Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry VI was Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and king of Sicily through his marriage to Constance, heiress of the Norman kingdom. The son of Frederick Barbarossa, he sought to combine German imperial power with the wealth and strategic position of southern Italy.

His conquest of Sicily was accompanied by severe punishment of opponents, and his plans for hereditary imperial succession failed. His early death left the child Frederick II and a prolonged struggle over both kingdoms. Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor was born in Nijmegen and died in Messina.

In David Boyle’s Blondel’s Song, Returning from the Third Crusade in 1192, Richard I attempted to cross central Europe in disguise but was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria, and eventually transferred to the custody of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. In Sharon Kay Penman’s A King’s Ransom, Returning from the Third Crusade, Richard I is forced onto an overland route and captured by Leopold V of Austria. He is transferred to Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, who demands an enormous ransom while Philip II of France and Richard’s brother John offer political and financial incentives to keep him imprisoned. Further fictional perspectives on Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor can be found in Ben Kane’s King and Gore Vidal’s A Search for the King.