Equals (noble family)

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Family coat of arms of the Counts of Gleichen based on Scheibler's book of arms

Gleichen (also counts of Gleichen ) is the name of a noble family in Thuringia . The family members have been documented as Lords and Counts of Tonna since 1099 and owned the chain castle in Gräfentonna as their ancestral seat . The sex belonged to the higher imperial nobility .

history

In 1130 they were enfeoffed with Gleichen Castle near Gotha and officiated as archbishopric Mainz bailiffs over the city of Erfurt until 1290 . They acquired goods in the Electoral Mainz exclave Eichsfeld , which they sold back to the ore monastery of Mainz in 1294 . From 1342 they built up a small lordship over Ohrdruf as theirfeldische bailiffs and in 1590 they moved their court from Tonna to Ohrdruf, where they built Ehrenstein Castle. They also acquired feudal estates from the Margraves of Meissen and in 1583 inherited the counties of Pyrmont and Spiegelberg, which were immediately part of the empire . In 1631 the count's house went out.

The lords and (from 1858 Bavarian) barons of Gleichen were presumably ministerials to the Counts of Gleichen. They have been documented since 1418 and were wealthy in Ingersleben and Tannroda in Thuringia . In 1732 they inherited the extinct lords of Rußwurm at Greifenstein Castle in Lower Franconia and have since called themselves von Rußwurm from Gleichen . This family still exists. There is no relationship with the Lower Saxon barons von Uslar-Gleichen .

Origin and possessions

Old writings indicate that the Counts of Gleichen originally lived in Saxony , but were expelled from there to Thuringia. In Thuringia they are said to have built mountain castles in Mühlberg and Wachsenburg around 720 and named both the same.

Later there is talk of a similar person nicknamed "the Black" who was captured in Saxon service in a battle in Buchholz in 779 against the Franks. He is said to have been in good standing with Charlemagne and, five years after the battle, he was converted to Christianity at several requests from Charlemagne. Married to Agnete von Winsenburg he fathered his two sons Witikindus and Walprechtum. The two brothers were also highly favored by the emperor and they were given a gift of land ten miles wide and 20 miles long in Thuringia, which they shared. The grandson of Walprechtum (or Walperti) is said to be the progenitor of the Counts of Gleichen, his brother Witikintus the progenitor of the high count family von Schwarzenberg (Franconian-Bohemian noble family) . After their ancestral seat Tonna near Gotha , they initially called themselves Counts of Tonna (first mentioned in 1099 - Count Erwin I, † 1116).

In the service of the archbishops of Mainz they acquired the bailiwick over the city of Erfurt in 1120 . They had extensive land and fiefdoms, especially in the Erfurt area and in Eichsfeld , including several castles.

Count Ernst I von Tonna (1116–1152) was enfeoffed by Kurmainz in 1140 with goods in Eichsfeld , which after his death went to his second son Ernst II (1152–1170). These included the castles Gleichenstein , Scharfenstein and Birkenstein .

In 1130 the Archdiocese of Mainz enfeoffed Count Erwin II. († around 1193) with the castle Gleichen near Gotha, to which it came from the Ascanians , after which the dynasty was called Count von Gleichen since 1162 . The castle itself became its new ancestral seat until 1455, before it was moved back to Tonna. Under Lambert II von Gleichen they reached a high point in their power development in the 13th century, but because of their feudal ties to Mainz they came into increasing opposition to the Thuringian Landgrave House .

In 1290 the counts sold their bailiwick rights in Erfurt to the city and in 1294 they had to sell their Eichsfeld possessions including castles to the archbishopric of Mainz . In 1343 the County of Vieselbach followed . To compensate for this, the equal counts began to create a small, self-contained territory between Ohrdruf (acquired in 1342, bailiwick since 1170) and Wandersleben and acquired the Hersfeld bailiwick of Ohrdruf for this purpose. At the same time the counts became feudal men of the Margraves of Meissen, but they appeared in the register of the empire until 1521 . The Lordship of Blankenhain , from 1455 Niederkranichfeld and Remda owned a branch line .

