Henry II, Duke of Brabant

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Henry II of Brabant (French: Henri II de Brabant, Dutch: Hendrik II van Brabant, 1207 – February 1, 1248 in Leuven) was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235.

Henry II supported his sister Mathilde's son, William II, Count of Holland, in the latter's bid for election as German King.

[edit] Family and children

His first marriage was to Marie of Hohenstaufen (1201–1235, Leuven), daughter of Philip of Swabia and Irene Angelina. They had six children:

1. Henry III, Duke of Brabant (d. 1261)
2. Philip, died young
3. Matilda (1224 – September 29, 1288), married:
   1. in Compiègne June 14, 1237 to Robert I of Artois;
   2. before May 31, 1254 to Guy II of Châtillon, Count of Saint Pol.
4. Beatrix (1225 – November 11, 1288), married:
   1. at Kreuzburg March 10, 1241 Heinrich Raspe Landgrave of Thuringia;
   2. in Leuven November 1247 to William III of Dampierre, Count of Flanders (1224 – June 6, 1251).
5. Marie (c. 1226 – January 18, 1256, Donauwörth), married Louis II, Duke of Upper Bavaria. She was beheaded by her husband on suspicion of infidelity.
6. Margaret (d. March 14, 1277), Abbess of Herzogenthal.

His second marriage was to Sophie of Thuringia (March 20, 1224 – May 29, 1275), daughter of Ludwig IV of Thuringia and Elisabeth of Hungary by whom he had two children:

1. Henry (1244–1308, created Landgrave of Hesse in 1263.
2. Elizabeth (1243 – October 9, 1261), married in Braunschweig July 13, 1254 to Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

[edit] See also

• Dukes of Brabant family tree

Preceded by Henry I

Duke of Brabant and Lothier 1235–1248

Succeeded by Henry III