Henry X, Duke of Bavaria, is the…

December 1137 CE

Henry X, Duke of Bavaria, is the son of Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria, and Wulfhilde, daughter of Magnus Billung, Duke of Saxony, and thus a member of the Welf family, and, what is quite important, senior heir of the Billung family.

His father and mother had both died in 1126, and as his elder brother Conrad had entered the church and died before their parents, Henry became duke of Bavaria.

He shared the family possessions in Saxony, Bavaria and Swabia with his younger brother, Welf.

In 1127 he had married Gertrude, the only child of Lothair III, King of Germany, whose marriage and inheritance Henry's father had been promised as reward for his changing to support Lothair in the royal election of 1125.

Gertrude is heir of the properties of three Saxon dynasties: the House of Supplinburg, the Brunones, and the House of Northeim.

The couple have only one son, Henry, later called Henry the Lion.

After the marriage, Henry had taken part in the warfare between the king and the Hohenstaufen brothers, Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (who is Henry's brother-in-law, having been married with his sister Judith), and Conrad, Duke of Franconia, afterwards the German king Conrad III.

While engaged in this struggle, Henry was also occupied in suppressing a rising in Bavaria, led by Frederick, Count of Bogen, during which both duke and count sought to establish their own candidates in the Bishopric of Regensburg.

After a war of devastation, Frederick had submitted in 1133, and two years later the Hohenstaufen brothers had made their peace with Lothair.

In 1136, Henry had accompanied his father-in-law to Italy, and taking command of one division of the imperial army marched into southern Italy, devastating the land as he went.

Having distinguished himself by his military abilities during this campaign, Henry had been appointed as margrave of Tuscany and as Lothair's successor in the Duchy of Saxony.

He was also given the former properties of Matilda of Tuscany.

When Lothair dies in December 1137, Henry's wealth and position make him a formidable candidate for the German crown, but the same qualities which have earned him the cognomen of "the Proud", arouse the jealousy of the princes and so prevent his election.

The new king, Conrad III, demands the imperial insignia that are in Henry's possession, and the duke in return asks for his investiture with the Saxon duchy.

But Conrad, who fears his power, refuses to assent to this on the pretext that it is unlawful for two duchies to be in one hand.