Henry II

   1) (972–1024)

   Saint and Monarch.

   Henry was the son of Henry the Quarrelsome, Duke of Bavaria. He succeeded Otto III as Holy Roman Emperor in 1002, but was not crowned until 1014. He is remembered for founding the See of Bamburg and for encouraging ecclesiastical renewal. In particular he strongly supported the monastic reforms of Cluny. In later Christian legend, he was regarded as the ideal king, strong and noble, just and pious. He was canonised in 1146 and his wife Kunigunde followed him into sainthood in 1200. In fact his reign was dominated by war and, as a result of his constant interference, he was in frequent conflict with Church leaders.

   H. Mikoletzky, Kaiser Heinrich II und die Kirche (1951) [no English translation available].

   2) (1133–89)

   Monarch.

   Henry was the eldest son of Matilda, heiress of King Henry I of England, and Geoffrey Plantagenet. He inherited the English crown from his cousin Stephen in 1154. In Christian circles he is remembered for his conflict with Thomas becket over the rights of the Church. The King wished to remove certain clerical privileges.

   The Archbishop, despite his earlier loyal service to the King, adamantly resisted. The affair ended with Becket’s murder in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 and the King performing public penance in 1174.

   F. Barlow, Thomas Becket (1986);

   T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral (1935);

   W.L. Warren, Henry II (1973).