On the death of Lothar II in 1137, the Welf Henry the Proud, heir of the patrimony of his deceased father-in-law, and possessor of the crown jewels, stood boldly forward as a candidate for the imperial dignity. But the local princes, opposing him, elected the Hohenstaufen Conrad III in Frankfurt, on February 2, 1138. When Conrad gave the Duchy of Saxony to Count Albert the Bear, the Saxonians rose in defence of their young prince, and Count Welf of Altorf, the brother of Henry the Proud, began the war.