Rudolf II | |
---|---|
Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Stade | |
Tenure | 1132 – 1144 |
Died | 14 March 1144 |
Noble family | Udonids |
Spouse(s) | Elisabeth of Styria |
Father | Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark |
Mother | Richardis of Sponheim |
Rudolf II (died 14 March 1144), Margrave of the Nordmark, and Count of Stade, Dithmarschen and Freckleben, son of Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Richardis, daughter of Hermann von Sponheim, Burgrave of Magdeburg.
Rudolf, the traditional heir to the margraviate assumed the title upon the death of his predecessor Conrad von Plötzkau.
A chronicle of the 15th century reported that Rudolf resided in Burg, Dithmarschen (Bökelnburg). He ruled with a heavy hand and demanded his grain tithe even after several years of drought. The Dithmarscher farmers used a ruse to get rid of their unpopular regent. Hidden in sacks of corn were weapons. As agreed, they opened the bags at the sound of the battle cry "Röhret de Hann, snidet de sac spell!" (Shall ye touch hands, cuts the bag volumes). They set the castle on fire, killed the count and so won their freedom. This event is still recounted today in performances at the castle. His widow, Elizabeth, later married Henry V, Duke of Carinthia. [1]
Rudolf was married to Elisabeth, daughter of Leopold I the Strong, Margrave of Styria. No children are recorded of this union. With the death of Rudolf, the male line of the Margraves of the Nordmark died out.
After the death of Rudolf, his brother Hartwig transferred his inheritance to the Archbishopric of Bremen in return for a regrant of a life interest, presumably to obtain a powerful protector against the aggression of Henry the Lion. The move was ineffective, as Henry took possession of the lands and captured both Hartwig and the archbishop Adelbero, releasing them only after they agreed to recognize his claim.
Rudolf’s successor as Margrave of the Nordmark was Albert the Bear. Upon Rudolf's death, his brother Hartwig succeeded him as Count of Stade.
Egbert II was Count of Brunswick and Margrave of Meissen. He was the eldest son of the Margrave Egbert I of the Brunonen family.
Theodoric I, called the Oppressed, was the Margrave of Meissen from 1198 until his death. He was the second son of Otto II, Margrave of Meissen and Hedwig of Brandenburg.
Lothair Udo II was Margrave of the Nordmark from 1057 until his death and also Count of Stade. He was the only son of Lothair Udo I of the Udonids and Adelaide of Rheinfelden.
Lutgard of Salzwedel or Liutgard/Luitgard of Stade, was Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Eric III.
Rudolf I, a member of the House of Ascania, was Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg from 1298 until his death. By the Golden Bull of 1356 he was acknowledged as Elector of Saxony.
Margrave Henry I was a member of the House of Ascania and Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal and Landsberg.
Herman II, Count of Winzenburg was a son of Herman I, Count of Winzenburg and his second wife, Hedwig. She was either Hedwig of Assel-Woltingerode or Hedwig of Carniola-Istria. Herman II succeeded his father as Count of Winzenburg, without achieving the dominant position his father had held. He was a loyal supporter of Archbishop Adalbert of Mainz for many years.
The Counts of Stade were members of the Saxony nobility beginning in the 10th century. Stade had developed since the 8th century as a principal center of trade and communications. The Counts of Stade created their domain between the lower Elbe and Weser rivers. They extended their power northwards with the acquisition of Dithmarschen in the 11th century. They became the Margraves of the Nordmark in 1056. There is also a close political and familial relationship between the Counts of Stade and the Counts of Walbeck. The Northern March was replaced with the March of Brandenburg by Albert the Bear in the 12th century. The family of Counts of Stade is referred to as the House of Udonids.
Lothair Udo I, Margrave of Nordmark and Count of Stade, son of Siegfried II, Count of Stade, and Adela of Rhienfelden, daughter of Gero, Count of Alsleben. Lothair was the first of the House of Udonids to serve as margrave.
Lothair Udo III (1070-1106), Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Stade, son of Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Oda of Werl, daughter of Herman III, Count of Werl, and Richenza of Swabia. Brother of his predecessor Henry I the Long.
Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Stade, son of Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Oda of Werl, daughter of Herman III, Count of Werl, and Richenza of Swabia. Rudolf was the brother of his predecessors Henry I the Long and Lothair Udo III.
Helperich (Helferich), Count of Plötzkau and Walbeck, and Margrave of the Nordmark, son of Dietrich, Count of Plötzkau, and Mathilde von Walbeck, daughter of Conrad, Count of Walbeck, and Adelheid of Bavaria. The count's sister Irmgard was married to Lothair Udo III, Margrave of the Nordmark, and was the mother of Helperich's successor in ruling the margraviate, Henry II.
Henry II, Margrave of the Nordmark, also Count of Stade, son of Lothair Udo III, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Irmgard, daughter of Dietrich, Count of Plötzkau, and Mathilde von Walbeck.
Udo IV, Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Stade and Count of Freckleben, son of Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Richardis, daughter of Hermann von Sponheim, Burgrave of Magdeburg. It is unclear why he went by the abbreviated name of Udo as opposed the traditional Lothair Udo of his ancestors.
Conrad, Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Plötzkau, son of Helperich, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Adele, daughter of Kuno of Northeim and Kunigunde of Weimar-Orlamünde. Conrad, called the Saxon flower, was born in Monza, Italy.
Hartwig, Count of Stade and Archbishop of Bremen, son of Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Richardis, daughter of Hermann von Sponheim, Burgrave of Magdeburg.
Friedrich, Count of Stade. Friedrich's mother was from England and died in a shipwreck off the coast of Germany. She was fleeing England after the conquest of the island by William the Conqueror.
Siegfried I the Elder, Count of Walbeck and Möckerngau, son of Lothar II the Old, Count of Walbeck, and Mathilde von Arneburg.
Friedrick, Count of Walbeck and Viscount (Burggraf) of Magdeburg, son of Siegfried I the Older, Count of Walbeck, and Kunigunde von Stade daughter of Henry I the Bald, Count of Stade. He was brother to Thietmar of Merseburg, whose Chronicon was the main source of information on him, and his predecessor Henry, Count of Walbeck.
The Udonids (Udonen) were a German noble family, ruling as both the Counts of Stade and Margraves of the Nordmark, or Northern March, from the 9th to the 12th century. The first formal member of this family was Henry I the Bald, who took his seat in Harsefeld, part of the Duchy of Franconia, where he built a castle in 965. He was the grandson of the first Count of Stade, Lothar I, who was killed by the Great Heathen Army in the Battle of Ebstorf, and was recognized as one of the Martyrs of Ebsdorf by the Catholic Church.
Krause, Karl Ernst Hermann, Lothar Udo II. und das Stader Grafenhaus. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie. Band 19, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig, 1884