Heinrich (Henry) the Lion (1129-1195)
Duke of Saxony (1142-1180)
Duke of Bavaria (as Heinrich XII., 1156-1180)

Coronation illustration from the Evangeliar of Duke Heinrich the Lion by monk Heriman, Kloster Helmarshausen (ca. 1170)

In the bottom half of the coronation illustration, Duke Heinrich the Lion kneels at middle left, facing him is his second wife, Mathilde of England. Heinrich and Mathilde are clothed in rich garments and each holds a golden cross. Behind Heinrich the Lion stands his father, Heinrich the Proud (1102-1139) and his mother Gertrud, as well as her father, Emperor Lothar III., and his wife Richenza, Heinrich the Lion's grandparents. Behind Mathilde stands her father, King Henry II. of England, his mother, Queen Mathilde, and an unknown person. The crowns that Christ holds from heaven are to signify the crowns of eternal life rather than those of worldly power. The text on the scrolls of the half-figures in the corner panels of the representation make allusion to the crowns of eternal life. In the dedicatory poem of the Evangeliar it is said that Duke Heinrich and Mathilde have dedicated "this golden book" to Christ in the hope of eternal life.