Henry Berengar

Who was Henry Berengar?

Henry Berengar, sometimes numbered Henry, was the eldest legitimate son of Conrad III of Germany and his second wife, Gertrude von Sulzbach. He was named after his father's maternal grandfather, the Emperor Henry IV, and his mother's father, Count Berengar II of Sulzbach. He was groomed for the succession, but predeceased his father.

Conrad had the princes elect Henry, then ten years old, as co-King of Germany at a diet in Regensburg on 13 March 1147, before Conrad left on the Second Crusade. Henry was crowned on Laetare Sunday in Aachen. During his father's absence on crusade, he was placed under the tutorship of the powerful abbot Wibald and the notary Heinrich von Wiesenbach. For his services, Heinrich was raised to the rank of master or protonotary. From this period of Henry's "reign", nine royal letters survive.

The young Henry was the winning general at the Battle of Flochberg against Welf VI and Welf VII. The military prowess of the young ruler was emphasised in letters to the Byzantine emperor Manuel I and the empress Irene, Gertrude's sister, informing them of the victory at Flochberg. Henry died later that year and was buried at the monastery of Lorch.