[MR] Wikipedia: Saint Henry the Exuberant

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today I ran across a reference to Saint Henry the Exuberant. What an
intriguing by-name! I had to know more, and encountered a very interesting
man who was both Holy Roman Emperor and a saint.

Henry didn't start out exuberant. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of
Bavaria (aka "Henry the Quarrelsome" for his many rebellions). The younger
Henry was very devout, and hoped to become a priest. Then his daddy had the
bad grace to die in 995, and the son was elected Duke by the Bavarian
nobles as Henry IV. [Henry III fits into all this as a member of another
house who briefly ruled Bavaria when Henry II was on the outs with Holy
Roman Emperor Otto II. Henry II later got his duchy back.] Confused? I sure
was, but there is more!

After years of warfare among the various German and Italian states, with
Poland thrown in to confuse things further, Henry IV emerged as Holy Roman
Emperor Henry II in 1014. Conveniently, he was already Henry II as king of
the Germans, and had the same regnal number as Emperor.

Henry proved to be an able Emperor, and consolidated Imperial power,
particularly over the German states. As Emperor, he generally had the favor
of the Church, and used this as a powerful lever to support his secular
control. Henry also favored a celebate clergy to prevent major chunks of
Church property becoming hereditary possessions. He built many churches and
monasteries, including a start on the Cathedral of Basel (Switzerland),
which actually took 400 years to complete. Despite being a secular ruler
and married, Henry became an oblate of the Benedictine order. His superior
ordered him to continue ruling the Empire as fulfillment of his spiritual
vows as an oblate.

Henry married the pious Cunigunde of Luxembourg. They had no children, and
they are said to have had a celebate marriage, though there is no proof of
this.

Henry died at Göttingen on 13 July 1024 of a urinary tract infection. He
was buried in Bamberg Cathedral. Cunigunde retired to Kaufungen Abbey in
Hesse where she became a Benedictine nun. She died in 1040, and was
eventually added to a magnificent double-effigy tomb shared with Henry in
Bamberg Cathedral. Both Henry and Cunigunde were declared saints.

You can read about Henry and his many confusing wars at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor . He is also
found on Catholic Saints A to Z at
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-henry-ii/ , which rather confusingly
claims he outlived Cunigunde (he didn't!).

My curiosity about Henry and Cunigunde was sparked by their identification
as figures carved on a Counter-reformation door displayed at the UVA
Architecture School in Charlottesville:
http://isenfir.atlantia.sca.org/artsandsciences/files/CHAPEL%20DOORS.pdf .

Yours Aye,


Lord Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