Berthold of Schweinfurt | |
---|---|
Died | 15 January 980 |
Noble family | Popponids (House of Babenberg) or Luitpoldings |
Spouse(s) | Eilika of Walbeck |
Father | (?) Henry III of Babenberg, Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, Berthold, Duke of Bavaria |
Berthold of Schweinfurt (died 15 January 980) was a German nobleman.
He was first mentioned as a Count in 941. In 960, he was mentioned as Count in the Radenzgau. In 961, he appears as count on the lower Raab and in 973 as count in the Volkfeld shire. After successful battles in Bohemia and Hungary, he was named as Margrave in 976. In 980, he appears as count in eastern Franconia.
His background is disputed. He is often assumed to be a son of Henry III of Babenberg of the Popponid (Elder House of Babenberg) family and a Luitpolding mother. Alternatively, he may have been a son (or grandson) of Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria or his brother Berthold, Duke of Bavaria, both from the Luitpolding dynasty. It is certain that his brother, or nephew, Leopold I, Margrave of Austria was the founder of the Younger or Austrian House of Babenberg. The name 'Leopold' is a modernization of 'Luitpold', and would strengthen the argument for ties with the Luitpoldingers.
The Comes Bertholdus who was mentioned in 941, was tasked by Emperor Otto I with guarding Lothar II, Count of Walbeck, who had been taken prisoner. Lothar was pardoned the following year, and Berthold married his daughter Eilika (d. 19 August 1015). She later initiated the construction of the minster in Schweinfurt, where she was buried.
In 964, Berthold was tasked by Otto with guarding another prisoner, King Berengar II of Italy, who was kept prisoner in Bamberg. In 973, Berthold participated in the ousting of the rebellious Henry II, Duke of Bavaria.
Berthold was married to Eilika of Walbeck, daughter of Lothar II, Count of Walbeck. They had at least two children:
In 1010, a lady named Eilika was abbess of Niedernburg Abbey in Passau. It is thought this Eilika may have been a daughter of Berthold and his wife.
The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia, the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its elevation to a duchy in 1156, and from then until the extinction of the line in 1246, whereafter they were succeeded by the House of Habsburg.
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies.
The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family to rule Swabia was the Hohenstaufen family, who held it, with a brief interruption, from 1079 until 1268. For much of that period, the Hohenstaufen were also Holy Roman Emperors. With the death of Conradin, the last Duke of Hohenstaufen, the duchy itself disintegrated although King Rudolf I attempted to revive it for his Habsburg family in the late 13th century.
Leopold I, known as the Illustrious was a member of the House of Babenberg who ruled as Margrave of Austria from 976 until his death. He was the first margrave of the Babenberg dynasty which ruled the March and Duchy of Austria until its extinction in 1246.
Arnulf II, also known as the Bad, the Evil or the Wicked, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, held the title of Duke of Bavaria from about 907 until his death in 937. He is numbered in succession to Arnulf of Carinthia, counted as Arnulf I.
The Duchy of Bavaria was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (duces) under Frankish overlordship. A new duchy was created from this area during the decline of the Carolingian Empire in the late ninth century. It became one of the stem duchies of the East Frankish realm, which evolved as the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.
Otto III, called the White and known as Otto of Schweinfurt, was the margrave of the Nordgau (1024–1031) and duke of Swabia (1048–1057). He was the son of Henry of Schweinfurt, margrave of the Nordgau, and Gerberga of Henneberg. Otto was one of the most powerful East Franconian princes by inheritance: having extensive land in the Radenzgau and Schweinfurt. In 1014, he first appears as count of Lower Altmühl and, in 1024, he inherits his father's march. In 1034, Otto became count of the Lower Naab. From then on to his appointment to Swabia, he takes part in many imperial expeditions into Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland. He was betrothed to Matilda, daughter of Bolesław I the Brave, but the arrangement fell through.
Henry III, called the Younger, a member of the Luitpolding dynasty, was the first Duke of Carinthia from 976 to 978, Duke of Bavaria from 983 to 985 and again Duke of Carinthia from 985 to 989.
The Luitpoldings were an East Frankish dynasty that ruled the German stem duchy of Bavaria in the ninth century. They are named after their descent from Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria, who reasserted Bavarian autonomy in the early 10th century. His son Arnulf the Bad first assumed the title of Duke of Bavaria.
The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in the 12th and 13th centuries. The counts of Dießen-Andechs obtained territories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ultimately dukes of a short-lived imperial state named Merania from 1180 to 1248. They were also self-styled lords of Carniola.
Henry of Schweinfurt was the Margrave of the Nordgau from 994 until 1004. He was called the "glory of eastern Franconia" by his own cousin, the chronicler Thietmar of Merseburg.
The Margraviate of the Nordgau or Bavarian Nordgau was a medieval administrative unit (Gau) on the frontier of the German Duchy of Bavaria. It comprised the region north of the Danube and Regensburg (Ratisbon), roughly covered by the modern Upper Palatinate stretching up to the river Main and, especially after 1061, into the Egerland on the border with Bohemia.
Lothair I was Margrave of the Nordmark from about 983 until his death. He was also a member of Saxon nobility as Count of Derlingau and of Nordthüringgau.
Ezzo, also Etzo, Ezo, Hetzo, Hezzo or Hezo, is the medieval shortened form of various first names that start with E or He. The diminutive form is Ezzilo. The shortening of the first names Ehrenfried, Ehrenfeld, Hermann and Heinrich is thereby documented.
Heilika of Pettendorf-Lengenfeld was by marriage Countess Palatine of Bavaria.
The Poppinids were an Frankish dynasty flourising in the early 9th century that originated from Grabfeld. They are named after their descent from Poppo of Grapfeld, who in turn descended from the Robertians. The Popponids gradually evolved into the Elder House of Babenberg. They were related to the Luitpoldings.
A royal election was held in the Kingdom of Germany after the death of childless Emperor Otto III. It was won by Duke Henry IV of Bavaria among accusations of uncustomary practices.
Lothar II the Elder, Count of Walbeck, son of Lothar I, Count of Walbeck.
Heinrich I, Count of Pegnitz is a contested early ancestor of the House of Wittelsbach. He was born in Pegnitz to allegedly either Henry von Schweinfurt, Margrave of the Nordgau or Count Berthold of Schweinfurt. Thus meaning he was the paternal great-grandson or grandson of Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, making him and the House of Wittelsbach descendants of the Luitpoldings. His first wife was the daughter of Conrad, Count of Altdorf and his second wife was an unnamed Countess of Welf. Heinrich I died circa 1043 in Scheyern. He had 6 children who are as follows: