Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine

Henry V
Count Palatine of the Rhine
Henry in the Weingarten Stifterbüchlein, c. 1510
Reign	1195–1213
Spouse(s)	Agnes of Hohenstaufen Agnes of Landsberg
Noble family	House of Guelph
Father	Henry the Lion
Mother	Matilda of England
Born	c. 1173
Died	28 April 1227(1227-04-28) Braunschweig, Saxony
Buried	Brunswick Cathedral

Henry V, the Elder of Brunswick (German: Heinrich der Ältere von Braunschweig; c. 1173 – 28 April 1227), a member of the House of Welf, was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1195 until 1213.

Henry was the eldest son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria and Matilda, the eldest daughter of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine.

After his father's deposition by the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he grew up in England. When the family returned to Germany in 1189, young Henry distinguished himself by defending the Welf residence of Braunschweig against the forces of the emperor's son King Henry VI. Peace was established the next year, provided that Henry and his younger brother Lothar (d. 1190) were held in hostage by the king. He had to join the German forces on the 1191 campaign to the Italian Kingdom of Sicily and participated in the siege of Naples. Henry finally deserted, fled to Marseille, and returned to Germany where he falsely proclaimed Henry VI's death and tried to underline his own abilities as a possible successor.

Though he was banned, he became heir to the County Palatine of the Rhine through his 1193 marriage to Agnes, a cousin of Emperor Henry VI and daughter of the Hohenstaufen count palatine Conrad. He and the emperor reconciled shortly afterwards, and upon Conrad's death in 1195, Henry was enfeoffed with his County Palatine. A close ally of the emperor, he accompanied him on the conquest of Sicily in 1194/95 and on the Crusade of 1197.