Henry the Fowler (German:Heinrich der Vogler orHeinrich der Finkler;Latin:Henricus Auceps;c. 876 – 2 July 936[2]) was theduke of Saxony from 912[2] and theking of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he established theOttonian dynasty of kings andemperors, and he is generally considered to be the founder of themedieval German state, known until then as East Francia. An avidhunter, he obtained the epithet "the Fowler" because he was allegedly fixing hisbirding nets whenmessengers arrived to inform him that he was to be king.
He was born into theLiudolfing line of Saxon dukes. His fatherOtto I of Saxony died in 912 and was succeeded by Henry. The new duke launched arebellion against the king of East Francia,Conrad I of Germany, over the rights to lands in theDuchy of Thuringia. They reconciled in 915 and on his deathbed in 918, Conrad recommended Henry as the next king, considering the duke the only one who could hold the kingdom together in the face of internal revolts and externalMagyarraids.
Henry was elected and crowned king in 919. He went on to defeat the rebellious dukes ofBavaria andSwabia, consolidating his rule. Through successful warfare and a dynastic marriage, Henry acquiredLotharingia as avassal in 925. Unlike hisCarolingian predecessors, Henry did not seek to create a centralized monarchy, ruling through federated autonomousstem duchies instead. Henry built an extensive system offortifications and mobileheavy cavalry across Germany to neutralize the Magyar threat and in 933 routed them at theBattle of Riade, ending Magyar attacks for the next 21 years and giving rise to a sense of German nationhood. Henry greatly expanded German hegemony in Europe with his army's defeat of the Slavs in 929 at theBattle of Lenzen along theElbe river, by compelling the submission of DukeWenceslaus I of Bohemia through an invasion of theDuchy of Bohemia the same year and by conqueringDanish realms inSchleswig in 934. Henry's hegemonic status north of the Alps was acknowledged by the kingsRudolph of West Francia andRudolph II of Upper Burgundy, who both accepted a place of subordination as allies in 935. Henry planned an expedition toRome to be crowned emperor by thepope, but the design was thwarted by his death. Henry prevented a collapse of royal power, as had happened inWest Francia, and left a much stronger kingdom to his successorOtto I. He was buried atQuedlinburg Abbey, established by his wifeMatilda in his honour.
In 906 he marriedHatheburg of Merseburg,[3] daughter of the Saxon count Erwin. She had previously been a nun. The marriage was annulled in 909 because her vows as a nun were deemed by the church to remain valid. She had already given birth to Henry's sonThankmar. The annulment placed a question mark over Thankmar's legitimacy. Later that year he marriedMatilda,[3] daughter ofDietrich of Ringelheim, Count inWestphalia. Matilda bore him three sons and two daughters,Hedwig andGerberga, and founded many religious institutions, including theQuedlinburg Abbey where Henry and Matilda are buried. She was latercanonized.
His sonOtto I, traditionally known asOtto the Great, continued his father's work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom and greatly expanded the king's powers. He installed members of his family in the kingdom's most important duchies, subjected the clergy to his personal control, defeated theMagyars and conquered theKingdom of Italy.
Legend of the German crown offered to Henry while fixing his birding nets, byHermann Vogel (1854–1921)
Henry became Duke of Saxony after his father's death in 912. An able ruler, he continued to strengthen the position of his duchy within the weakening kingdom ofEast Francia, and was frequently in conflict with his neighbors to the South in theDuchy of Franconia.
On 23 December 918Conrad I, king of East Francia and Franconian duke, died. Although Henry had rebelled against Conrad I between 912 and 915 over the lands inThuringia, Conrad recommended Henry as his successor. Kingship now changed from the Franks to theSaxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne and were proud of their identity. Henry, as Saxon, was the first non-Frank on the throne.
Conrad's choice was conveyed by his brother, dukeEberhard III of Franconia at theImperial Diet ofFritzlar in 919. The assembled Franconian and Saxon nobles elected Henry to be king with other regional dukes not participating in the election. Archbishop Heriger ofMainz offered toanoint Henry according to the usual ceremony, but he refused – the only king of his time not to undergo that rite – allegedly because he wished to be king not by the church's but by the people's acclaim.
Henry, who was elected to kingship by only the Saxons and Franconians at Fritzlar, had to subdue the other dukes.
DukeBurchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but when he died, Henry appointed a noble from Franconia to be the new duke.
DukeArnulf of Bavaria, lord over a realm of impressive extent, withde facto powers of a king and at times even named so in documents, proved a much harder nut to crack. He would not submit until Henry defeated him in two campaigns in 921.
