Henry II
, Holy Roman emperor and German king Henry II, 973–1024, Holy Roman emperor (1014–24) and German king (1002–24), last of the Saxon line. He succeeded his father as duke of Bavaria. When Otto III died without an heir, Henry, who was Otto's second cousin and the great-grandson of
Henry I, was elected German king. After some opposition he was recognized by the German duchies. In 1004 he entered Italy and at Pavia was crowned king of the rebellious Lombards by the bishops. Italian resistance appeared to be broken when Pavia was destroyed in a conflict between the citizens and Henry's German followers, but his supremacy was still uncertain when he went north to meet
Boleslaus I of Poland. Henry expelled (1004) Boleslaus from Bohemia, but the war dragged on until 1018, when Boleslaus was able to obtain territories in E Germany in fief from Henry. Returning (1013) to Italy, Henry was crowned (1014) Holy Roman emperor at Rome. On his third Italian campaign (1021–22), undertaken at the pope's behest, he restored order in Lombardy, reasserted his sovereignty in all Italy, and attended a synod at Pavia where he advocated far-reaching church reform. Always relying heavily on ecclesiastic support, Henry opposed the monastic clergy in its jurisdictional struggle with the bishops, and he forcefully exercised his right of nominating bishops. However, both Henry and his empress, Kunigunde of Luxembourg, were distinguished for piety and have been canonized. His most notable achievement was the foundation of the new bishopric of Bamberg, which became a center of scholastic culture and art. Henry died childless; he was succeeded by
Conrad II. Feast: July 15.
Henry II
, king of England Henry II, 1133–89, king of England (1154–89), son of
Matilda, queen of England, and
Geoffrey IV, count of Anjou. He was the founder of the
Angevin, or Plantagenet, line in England and one of the ablest and most remarkable of the English kings.
Early Life
Henry's early attempts to recover the English throne, which he claimed through his mother, were unsuccessful. He was made duke of Normandy in 1150, and at Geoffrey's death (1151) inherited Anjou, Maine, and Touraine. His marriage (1152) to
Eleanor of Aquitaine brought him Aquitaine, Poitou, and Auvergne. By an invasion of England in 1153, he finally forced King
Stephen to acknowledge him as heir, and in 1154 Henry ascended the English throne.
Reign
Restoration of Royal Authority
Henry's vast Continental domains (he ruled about half the area of present-day France) were to occupy him for much of his reign, but his first objective was to restore order and royal authority to an England ravaged by civil war. He did this (by razing unlicensed castles, reclaiming royal castles and alienated crown lands, and appointing capable crown officials) so effectively that the country was free of major disorder until 1173.
Henry's desire to restore royal authority to the level of that in Henry I's reign brought him into conflict with Thomas à Becket, whom he had made (1162) archbishop of Canterbury. The quarrel, which focused largely on the jurisdiction of the church courts, came to a head when Henry issued (1164) the Constitutions of Clarendon, defining the relationship between church and state, and it ended (1170) in Becket's murder, for which Henry was indirectly responsible. The crime aroused such indignation that Henry had to make his peace with the papacy in the Compromise of Avranches (1172). But, though he made some concessions, most clauses of the Constitutions remained in force.
Henry's most significant achievement lay in his development of the structure of royal justice. With the aid of such competent jurists as Ranulf de Glanvill, he clearly established the superiority of the royal courts over private, feudal jurisdictions. His justices toured the country, administering a strengthened criminal law and a revised land law, based on the doctrine of seisin (possession). Procedural advances included the greatly extended use of writs and juries.
While these developments were taking place, Henry was also engaged in consolidating his possessions. He recovered (1157) the northern counties of England from Scotland and undertook (1171–72) an expedition to Ireland, where he temporarily consolidated the conquests already made by Richard de Clare, 2d earl of Pembroke. He was less successful in his attempts (1157 and 1165) to extend his authority in Wales. Henry also expanded his holdings in France, acquiring Vexin, Brittany, and Toulouse.
His Rebellious Sons
In 1169 the king distributed among his three oldest sons the titles to his possessions: Henry was to receive Normandy, Maine, and Anjou (he was also crowned king of England in 1170); Richard (later
Richard I), Aquitaine; and
Geoffrey, Brittany. They did not receive actual authority, however, and, encouraged in their discontent by their mother and supported by Louis VII of France, they rebelled against Henry in 1173–74. The rebellion collapsed, but the king's sons continued to conspire against him. Richard and the youngest son,
John, in alliance with
Philip II of France, were actually in the course of another rebellion in 1189 when their father died. Since the young Henry had died (1183), Henry II was succeeded by Richard.
Bibliography
See biographies by J. T. Appleby (1962), R. W. Barber (1964, repr. 1967), and W. L. Warren (1973); A. L. Poole, From Domesday Book to Magna Carta (2d ed. 1955); F. Barlow, The Feudal Kingdom of England, 1042–1216 (2d rev. ed. 1962); J. E. A. Joliffe, Angevin Kingship (2d ed. 1963); T. K. Keefe, Feudal Assessments and the Political Community under Henry II and His Sons (1982).
Henry II
, king of France Henry II, 1519–59, king of France (1547–59), son of King Francis I. His robust physique contrasted with his weak and pliant disposition. Throughout his reign he was governed by Anne de
Montmorency, by his mistress
Diane de Poitiers, and by François and Charles de
Guise. He renewed the struggle against Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V (Charles I of Spain), allying himself with the German Protestants despite his own strong Catholicism. War continued under Charles's son King
Philip II of Spain, who was allied with Mary Tudor of England, until the Treaty of
Cateau-Cambrésis (1559) ended French pretensions in Italy. In 1558, Calais was conquered from the English. Henry issued a series of increasingly severe edicts against the Protestants and established more firmly the absolute royal power. His queen,
Catherine de' Medici, played a minor role during her husband's reign. Henry, accidentally killed by Gabriel de Montgomery in a tournament, was succeeded by Francis II.
Bibliography
See H. N. Williams, Henry II: His Court and Times (1910).
Henry II
, Spanish king of Castile and León Henry II or
Henry of Trastámara (trăstəmărˈə), 1333?–1379, Spanish king of Castile and León (1369–79), illegitimate son of Alfonso XI. After taking part in several unsuccessful revolts against his half-brother,
Peter the Cruel, he secured the aid of
Du Guesclin and Peter IV of Aragón and drove Peter from the throne in 1366. Peter allied himself with England and, with the help of
Edward the Black Prince defeated Henry at Nájera (1367), but after Edward's departure, Henry defeated and killed Peter at Montiel (1369). John of Gaunt, son-in-law of Peter the Cruel, and
Ferdinand I of Portugal unsuccessfully contested his title as king and the succession of his son, John I.
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