Conrad I died in late 918. Before he died, he advised his nobility that they should elect Henry as his heir. He did this despite there being a break down in relations between himself and Henry through the 910s. Conrad's options were really limited as he had no children as his heirs so, looking to the future, he had to put aside any ill will he might have had towards Henry in order to avoid civil war in his kingdom. The nobility agreed to elect Henry king and he was crowned about 6 months after the death of Conrad. The chroniclers are generous in their praise of Henry. Widukind calls him " the father of his country and the greatest and best of all kings". Thietmar of Merseburg shares in those sentiments and says that the qualities that can be seen in Henry could also be found in his son Otto. Things didn't necessarily get off to the easiest start for Henry however. On coming to the throne, he insisted on certain regions, including Bohemia, on paying tribute to him. This didn't go down well and the territories in question responded by rebelling against Henry. After a period, Henry managed to bring the Bohemians back into line.
But a far bigger problem then that came in the shape of the Magyar invasions. This had been a constant problem in Europe since the previous century and Henry had to find a way of dealing with this threat. Initially, he attempted to react by force but he came unstuck and was defeated in battle. His next tactic was essentially to agree to a peace treaty and pay them off. Bribing invading forces would not last forever however and, indeed, the Magyars would continue to be a thorn in the side for Henry for most of his reign. Henry would strengthen his realm by building defensive fortifications and bringing rebellious regions back under control. He had successes against the Vikings, no mean feat in itself, and helped to Christianise some of his pagan enemies. Widukind speaks of Henry's growing stature and confidence as he continues to put down challenges to his authority. Henry had repeated struggles against the king of West Francia, Charles the Simple who ended his career in captivity. Pretending to be saddened by this, Henry hoped to take another of Charles' possessions, Lotharangia, which he first intended to do by diplomacy if he could help it. The region, after Charles' death, had technically become the property of a man named Gislebert. Having met Gislebert and seeing first hand a young man of noble birth with the qualities required to rule, Henry reconsidered the matter and had Gislebert marry his daughter. This was a canny move. To all intents and purposes, Lotharangia was still in his hands and had at the same time also made his a daughter a good marriage. The next item on the agenda for Henry was to secure his dynasty and produce heirs. After the dissolution of his first marriage, he married Matilda. This marriage was successful in it's primary purposes in that it provided Henry with sons and heirs. Two of them would becomes Dukes of Bavaria and Lotharangia respectively. The first born, Otto, would become one of the most renowned of all early medieval European rulers.
Queen Matilda also had something of an interesting family history. Some of her distant relations had been involved in the Saxon wars that would plague Charlemagne over a century earlier and her uncles had fought against the Vikings. The fact her son became known as Otto the Great firmly establishes her place in history. During the nine year peace treaty with the Magyars, Henry had not only been on an programme of fortress building but also had put in place plans for the men he had to garrison them. They were to train day and night in preparation for any invasion that might come and he planned extensively to ensure that the men had the required provisions. These new strongholds would also be used for law courts and assemblies. These forts were especially needed. Widukind tells of the sparse strongholds throughout the kingdom that were either poorly maintained or damaged from repeated civil wars or from battles and sieges against the Magyars and other peoples. Thoughts now turned to Otto and his future. A match was made for him with Eadgyth, the daughter of King Edward the Elder. According to Widukind, she was popular with the people and would produce for Otto two children, a son and a daughter. The marriage came at a particularly successful time for Henry in his campaigns against the Magyars. He had secured the succession, Otto would succeed him as ruler of all his territories on his death in 936, repulsed Viking incursions and ruled over his kingdom with shrewdness and authority. When he died aged around 60, his citizens mourned his passing. Widukind calls him the best of Europe's kings. He left his son an extended kingdom to rule over. Henry's most enduring legacy though would prove to be Otto.
