Henry IX — known as Heinrich der Jüngere, or Henry the Younger — ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel for over five decades, one of the longest reigns among the Lower Saxon princes. The körtling was a small regional silver denomination particular to northern Germany, issued by numerous territorial lords whose minting rights under the Holy Roman Empire allowed a patchwork of local coinage that frustrated merchants and moneychangers alike. Henry's issues span the full breadth of his reign, from his consolidation of power after the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud to the religious conflicts that consumed his later years — he remained a staunch Catholic well into the Protestant Reformation's dominance of the region.
Henry IX — known as Heinrich der Jüngere, or Henry the Younger — ruled Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel for over five decades, one of the longest reigns among the Lower Saxon princes. The körtling was a small regional silver denomination particular to northern Germany, issued by numerous territorial lords whose minting rights under the Holy Roman Empire allowed a patchwork of local coinage that frustrated merchants and moneychangers alike. Henry's issues span the full breadth of his reign, from his consolidation of power after the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud to the religious conflicts that consumed his later years — he remained a staunch Catholic well into the Protestant Reformation's dominance of the region.