Frenz (noble family)
The nobles of Frenz They were considered important personalities in the 13th century , and their territorial possessions extended from Laufenburg an der Wehe as the easternmost point via Frenz , Nothberg and Stolberg to Wilhelmstein an der Wurm and into the Herzogenrather Land . Despite having the same name, the noble family should not be confused with the Barons Raitz von Frentz , who are also only called "Frentz" or "von und zu Frentz".
It is documented that the brothers Wilhelm, Wirich and Harper von Frenz owned the Stolberg estate next to their castle in the 13th century . How Stolberg got to the Messrs. Von Frenz has not yet been clearly established. A donation or an undocumented heir from the Stahlburg family would be possible .
Count Heinrich von Berg
The Frenz manor originally belonged to the Archdiocese of Cologne. Heinrich von Molenark , Archbishop from 1225 to 1238, transferred this property to Heinrich von Berg, who had been Duke of Limburg since 1226 . It is from this house that the nobles von Frenz probably emerged.
Wilhelm von Frenz
He was one of the influential regional personalities of the time. There is a document dated February 19, 1237. In this he sealed a contract about the Vogtei Konzen as Count Wilhelm IV of Jülich transferred this Walram I of Limburg, Herr zu Monschau . In addition to Wilhelm von Frenz (from the follower of Walram), this contract was signed by numerous nobles and church dignitaries. These included Abbot Florence, the Imperial Abbey of Kornelimünster (1205–1245) and the noble Philipp von Wildenburg .
On May 9, 1263 Wilhelm von Frenz was accepted into the circle of noble citizens of the city of Cologne. He rose to the same hierarchy to which the Counts of Jülich already belonged. On this occasion, Wilhelm still sealed with his old coat of arms, a jumping rider. In subsequent documents from 1269 he used a lion as the coat of arms.
Wilhelm was married to Sophia von Hückeswagen . From this marriage came Wilhelm II von Frenz, who, among other things, inherited the Stolberg farm.
Harper from Frenz
Harper's name and that of his brother Wilhelm appear in the peace certificate of November 2, 1242. This sealed the freedom of the Archbishop of Cologne, Konrad von Hochstaden (1238–1261) , who was imprisoned in Nideggen . After nine months in prison, he was released on payment of a large ransom.
In addition to this document, a document from the Brauweiler monastery dated January 26, 1260 mentions him. It attests to the gift of Count Wilhelm IV of Jülich. As a result of this donation, Walram von Jülich and his wife Mathilde received the “ Neubruch tithes ” against payment of 150 Cologne denarii . This settled a long-running dispute between the Archbishops of Cologne and numerous secular lords over the possession of the monastery.
Harper of Louvenburg
He bears the same coat of arms as Harper von Frenz, but should not be confused with it. Harper belonged to the nobles von Laufenburg, zu Alsdorf, documented since 1230. They also belonged to the Limburg followers, from which the nobles von Frenz came from. The coat of arms of the lion with shingles came out of Nassau.
Wirich from Frenz
Wirich von Frenz († March 16, 1278) vouched for his relative Wirich von Spralant. In this document dated March 15, 1271, he is the first to be sealed as Mr. zu Stolberg. The seal he used already shows the main features of the later Stolberg city arms: a right jumping lion with vertical clapboards and a tournament collar.
Wirich von Frenz was knight of Count Wilhelm IV of Jülich and was slain by Aachen citizens while collecting special taxes for King Rudolf I on the night of March 16-17 , 1278, the Gertrudis Night .
Wilhelm II of Frenz
Wilhelm II († November 23, 1303) officially drew as Wilhelm II von Frenz, Herr zu Stolberg and Setterich . A document from 1277 lists it. Due to a lost document, Wilhelm II waived the annual payment of twenty marks that the city of Cologne would have had to pay to him, since Wilhelm was supposed to provide nine knights and 15 squires to protect Cologne if necessary. As security, Wilhelm II offered the Stolburg court, located in the "Herrschaft Frenz, which is our allod " (allod = property, not a fiefdom). Stolberg Castle became a fiefdom of the city of Cologne on the basis of the document handed down, but it remained in the possession of the nobles of Frenz. Only in the event of non-compliance with its obligations would Stolberg fall to Cologne.
Wilhelm II was married to Cunigunde von Frankenberg for the first time , as a document from 1269 shows. From this marriage the daughter Cunigunde emerged, who later married Count Ruprecht II von Virneburg .
After the early death of his wife, Wilhelm II married Mechthilde von Reifferscheid. This merged the noble line of nobles from Frenz with that of Reifferscheid .
literature
- Anton Fahne : History of the Cologne, Jülich and Bergisch families in family tables, 1848, pp. 104–105
- Andreas Roderburg: History of Stolberg Castle , in: Andreas Roderburg (Hrsg.): Contributions to the history and culture of the old copper city, Düsseldorf 1927, p. 34f.
- Franz Willems: Stolberg lords of the castle and their descendants in old documents of Rhenish history 1118–1364 . Stolberg City Library 1955
- Ernst von Oidtman : The Stolberg Castle and its owners, especially the noble lords of Stolberg - Frenz - Setterich In: Journal of the Aachen History Association , Vol. 15/1893
- Helmut Schreiber: Stolberger Burgherren and Burgfrauen 1118 - 1909. Contributions to the Stolberg history, volume 25. Burg Verlag Gastinger 2001, ISBN 3-926830-16-6
- Heinrich Tiefenbäcker: The Laufenburg and the Limburg territorial property between Wehe and Wurm in the Middle Ages and early modern times in: New contributions to the history of Jülich . Josef-Kul-Ges./Ges. for the history of the city of Jülich and the Jülich country, vol. IX / 1998, p. 38ff.
- Thomas R. Kraus : Jülich, Aachen and the Reich. Studies on the development of the sovereignty of the Counts of Jülich up to 1328. Ed .: Stadtarchiv Aachen , 1987, pp. 137ff.