Saint Henry

Henry, born in 973, was duke of Bavaria, became king of Germany in 1002 and was crowned emperor in Rome in 1014. He spent much of his reign at war, in Italy and against Bolesław the Brave of Poland, and he took a firm hand with the Church, appointing bishops; but he also supported the reform of monasteries, and in 1007 he founded the diocese of Bamberg, where he built the cathedral.

He and his wife Cunigunde had no children; a later tradition tells that they had agreed to live as brother and sister. He died at Grone near Göttingen on 13 July 1024 and was buried in Bamberg cathedral. He was canonized in 1146, and Cunigunde in 1200.