The Otto III had died very young, most likely from a combination of mild illness and excessive religious exertions. He had not been married and had no offspring.
He was also his father’s only son whilst his sister and man
y of his female relatives had joined religious orders. That left only one relative in the male line, Henry, duke of Bavaria, son of Henry the Quarrelsome, abductor of little Otto III and grandson of another Henry, brother and bane of Otto I.
y of his female relatives had joined religious orders. That left only one relative in the male line, Henry, duke of Bavaria, son of Henry the Quarrelsome, abductor of little Otto III and grandson of another Henry, brother and bane of Otto I.
Henry was of the view that he should be elected king and future emperor on the strength of his name and his position as duke of Bavaria. But not everyone agreed. The kingdom of East Francia was still an elective monarchy.
Sure, the ruling king could force through the election of his son, as happened the last three times, but a second cousin was a different matter. Multiple candidates threw their hats in the ring.
These included the duke of Swabia, Otto of Worms and the son of Hermann Billung, Bernhard Billung who was now duke of Saxony.
How Henry managed to get rid of his rivals and become emperor Henry II, check out episode 98 – The Rift of the History of the Germans Podcast. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts,
Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Or, if you want to go direct and/or just read the transcript, here is a link to my website: Episode 98 - The Rift • History of the Germans Podcast
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