Henry II, Duke of Brabant

Henry II
Duke of Brabant
Duke of Lothier
Henry's seal
Born1207
Died1 February 1248 (aged 40–41)
Leuven
BuriedVillers Abbey
Noble familyReginar
Spouse(s)Marie of Hohenstaufen
Sophie of Thuringia
IssueHenry III, Duke of Brabant
Philip
Matilda of Brabant
Beatrice of Brabant
Maria of Brabant
Margaret
Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse
Elizabeth
FatherHenry I, Duke of Brabant
MotherMathilde of Flanders

Henry II of Brabant (Dutch: Hendrik, French: Henri; 1207 – February 1, 1248) was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235. His mother was Matilda of Boulogne.[1]

Henry II supported his sister Mathilde's son, William II of Holland, in his bid for election as king of Germany.[1] He founded Valduc Abbey in 1232.[2]

His first marriage was to Marie of Hohenstaufen (April 3, 1207–1235, Leuven),[3] daughter of Philip of Swabia and Irene Angelina.[1] They had six children:

  1. Henry III, Duke of Brabant (d. 1261)[3]
  2. Philip, died young[3]
  3. Matilda of Brabant (1224 – September 29, 1288),[3] married:
    1. Robert I of Artois, 14 June 1237, in Compiègne[4]
    2. before May 31, 1254 to Guy II of Châtillon, Count of Saint Pol.
  4. Beatrix (1225 – November 11, 1288), married:
    1. at Creuzburg March 10, 1241, Heinrich Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia;[5]
    2. in Leuven November 1247 to William III of Dampierre, Count of Flanders (1224 – June 6, 1251).
  5. Maria of Brabant (c. 1226 – January 18, 1256, Donauwörth),[3] married Louis II, Duke of Upper Bavaria. She was beheaded by her husband on suspicion of infidelity.
  6. Margaret (d. March 14, 1277), Abbess of Valduc Abbey (Hertogendal).

His second marriage was to Sophie of Thuringia (March 20, 1224 – May 29, 1275),[6] daughter of Ludwig IV of Thuringia and Saint Elisabeth of Hungary,[7] by whom he had two children:

  1. Henry (1244–1308), created Landgrave of Hesse in 1264.[8]
  2. Elizabeth (1243 – October 9, 1261), married Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Henry died in Leuven, aged about 40.

  1. ^ a b c Baldwin 2014, p. 27.
  2. ^ "Inventaire du patrimoine immobilier culturel BEAUVECHAIN" (PDF). Inventaire du patrimoine immobilier culturel (in French). Wallonie patrimoine. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Dunbabin 2011, p. xiv.
  4. ^ Nieus 2005, p. 166,176.
  5. ^ Fried & Schieffer 2008, p. 566.
  6. ^ Teszelszky 2014, p. 148.
  7. ^ Loud & Schenk 2017, p. xxvii.
  8. ^ Morganstern 2000, p. 34.