HENRY VI. (1165-1197), Roman emperor, son of the em peror Frederick I. and Beatrix, daughter of Renaud III., count of upper Burgundy, was educated under Conrad of Querfurt, afterwards bishop of Hildesheim and Wiirzburg. Chosen German king at Bamberg in June 1169, he was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle on Aug. 15, I169, and invested with lands in Germany in 1179. In 1184 his father sought to procure his coronation from Pope Lucius III., but the pope refused because of the marriage ar ranged between Henry and Constance, daughter of the late king of Sicily, Roger I., a step which threatened to unite Sicily with Germany. This marriage took place at Milan in Jan. 1186, and soon afterwards Henry was crowned king of Italy. Having been recognized by the pope as Roman emperor elect, Henry returned to Germany, where a campaign against Henry the Lion, duke of Saxony, was followed by a peace made at Fulda in July 1190.
A promise of his coronation from Pope Clement III. led Henry to cross the Alps in the winter of I 190. He purchased the support of the cities of northern Italy, but on reaching Rome found Clement was dead and his successor, Celestine III., disinclined to carry out the coronation. However, the strength of the German army and a treaty made between the king and the Romans in duced him to crown Henry on April 14, 1191. Meanwhile a party in Sicily had chosen Tancred, an illegitimate son of R oger, son of King Roger II., as king. Henry marched to Naples, but was compelled to raise the siege and return to Germany. There the Welfs and their earlier opponents were united against the em peror, vacancies in various bishoprics added to the confusion, and Henry was suspected of being implicated in the murder of Albert, bishop of Liege. His salvation came from the captivity of Richard I., king of England, and the skill with which he used this event to make peace with his foes. When Henry the.Lion came to terms in March 1194, order was restored to Germany.
In the following May, Henry went again to Italy, where Pope Celestine had espoused the cause of Tancred. When he reached Sicily he found Tancred dead, and, meeting with little resistance, entered Palermo, where he was crowned king on Dec. 25, Leaving his wife, Constance, as regent, he returned to Germany in June Having established his position in Germany and Italy, Henry began to cherish ideas of universal empire. Richard of England had already owned his supremacy, and declaring he would compel the king of France to do the same Henry sought to stir up strife between France and England. Nor did the Spanish' kingdoms escape his notice. Tunis and Tripoli were claimed, and when the eastern emperor, Isaac Angelus, asked his help, he demanded in return the cession of the Balkan peninsula. The kings of Cyprus and Armenia asked for investiture at his hands. To complete his scheme two steps were necessary, a reconciliation with the pope and the recognition of his young son, Frederick, as his suc cessor in the empire. The first was easily accomplished; the sec ond was more difficult.
Henry met the princes at Worms in Dec. 1195 and by threats or negotiations won the consent of about 5o of them; but though the diet which met at Wurzburg in April 1196 agreed to the scheme, the vigorous opposition of Adolph, archbishop of Co logne, and others rendered it inoperative. In June 1196 Henry went again to Italy to persuade the pope to crown his son who had been chosen king of the Romans at Frankfort. Celestine refused, and the emperor then went to the south, where the oppression of his German officials had caused an insurrection, which was put down with terrible cruelty. At Messina on Sept.
28, 1197, Henry died from a cold caught whilst hunting. Henry's poems appeared in F. H. von der Hagen's Minnesinger (Leipzig, 1838) . The chief authorities for his life are Otto of Freising, Chronicon, continued by Otto of St. Blasius ; Godfrey of Viterbo, Gesta Friderici I. and Gesta Heinrici VI.; Giselbert of Mons, Chronicon Hanoniense, all of which appear in the Monum. Germ. hist. Scrip tores, Bde. xx., xxi., xxii. (1826-92). See also W. von Giesebrecht, Geschichte der deutschen Kaiserzeit, Bd. iv. (Brunswick, 1877) ; T. Toeche, Kaiser Heinrich VI. (Leipzig, 1867) ; H. Bloch, Forschungen zur Politik Kaiser Heinrichs VI. (1892) ; K. A. Kneller, Des Richard Lowenherz deutsche Gefangenschaft (Freiburg, 1893) ; F. Gerlich, Das Testament Heinrichs VI. (1907) ; V. Pfaff, Kaiser Heinrichs VI. hochstes Angebot an die romische Kurie, 1196 (1927), and Camb. Mediaeval Hist. vol. 5.