Henry the Lion

Also known as Henry III, Henry XII

Welf dynasty, Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII (1129-1195)

AI overview

Henry the Lion was a powerful German duke in the 12th century who ruled both Saxony and Bavaria during the Medieval period. He is historically significant because his immense wealth and military power made him one of the most influential princes in the Holy Roman Empire until his fall from favor.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

In the Vinony graph

Vinony's link graph records 549 inbound references to Henry the Lion, and connects out to Henry II, list of monarchs of Bavaria and Brunswick.

It is catalogued under topics including 1195 deaths, 12th-century births and 12th-century dukes of Bavaria.

Vinony links it to 50 Wikipedia language editions.

Key facts

Reign: 1142–1180
Predecessor: Albert the Bear
Successor: Bernard III
Born: c. 1129, Ravensburg , Duchy of Swabia
Died: 6 August 1195 (1195-08-06) (aged 65–66), Brunswick , Duchy of Saxony
Burial: Brunswick Cathedral
Spouse: Clementia of Zähringen ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1147 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1162 ) Matilda of England ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1168 ; died 1189 )
Issue: Gertrude, Queen of Denmark Matilda of Saxony Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor William, Lord of Lüneburg
House: Welf
Father: Henry the Proud
Mother: Gertrude of Süpplingenburg

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Heinrich
Gender: male
Place of birth: Ravensburg
Place of death: Brunswick
Spouse: Clementia of Zähringen
Father: Henry X
Mother: Gertrude of Süpplingenburg
Languages spoken: Middle High German
Family: House of Welf
Image: Braunschweig Brunswick Heinrich der Loewe (Dom 2005).jpg

Show 9 more facts

Commons category: Henry the Lion
date of death: 1195-08-06
date of birth: 1129-01-01
described by source: New International Encyclopedia
place of burial: Brunswick Cathedral
name in native language: Heinrich der Löwe
relative: Richard I of England
social classification: noble
P12749: Altus

Sources (2)

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Encyclopedic overview

Henry the Lion (German: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142–1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156–1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty.

Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of his time. As the Duke of Saxony, Henry had had a decisive part in 1152 in his cousin Frederick Barbarossa's campaign for the throne. Because of this, in the following years, he was intensely promoted by Barbarossa. So, in 1156, he received the Dukedom of Bavaria. In North Germany, Henry could now build a kingly presence. He achieved this in Brunswick by building a new collegiate church, St Blaise, and, in the neighbouring Dankwarderode Castle, he placed a statue of a lion, as a symbol of its place as the capital of his duchies. The aggressive building strategy of the Duke in Saxony and north of the Elbe supplanted the influence of the previous greats of Saxony. Next, Henry repaid Barbarossa's sponsorship by putting great effort into his service to the first Italian dynasty.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Henry the Lion” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.