Otto I became king of Germany in 936 on the death of his father. Henry the Fowler had left a kingdom in strong health for Otto. After the nobles had sworn to uphold Henry's wishes that Otto would succeed him, the coronation for Otto to become king of Germany took place at Aachen in 936. An argument arose at the ceremony over who would oversee the proceedings before it was settled upon a senior Archbishop by the name of Hildibert. After Hildibert made Otto swear the usual oaths of ruling justly and upholding peace, they anointed him as king. When the coronation was completed, the royal party headed to the palace for celebratory feasts. One of Otto's main problems, as had been the case during his father's reign, was dealing with the Magyars. In 955, they had sent ambassadors to Otto's court in the pretence of seeking peace but it was merely a trick. Once the ambassadors had left with gifts from the king, Magyar forces spilled into the German kingdom, causing carnage. Otto reacted immediately, where he would meet them at the battle of Lechfeld. The battle, to begin with, didn't go as planned. The Magyars crossed the river Lech and caught Otto's forces off guard. Significant damaged was caused to the rear of Otto's army as many men were either killed or taken captive. Otto, with the help of his Dukes, managed to reorganise and reclaimed most of the men who had been taken by the Magyars and put to flight the initial attack. Otto now sensed blood as the Magyars retreated and launched his own counter attack against them, sending them into disarray. The enemy fled in panic, some drowning, some being hunted down by Otto's men and being brutally burned alive in nearby buildings in the neighbouring town. Widukind describes the victory as there "never being so bloody a victory gained over so savage a people". He also describes there being virtually no survivors on the Magyar side. The victory was absolute.
This brilliant military victory at Lechfeld typifies the type of man Otto was. Much of what Otto learned would have been gleaned from his father's own brilliant military victories against the Magyars and Danes. Otto was born in about 912 so would have been in his early twenties when he became German king. His added maturity at the time of his coronation would certainly stand him in good stead. Otto's realm had been disturbed by the actions of a certain Boleslav I who murdered one of Henry The Fowler's allies. The problems with Boleslav continued into the 940s, before Otto eventually captured him and placed him in the custody of Duke Henry of Bavaria, one of Otto's brothers. In 930, Otto married his first wife, Eadgyth, the daughter of Edward the Elder of Wessex and so granddaughter of Alfred the Great. She produced him a son and daughter and proved to be popular both with the ordinary people and with Otto. She died aged about 35 and Otto grieved her passing. Otto's second wife was a woman by the name of Adelaide who would yield much influence and will be mentioned in greater detail in part three of this blog on Otto the great and also in the following reign of Otto II, her son with Otto I.
Ruling over an extensive territory involved considerable travelling for any diligent king and it was during one of these journeys that Otto unearthed a plot against him, formulated by his son Liudolf and by one of his other male relations by marriage although there is some confusion as to who was the guilty party; either his brother in law Hugh or son in law Conrad. Either way, the man responsible had clearly been whispering in Liudolf's ear as Otto had been quite clear in his intentions to share power with his son. The rebellion became serious with Bavaria in particular turning their backs on Otto. Disgusted by this, he ransacked the neighbouring countryside, leaving the citizens in no doubt as to his feelings towards them. Liudolf had also attempted to capture Mainz. One of the key men in the uprising then made matters worse in 954 by allying himself with the Magyars, just a year before Lechfeld. After causing a substantial amount of damage to the king's forces, the rebels then incited Otto to go back to Bavaria and besiege that region again after their previous treachery. The rebellion eventually petered out with Liudolf and his allies eventually realising they had no hope of winning though this wouldn't stop Liudolf from uprising again shortly before his death in 957. Despite all the troubles his son had caused him, Otto was deeply upset when news of Liudolf's passing had been brought to him. After a civil war against his own son and wars against the Magyars, Otto took a break from defensive wars and invaded Lombardy in 961 where he removed the troublesome king of Italy Berengar II from power and sent him into exile. The next step for Otto on his road to greatness now was to have himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor which he would achieve the following year.
After his exploits in Lombardy, Otto headed to Rome where he would spend Christmas 961. It was in early February 962 that Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII. Even though Berengar had formally been deposed by Otto, he was still deemed a sufficient enough threat to peace in the empire that the imperial army turned their attentions back towards him where he was besieged at San Leo. There was an unsettling turn of events for Otto as the Pope who had crowned him Emperor decided to ally himself with Berengar's son. This could be considered surprising as Berengar had previously invaded papal held territory. When they heard that Otto was once more on his way to Rome, Pope John and Berengar's son, named Adalbert, didn't waste any time in fleeing the city, carrying with them as many riches as they could possibly manage.Support in Rome was divided. Some sympathised with John, others sided with the Emperor. However, whatever the general feeling was, the city paid due respect to Otto when he arrived. Once there, Otto held a synod with leading bishops to decide what to do with the now absent Pope. It was decided upon that John should be restored to power but once he refused the request for his return, he was deposed and elected in his stead was Pope Leo VIII.
