Henry of Kalden (German:Heinrich von Kalden;c. 1175 – after 1214) was aministerialis in the service of the German kingsHenry VI,Philip,Otto IV, andFrederick II.
Henry probably was a son of theFranconian noble Henry IIITesta ofPappenheim, Imperialmarshal of theHohenstaufen emperorFrederick Barbarossa. Historians have speculated whether Henry Testa and Henry of Kalden are one and the same person, though recent research tends to the assumption of a father-son relationship. They are also rated as the builders ofKaltenburg Castle, erected between 1150 and 1180.
The Pappenheim dynasty had held the hereditary marshal office since about 1100. Henry Testa was one of the leaders of theThird Crusade and is documented serving Emperor Frederick's son and successor Henry VI, while the latter was yet justKing of the Romans, in his 1190/91 campaign to theSicilian kingdom as his right by marriage to theNorman princessConstance. He participated in the unsuccessful siege ofNaples, before intense summer heat, epidemics and supply shortages caused the Imperial troops to leave the siege early. Henry Testa returned to Germany, and presumably died in 1191 atMonte Cassino.
Henry von Kalden succeeded his father as Imperial marshal in the service of Emperor Henry VI. In 1194, when Henry VI finally subdued the peninsula and could invade Sicily, his marshal was with him. Back in Germany, he spent Christmas 1195 with the emperor at theImperial Palace ofHagenau. Henry of Kalden was again sent toCatania, where he andMarkward von Annweiler defeated a large resistance army of Sicilian nobles in 1197, sacked the city and took captive its bishop. Henry was one of the leaders of theCrusade of 1197 and led the Imperial army toAcre in September, however, the German princes denied his authority and chose DukeHenry of Brabant as commander. Nevertheless, when the crusaders heard of Emperor Henry's death inMessina, they had to return to Germany in order to secure their hereditary estates.
Henry remained a loyal supporter of the Hohenstaufen dynasty and entered the service of Henry VI's brother and successor in Germany, DukePhilip of Swabia. In the throne quarrel with theWelf princeOtto IV, he aided Philip against the forces of LandgraveHermann of Thuringia in 1204 and against theCologne citizens in 1206, as well as in the negotiations withPope Innocent III.
On 8 June 1208, however, Philip was murdered out of rage by theBavarian count palatine CountOtto VIII of Wittelsbach. Henry of Kalden received permission from the Pope to track down and kill Otto to avenge his master's death. Granted, Henry killed him atOberndorf, on theDanube, nearRegensburg, and cut off his head. He nevertheless accepted the new circumstances and joined the side of the recently crowned Emperor Otto IV, whose closest advisor he became, arranging Otto's marriage with Philip's daughterBeatrice and moulding an aggressive Sicilian policy.
After the December 1212 coronation of Henry VI's sonFrederick II, however, Otto's position worsened and the marshal returned to the Hohenstaufen fold. He is last documented in 1214 deeds.
Henry of Kalden Born: c. 1175 Died: after 1214 | ||
| German royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire 1191–1214 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
