King of East Francia (919–936); Duke of Saxony (912–936)
"Heinrich der Vogler" redirects here. For the minstrel and poet, see Heinrich der Vogler (poet).
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Henry the Fowler
Henry's seal from a document of 30 March 925. He is portrayed as a warrior, with a spear and shield. The words are HEINRICUS REX (King Henry).
King of East Francia
Reign
c. 24 May 919 – 2 July 936
Coronation
c. 24 May 919[1]
Predecessor
Conrad the Younger
Successor
Otto the Great
Duke of Saxony
Reign
30 November 912 – 2 July 936
Predecessor
Otto the Illustrious
Successor
Otto the Great
Born
c. 7 July 876 Mimileba, East Francia
Died
2 July 936 (aged 59–60) Mimileba, East Francia
Burial
Quedlinburg Abbey
Spouse
Hatheburg of Merseburg
Matilda of Ringelheim
Issue
Thankmar
Hedwig of Saxony
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Gerberga, Queen of France
Henry I, Duke of Bavaria
Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne
Dynasty
Ottonian
Father
Otto I, Duke of Saxony
Mother
Hedwiga
Religion
Chalcedonian Christianity
Henry the Fowler (German: Heinrich der Vogler or Heinrich der Finkler; Latin: Henricus Auceps) (c. 876 – 2 July 936[2]) was the Duke of Saxony from 912[2] and the King of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emperors, and he is generally considered to be the founder of the medieval German state, known until then as East Francia. An avid hunter, he obtained the epithet "the Fowler" because he was allegedly fixing his birding nets when messengers arrived to inform him that he was to be king.
He was born into the Liudolfing line of Saxon dukes. His father Otto I of Saxony died in 912 and was succeeded by Henry. The new duke launched a rebellion against the king of East Francia, Conrad I of Germany, over the rights to lands in the Duchy 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 external Magyar raids.
Henry was elected and crowned king in 919. He went on to defeat the rebellious dukes of Bavaria and Swabia, consolidating his rule. Through successful warfare and a dynastic marriage, Henry acquired Lotharingia as a vassal in 925. Unlike his Carolingian predecessors, Henry did not seek to create a centralized monarchy, ruling through federated autonomous stem duchies instead. Henry built an extensive system of fortifications and mobile heavy cavalry across Germany to neutralize the Magyar threat and in 933 routed them at the Battle 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 defeat of the Slavs in 929 at the Battle of Lenzen along the Elbe river, by compelling the submission of Duke Wenceslaus I of Bohemia through an invasion of the Duchy of Bohemia the same year and by conquering Danish realms in Schleswig in 934. Henry's hegemonic status north of the Alps was acknowledged by the kings Rudolph of West Francia and Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy, who both accepted a place of subordination as allies in 935. Henry planned an expedition to Rome to be crowned emperor by the pope, but the design was thwarted by his death. Henry prevented a collapse of royal power, as had happened in West Francia, and left a much stronger kingdom to his successor Otto I. He was buried at Quedlinburg Abbey, established by his wife Matilda in his honour.
^Böhmer, Johann Friedrich. (1893). Die Regesten des Kaiserreichs unter den Herrschern aus dem Sæchsischen Hause, 919-1024. p. 4. "Der wahltag ist nicht überliefert... er fallt vielmehr zwischen 12. und 24. mai 919". [The day of the election is not recorded... but it falls between 12 and 24 May 919]
^ ab"Henry I". Encyclopaedia Britannica 2013. Ultimate edition(DVD-ROM). United Soft Media. 2012. ISBN 978-3-8032-6629-3. OCLC 833300891.
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in 973. He was the eldest son of HenrytheFowler and Matilda of Ringelheim. Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his...
Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American zoologist born in Holmesburg, Pennsylvania. He studied at Stanford University under...
her death) by her marriage with the Liudolfing duke Otto the Illustrious. She is the mother of King HenrytheFowler. Her parentage is not clearly stated...
of victory in battle. For example, HenrytheFowler's lance was credited for winning the Battle of Riade, and the Crusaders believed their discovery of...
estates in Westphalia. The Ottonian rulers of East Francia, the German kingdom, and the Holy Roman Empire were: HenrytheFowler (Henry I), Duke of Saxony...
Franconia to offer the royal crown to HenrytheFowler, the duke of Saxony and one of his principal opponents, since he considered Henry to be the only duke capable...
Cambridge. He lived on Guernsey in the Channel Islands. He and his older brother, Henry Watson Fowler, wrote The King's English together, an influential...
Later that year, he married Hedwige of Saxony, a daughter of King HenrytheFowler of Germany and Matilda. Soon after this, his third marriage, he was...
during the minority of their son Hugh Capet, the founder of the Elder House of Capet. Hedwig was a younger daughter of the Saxon duke HenrytheFowler (c...
Lotharingia, he earned the enmity of the new duke Gilbert, who in 919 declared loyalty to the new king of East Francia HenrytheFowler. Opposition to Charles...
established the Duchy of Swabia, which was recognized by HenrytheFowler in 919 and became a stem duchy of the Holy Roman Empire. The area settled by the Alemanni...
HenrytheFowler of East Francia used this opportunity and invaded Lotharingia (including Alsace). In 925, Lotharingians under Gilbert elected Henry the...
the sixth in line to Portuguese throne King of Germany HenrytheFowler (876–936), first king of Germany Kings of Scots (in name, at least) Henry Stuart...
the Ottonian dynasty. Henry theFowler attacked the Slavs in several campaigns with his cavalry. During the reigns of Henry and his son Otto I, several...
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