Speyergau

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Speyergau (Spiragowe) in Rhenish Franconia, c. 1000 Hundesrucha (HRR) 1000.png
Speyergau (Spiragowe) in Rhenish Franconia, c. 1000

Speyergau was a medieval county in the East Frankish (German) stem duchy of Franconia. It was centred around the administrative centre of Speyer and roughly covered the former Roman administrative area of Civitas Nemetum, which is today the south-eastern portion of the Palatinate region between the Rhine river, the Palatinate Forest range, and some smaller parts of northern Alsace. The Speyergau, together with the neighbouring Wormsgau and Nahegau, was part of the major possessions held by the Salian dynasty of German kings and Holy Roman Emperors. [1]

Gau is a Germanic term for a region within a country, often a former or actual province. It was used in medieval times, when it can be seen as roughly corresponding to an English shire. The administrative use of the term was revived as a subdivision during the period of Nazi Germany in 1933–1945. It still appears today in regional names, such as the Rheingau or Allgäu.

East Francia Former country in Europe

East Francia or the Kingdom of the East Franks was a precursor of the Holy Roman Empire. A successor state of Charlemagne's empire, it was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire into three kingdoms.

Kingdom of Germany 10th-century kingdom of Germany

The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom developed out of Eastern Francia, the eastern division of the former Carolingian Empire, over the 9th to 11th centuries. East Francia was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, and was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911, after which the kingship was elective. The initial electors were the rulers of the stem duchies, who generally chose one of their own. After 962, when Otto I was crowned emperor, East Francia formed the bulk of the Holy Roman Empire along with Italy; it later included Bohemia and Burgundy.

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Counts of Speyergau

Some renowned counts of Speyergau were:

  1. Werner V (c. 899 - c. 935), the first definite progenitor of the Salian Dynasty, also count of Nahegau and Wormsgau, member of the house of Conradines.
  2. Conrad the Red (X 955), son of Werner V, also count of Nahegau, Wormsgau and Niddagau, count in Franconia, duke of Lorraine, ∞ around 947 Liutgard of Saxony (born 931, died 953), daughter of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
  3. Otto of Worms (died 1004), only son of Conrad the Red, also count of Nahegau, Wormsgau, Elsenzgau, Kraichgau, Enggau, Pfinzgau and Ufgau, duke of Carinthia
  4. Conrad II the younger, (born probably 1003, died 1039), grandson of Otto I, also count of Nahegau, Wormsgau, duke of Carinthia (1036-1039)

Rural reeves (Landvogt) of Speyergau

County of Veldenz countship

The County of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier. A municipality of the same name, Veldenz, and a castle, Schloss Veldenz, are located in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich.

Ortenau historical territory in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

The Ortenau, originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black Forest. In the south, it borders on the Breisgau region, covering approximately the same area as the Ortenaukreis, a present-day administrative district with its centre at Offenburg.

Related Research Articles

The Salian dynasty was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four German Kings (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor (1027–1125); as such, the term Salic dynasty is also used to refer to the Holy Roman Empire of the time as a separate term.

Electoral Palatinate historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire

The County Palatine of the Rhine, later the Electorate of the Palatinate or simply Electoral Palatinate, was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire administered by the Count Palatine of the Rhine. Its rulers served as prince-electors (Kurfürsten) from "time immemorial", were noted as such in a papal letter of 1261, and were confirmed as electors by the Golden Bull of 1356.

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor Holy Roman Emperor

Conrad II, also known as Conrad the Elder and Conrad the Salic, was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The founder of the Salian dynasty of emperors, Conrad also served as King of Germany from 1024, King of Italy from 1026, and King of Burgundy from 1033.

Duchy of Carinthia

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.

Frederick I was Duke of Swabia from 1079 to his death, the first ruler from the House of Hohenstaufen (Staufer).

Frederick II, Duke of Swabia second Hohenstaufen duke of Swabia from 1105

Frederick II, called the One-Eyed, was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138.

Conrad, called the Red, was Duke of Lorraine from 944 until 953. He became the progenitor of the Imperial Salian dynasty.

Henry of Speyer Father of Emperor Conrad II

Henry of Speyer, a member of the Salian dynasty, was count in the Rhenish Franconian Wormsgau. He was the father of Emperor Conrad II.

Otto I, Duke of Carinthia Duke of Carinthia

Otto I, called Otto of Worms, a member of the Salian dynasty, was Duke of Carinthia from 978 to 985 and again from 1002 until his death.

Adalbero of Eppenstein was Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona from 1011 or 1012 until 1035.

Conrad I, Duke of Carinthia duke of Carinthia from 1004

Conrad I, a member of the Salian dynasty, was Duke of Carinthia from 1004 until his death.

Conrad II, called the Younger, a member of the Salian dynasty, was Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona from 1035 until his death.

Duchy of Franconia

The Duchy of Franconia was one of the five stem duchies of East Francia and the medieval Kingdom of Germany emerging in the early 10th century. The word Franconia, first used in a Latin charter of 1053, was applied like the words Francia, France, and Franken, to a portion of the land occupied by the Franks.

Rhenish Franconia

Rhenish Franconia or Western Franconia (Westfranken) denotes the western half of the central German stem duchy of Franconia in the 10th and 11th century, with its residence at the city of Worms. The territory located on the banks of Rhine river roughly corresponded with the present-day state of Hesse and the adjacent Palatinate region in the south.

The Conradines or Conradiner were a dynasty of Franconian counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad the Elder and his son King Conrad I of Germany.

Werner V was a Rhenish Franconian count in the Nahegau, Speyergau and Wormsgau. He is one of the earliest documented ancestors of the Salian dynasty that provided German kings and Holy Roman Emperors from 1024 to 1125.

The Emichones were an early medieval family in the southwestern German region. Its members were counts (Gaugrafen) in the Nahegau, perhaps as undercounts of the Salian dynasty. The conventional name Emichones is due to the prevailing first name "Emich". Several later families may trace their origins to the Emichones.

Nahegau

The Nahegau was in the Middle Ages a county, which covered the environs of the Nahe and large parts of present-day Rhenish Hesse, after a successful expansion of the narrow territory, which did not reach the Rhine, to the disadvantage of the Wormsgau. Among other expansions were Ingelheim in 937, Spiesheim in 960, Saulheim in 973 and Flonheim in 996, until after the end of the expansion the Selz set the southern limit and the limit to the Wormsgau.

Wormsgau

The Wormsgau was a medieval county in the East Frankish (German) stem duchy of Franconia, comprising the surroundings of the city of Worms and further territories on the left bank of the Upper Rhine river. Together with the neighbouring Nahegau and Speyergau, it belonged to the central Rhenish Franconian possessions of the Imperial Salian dynasty.

Stauf Castle (Palatinate) castle

Stauf Castle is a ruined spur castle near the village of Stauf in the borough of Eisenberg in the county of Donnersbergkreis in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

References

  1. Geschichte der Stadt Speyer, Vol. 1, 1982, Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart, ISBN   3-17-007522-5