In 1550 the construction of the renaissance castle Ehrenstein began in Ohrdruf, so that in 1590 the court was moved from Tonna to Ohrdruf. Gleichen Castle has since been given up as a residence. In 1583, the immediately imperial counties of Pyrmont and Spiegelberg were inherited by the Gleichen before the Count's house with Hans Ludwig von Gleichen presumably died out in 1631.

Of the remaining estates, the upper county (Ohrdruf, Emleben, Schwabhausen, Petriroda, Wechmar, Pferdeleben, Werningshausen) went to the Counts of Hohenlohe-Langenburg as a fief , the 2.5 square miles of the sub-county (Gleichen, Wandersleben, Günthersleben, Sülzenbrücken, Ingersleben, Stedten) as a fief to the Counts of Schwarzburg (Schwarzburg-Arnstadt), the Tonna lordship to the Schenken von Tautenburg (a branch line of the Schenken von Vargula ) and the Counties Pyrmont and Spiegelberg to the Counts of Waldeck . In 1631 Melchior von Hatzfeld , a general in the Thirty Years' War, acquired Gleichen, Blankenhain and the Niederburg Kranichfeld. The Tonna lordship belonged to the County of Waldeck from 1640 to 1677, and was then sold to Duke Friedrich I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg .

Regular bearers of the Counts of Tonna and Equals

Count of Tonna / Gleichen

  • 1. Erwin I , Count of Tonna (*?; † 1116): fathered Lambert I and Ernst I.
    • 2. Lambert I. (*?; 1149)
    • 3. Ernst I (*?; † 1152): fathered Ernst II and Erwin II.
      • 4. Ernst II (*?; † around 1170)
      • 5. Erwin II von Gleichen (*?; † around 1193): fathered Lambert II and Ernst III.
        • 6. Lambert II. (*?; † 1228): Division under the sons of Lambert II into the (Lambertian) lines Gleichenstein (Eichsfeld) and Gleichen
        • 7. Ernst III. zu Velseck (*?; † 1230)

The main (Lambertian) lines Gleichenstein (Eichsfeld) and Gleichen

First Lambertian line: Gleichenstein (Eichsfeld)

  • 1. Heinrich I (*?; † 1257)
    • 2. Albrecht II (*?; † 1290)
      • 3. Albrecht III. (*?; † 1283)
        • 4. Ernst V. (*?; † around 1270)
          • 5. Henry III. (*?; † 1299): Eichsfelder Vogteirecht was sold to the Archdiocese of Mainz in 1294

Second Lambertian line: equals

  • 1. Ernst IV. (*?; † 1287): fathered Heinrich IV.
    • 2. Heinrich IV. (*?; † 1314): fathered Herman IV. And Heinrich V ; Division under the sons of Hermann IV into the lines Blankenstein and Tonna
      • 5 . Hermann IV (? *, † 1343): leading line Tonna further
      • 6. Heinrich V. (*?; † 1345): continues the Blankenheim line ; fathered Henry VI.
    • 3. Erwin III. (*?; † 1266)
    • 4. Albrecht IV (*?; † 1286): fathered Albrecht V.
      • 7. Albrecht V (*?; † 1292)

The continuing lines Blankenstein (Remda, Blankenstein) and Tonna

I.) Blankenhain (line of Heinrich V) with further branches Remda and Blankenstein