In 967, Otto had his son, also called Otto, crowned co emperor. The elder Otto then sought a marriage alliance for his son and with that he turned to the Byzantine empire. The relations between east and west was not always easy and so it proved again in these negotiations. On their way to the Byzantine court, some members of Otto's embassy were set upon and killed. Needless to say Otto wasn't impressed and reacted in kind. The situation settled enough that a Byzantine empress, by the name of Theophanu, was sent to the west where she'd marry the future Otto II. Theophanu was the niece of the Byzantine emperor John I and would go on to forge an excellent reputation for herself, rising to co empress and acting as regent too. More on her later during my next blog on Otto II. Another key woman during these years was Otto I's second wife Adelaide. Her name appears frequently in her husband's charters and it was through her that, after he had deposed Berengar, Otto could now claim to be king of Italy. Between them, Otto and Adelaide had effectively unified the Holy Roman Empire. Adelaide would continue to be an important figure even after Otto I's death and will be mentioned again when we reach the reign of their son Otto II. Otto I's relations with the papacy would continue to be difficult and Pope Leo VIII had now also been deposed, this time by the people of Rome. John XII returned briefly before dying and Benedict V was his replacement. However, Otto asserted his imperial authority and made the Romans reinstate Leo as pope. There would be further problems with the papacy throughout the 960s. Otto I spent the last 10 months of his life back in Germany, having finally left Italy in 972. He had, with not little difficulty, established imperial authority over Italy, having brought it into the empire with his marriage to Adelaide, improved, again with no shortage of issues, relations with the Byzantine empire by marrying his son off to a Byzantine princess and left the succession secure with his son crowned co emperor. Through strong resolve, he became Otto The Great.
Born in 955, the son of Otto the Great, Otto had some act to follow. His father is regarded as the first true Holy Roman Emperor since Charlemagne. His life would be altogether brief, however, dying at the age of just 28. His short career included being crowned emperor alongside his father in 967 when he was still only 11 and marrying a Byzantine princess. When Otto I died in 973, his now 18 year old son again went through the formalities of being anointed king, even though he had done so on being crowned co emperor in 967. His childhood seems to have been normal and Thietmar describes him as being a happy and fortunate child. Otto is also described as being physically imposing with a tendency to becoming reckless. As a young man, he showed signs of being overly proud and slightly headstrong but would outgrow many of these early failings and learned to listen to those around with more worldly experience. He was a pious man and was generous towards the clergy. He offered the monks at Magdeburg a book containing portraits of himself and his queen, Theophanu. Otto had married Theophanu in 972, a year before he became sole emperor. With him, she seems to have enjoyed a good relationship, joining him on his travels and being raised to the status of co empress. There were some chroniclers who were somewhat sniffy towards her. Perhaps because she was Byzantine or perhaps because, as a woman, she was no shrinking violet. Another strong female figure in the life of Otto II was Adelaide, his mother, who outlived both Otto and Theophanu and is said to have been quite glad when Theophanu died in 991. When she became regent on behalf of her and Otto's son, Theophanu seems to have governed sensibly enough.
