General Notes

Henry the Lion (circa 1129-95), duke of Saxony (1139-80) and duke of Bavaria
(1156-80), a powerful German prince, who became a rival of the Holy Roman
emperor Frederick I Barbarossa.
The only son of Henry the Proud, duke of Bavaria and Saxony, Henry was
probably born in Ravensburg. At the age of ten he succeeded his father to the
duchy of Saxony, which his mother and grandmother administered for him until
1146. In 1147 Henry demanded that the Diet of Frankfort restore to him the
duchy of Bavaria, which had been taken from his father. When refused, Henry
began an unsuccessful war against Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III. After
Conrad's death, however, Henry's duchy was restored to him by the imperial
successor, Frederick Barbarossa. Henry subsequently aided Frederick in wars in
Poland and Italy between 1157 and 1159.
Possessing both German and Italian territories, Henry was a formidable figure
within the Holy Roman Empire. To curb him, a league of nobles and prelates was
formed in 1166; after two years of war, Henry was triumphant. In 1168 he took
as his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Henry II, king of England. In
1172-73 he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
By refusing to aid Frederick I in an Italian expedition, Henry instigated a
quarrel (1175-76) between himself and the emperor. As a result, he was placed
under the ban of the empire. He was deprived of most of his possessions in
1180 and twice forced into exile, in 1182 and 1189, spending most of his time
in England. When he returned to Germany shortly after the second exile, Henry
took part in a rebellion of German nobles against Frederick's successor,
Emperor Henry VI. He made peace with the emperor, however, at Fulda in 1190.
Henry was a capable ruler, one of his greatest accomplishments being the
colonization of previously Slavic territories east of the Elbe River. He died
at Brunswick, August 6, 1195.