Henry II was the duke

Duke

A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

 of Limburg

Duchy of Limburg

The Duchy of Limburg, situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse and the city of Aachen, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory is now divided between the Belgian provinces of Liège and Limburg , the Dutch province of Limburg , and a small part of North Rhine-Westphalia in...

 from 1139 and count of Arlon from 1147 to his death. He was the son of Waleran, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Waleran, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Waleran II , called Paganus meaning "the Pagan", probably due to a late baptism, was the Duke of Limburg and Count of Arlon from his father's death in about 1119 until his own twenty years later...

, and Jutta of Guelders, daughter of Gerard I of Guelders

Gerard I of Guelders

Gerard I of Guelders was Count of Guelders . He was born as Gerard of Wassenberg, the son of Dietrich of Wassenberg. He was the first count of Guelders....

. He succeeded his father in Limburg with the title of duke, but Conrad III

Conrad III of Germany

Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...

 refused to grant him Lower Lorraine. He continued to style himself as duke nevertheless.

Henry refused at first to accept the loss of Lorraine and attacked the new duke, Godfrey VII

Godfrey II of Leuven

Godfrey II was the count of Leuven, landgrave of Brabant by inheritance from 23 January 1139. He was the son of Godfrey I and Ida of Chiny...

. He was defeated. Godfrey died in 1142, but Henry was occupied with a war against the lord of Fauquemont and did not assert any claim to the duchy of Lower Lorraine.

In 1147, he inherited Arlon, his younger brother Waleran having died without children. Conrad confirmed this, for he had promised Henry a fief to compensate for the loss of Lorraine, and the duke and the king were reconciled. Henry did not take part in the Second Crusade

Second Crusade

The Second Crusade was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa the previous year to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade by Baldwin of Boulogne in 1098...

 that year, however. Henry attended the coronation of Conrad's successor, Frederick Barbarossa.

At that time, Henry was involved in a war with Henry IV of Luxembourg

Henry IV of Luxembourg

Henry IV , called the Blind , was count of Luxembourg from 1136 and count of Namur from 1139 until his abdication in 1189. He was the son of Godfrey I of Namur and Ermesinda, daughter of Conrad I of Luxembourg.He inherited the counties of La Roche and Durbuy from his cousins Henry II of Durbuy and...

. The town of Andenne

Andenne

Andenne is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Namur. On January 1, 2006 Andenne had a total population of 25,240. The total area is 86.17 km² which gives a population density of 292 inhabitants per km². The city extends on both sides of the river Meuse...

 was taken and completely plundered and burned. Then Henry turned to Godfrey VIII

Godfrey III of Leuven

Godfrey III was count of Leuven , landgrave of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, and duke of Lower Lorraine from 1142 to his death.He was the son of Godfrey II and Lutgarde of Sulzbach...

, but they soon made peace in 1155. Henry's daughter Margaret married Godfrey.

Henry took part in Barbarossa's Italian campaigns, dying during the epidemic of 1167 at Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.

|-