Thietmar describes Otto's continued generosity towards the church, including Thietmar's own place of residence at Merseburg, granting the Bishops there lands and abbeys for their own benefit. Otto faced some problems in his realm with a rebellion being led by Duke Henry II of Bavaria. Having initially captured him and placing him in prison, Otto may have thought he had brought the trouble to a halt. Thietmar does describe the prison as being secure and well guarded. This couldn't have been the case however and Duke Henry escaped, proclaiming himself emperor. This time Otto threw his full force at the Duke; deposed, excommunicated and besieged, Henry was forced to flee for his life and didn't regain his duchy until over a decade after Otto's death. While the troubles with Duke Henry were ongoing, Otto had shown his potential as a military leader. First, he captured a defensive fortification held by two troublesome brothers in what was Otto's first campaign. He then followed that up by clashing with the Danes. Whilst the enemy seemed to be set up to thwart him, Otto managed to overpower them. To protect his kingdom from any further incursions from Harald Bluetooth and his men, Otto set up defensive structures at Schleswig where the Danes had intruded. Otto then found himself embroiled in a war against the king of France, Lothair, with Lothair launching an assault against the Emperor at the imperial capital at Aachen. Taking up arms, Otto declared war on the French king. Having caused considerable damage at Aachen, Lothair then beat a hasty retreat with Otto now in hot pursuit. Otto returned in kind the damage caused by Lothair by laying France to waste all the way up to Paris. He then besieged Paris where illness and disease seems to have set in among the defenders. Having firmly made his point, Otto withdrew. In 980, relations between Otto and Lothair seem to have been mended with Lothair appearing before the emperor, loaded with gifts. Like his father, Otto had proved himself to be a strong leader in times of trouble and this show of homage from Lothair must have been gratifying for him. It was in that same year that Otto's son and heir, also called Otto, was born. The baby was born shortly before the emperor left for Italy where he would spend the remainder of his reign. Throughout his reign, whether the threat came from Frank, Dane or Saracen, Otto kept an iron fist grip on his territory and responded to any invasion with brute force, driving back the enemy from whence they came. In Calabria, the emperor had to deal with the nuisance that was the Byzantine empire as the east and west's turbulent relationship continued. And at Talanto, Otto regained the captured city from the Byzantines. Such was Otto's wide spread accomplishments. From thwarting Lothair, to halting the machinations of the Eastern Roman Empire in the south of his kingdom, Otto had shown potential for greatness in his own right. What tarnished his reputation in the eyes of history, however, is the simple fact he died far too young. His heir was a mere toddler and with child rulers comes anarchy. The strong rule of the first two Ottos was about to come undone.
Otto III became king of Germany in late 983. He had spent his years as an infant in Italy where Otto II had been putting out fires with invasions coming from the Saracens and the Byzantine empire. Other problems had occurred during Otto II's reign and one of the biggest issues was the troublesome Duke of Bavaria Henry II known, quite appropriately, as "the quarrelsome". After rebelling twice against Otto II, on the second occasion declaring himself emperor, Henry had been emphatically defeated and put into secure custody ( After his first rebellion had ended in failure, Henry had likewise been imprisoned but through hook or by crook, he had escaped). Showing no signs of feeling chastised by his failures, Henry had been released from his captivity on the death of Otto II. He was a cousin of Otto III and so, by right, this made him lawful guardian of the young boy. And so here, being a man who could sense an opportunity, Henry would have realised that with a child king effectively under his command, he had a very real chance of becoming sole king. He gathered a group of powerful nobles around him and asked for their backing as he attempted to snatch power. The nobles were reluctant to do so, however, and their meeting ended in serious tension with some excusing themselves from support, perhaps fearing another civil war, while others, sensing Henry's growing irritation at the lack of enthusiasm for his plot, withdrew from the meeting altogether. Whilst he did have some supporters, Henry had managed to alienate key figures who remained loyal to the little Otto and now swore to thwart any further attempt from Henry to claim the crown.
Around Easter of 984, Henry's support continued to grow with three dukes called Miesco, Mistui and Boleslaw, among others, all swearing loyalty to him as their king. However, there were also now plots against Henry that were quite out in the open, causing him no little alarm. He responded by winning over members of the clergy in Bohemia but ultimately Henry began to see that the situation was escalating beyond his control and, in the summer of 985, finally put an end to his bid for the crown by handing over Otto back to his mother, Theophanu, who now became regent. Whilst there is little good to say about Henry The Quarrelsome, he at the very least kept his young cousin alive. With such grand plans for power as he had, Henry might have "done away with" Otto, in the fashion of other more ruthless figures throughout medieval history. It must have been a tremendous relieve for Theophanu to be reunited with her son. His fate, during his two year absence, would have been quite unknown to her. The following Easter, in 986, matters continued to stabilise with followers of Henry coming to Otto's court and bestowing gifts upon him. One of those gifts, given to the king by Duke Miesco, was a camel which may well have bemused the 6 year old. The next five years of Otto's life was relatively peaceful (or as peaceful as you could get in 10th century Europe). That was in part down to the capable rule of his mother. A blow was to befall the eleven year old Otto, though, when, in 991, Theophanu died. His grandmother Adelaide succeeded as regent. Given the fact that Adelaide was not particularly sorry at the death of Theophanu, it's probably fair to say, as he reached his mid teens, that Otto would have been relieved to relinquish her of power and become ruler in his own right. Like his father, Otto was traditionally pious and made great effort to maintain the welfare of the church. In 995, Otto held a meeting in order to settle a dispute between Henry The Quarrelsome and one of his rivals. Through a combination of good counsel from the king and Henry perhaps sensing he didn't have long left, the matter was settled without too much ado. Henry died not long after with words of sage advice to his own son. Henry ordered him not to rebel against his king and overlord and demanded he maintained peace in Bavaria and governed justly. And in late August, he died, ending a memorable career. In the winter of that same year, Otto defeated the Slavs in battle in what were very unforgiving conditions. The initial Slavic attack had been a strong one with the king's army scattering before it. Laying siege to key defensive structures, the Slavs could have caused serious harm had Otto not eventually dispersed them with everything he had at his disposal. The threat to peace had been caused by a man named Kizo who had gone over to the Slavs. Otto treated him with leniency, by restoring Kizo to the territories he had initially been deprived of. Not that it benefited him much as Kizo was killed soon after. This had still been a feather in the cap of Otto. He had, despite only being 15, demonstrated that he was reaching manhood by a combination of military leadership and managing problematic men of influence.
