Henry the Lion, a medieval Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, was one of the first, great German princes who wielded immense influence as a politician and a patron of the arts. His thirst for power put him in conflict with his cousin Frederick Barbarossa, whose imperial policies he had originally supported. After his eventual removal from power he spent many years in exile in England, retaining enough prominence to enable his family's return to importance in the subsequent century. To this dramatic life, the author brings years of research and a lucid personal style to illuminate the political, social, and intellectual contexts around this vivid personality.