Henry the Lion

Henry the Lion
Depiction in the Gospels of Henry the Lion
Duke of Saxony
Reign	1142–1180
Predecessor	Albert the Bear
Successor	Bernard III
Duke of Bavaria
Reign	1156–1180
Predecessor	Henry XI
Successor	Otto I
Born	c. 1129 Ravensburg
Died	6 August 1195(1195-08-06) (aged 65–66) Brunswick
Burial	Brunswick Cathedral
Spouse	Clementia of Zähringen ​ ​ (m. 1147; div. 1162)​ Matilda of England ​ ​ (m. 1168; died 1189)​
Issue	Gertrude, Queen of Denmark Matilda of Saxony Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor William of Winchester
House	Welf
Father	Henry X, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Gertrude of Süpplingenburg

Henry the Lion (German: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131^[1] – 6 August 1195^[1]), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty.^[2]

Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of his time, until the rival Hohenstaufen dynasty succeeded in isolating him and eventually deprived him of his duchies of Bavaria and Saxony during the reign of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and of Frederick's son and successor Henry VI.

At the height of his reign, Henry ruled over a vast territory stretching from the coast of the North and Baltic seas to the Alps, and from Westphalia to Pomerania. Henry achieved this great power in part by his political and military acumen and in part through the legacies of his four grandparents.