The following year, Otto headed into Italy where he would be made Holy Roman Emperor. From there, Otto's travels were far and wide. He stabilised matters in Italy, visited Romania before dealing with another uprising by the Slavs in 997. He also headed back to Germany, ensuring peace in his kingdom. A crisis arose in Rome when, whilst the rightful pope was away, a usurper had been put in his place. Then, to make matters worse, the messengers that had been sent to Rome by Otto were captured and effectively taken hostage. Otto was thus obliged to march on Rome and restore order. The usurper, John of Calabria, unsurprisingly panicked when he heard the imperial army was heading towards him and so fled. He didn't escape long though and paid the price by having his eyes, nose and tongue cut off. Otto, in the year 1000, visited Aachen and the resting place of Charlemagne. Rather tactlessly, and what must have caused some deal of disapproval, he opened the tomb of Charles The Great and removed relics and hung them from his own neck. This is a strong indicator of how he wished to see himself in history and he perhaps might have achieved similar greatness were it not for his premature death in 1002, aged just 21. The cause of his death was unclear and came at a very inopportune time. He was a young man just finding his feet as emperor and was just about to, as his father had done, marry a Byzantine princess. She was Zoe, daughter of Constantine VIII, and would be empress too. This now meant he died without siring an heir and securing the succession. This would have serious consequences.
Henry II was born in Bavaria in 973. His father was Henry The Quarrelsome. As you can probably deduce from his nickname, Henry The Quarrelsome was a disruptive figure in European politics, leading revolts and plotting to seize power and become Holy Roman Emperor. He had attempted to usurp his infant cousin Otto III and gained some strong support for it but the young boy's following was ultimately more loyal and stood firmly by the young German king and future emperor. As a character, Henry seems to have been altogether more amenable then his father who, on his deathbed in August 995, gave him strict instruction to not behave in the manner that he had done and to govern wisely. After he had concluded, he ordered Henry to head back to Bavaria and become Duke. The son left without hesitation. It may have affected him deeply to leave his father dying on his deathbed but, like an obliging son should, he heeded his father's instructions. In 999, Henry finally got married, to a woman named Cunigunde. His nobility may have thought it was not before time too. Henry was now in his mid twenties and would need to think about his succession. On this score, the marriage was a failure as it produced no children and the match would only benefit Henry in the sense that it extended his sphere of influence. Ironically though, Henry himself would benefit from another ruler also not producing heirs. In 1002, the Holy Roman Emperor Otto III died aged 21 and without issue. This caused the empire a major problem. Rebellions were a common theme in early medieval Europe and Otto III, the year before he died, asked Henry, as duke of Bavaria, to assist him in putting down trouble in Italy. The issue had been a plot to kidnap Otto III. The culprit was a man by the name of Gregory who, according to Thietmar of Merseburg, was held in high regard by Otto and had, up to that point at least, been a stalwart supporter of the emperor. Otto escaped that plot but died the following year in 1002. There is questions over the circumstances of his death. Was it murder? Otto was only 21 and Thietmar tells of schemes and plots aplenty against the life of Otto from various, would be usurpers. There is no hard evidence of that but his death can certainly be put in the suspicious category.
