biography
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Hendrik or Henry (Dukes of Brabant)
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| Four dukes of Brabant had the name Hendrik (Henry). (1) Henry I (the Warlike) (1165–1235), duke from 1190, the son of Godfrey III. He fought Dirk VII of Holland and Otto I of Gelre in the N, and also unsuccessfully for the Duchy of Nether Lotharingia, but still did well for himself by convenient changes of side between the Guelphs and Hohenstaufens. He had his brother appointed bishop of Utrecht. Philip of Swabia recognized his inheritance, also in the female line, of the dukedom of Brabant and gave him Maastricht and Nijmegen in 1204. This brought him into competition with the Bishop of Liège, who controlled the Bruges–Cologne trade route. He was defeated at Steppes in a raid on Liège in 1213 and at Bouvines in 1214, where he sided with the Guelph Count of Flanders. He immediately switched to the winning side, Philip II of France and the Emperor Frederick II, who confirmed his possession of Maastricht. (2) Henry II (the Valiant) (1207–40), the son of Henry I, whom he succeeded in 1235, continued his eastward expansion successfully but refused the title of King of the Romans in 1247. In 1248 he granted the first privileges in Brabant, in which he promised to maintain the law, and hoped to ensure his sons' succession. (3) Henry III (the Gentle) (1231–61), the son of Henry II, became duke in 1248; he supported Alphonse of Castile's claims to the German kingship and was rewarded with the appointment of maintainer of the peace in W parts of Empire. He wrote poems. He also gave a privilege to his subjects. (4) Henry IV (1253–c.67), duke from 1261, was the eldest son of Henry III. Weak-minded, he was forced to abdicate by his mother in favour of brother John I in 1267 and retired to the Abbey of Dijon. |
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