Heinrich III Römisch-deutscher König und Kaiser

  General Notes:

HEINRICH, son of KONRAD II King of Germany [Emperor KONRAD I] & his wife Gisela of Swabia (Oosterbecke [Ostrebeck] 28 Oct 1017-Burg Bodfeld im Harz 5 Oct 1056, bur Speyer Cathedral). "Cunradus…Romanorum imperator augustus" granted property to the church of Paderborn by charter dated 7 Apr 1027, naming for the first time "filii nostri Heinrici". Wipo names "Heinricus rex, filius imperatoris" when recording his first marriage in 1036. He was installed in 1027 as HEINRICH VI Duke of Bavaria, until 1042 when he granted the duchy to Graf Heinrich [Luxembourg]. He was crowned as HEINRICH III King of Germany at Aachen 14 Apr 1028. Duke of Swabia 1038-1045. He was installed as king of Burgundy by his father in Autumn 1038. Regent of the duchy of Carinthia 1039-1047. He resumed possession of the duchy of Bavaria from 1047 to 1049. He deposed the three rival Popes Benedict IX, Sylvester III and Gregory VI in 1046, nominating in their place Suidger Bishop of Bamberg, who succeeded as Pope Clement II and crowned him Emperor HEINRICH II at Rome 25 Dec 1046. At the same time Emperor Heinrich received the rank of patricius as a hereditary title, which carried the right to cast the first vote in a papal election, the power of which was reflected in the election of six German popes during the following decade. Emperor Heinrich faced internal opposition in Germany from several powerful magnates, Godefroi II Duke of Lotharingia, Konrad de Luxembourg Duke of Bavaria, Welf III Duke of Carinthia, and Bernhard Billung Duke in Saxony, all of whom were anxious to prevent the centralisation of power in the hands of the king/emperor. A deeply religious man, Emperor Heinrich renewed the ban on clerics taking oaths in court proceedings, refused to follow the practice of bestowing church offices for payment, and laid great emphasis on the sacral character of kingship. He founded the convent of St Simon and Jude at Goslar before 1050. He died of a fever. The Annales Spirenses record his burial at Speyer. The necrology of St Gall records the death "III Non Oct" of "Heinrici imperatoris".

m firstly ([29] Jun 1036) GUNHILD [Æthelfryth] of Denmark, daughter of KNUD I King of Denmark and England & his wife Emma de Normandie ([1020]-in Italy 18 Jul 1038, bur Limburg Klosterkirche). Adam of Bremen records that the daughter of King Knud married "imperator filio suo". Her parentage is given by Orderic Vitalis, who also refers to her marriage. Wipo names "Chnutonis regis Anglorum filiam, nomine Chunehildem" as wife of "Heinricus rex, filius imperatoris" when recording their marriage in 1036. The Annalista Saxo records that the wife of King Heinrich III was "filiam Cnud regis Danorum", specifying that the marriage was arranged by Unwan Archbishop of Bremen, although this seems unlikely as Archbishop Unwan died in 1029. Herimannus names "Chunihildem, Cnutonis Danorum et Anglorum regis filiam" when recording her marriage to "Heinricus rex, filius imperatoris" in 1036. She adopted the name KUNIGUND on her marriage. The Chronicle of Alberic de Trois-Fontaines records that "uxor imperatoris Henrici Gunhildis imperatrix de Anglia" was accused of adultery, that she was defended in trial by combat, but that after her champion's victory she disdained the success and became a nun. William of Malmesbury also recounts that she was accused of adultery and retired to a convent. She died during her husband's expedition to Italy, the death of "regina Conihild" being recorded in the Annalista Saxo "XV Kal Aug". The necrology of Speyer records the death "XV Kal Aug" of "Cunehilt regina".

m secondly (Ingelheim 20 Nov 1043) AGNES de Poitou, daughter of GUILLAUME V "le Grand" Duke of Aquitaine [GUILLAUME III Comte de Poitou] & his third wife Agnès de Mâcon [Bourgogne-Comté] ([1025]-Rome 14 Dec 1077, bur Rome, St Peter's). Herimannus names her "Agnetam, Willehelmi Pictaviensis filiam" when recording her marriage. The Chronicæ Sancti Albini records the marriage "1043 XII Kal Nov…apud Vesbrianim" of "Henricus imperator…filiam Willelmi comitis Pictavorum et Agnetis". She was crowned empress with her husband at Rome 25 Dec 1046. She was regent during the minority of her son from 1056. Her husband's old adviser, Gerhard von Eichstätt by then Pope Victor II, who was in Germany when her husband died, remained in Germany until Spring 1057 as the chief adviser of Agnes and ensured a smooth transition of power. She also installed herself as AGNES Duchess of Bavaria in 1056, until 1061 when she appointed Otto von Northeim as duke. In 1062, Anno [II] Archbishop of Köln kidnapped her son King Heinrich IV and took him from Kaiserswerth to Köln. Agnes resigned as regent and went to Rome. According to the Preface of Vitæ Heinrici et Cunegundis Imperatores, "Agnes imperatrix eius [Chunigundis imperatricis] consanguinea, obiit Idus Decembris", although the exact relationship between Agnes and Empress Kunigund (widow of Emperor Heinrich I [Heinrich II King of Germany]) has not been traced. The necrology of Regensburg St Emmeran records the death "XIX Kal Jan" of "Agnes imperatrix". The necrology of Speyer records the death "XIX Kal Jan" of "Agnes imperatrix".

Emperor Heinrich & his first wife had one child: Beatrix.

Emperor Heinrich & his second wife had six children: Mathilde, Adelheid, Gisela, Heinrich, Konrad and Judith. ¹

Heinrich married Gunhild of England, daughter of Knud Svendsen King of England and Emma de Normandie, about 29 Jun 1036 in Nijmegen, Gelderland, 6500, NL.¹ (Gunhild of England was born about 1020,¹ died on 18 Jul 1038 in Italy, IT ¹ and was buried in Kloster Limburg, Bad Dürkheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, 67098, DE ¹.)

Heinrich next married Agnès de Poitou Römisch-deutsche Königin und Kaiserin, daughter of Guillaume de Poitou Duc d'Aquitaine (V), Comte de Poitou (II) and Agnès de Mâcon, on 20 Nov 1043 in Ingelheim am Rhein, Mainz-Bingen, Rheinland-Pfalz, 55218, DE.¹ (Agnès de Poitou Römisch-deutsche Königin und Kaiserin was born about 1025, died on 14 Dec 1077 in Roma (Rome), Lazio, IT and was buried in Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter's Basilica), Vatican City State, VA.)