During the plots against Otto, there had been some who wished to gain the help of Duke Henry in deposing the emperor but Henry refused, stating his loyalty to the emperor. But with the emperor now dead, Henry made his move and did so at the funeral. Thietmar tells of Henry trying to gain the support of the nobility to have himself crowned king of Germany. But he didn't have much luck in that regard and so headed back to Germany, escorting the body of the former emperor. There, a rival claimant was set up against Henry, with a certain Duke Herman gaining support from the nobility. As had happened before, on the death of an emperor, the empire faced divisions. Not only in Germany but elsewhere too. In Lombardy, they had their own king crowned, a man by the name of Arduin. But Henry did gain the support of the Saxons and so made his move to be crowned king of Germany. It would not go uncontested and his support was as far from universal as you could possibly get, Henry, as a young man, is described as being conventionally pious and a brilliant pupil. He would need some of that brilliance simply to hold on to power. The aforementioned Herman, Duke of Swabia proved to be his biggest rival. By marriage, Herman was related to Otto The Great and this, he believed, trumped any claim Henry had. The dispute rumbled deep into 1002, when Henry, after a serious struggle, finally defeated his rival. Perhaps wishing to avoid civil war, Herman submitted with Henry allowing him to keep Swabia. The following year though, Henry effectively pinched the Duchy when Herman died, leaving a young son as his heir. Henry didn't relinquish control and added it to his expanding territory. Through a combination of stubborn military action, diplomacy and a little luck, Henry's power was now growing. Established as king of Germany, Henry now set his eyes further afield into Italy and beyond. After he finally subdued the rebellion of Duke Herman of Swabia, Henry continued to consolidate power as German king. In August of 1002, his wife Cunigunde was crowned queen. He processed through the kingdom, trying to gain as much support as he could. After a delay with the Lotharingians, he eventually had oaths sworn to him by the bishops there who proceeded to accompany him to Aachen. At Aachen, the leading members of the Lotharingian nobility also joined in declaring their approval of Henry as their king. His prestige and authority was slowly growing. As i mentioned earlier, the men of Lombardy, on the death of Otto III, had decided to elect their own king, a man by the name of Arduin. This was something they came to regret fairly swiftly. Arduin, on hearing the grown strength of Henry in Germany, had taken steps to secure his own position. He strengthened defensive fortifications and garrisoned them. But he also disillusioned his clergy. In one instance, he threw a bishop to the ground by his hair in a fit of petulant rage after the bishop had said things Arduin simply didn't want to hear. After matters such as these, the bishops of Lombardy asked for assistance from King Henry. The initial response to Arduin's mischief was not successful. The Germans sent into Italy were faced off by a headstrong Arduin and, in one of their first encounters, it was he who came out on top although not without losses on his side. The Germans had been thrown off somewhat by the desertion of one of their dukes. While that was going on in Italy, Henry continued to process through Germany, attempting to administer law and order where and when he could and seems to be relatively successful. In 1003, Henry received some grim news from Bohemia and Poland regarding two dukes by the name of Boleslaw. Boleslaw of Bohemia had acted unscrupulously and murdered his own brother in law as well as a number of important nobleman. Boleslaw of Poland had got wind of this. Not particularly sorry at what had happened, he summoned his counterpart to Poland where he had him blinded and exiled. Boleslaw of Poland then made his way swiftly to Prague where he had himself made lord. He had used the crisis entirely to his benefit. This potentially gave King Henry a problem. Boleslaw had not only shown himself to be a ruthless man of action but also one who was now growing over-mighty.and this simply wouldn't do. He demanded homage from Boleslaw who disregarded it. For a short time, Henry let the situation rest but it wasn't long before Boleslaw was in open rebellion.
