In June 984 the infant king was handed over by Henry to the care of the two empresses; but the masterful will of Theophano soon obtained the upper hand, and until the death of the Greek empress, on the 15th of June 991, Adelaide had no voice in German affairs.
After reducing the Desi, who were in alliance with the Northmen of Waterford and Limerick, in 984 he subdued Ossory and took hostages from the kings of East and West Leinster.
Early in 984 the king was seized by Henry II., the Quarrelsome, the deposed duke of Bavaria, who claimed the regency as a member of the reigning house, and probably entertained the idea of obtaining the kingly dignity himself.
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In 984 he was appointed through Dunstan's influence to the bishopric of Winchester, and in 1006 he succeeded iElfric as archbishop of Canterbury.