20 Most Evil People of the 10th Century CE

Key Facts

Other names	Henry the Coward, Herigar
Born	876
Location	Reichenau Abbey, Lake Constance
Bloodline	Ottonians
Married	Yes.
Children	Otto I
Position	King of East Francia (919-936)
Died	936

Source of Facts and Important Announcement

Status	Under Article 64.6 of the Covenant of One-Heaven (Pactum De Singularis Caelum) by Special Qualification shall be known as a Saint, with all sins and evil acts they performed forgiven.
Date of formal Beatification	Day of Redemption UCA[E1:Y1:A1:S1:M9:D1] also known as Fri, 21 Dec 2012.
Source of Facts	Self Confession and Revelation of Sainthood by the Deceased Spirit as condition of their confirmation as a true Saint.

Background

Henry was born to Otto (Hatto), the powerful Catholic Archbishop of Mainz (891 to 913) of the East Francia Carolingian Kingdom and Hedwiga, daughter of Henry of Franconia and descendent of Charlemagne. To hide his true heritage, the Ottonians created a completely new fiction after their rise to power, including the false claim that the Ottonians had held the Duchy of Saxony since 850 (Liudolf claimed as first).

At the time of the birth of Henry, his father Otto (Hatto) was the Abbott of the famous Reichenau Abbey on its island on Lake Constance. In 891 Carolingian German (East Francia) King Arnulf appointed Otto (Hatto) to his court as Archbishop of Mainz. His power over other abbeys also increased and he was granted control over the famous Abbeys of Ellwangen, near Stuttgart by 896 and Lorsch, near Frankfurst by 898.

By the time of the death of King Arnulf in December 899 (aged 49), Otto (Hatto) was indisputably the most powerful Catholic cleric in all of East Francia (Germany). In February 900, Otto oversaw the coronation of 7 year old Louis the Child (900-911), the last of the Carolingian Kings of East Francia (Germany) and was his regent.

This put Otto and his family such as Henry as effectively the royal religious family over all of East Francia, and Otto made sure Henry received the widest and finest possible education, including the family control of all the major abbeys and scriptoriums of East Francia --later to become the first "Benedictine" Abbeys under the German Ottonian Benedict Popes.

However, regent archbishop Otto did not have an easy time as civil war erupted across East Francia between the powerful Conradines and the Babenberger militia seeking to extend their lands. The feud culminated in the battle of Fritzlar in 906 at which the Conradines triumphed but at the loss of senior family members. When the Babenbergers refused to submit to the imperial court controlled by archbishop Otto, the regent arranged for the execution of the last of the Babenbergers whilst promoting the Conradines to Dukes of Franconia by 907.

In 906, Regent Otto arranged for the marriage of his son Henry with Hatheburg, daughter of Erwin Duke of Saxony whom she gave a son Thankmar, but died after childbirth. To hide the fact that Thankmar was a legitimate heir, later historians created an array of contradictory stories concerning Hatheburg and Thankmar including she was an old widow, she was a former nun and that Henry had his marriage annulled. Henry married Matilda, daughter of Dietrich count of Westphalia in 909 and had five children, including: Otto, Henry, Bruno and two daughters Hedwige and Gerberga.

By 907, the tension between regent Otto (Hatto) and King Louis was growing daily, until the archbishop arranged for his king to go on a disastrous campaign against the Magyars ending in the defeat of Pressburg in 907. The young king never recovered and over the next few years was slowly poisoned by Otto until his death in September 911.

Upon the death of young King Louis, the Carolingian king of West Francia, Charles III (893-923) claimed the crown as the last legitimate line of Carolingians. However, archbishop Otto convinced the Dukes of Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia to support one of their own in the form of Conrad, Duke of Franconia as their new king. Conrad was duly crowned by archbishop Otto (Hatto) in November 911.

However, in 913 Archbishop Otto(Hatto) died and Henry was granted the title of archbishop of Mainz along with his family holdings of the most important abbeys and scriptoriums of all of Germany (East Francia).

The reign of Conrad I was neither successful nor harmonious with constant battles and disputes between the Franconian duke king and the dukes of Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia. Even by 916 he lost confidence in Henry and had him deposed as archbishop of Mainz, trying to rally support from the other bishops at the failed synod of Hohenaltheim in the same year.

Conrad died in December 918. Contrary to the fictitious history that the Conradians gracefully accepted the ascension of Henry to the throne, it was henry himself with the support of the Dukes of Saxony (related by marriage) and Bavaria and Swabia who prevented Eberhard of Franconia from claiming kingship. Henry was elected unopposed and in 919 in one of the most famous acts of history, crowned himself (because he was again archbishop of Mainz) as king.

During his reign, the power of the Catholic Church in East Francia (Germany) grew enormously and Henry demonstrated as brilliant knowledge of diplomacy and power through ongoing treaties with the Magyars. Henry also demonstrated a ruthlessness in military skill. In 922 he took control of the Duchy of Lothring and crushed rebellions in Bohemia in 929. When the Magyar broke treaty, Henry commanded a united army of Germanic tribes to victory at the battle of Riade in 933. Henry also pacified the Danes under his kingdom as well as the territories of the Wends and Schleswig by 934.

But his greatest legacy was similar to that of Charles Martel (a distant ancestor)--through ensuring all his sons were clear in their titles and lands prior to his death. His eldest son Thankmar (from his first marriage) had already succeeded his grandfather as Duke of Saxony, while Otto was granted Lothringa(Lorraine), Henry as heir to Duchy of Bavaria and Bruno as Archbishop of Mainz.

Henry died in July 936 was eventually followed by his son Otto I by November 912.


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