Through the remainder of 1003, Henry focused his attention on one of Boleslaw's key allies, Margrave Henry. The rivalry between Margrave Henry and king Henry was personal as their fathers had also clashed . King Henry, however, soon got on top, dealing him a serious blow by besieging one of the margrave's burgs and killing a number of his men. Meanwhile, Boleslaw continued to plot and conspire against the king and lay waste to regions held by men loyal to Henry. The margrave now sensed that Boleslaw was his best hope of success and so went to join him. Before he departed his burg, he burned it to the ground, perhaps hoping to ensure that the king wouldn't benefit from it. Henry was pleased when he saw this. He was tracking the margrave's progress slowly and so must have deduced that his enemy was running out of options. Into 1004 and there were tit for tat clashes. Boleslaw attacked Bavaria so Henry attacked one of his territories. There was finally some respite for the king as the margrave finally gave in and came grovelling for forgiveness. Henry had him imprisoned and turned his attentions back towards Italy. When Arduin heard of the king's arrival, he became instantly terrified and once again reinforced the defences of Lombardy. However, Arduin, by now, had alienated enough of his subjects that progress for Henry was not difficult and in May 1004, he was crowned king of Italy Henry, straight away however, was faced by another rebellion. Evidently, Arduin had done something right and an uprising to reinstall him to power took place with an attack being launched on the king's palace. Henry was eventually successful in calming the situation and, after securing the loyalty of the chastised rebels, continued to progress through Lombardy. Unlike some of his predecessors, Henry didn't linger in Italy too long and made his way swiftly back to Germany. That was more than likely due to his concern about Boleslaw who continued to be a thorn in his side. Taking the attack to Boleslaw in 1005, Henry marched into Poland but paid a heavy price. To buy himself some time, he eventually managed to come to a peace agreement with Boleslaw. But Henry must have known that wouldn't be honoured for very long and it was he himself who reneged on the treaty. Further periods of fighting and then peace broke out before a marriage agreement was made as Boleslaw's son married a granddaughter of Otto II. Boleslaw is known to history as "The Brave" and he certainly showed that he was a man not shy of a fight. Even after Henry's succession as emperor in 1014, relations between the two continued in much the same vein.
In 1014, Henry's problems were much the same as they had been earlier in his reign. Arduin continued to cause problems for him in Italy and Boleslaw the Brave hadn't gone away either. Henry had initially driven Arduin out of Lombardy in 1004 and took advantage of this by having himself crowned king of Italy. But a decade later, after establishing what he hoped to be a lasting peace, and perhaps thinking Arduin was a spent force, Henry departed to inspect other areas of his kingdom. Not being one to miss an opportunity, Arduin attacked a city called Vercelli as soon as Henry's back was turned in the spring of 1014. A few months prior to these events, Henry had been crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict VIII. The trouble with Arduin may have taken the shine off Henry's Imperial Coronation but the following year, Henry received good news. Arduin was taken ill and went off to live, somewhat ironically, as a monk. Then, towards the end of 1015, he died thus ending the career of a man who had been nothing but a nuisance. The other main problem for Henry, both before and after his coronation as emperor, was Boleslaw. Up until 1018, their relationship continued in much the same vein with Henry carrying the fight to his erstwhile nemesis, marauding deep into Poland. Whilst the emperor did make gains, he also sustained significant losses. Peace agreements were made on more than one occasion and quickly broken off. However, the losses for both sides were not sustainable and Boleslaw also had his sights set on putting his son on the throne of Kiev. In 1018, Boleslaw finally recognised Henry as his overlord whilst Henry promised to help Boleslaw with his campaign into Kiev. Also in 1018, Henry gained another success when the ageing ruler of Burgundy, Rudolf, made him his heir. Rudolf did so by declaring his intentions at a ceremony with all his nobility in attendance. To make sure of the deal, Rudolf swore an oath a second time. However, his plans were altered by the fact that Henry would die before him in 1024. Towards the end of his work and also his own life, the chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg describes the generosity of Henry both to the church and to the poor. A ruler's relationship with the church would ultimately be the making or breaking of their reputation with chroniclers and Henry's seems to have not only been conventionally pious but ensured that the church in his kingdom was well maintained. Henry also, like emperors before and after him, had a tetchy relationship with the Byzantine empire who controlled parts of Italy and was seeking to expand. He led an expedition to counter this particular threat which ultimately ended in very little progress and Henry died a couple of years later. It's quite hard to sum up Henry as a ruler. Ultimately his reign, first as king of Germany and then as Emperor, was dominated by almost constant feuding with powerful enemies. Boleslaw's reputation does show that Henry was more than capable militarily however. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, he had no heirs and given that his own succession was a contested one, it might well have proved wiser for him to do so.
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