical common sense. He went his
way circumspectly, never attempting anything but the possible and,
wherever it was practicable, applying the methods of amiable and
reasonable good sense. This prudence, however, was combined with
energy and conscientiousness. Sick and suffering from fever, he
traversed the empire in order to maintain peace. At all times he
used his power to adjust troubles. The masses especially he wished
to help.
The Church, as the constitutional Church of Germany,
and therefore as the advocate of German unity and of the claims of
inherited succession, raised Henry to the throne. The new king
straightway resumed the policy of Otto I both in domestic and in
foreign affairs.
This policy first appeared in his treatment of
the Eastern Marches. The encroachments of Duke Boleslaw, who had
founded a great kingdom, impelled him to intervene. But his success
was not marked.
In Italy the local and national opposition to
the universalism of the German king had found a champion in Arduin
of Ivrea. The latter assumed the Lombard crown in 1002. In 1004
Henry crossed the Alps. Arduin yielded to his superior power. The
Archbishop of Milan now crowned him King of Italy. This rapid
success was largely due to the fact that a large part of the Italian
episcopate upheld the idea of the Roman Empire and that of the unity
of Church and State.
On his second expedition to Rome,
occasioned by the dispute between the Counts of Tuscany and the
Crescentians over the nomination to the papal throne, he was crowned
emperor on 14 February, 1014. But it was not until later, on his
third expedition to Rome, that he was able to restore the prestige
of the empire completely.
Before this happened, however, he was
obliged to intervene in the west. Disturbances were especially
prevalent throughout the entire north-west. Lorraine caused great
trouble. The Counts of Lutzelburg (Luxemburg), brothers-in-law of
the king, were the heart and soul of the disaffection in that
country. Of these men, Adalbero had made himself Bishop of Trier by
uncanonical methods (1003); but he was not recognized any more than
his brother Theodoric, who had had himself elected Bishop of Metz.
True to his duty, the king could not be induced to abet any
selfish family policy at the expense of the empire. Even though
Henry, on the whole, was able to hold his own against these Counts
of Lutzelburg, still the royal authority suffered greatly by loss of
prestige in the north-west.
Burgundy afforded compensation for
this. The lord of that country was Rudolph, who, to protect himself
against his vassals, joined the party of Henry II, the son of his
sister, Gisela, and to Henry the childless duke bequeathed his
duchy, despite the opposition of the nobles (1006). Henry had to
undertake several campaigns before he was able to enforce his
claims. He did not achieve any tangible result, he only bequeathed
the theoretical claims on Burgundy to his successors.
Better
fortune awaited the king in the central and eastern parts of the
empire. It is true that he had a quarrel with the Conradinians over
Carinthia and Swabia: but Henry proved victorious because his
kingdom rested on the solid foundation of intimate alliance with the
Church.
That his attitude towards the Church was dictated in
part by practical reasons, primarily he promoted the institutions of
the Church chiefly in order to make them more useful supports his
royal power, is clearly shown by his policy. How boldly Henry posed
as the real ruler of the Church appears particularly in the
establishment of the See of Bamberg, which was entirely his own
scheme.
He carried out this measure, in 1007, in spite of the
energetic opposition of the Bishop of Wurzburg against this change
in the organization of the Church. The primary purpose of the new
bishopric was the germanization of the regions on the Upper Main and
the Regnitz, where the Wends had fixed their homes. As a large part
of the environs of Bamberg belonged to the king, he was able to
furnish rich endowments for the new bishopric. The importance of
Bamberg lay principally in the field of culture, which it promoted
chiefly by its prosperous schools. Henry, therefore, relied on the
aid of the Church against the lay powers, which had become quite
formidable. But he made no concessions to the Church.
Though
naturally pious, and though well acquainted with ecclesiastical
culture, he was at bottom a stranger to her spirit. He disposed of
bishoprics autocratically. Under his rule the bishops, from whom he
demanded unqualified obedience, seemed to be nothing but officials
of the empire. He demanded the same obedience from the abbots.
However, this political dependency did not injure the internal life
of the German Church under Henry. By means of its economic and
educational resources the Church had a blessed influence in this
epoch.
But it was precisely this civilizing power of the German
Church that aroused the suspicions of the reform party. This was
significant, because Henry was more and more won over to the ideas
of this party. At a synod at Goslar he confirmed decrees that
tended to realize the demands made by the reform party. Ultimately
this tendency could not fail to subvert the Othonian system,
moreover could not fail to awaken the opposition of the Church of
Germany as it was constituted.
This hostility on the part of
the German Church came to a head in the emperor's dispute with
Archbishop Aribo of Mainz. Aribo was an opponent of the reform
movement of the monks of Cluny. The Hammerstein marriage imbroglio
afforded the opportunity he desired to offer a bold front against
Rome. Otto von Hammerstein had been excommunicated by Aribo on
account of his marriage with Irmengard, and the latter had
successfully appealed to Rome.
This called forth the opposition
of the Synod of Seligenstadt, in 1023, which forbade an appeal to
Rome without the consent of the bishop. This step meant open
rebellion against the idea of church unity, and its ultimate result
would have been the founding of a German national Church. In this
dispute the emperor was entirely on the side of the reform party.
He even wanted to institute international proceedings against the
unruly archbishop by means of treaties with the French king. But his
death prevented this.
Before this Henry had made his third
journey to Rome in 1021. He came at the request of the loyal
Italian bishops, who had warned him at Strasburg of the dangerous
aspect of the Italian situation, and also of the pope, who sought
him out at Bamberg in 1020. Thus the imperial power, which had
already begun to withdraw from Italy, was summoned back thither.
This time the object was to put an end to the supremacy of the
Greeks in Italy. His success was not complete; he succeeded,
however, in restoring the prestige of the empire in northern and
central Italy.
Henry was far too reasonable a man to think
seriously of readopting the imperialist plans of his predecessors.
He was satisfied to have ensured the dominant position of the empire
in Italy within reasonable bounds. Henry's power was in fact
controlling, and this was in no small degree due to the fact that he
was primarily engaged in solidifying the national foundations of his
authority.
The later ecclesiastical legends have ascribed
ascetic traits to this ruler, some of which certainly cannot
withstand serious criticism. For instance, the highly varied theme
of his virgin marriage to Cunegond has certainly no basis in fact.
The Church canonized this emperor in 1146, and his wife
Cunegond in 1200.
FRANZ KAMPERS
Transcribed by HCC
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VII
Copyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York