Bernhard II (Werl)

Bernhard II. (* Around 1010, † around 1070) was Count von Werl , Count in Friesland , Vogt von Soest , Paderborn , Werden and Liesborn .

family

Bernhard was the younger son of Count Hermann II von Werl from his second marriage to Godila von Rothenburg . His brothers were Heinrich , Konrad and Adalbert. Together with the brothers, he was first attested in 1024 at the Hoftag in Herzfeld. He was extensively with the Salian imperial family as the step-nephew of the Empress Gisela and cousin of Emperor Heinrich III. related. He himself may have been married twice. The names of the women are not known.

Life

As the youngest son, Bernhard succeeded his brother Heinrich after his death. In the middle of the 11th century he once again brought together the various rights of the family. Bernhard was able to retain the bailiwick rights over Soest, Paderborn, Werden and Liesborn. He also held various count rights. This included a Frisian county east of the mouth of the Ems . In the bishopric of Osnabrück he appears as a count in the sources in the years 1054 and 1076. He is also attested as a count in Dreingau in the east münsterland in 1059. Since the middle of the century there has been evidence of count rights in Lochtropgau in the Sauerland . He also had count rights on Hellweg . At the court conference in Dortmund in 1051, Heinrich III decided . that Bernhard was no longer allowed to summon the people of the Bishop of Osnabrück to the Count's Court. In 1063, Bernhard probably took part in the court day in Mainz and the subsequent campaign in Hungary . After the victory he was present at the royal court in 1064. During this time he officially ceded the county in Emsland to Adalbert von Bremen . Since the bishop apparently owed the promised financial compensation, Bernhard held onto his property. A count or prefect Gottschalk von Zutphen , whom the bishop had entrusted with the administration of the area, was killed in this context. The counts of Werl were able to maintain the very lucrative counties with Emden , Leer and Aschendorf until 1096.

Due to a lack of sources, Bernhard's role in imperial politics remains somewhat unclear. It is also unclear whether Bernhard took part in an aristocratic frond against the Bishop of Bremen after Adalbert was largely disempowered in order to force him to renounce rights and territories. A Count Bernhard is mentioned in a letter, but otherwise he is only reliably documented until 1066.

Bernhard had three sons. His son Heinrich became Bishop of Paderborn . The count's office and the bailiff fell to Konrad II. A third son was Liupold , who received, among other things, the ancestral seat Werl as an inheritance. Hermann was mistakenly regarded as a son .

literature

• Paul Leidinger : The Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg (approx. 980–1124): Genealogy and aspects of their political history in the Ottonian and Salian times. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia. Volume 1: The Electorate of Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803. Aschendorff, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , pp. 119–170, here 140–143.
• Heinz Pardun: The historical development of the city and county of Arnsberg up to the transition to Kurköln. In: 750 years of Arnsberg. On the history of the city and its citizens. Strobel, Arnsberg 1989, ISBN 3-87793-025-5 , pp. 26-58, here p. 29f.