Hello and welcome to the history of the Germans.

Episode 18, Henry II goes forth.

I think before I start I should say some really big thank you.

I'm totally amazed that so many of you want to spend your time hearing

about long-forgotten German empress. I mean, I honestly thought I would end up talking largely

to myself. And I also want to say a big thank you for all your feedback and your encouragement.

And a special thanks to listener VD, who suggested we have a Q&A session at the end of this season.

I mean, I'd be very happy to do it if you sent me enough questions.

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Instagram under some version of

History of the Germans.

If you do not want to post publicly, you can DM me or send an email to History of the Germans at gmail.com.

Let the questions flow.

So with that, back to the show.

Last week, we left Henry II looking at the smoldering ruins of the Schweinfurtes castles

and feeling finally truly in charge of the country.

He was the anointed king, all five duchies had recognized him, and all other contenders have

bent the knee, except for Eckhardt of Meissen, who was conveniently murdered along the way.

The death of Eckhart might have held Henry II to rise to the throne,

but it did cause a major problem for the new ruler,

a problem that will take precedence over even the precarious situation in Italy

and some of his grand plans for the internal structure of the realm.

Eckhart had been the margraf or some sort of count on steroids, of Meissen. You may know Meissen as the birthplace of European porcelain, making cute chappidices and delicate

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