Henry I of Saxony
Henry I, called the Birdkeeper (German: Heinrich der Vogler; c. 876-2 Jul 936), The son of Otto I of Saxony and father of Otto I of Germany and Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, he was Duke of Saxony from 912 and King of the East Franks from 919 until his death. First of the Ottonian dynasty of German kings and emperors, he is generally regarded as the founder and first king of the medieval German state, hitherto known as Francia Orientalis. An avid hunter, he earned the nickname "the Birdwatcher" because it is said that he was setting his bird nets when messengers arrived to inform him that he was to be king.
Ascension to the throne
In his twenty-four-year reign, Enrique successfully tackled some of the most pressing problems facing the kingdom, such as the consolidation of the institution against the greats and the expansion of areas of influence, with the annexation of Lorraine and intervention in Bohemia. It also carried out important work to promote colonization, a movement known as "Drang nach Osten", which affected the north and east of the country and allowed the consolidation of those population areas against to the incursions of Hungarians, Slavs and Swedes.
Battles against the Hungarians
During his reign, Henry I had to face the threat of the Hungarian Principality, which in 896 would have crossed the Carpathian Mountains and occupied the Pannonian plain to the east of his imperial territories. The Hungarians at that time led a pagan and semi-nomadic lifestyle that consisted of looting and burning villages, considering themselves descendants of Attila the Hun.
Given this, Henry I had to face the raids of the Hungarian hosts that happened in 911, when they had invaded and sacked Burgundia. Later, in 915, the Hungarians unsuccessfully besieged the Germanic city of Fulda and burned Bremen after sacking it. In the same year as his coronation, in 919, Henry I and his army were defeated by the Hungarians at the Battle of Puchen, and made to pay tribute for the next ten years. This continued until 932, when the king would refuse to pay it, and a year later the Germanic troops defeated the Magyars for the first time in the battle of Merseburg (933).
Later his son Otto I inflicted a major defeat on the Hungarians in 955 at the Battle of Lechfeld and in 973 at Quedlinburg. After the last one, peace was negotiated with Prince Géza of Hungary and the process of Christianization and Westernization of the Hungarians began, which would reach its peak with Saint Stephen I of Hungary in the year 1000.
Christianity and strongholds
During his reign, there was great progress in the evangelization of the kingdom of Bohemia and in the strengthening of ecclesiastical structures, resuming the Carolingian policy of support for monastic communities and making use of numerous churchmen in the administration of the State.
The fortification of the castles in southern Germany and the reorganization of the heavy cavalry culminated his political work, saved thanks to his insistence on naming his son Otto I the Great as King of Germany as successor, to avoid the division of the kingdom after his death.
Family
Henry died of a stroke on July 2, 936, in his palace at Memleben, one of his favorite haunts. By then, all the Germanic tribes were united in a single kingdom. Henry I is therefore considered the first German king and the founder of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry was the son of Otto I, Duke of Saxony, and Hedwige of Franconia.
Henry was married twice. The first time, with Hatheburg of Merseburg, who bore him a son, Thankmar. His second marriage was to Matilda de Ringelheim.
The first son of this union, Otto, succeeded him as emperor. His second son, Henry, became Duke of Bavaria. His third son, Bruno, was Duke of Lotharingia and Archbishop of Cologne. His son from his first marriage, Thankmar, rebelled against his half-brother Otto, and was killed at the Battle of Eresburg in 936.
Regarding her daughters, Gerberga of Saxony, after the death of her first husband, Duke Gilbert of Lotharingia, married King Louis IV of France and was the mother of King Lothair of France. Her youngest daughter, Hedwige of Saxony, married Hugh the Great, Duke of France and Count of Paris, and was the mother of Hugh Capet, the founder of the Capetian dynasty.