  • 1. Henry VI. (*?; † 1378): fathered Ernst VIII , Johann I and Heinrich VII.
    • 2. Ernst VIII. (*?; † 1414), fathered Erwin IV. , Friedrich and Adolf I.
      • 3. Erwin IV. (*?; † 1437)
      • 4. Friedrich (*?; † 1426)
      • 5. Adolf I (*?; † 1456)
    • 6. Johann I (*?; † around 1385)
    • 7. Henry VII. (*?; † 1415): Division under the sons of Henry VII into the Remda branches; sired Ernst X. , Ludwig I. and Siegmund III.
a.) Remda (wf. line of Heinrich VII.), expired in 1596
  • 1. Ernst X. (*?; † 1458): fathered Ernst XI. and Erwin V.
    • 2. Ernst XI. (*?; † 1492): fathered Ernst XIII. , Hector I and Adolf II.
      • 3. Ernst XIII. (*?; † 1504)
      • 4. Hector I (*?; † 1548): fathered Johann II.
        • 5. John II (*?; † 1545): fathered Ernst XV. , Hector II. And Gebhard I.
          • 8. Ernst XV. (*?; † 1551)
          • 9. Hector II (*?; † 1560): fathered Ludwig Siegmund V.
            • 13. Ludwig Siegmund V (*?; † 1574):
          • 10. Gebhard I. (*?; † around 1565)
      • 6. Adolf II (*?; † 1523): fathered Joachim Jakob
        • 11. Joachim Jakob (*?; † before 1544): fathered Adolf IV.
          • 14. Adolf IV. (*?; † 1563)
    • 7. Erwin V. (*?; † 1497): fathered Johann IV.
      • 12. Johann IV. (*?; † 1567): fathered Georg Rudolf
        • 15. Georg Rudolf (*?; † 1596): last member of the Rembda line in the male line.
b.) Blankenhain (wf. line of Heinrich VII.), extinguished in 1621
  • 1. Ludwig I (*?; † 1467): fathered Georg I and Karl I.
    • 2. George I (*?; † around 1481)
    • 3. Karl I (*?; † 1495): fathered Wolfgang, Ludwig II.
      • 4. Wolfgang ( in Blankenhain ) (*?; † 1551)
      • 5. Ludwig II. (In Kranichfeld ) (*?; † 1522): fathered Karl III., Wolf Siegmund and Ludwig III.
        • 7. Charles III. (* 1517; † 1599): begotten Volrad; inherits Rembda ; signed the Concord Formula of 1577 and the Concord Book of 1580.
          • 10. Volrad (*?; † 1627): with Count Volrad, the Blankenhain line died out in the male line in 1627.
        • 8. Wolf Siegmund (*?; † 1554): fathered Gebhart II.
          • 11. Gebhard II. (*?; † around 1575)
        • 9. Ludwig III. (*?; † 1586): signed the concord formula of 1577 and the concord book of 1580.
  • 6. Siegmund III. (in Ehrenstein) (*?; † 1519)

II.) Tonna (line of Hermann IV.), Extinguished in 1631

  • 1. Ernst VII. († 1395) († 1345): fathered Ernst IX.
    • 2. Ernst IX. (*?; † 1427): fathered Siegmund I.
      • 3. Siegmund I (*?; † 1494): fathered Siegmund II.
        • 4. Siegmund II. (*?; † 1525): fathered Ernst XIV. , Siegmund IV. , Philip and Johann III.
          • 5. Ernst XIV (*?; † 1568)
          • 6. Siegmund IV. (*?; † 1556)
          • 7. Philipp (? *, † 1549) begat George II.
            • 9. George II (*?; † 1570): fathered George III. , Philipp Ernst and Hans (Johann) Ludwig
              • 10. George III. (*?; † 1578)
              • 11. Philipp Ernst (*?; † 1619)
              • 12. Hans (Johann) Ludwig (*?; † 1631): with Count Hans (Johann) Ludwig, the Counts of Gleichen / Tonna died out in the male line in 1631.
          • 8. John III. (*?; † 1542)

coat of arms

The counts of equals

Blazon : The family coat of arms shows a leopardized, crowned, silver lion on a blue shield ; on the crowned helmet growing the lion, which is studded with three ostrich feathers in blue, silver and blue; the helmet covers are blue and silver.

Legend: The legend of a Count von Gleichen has received special attention to this day, who is said to have received the approval of a double marriage from the Pope after a crusade. The legend is attributed to Count Ernst von Gleichen (* 1160; † around 1246). A tombstone in Erfurt Cathedral is a witness to this marriage of three.

Coat of arms of the lords of equals

The lords and barons of equals

According to Johann Friedrich Gauhe, a noble branch of the von Gleichen family is said to have blossomed in the Gotha principality , which owned the Tannrode estate and, since 1380, Ingersleben . First mentioned in a document with Hermann von Glieche on August 24, 1418, who took over his wife with a court at Ingersleben . The line of trunks begins towards the end of the 15th century with Curten von Gleichen to Tannrode and Ingersleben.

