Confessor, German king and Roman emperor, son of Duke Henry II, born Bavaria, 972; died Gottingen, Prussia, 1024. He was educated for the priesthood, but was elected emperor, 1002, and crowned at Rome in 1015. He inaugurated needed reforms in the monasteries and strengthened the various ecclesiastical sees of his kingdom, built churches and monasteries, and ruled wisely, tempering justice with mercy. He was buried in the cathedral at Bamberg. Feast, Roman Calendar, July 15,.