Henry Berengar: ''Heinrich-Berengar''. (1136/7–1150), sometimes numbered Henry (VI), was the eldest son of

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (; ; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III, and from 1138 until his death in 1152 King of the Romans in t ...

and his second wife,

Gertrude of Sulzbach Gertrude of Sulzbach (; – 14 April 1146) was German queen from 1138 until her death as the second wife of the Hohenstaufen king Conrad III. Life She was the daughter of the Bavarian count Berengar II of Sulzbach (c.1080–1125) and Adelh ...

. He was named after his father's maternal grandfather,

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy ...

, and his mother's father, Count Berengar II of Sulzbach. He was groomed for the succession, but predeceased his father. In 1139, Henry was betrothed to Sophia, daughter of King

Béla II of Hungary Béla the Blind (; ; ; – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, King Coloman of Hungary. Béla grew up in monasteri ...

. She moved to Germany to learn German language and court culture, but relations between Germany and Hungary cooled after the death of her father in 1141. The marriage was cancelled while Sophia was still residing in Germany. After several letters to her brother, King

Géza II Géza () is a Hungarian given name and may refer to any of the following: As regnal or forename * Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians * Géza I of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza II of Hungary, King of Hungary * Géza, son of Géza II of Hungar ...

, she received permission to remain in the German monastery where she had been living. Conrad and Henry likewise approved. Henry witnessed for the first time a diploma issued by his father in 1142. He witnessed two more before his coronation. Conrad had the princes elect Henry, then ten years old, as co-

king of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

at a diet in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

on 13 March 1147, before Conrad left on the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1147–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crus ...

. Henry was anointed and crowned on

Laetare Sunday Laetare Sunday ( Church Latin: ; Classical Latin: ; English: ) is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration within the austere period of Len ...

(30 March) in

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

. During his father's absence on crusade (June 1147–May 1149), he was placed under the tutorship of the powerful abbot

Wibald Wibald (; early 1098 – 19 July 1158) was a 12th-century abbot of Stavelot (Stablo) and Malmedy in present-day Belgium, and abbot of Corvey in Germany. He figured prominently in the court circle of the German kings of his time. Biography Wiba ...

and the notary . For his services, Heinrich was raised to the rank of master (''magister'') or protonotary (''protonotarius''). Nine letters (eight in full) written by or for Henry survive from this period of his reign, but no diplomas do. The young Henry was the winning general at the

Battle of Flochberg The Battle of Flochberg (8 February 1150) was a victory for the royal forces of Henry (VI) of Germany over the House of Welf, led by Welf VI and his son, Welf VII. Henry's father, Conrad III, and Welf VI had gone on the Second Crusade together. ...

(1150) against

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph). ...

and

Welf VII Welf VII (c. 1135 – 11 or 12 September 1167) was the only son of Welf VI, Duke of Spoleto and Margrave of Tuscany, and Uta, daughter of Godfrey of Calw, count palatine of the Rhine. He was a member of the House of Welf. His father inher ...

. The military prowess of the young ruler was emphasised in letters (dated the week of 16–20 April 1150 at

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

) to the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned ov ...

, and the empress,

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

, Gertrude's sister, informing them of the victory. Henry died later that year and was buried at the monastery of Lorch.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berengar, Henry 1130s births 1150 deaths 12th-century Kings of the Romans

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Year of birth unknown 12th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire Heirs apparent who never acceded Monarchs who died as children