Whether these gentlemen and (from 1858) barons von Gleichen were direct descendants (so Gauhe) or ministerials of the Count von Gleichen described above (who died out in the male line in 1631), who had adopted the names of their masters (which often happened) is not proven. The difference in coats of arms between the counts (silver crowned lion on a blue background) and the gentlemen (two cut, bloody bear paws on a silver shield) speaks against a split branch. Furthermore, the Knights of Gleichen did not enter into any proven dynastic marriages in the high nobility , which would have been a matter of course if they had belonged to the Count's House. Nor did they raise any inheritance claims after the counts died out in 1631. This means that legitimate descent can be ruled out in any case. However, hybrid descent is also unlikely, since such a descent would have been documented and would usually have led to a (partial) coats of arms match. Everything therefore speaks in favor of a servant relationship. The Counts of Tonna had received Gleichen Castle near Gotha in 1130 as a fief from the Archdiocese of Mainz and had been named after them since 1162. At the same time they owned several other castles and undoubtedly installed ministerials on them. In 1455 the counts moved their headquarters from Gleichen Castle back to their original ancestral seat, the chain castle in Gräfentonna. The knight family named von Gleichen first appeared in a document with Hermann von Glieche on August 24, 1418, when he was giving his wife a court in Ingersleben .

This von Gleichen family, belonging to the lower nobility, married the von Rußwurm by marriage around 1700 and named themselves from 1732 as their heirs of Gleichen called von Rußwurm . She inherited Greifenstein Castle in Bonnland (in what is now the Lower Franconian district of Bad Kissingen ) from the Rußwurm , which remained in the family until 1938. The name and coat of arms association with those of Rußwurm took place in Vienna on February 25, 1732, for Heinrich von Gleichen, Prince. Brandenburgisch-Culmbacher Oberjägermeister, son-in-law of Ernst Friedrich von Rußwurm, the last of his tribe. Since 1732, the family has therefore belonged to the Frankish imperial knighthood in the canton of Rhön-Werra . She was enrolled in the baron class in the Kingdom of Bavaria on July 27, 1858 and is still in existence today. It has a quartered coat of arms, composed of the bear paws of the Knights of Gleichen and the kneeling monk of those von Rußwurm.

Personalities

See also

literature

  • Friedrich Lucae : The Heil. Roman Empire Clock Old Graffen State. Friedrich Knochens, Frankfurt am Main, 1702
  • Johann Brandmüller: Historical and Geographical Lexicon Volume II. 1726
  • Johann Friedrich Gauhe : Genealogical-Historical Adels-Lexicon . Publisher: Johann Friedrich Gleditsch, Leipzig 1740
  • The Gotha . Genealogy. Paperback of the Freiherrlichen Häuser , Part A, 92nd year 1942, p. 134
  • Caspar Sagittarius : Thorough and detailed Historia of the Graffschaft Gleichen . Publisher: Frantz Varrentrapp, Frankfurt am Mayn 1732, Reprint Verlag Rockstuhl , Bad Langensalza 2009, ISBN 978-3-86777-092-7 ( e-copy ).
  • Max Wilberg : Regent tables , 1987 by Transpress VEB publishing house for traffic, Berlin; Unchanged photomechanical reprint of the Frankfurt / Oder 1906 edition, ISBN 3-344-00094-2
  • Gerhard Köbler : Historical lexicon of the German countries. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 7th, completely revised edition. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-54986-1 .

Web links

Commons : Same  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Guido Reinhardt: History of the market Gräfentonna. Langensalza 1892
  2. ^ Hans Eberhardt :  Gleichen, Grafen von .. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN 3-428-00187-7 , p. 444 ( digitized version ).
  3. ↑ See BSLK , p. 16 and p. 765.
  4. ↑ See BSLK , p. 16 and p. 764.
  5. ^ Johann Friedrich Gauhe: Genealogisch-Historisches Adels-Lexicon . Publisher: Johann Friedrich Gleditsch, Leipzig 1740