Henry III, Duke of Bavaria
| Henry the Younger | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Bavaria | |
| Spouse(s) | Hildegard (?) |
| Father | Berthold, Duke of Bavaria |
| Mother | Wiltrud of Bergen |
| Born | c. 940 |
| Died | 5 October 989 |
| Buried | Niederaltaich Abbey |
| Religion | Catholic |
Henry III (940 – 5 October 989), called the Younger, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, was the first Duke of Carinthia from 976 to 978, Duke of Bavaria from 983 to 985 and again Duke of Carinthia from 985 to 989.
Henry the Younger was the only surviving son of Duke Berthold of Bavaria, who at the time of his birth was a loyal supporter of the royal Ottonian dynasty descending from Saxony. In 921 Henry's uncle Arnulf the Bad after two years of struggle had finally acknowledged the rule of Henry the Fowler as King of Germany and in turn achieved a certain autonomy for his Duchy of Bavaria. However, this exceptional status was denied by King Henry's son and successor Otto I, who in 938 had Arnulf's son and successor Duke Eberhard deposed and banned. King Otto appointed Arnulf's younger brother Berthold duke instead, after he had pledged allegiance and renounced the Bavarian privileges.
Duke Berthold remained a loyal liensman of the king, however, his son Henry the Younger was still a minor upon his father's death in 947 and King Otto I took the occasion to cede the Bavarian duchy to his own younger brother Henry I. As Henry I about 937 had married Judith, Duchess of Bavaria, a daughter of the late duke Arnulf the Bad, he could raise claims to the ducal title.
After he became of age, Henry the Younger waited patiently, though it seemed that Bavaria was ultimately lost for the Luitpoldings, when upon the death of the Ottonian duke Henry I in 955 he was succeeded by his four-year-old son Henry the Wrangler (as Henry II) under the tutelage of his mother Judith. Coming of age, Duke Henry II of Bavaria increased his power: in 954 his sister Hadwig had married Duke Burchard III of Swabia, in 972 he himself married Gisela of Burgundy, the niece of Emperor Otto's wife Adelaide of Italy. The tables began to turn upon Otto's death on 7 May 973, followed by the death of Henry's brother-in-law Duke Burchard III of Swabia on 12 November: Duke Henry II, not satisfied with Bavaria, raised claims to Burchard's Duchy of Swabia upon, trading on the difficulties of the new emperor, his cousin Otto II, to establish his rule. His demands were denied, when Emperor Otto II enfeoffed his nephew Otto, son of late Duke Liudolf, with Swabia.
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