Henry II, Duke of Brabant

Henry II of Brabant (1207–1248), called the Magnanimous, succeeded Henry I as duke in 1235. He intervened in disputes between the bishop of Liège and his towns and gained the County of Dalhem in 1244 through his alliance with Emperor Frederick II.

In 1247 he refused the German kingship in favour of his nephew William II of Holland. His son by Sophie of Thuringia, Henry the Child, founded the House of Hesse. In January 1248 he granted Brabant its first land charter to ease the succession of his young son Henry III, and died weeks later at Leuven.