Finkenherd (finch trap) atQuedlinburg, built around 1530 at the legendary place of the king's bird trapping
In the short remnant of a more lengthy text, "Fragmentum de Arnulfo duce Bavariae (de)", the author gives a very lively impression of the disconcert Henry's claims caused in Bavaria:The piece abruptly starts with a clause. It relates that Henry I (Saxo Heimricus), following the advice of an unnamed bishop, had invaded the Bavarian kingdom (regnum Baioariae) in a hostile way. Decidedly, it hints at the unlawfulness of this encroachment, namely in thatBavaria was a territory in which none of Henry's forefathers had ever possessed even a foot (gressum pedis) of land. This was also the reason – by God's will (Dei nutu) – for him having been defeated in this first campaign. This can be seen as proof that Henry did campaign against Bavaria, and Arnulf, more than once.In the second chapter, the unknown chronicler hints that Henry's predecessor on the throne,Conrad I, had also invaded Bavaria in an equally unlawful and hostile (non regaliter, sed hostiliter) fashion. Conrad is said to have marauded through the land, murdering and pillaging, having made many children orphans (orphanos) and women widows (viduas).Ratisbon, the duke's seat, was set to light and looted. After Conrad committed all these crimes (peccatis), it reports that divine providence (divino nutu) forced him to withdraw. The reason for this is not mentioned.The last section is a eulogy to Duke Arnulf who is described as a glorious leader (gloriosus dux), being blessed by heaven (ex alto) with all kinds of virtues, brave and dynamic. He alone had saved his people from the scourge of the Saxons (de sevienti gladio paganorum) and given them back their freedom.This panegyric to the Bavarian duke is unparalleled for its time and underlines his position of power in the southeast of the East Frankish realm, so endangered by disintegration, so that "Arnulf ... nearly [found] the same resonance in the scarce historiography of his time, as did King Henry".
Henry besieged Arnulf's residence at Ratisbon and forced the duke into submission. Arnulf had crowned himself as king of Bavaria in 919, but in 921 renounced the crown and submitted to Henry while maintaining significant autonomy and the right to mint his own coins.
In his time, the king was consideredprimus inter pares (first among equals). The king and princes formulated policies together and the position of the monarchy could only be consolidated gradually. Even under Otto the Great and later monarchs, consensus building would remain important.[4][5]
In 920, the king ofWest Francia,Charles the Simple, invaded and marched as far asPfeddersheim nearWorms, but retreated when he learned that Henry was organizing an army.[6] On 7 November 921, Henry and Charles met and concluded theTreaty of Bonn, in which Henry was recognized as the east Frankish king and Charles rule in Lotharingia was recognized.[7] Henry then saw an opportunity to takeLotharingia when a civil war over royal succession began in West Francia after the coronation of KingRobert I.[8] In 923 Henry crossed the Rhine twice, capturing a large part of the duchy.[9] The eastern part of Lotharingia was left in Henry's possession until October 924.[citation needed]
In 925 DukeGilbert of Lotharingia rebelled. Henry invaded the duchy and besieged Gilbert atZülpich (Tolbiac), captured the town, and became master of a large portion of his lands. Allowing Gilbert to remain in power as duke, Henry arranged the marriage of his daughter Gerberga to his new vassal in 928. Thus he brought that realm, which had been lost in 910, back into the kingdom as the fifth stem duchy.
The threat of Magyar raiders improved his situation, as all the dukes and nobles realized that only a strong state could defend their lands against barbarian incursions.
In 919 Henry was defeated by the Magyars in theBattle of Püchen, hardly escaping from being killed in battle, managing to take refuge in the town of Püchen.[a]
In 921 theMagyars once again invaded East Francia and Italy. Although a sizable Magyar force was defeated nearBleiburg in the BavarianMarch of Carinthia by Eberhard and the Count of Meran and another group was routed byLiutfried, count of Elsass (French reading:Alsace), the Magyars continued raiding East Francia.
