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Henry I the Fowler

Henry the Fowler
Siegel Heinrich I Posse.JPG
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 24 May 919 – 2 July 936
Predecessor Conrad I of Germany
Successor Otto the Great
Duke of Saxony
Reign 30 November 912 – 2 July 936
Predecessor Otto I, Duke of Saxony
Successor Otto the Great
Born c. 876
Died 2 July 936
Memleben
Burial Quedlinburg Abbey
Spouse
Issue
Dynasty Ottonian
Father Otto I, Duke of Saxony
Mother Hedwiga
Religion Roman Catholic
German royal dynasties
Ottonian dynasty
Chronology
Henry I 919 – 936
Otto I 936 – 973
Otto II 973 – 983
Otto III 983 – 1002
Henry II 1002 – 1024
Family
Family tree of the German monarchs
Succession
Preceded by
Conradine dynasty
Followed by
Salian dynasty

Henry the Fowler (German: Heinrich der Finkler or Heinrich der Vogler; Latin: Henricius Auceps) (876 – July 2, 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the elected king of East Francia (Germany) from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non-Frankish king, he established the Ottonian Dynasty of kings and emperors, he is generally considered to be the founder and first king 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. By his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power, as had happened in West Francia, and left a much stronger kingdom to his successor Otto I. Henry died on July 2, 936 in his royal palace in Memleben, one of his favourite places. He was buried at Quedlinburg Abbey, established by his wife Matilda in his honor.

Born in Memleben, in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Henry was the son of Otto the Illustrious, Duke of Saxony, and his wife Hedwiga, daughter of Henry of Franconia and Ingeltrude and a great-great-granddaughter of Charlemagne. In 906 he married Hatheburg von Merseburg, daughter of the Saxon count Erwin. She had previously been a nun. The marriage was annulled in 909 because her vows as a nun were deemed by the church to remain valid. She had already given birth to Henry's son Thankmar. The annulment placed a question mark over Thankmar's legitimacy. Later that year he married Matilda, daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, Count in Westphalia. Matilda bore him three sons, one called Otto, and two daughters, Hedwig and Gerberga, and founded many religious institutions, including the Quedlinburg Abbey where Henry is buried. She was later canonized.


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