Emperor and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Buried in Bamberg, Germany
The Bamberg Scale (Bamberger Waage). The Archangel Michael weighing the soul of Heinrich II. Limestone, carved by Tilman Riemenschneider, 1499-1513.
There is a saying that if the scale on the tomb of Heinrich II in the Bamberg Cathedral ever swings into balance, it will mean the end of the world is approaching.
The Emperor Heinrich II is the only German ruler to have ever been made a saint.
Virgin Make Way! - When the tomb of Emperor Heinrich II was opened in order to lay the body of Empress Kunigunde to rest, the mourners only had a moment to observe that the only space in the coffin was to the left of the emperor, meaning Kunigunde would have to be laid on the opposite side as depicted on the lid. Suddenly a voice boomed out of the tomb "Cede virgo virgini!" (Virgin make way for the virgin!) and immediately the corpse of the emperor moved to the left, leaving space for the empress on the right.
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Emperor
Henry II, Heinrich II, Statue in Bamberg, Germany on the left side of
the Adam's Portal Entrance (Adamspforte) to the Cathedral.
With
remains of the original colorful paint.
When Henry II died in Grona near Göttingen on July 13, 1024,
his
body was taken to be buried in the cathedral he had built in
Bamberg. On the first anniversary of his death, Archbishop
Aribo
of Mainz consecrated the monastery church in Kaufungen. On
that
occasion, Kunigunde made profession as a Benedictine nun.
Contemporaries attest to a life of prayer and service in the
monastery. Henry II was canonized by Pope Eugene III (1145 --
1153) in 1146. By then relations between church and state
were
vastly different from what they been during Henry II's
lifetime.
In part because of him, a succession of able and saintly men had become
bishops of Rome. They took the lead in seeking a more
comprehensive freedom for the church than was possible or conceivable
in Henry's time. The role of the secular ruler in the church
had
been restricted. Emperors could no longer point and oppose
bishops and abbots as Henry II had done.Henry was a pious, but theocratic ruler. Nevertheless before the Gregorian reform "proper," he was sympathetic to the spirit of reform and was instrumental in setting the reform movement into motion. h he felt a particular affinity to the monastery of Cluny, he made good ecclesiatical appointments, and the reform minded emperor Henry II was responsible for a ruling at Pavia in 1022 whereby the the wives and children of priests should become slaves of the church.
Because Henry was an old-school representative of theocratic kingship, one would suppose that his chances of canonization in the wake of the Gregorian reform were virtually nil. As it happens, however, the bishopric of Bamberg (which he had founded in generously endowed) promoted his cult. Bishop Egilbert commissioned a new biography that not only gave a radically expurgated account of Henry's dealings with the church, it also falsely attributed new triumphs (such as the conversion of Hungary to the marriage of assistant visa) to Henry. This biography, moreover, treated the subject of Henry's virginal marriage with his wife, Kunigunde (Cunegund). And the chaste union may also act as a metaphor for the fact that Henry was exceedingly pious and reform minded, as he did not repudiate his barren wife although the crown passed to a distant cousin. So ended the Ottonian dynasty, but at least it went out with glory. Such effort was not without effect. In response to the petitioning of Bamberg, Henry II was canonized in 1146 by Eugenius III for basically two related reasons: that though an emperor, he did not live like one, and that is remarkable detachment from his office was epitomized by his absolute chastity.
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Empress
Kunigunde, Statue in Bamberg, Germany on the Left Side of
Adam's
Portal (Adamspforte) entrance to the cathedral. With remains
of
the original colorful paint.
Kunigunde's process took longer. Her canonization was supported by the German kings and by the Church of Bamberg. Pope Celestina III (1191 -- 1198) appointed three bishops and three Cistercian abbots to investigate her life, holiness, and miracles. About 1200 a cleric in Bamberg wrote her Vita (Life), and the Church of Bamberg renewed its campaign with Pope Innocent III (1198 -- 1216). She was declared a saint on March 29, 1200. She was praised for her virtues and the posthumous miracles. Kunigunde's cult was destined to become a powerful vehicle for the reaffirmation of the consensual nature of marriage. Much of the familiar rhetoric of consensuality and mutual sanctification resurfaces in the Vita (Life..) written at the time of Pope Innocent III's bull of canonization.
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