Henry, having captured a Hungarian prince, managed to arrange a ten-year truce in 924, though he agreed to pay annual tribute. By doing so he and the dukes gained time to build new fortified towns and to train a new elite cavalry force.[11] Henry built fortified settlements as a defense against Magyar and Slav invaders. In 932 Henry refused to pay the annual tribute to the Magyars. When they began raiding again, Henry, with his improved army in 933 at theBattle of Riade, crushed the Magyars so completely that they never returned to the northern lands of Henry's kingdom.[12]
During the truce with the Magyars, Henry subdued thePolabian Slavs who lived on his eastern borders. In the winter of 928 he marched against the SlavicHevelli tribes and seized their capital,Brandenburg. He then invaded theGlomacze lands on the middleElbe river, conquering the capital Gana (Jahna) after asiege, and had a fortress (the laterAlbrechtsburg) built atMeissen. In 929, with the help of Arnulf of Bavaria, Henry entered theDuchy of Bohemia and forced DukeWenceslaus I to resume the annual payment of tribute to the king.[13]
Meanwhile, the SlavicRedarii had driven away their chief, captured the town ofWalsleben and massacred its inhabitants. Counts Bernard and Thietmar marched against the fortress ofLenzen beyond the Elbe, and, after fiercefighting, completely routed the enemy on 4 September 929. TheLusatians and theUkrani on the lowerOder were subdued and made tributary in 932 and 934, respectively.[14] In conquered lands Henry did not createmarch administration, which was implemented by his successor Otto I.
Henry also pacified territories to the north, where theDanes had been harrying theFrisians by sea. The monk and chroniclerWidukind of Corvey in hisRes gestae Saxonicae reports that the Danes were subjects of Henry the Fowler.[15] Henry incorporated into his kingdom territories held by theWends, who together with the Danes had attacked Germany, and also conqueredSchleswig in 934.[12]
As the first Saxon king of East Francia, Henry was the founder of theOttonian dynasty. He and his descendants ruled East Francia, and later the Holy Roman Empire, from 919 until 1024.
Henry returned to public attention as a character inRichard Wagner's opera,Lohengrin (1850), trying to gain the support of theBrabantian nobles against the Magyars. After the attempts to achieve German national unity failed with theRevolutions of 1848, Wagner strongly relied on the picture of Henry as the actual ruler of all German tribes as advocated bypan-Germanist activists likeFriedrich Ludwig Jahn.
There are indications thatHeinrich Himmler saw himself as thereincarnation of Henry, who was proclaimed to be the first king of Germany.[17][18] Himmler traveled to Quedlinburg several times to hold a ceremony in the crypt on the anniversary of the king's death, 2 July. This started in 1936, 1,000 years after Henry died. Himmler considered him to be the "first German king" and declared his tomb a site of pilgrimage for Germans. In 1937, the king's remains were reinterred in a new sarcophagus.[19]
Henry the Fowler is one of two antagonists, being the end boss in the final mission of the 2001 gameReturn to Castle Wolfenstein. The game portrays him as an evil necromancer and anachronistically places him in 943 CE, 7 years after his actual death year of 936.
^Rex autem Avares sepenumero insurgentes expulit. Et cum in uno dierum hos inpari congressu ledere temptaret, victus in urbem, quae Bichni vocatur, fugit; ibique mortis periculum evadens, urbanos maiori gloria, quam hactenus haberent vel comprovinciales hodie teneant, et ad haec muneribus dignis honorat." English translation from the Latin:The king drove away the Avars [Magyars], who attacked his country repeatedly. And when he once, with insufficient forces, dared to attack them, he was defeated and fled in a city, with the name Bichni [Püchen]. Because he there escaped death, so he gave the citizens the same greater privileges than they had before, and which have no match among their countrymen until this day, and besides that, he gave them rich presents too."[10]
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Bachrach, David S., 'Exercise of Royal Power in Early Medieval Europe: the Case of Otto the Great 936–73',Early Medieval Europe, 17 (2009), 89–419
Bachrach, David S., 'Henry I of Germany's 929 Military Campaign in Archaeological Perspective',Early Medieval Europe, 21 (2013), 307–337
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Nicholas, David M.,The Evolution of the Medieval World: Society, Government & Thought in Europe, 312–1500 (London: Routledge, 1992)
Peden, Alison 'Unity, Order and Ottonian Kingship in the Thought of Abbo of Fleury', inBelief and Culture in the Middle Ages: Studies Presented to Henry Mayr-Harting, ed. Richard Gameson and Henrietta Leyser (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), pp. 158–168
Reuter, Timothy,Germany in the Early Middle Ages, C. 800–1056 (London: Longman Group, 1991)
Reuter, Timothy 'The 'Imperial Church System' of the Ottonian and Salian Rulers: a Reconsideration',The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 33 (2011), 347–375
Deed by Henry I for Hersfeld Abbey, 1 June 932 with his seal,"digitalised image".Photograph Archive of Old Original Documents (Lichtbildarchiv älterer Originalurkunden).University of Marburg.
