Gottfried IV. (Arnsberg)

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Grave of Count Gottfried IV. (Copy) in the St. Johannes Church Arnsberg-Neheim

Gottfried IV., Count of Cuyk-Arnsberg (* around 1295, † February 21, 1371 ) was the last count in the county of Arnsberg . He ruled from 1338 to 1368. As in the times of his predecessors, the existence of the county was threatened by competition with the Archbishops of Cologne and the Counts of the Mark . Since his marriage remained childless, he finally sold the county to the Archbishopric of Cologne .

Origin and family

Gottfried was the eldest son of Count Wilhelm von Arnsberg and Beatrix von Cuyk - Rietberg . He himself married Anna von Kleve , a daughter of Dietrich VII. The marriage remained childless.

Live and act

Although Count Gottfried was the last count in the county of Arnsberg, he played a far more active role externally than most of his predecessors. While his father, Count Wilhelm , was still alive , Gottfried fell under the papal ban because he had the bishop of Munster , Ludwig II of Hesse , arrested because of his encroachments on the county. Shortly after the beginning of his reign he was released from this ban. In the first years of his reign, the relationship with the Archbishop of Cologne, Heinrich II of Virneburg, was relatively relaxed. This even gave the count the right to fortify the city of Hirschberg . This agreement ended when Gottfried and Count Adolf II von der Mark besieged and captured the Cologne city ​​of Menden . This conflict ended in a settlement.

In the following years the balance of power in Westphalia shifted drastically to the detriment of the Arnsberg county. After Wilhelm von Gennep took office as the new Archbishop of Cologne, an alliance between the Erzstuhl and Engelbert III came about . from the mark . While the Counts of Arnsberg could maneuver between the two powerful neighbors in the past, Gottfried was now isolated from the combined superiority. As a result of a feud (1352) with the county of Mark , the Archbishop was able to force Gottfried, among other things, to renounce the exercise of spiritual jurisdiction. In addition, he had to give up all claims to the Ardey rule as well as court rights in Schmallenberg , Körbecke and other places. Gottfried Fredeburg had to cede to Count von der Mark .

In 1357 there were again attacks by Cologne on the county of Arnsberg. In the course of the so-called "Arnsberg War", Count Gottfried probably destroyed the town of Winterberg . This argument ended without a victory for either side. At times there was even an rapprochement and the Archbishop's appointment of Count Gottfried as Marshal of Westphalia .

The situation became threatening when the Erzstuhl fell to Adolf von der Mark (1363), who after a brief reign from the same house Engelbert III. followed. Coordinated action by the two powerful neighbors against the county now threatened. In fact, there were military conflicts between Mark and Arnsberg in 1366. In the course of this, the city of Arnsberg was besieged, conquered and cremated.

The existence of the county was also threatened by the regent's childlessness. When there was no longer any hope of a biological descendant, the transfer of rule became necessary. At first Gottfried thought of a nephew from the Oldenburg family . When this and another possible successor died, the situation was open again. The house of the Counts von der Mark was out of the question for obvious reasons. At first glance, a transition to Cologne was hardly imaginable in view of the past conflicts. Nevertheless, the county was sold to the Erzstuhl. One of the factors contributing to this was that Bishop Engelberg no longer had full power of disposal over the diocese, but had been effectively disempowered by the appointment of Kuno von Falkenstein as coadjutor. Incidentally, after the bishop's death in 1367, it was not the House of Mark who benefited from this step, but with Friedrich III. from Saar become largely a stranger.

Grave of Gottfried IV in Cologne Cathedral with a wreath of the city of Arnsberg on the occasion of the Count's ceremony in 2009

In the interior of the county, Count Gottfried continued the internal expansion of the territory. In 1348 the city of Arnsberg received protection and patronage over the Arnsberger Mark. The city of Neheim received Lippe law in 1358 and permission to hold a fair in 1360. The village of Hüsten was raised to freedoms in 1360 and Freienohl in 1364. In 1363, the Wedinghausen Monastery received ecclesiastical rights over the Hüsten parish.

Last years

On August 25, 1368 Gottfried sold the County of Arnsberg for 130,000 guilders to the Archbishop of Cologne. For Cologne, the acquisition of the county meant that its Duchy of Westphalia , which had previously grown around the county, now had a center.

Count Gottfried and his wife left their territory and settled in the Rhineland. Gottfried died almost three years later on February 21, 1371 at the age of 75 and was buried as the only secular prince in a high grave in Cologne Cathedral . His wife returned to the county after his death and took her widow's seat at Wildshausen Castle .

Commemoration

In 1364 the Count gave the city of Arnsberg a fruit harvest on the condition that the municipality commemorate himself and his wife twice a year with soul masses and intercessions. This tradition of the so-called Arnsberg "Count Beginning" is still carried out every year today, albeit with time interruptions. In 1368 the count donated over 900 acres to the town of Neheim. This is still remembered today with a festive thanksgiving meal (“donor party”) and the distribution of sweet rolls (“little parcels”) to the children of the city. In addition, the citizens of Neheim organize a count funeral. For this purpose, a delegation of associations, school children and representatives of the city travels to Cologne and lays a wreath at Gottfried's grave. Until it merged with the Franz-Stock-Gymnasium in 2002, one of the municipal high schools in Arnsberg was also called Graf-Gottfried-Gymnasium . The former Karl Wagenfeld School in Arnsberg has been called the Graf Gottfried School since 2012 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brief description of the Neheim Count Beginning

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gottfried IV.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gottfried IV. Count of Cuyk-Arnsberg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of the County of Arnsberg
DATE OF BIRTH around 1295
DATE OF DEATH February 21, 1371