Henry the Lion 1129-95
Duke of Saxony and Bavaria

He was head of the Guelf family. After Bavaria was restored to him by Frederick I, Barbarossa (1156) he became the most powerful prince in Germany, with domains stretching from the Baltic to the Adriatic. He expanded the frontiers of Saxony to the east against the Slavs, and did much to encourage the commerce of his lands, founding the city of Munich, and developing the towns of L�neburg, Bremen, L�beck and Brunswick, but his ambitions and growing power aroused the opposition of a league of Saxon princes (1166) and of Frederick I, who defeated him and deprived him of his lands (1180). Henry went into exile at the court of Henry II of England, whose daughter Mathilda he had married (1168). He finally returned to Germany after 1190 and was reconciled to Emperor Henry VI in 1194. His main achievements were steady colonization east of Saxony and keeping peace within Germany during Frederick's absence on his foreign interests.

Bibliography: Karl Jordan, Henry the Lion (1986)