Counts of Hövel

The Counts of Hövel were an aristocratic family whose county, located in the heart of Westphalia , exerted significant influence on the entire region since the establishment of Hövel Castle in today's Bockum-Hövel (now the municipality of Hamm ). At the time of its greatest expansion, the county of Hövel extended over the entire region south of Münster . The last count of Hövel was Friedrich von Isenberg . After his execution because of his involvement in the murder of Cologne Archbishop Engelbert I von Berg , the line of the Counts of Hövel became extinct.

history

There are two different statements in the literature about the origin of the Counts of Hövel. The first is based on a medieval spring known as the Annalista Saxo . This names a Bernhard from the family of the Counts von Werl , who had a daughter named Ida and a granddaughter named Adelheid. According to the descriptions of the Annalista Saxo, this Bernhard could be identified with Bernhard I von Werl, son of Count Hermann I von Werl , whose oldest son Hermann II von Werl was the progenitor of the Counts von Arnsberg . Bernhard I von Werl is said to have received the County of Hövel as an inheritance in 1003 and thus established the line of the Counts of Hövel. In order to be able to rule his possessions better, he had Hövel Castle built around 1003 and used it as a residence from then on. Since then he has called himself Bernhard von Werl-Hövel or Bernhard von Hövel. The granddaughter of Bernhard, Adelheid von Lauffen , finally married Adolf von Berg-Hövel from the dynasty of the Counts von Berg and brought the County of Hövel into the marriage as an inheritance.

According to recent research by Paul Leidinger , who has been dealing with the Counts of Werl for decades, there was never a Count von Hövel from the Werl family. Leidinger has found that the life data of Bernhard I. von Werl cannot or only with great effort can be merged with the information about Bernhard in the Annalista Saxo. This is different with Bernhard II von Werl . In addition, Ida von Hövel could not have been the only heir to a Count Bernhard von Werl. As the daughter of Bernhard I, she had sisters, according to the Annalista Saxo, who would have inherited in equal parts according to Saxon inheritance law. Leidinger therefore assumes a mix-up. The Bernhard named in the Annalista Saxo can in fact be identified with Bernhard II von Werl, ancestor of the Counts of Arnsberg. A county of Hövel did not initially exist; Rather, the lands were owned by the Arnsbergers. It was only when the male line of the Counts of Arnsberg died out in 1124 that Hövel came into the hands of Adolf II von Berg , who was thus also the first Count of Hövel.

It is therefore uncertain whether the county of Hövel was created around 1003 or around 1124. In 1180 it was split into its north and south of the Lippe part in the course of the Altenaische inheritance . Roughly speaking, the part to the north of the Lippe went to the Altenaisch-Märkische sideline of the Counts of Berg, the part to the south of the Lippe to the Isenberg line, which also carried on the title of Count von Hövel .

At the time of its greatest expansion, the county of Hövel was bordered by Dortmund in the west - the city of Dortmund itself was not part of its territory. In the northwest, the county extended to Westerwinkel (today located in the Ascheberg district of Herbern ) and Stockum (today part of Werne ). In the north it bordered on the dominion of Munster , so that the influence of the Höveler counts extended to Telgte and Freckenhorst . In the east, the county reached up to the possessions of Paderborn . In the south Werl and the areas around Soest (excluding the city of Soest) belonged to the sphere of influence of the Counts of Hövel.

Since Adolf II von Berg, Hövel's area of influence extended via Kamen and Unna to the Reichsstift Essen (excluding the city of Essen) and Isenberg, in the south to Altena .

The county was initially ruled from Hövel Castle . Later Eberhard I. von Berg-Altena relocated the residence to the castle Nienbrügge , which he had built and which he had built as a security post for the county of Hövel. From there he had better control over his allodes. When Hövel Castle was lost due to the Altenaische inheritance for the Isenberg part of the family who continued the title of count, the expansion of Nienbrügges as a replacement residence was significantly accelerated and promoted.

The following presentation of the various generations of the Höveler noble house is based on the conclusions drawn from the Annalista Saxo. If one joins Leidinger's research, the line of the Counts of Hövel only begins with Adolf II. Von Berg; the fourth generation of the Counts of Hövel would be the first generation in this view. Hövel Castle would also have been built much later.

Bernhard von Werl, b. around 983

Bernhard von Werl , born around 983, received all of Middle Westphalia as an inheritance after the uncertain state of research; possibly also the Reichsstift Essen . Bernhard is said to have moved to his county around the year 1003 in order to have a better overview - most of his Comitate were in this Gau. He found the most favorable point on the great military road that ran from Hellweg to the Baltic Sea, shortly after the Lippefurt in a depression in the northern hill. From here he could see the entire strand of hair. He built a castle here and only called himself Count Bernhardus de Huvili, Count of the County of Huvili, because of the hill. Count Bernhard von Hövel must have married between 1015 and 1025. His wife's name was unknown. Around the year 1020/25 his wife gave birth to a daughter. Because of the "Ida cult" prevailing at the time, he called his daughter Ida . Local home nurse Schroeder assumes that Bernhard, as was customary at the time, founded his own church to celebrate the joyous event of the birth on the hill and that this is where the origins of St. Pankratius Church in Hövel lie. Saint Pancras, one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, was highly venerated at the time. Bernhard followed the example of his grandfather. The own church was not subordinate to the bishop. Bernhard himself had to pay for the entertainment of the church and the priest. According to the architecture of the time, it must have been a small church made of wood.

Count Bernhard von Hövel stayed almost exclusively in the entourage of the Emperor and Archbishop Heribert of Cologne. He was also often to be found at Bishop Meinwerk of Paderborn. He gave the abbot of the newly founded monastery near Deutz a farm with several properties in Rhade near Altena. At the same time it is recorded in a document that he bought various farms in the Assen farmers in Lippborg and in Honsel, about 6 km from Werl.

According to Schroeder, soon after the foundation of the St. Pankratius church in Hövel, Bernhard founded another church in Herringen . This must have been around the years 1032/35. He asked the abbot of Deutz Monastery to dedicate this church. The abbot was happy to comply with this request, as Count Bernhard von Hövel had only recently given him the farm near Rhade.

First generation - Ida von Hövel, b. at 1020/25

Bernhard had no son. Through his only daughter, his property passed to other families, in particular to the Counts of Berg . His daughter Ida von Hövel must have married the nobleman Heinrich von Lauffen around the years 1050/55 . The considerable distance from Hövel Castle to the Neckar shows how far the counts traveled with their families. Perhaps, as was the custom at the time, they were traveling in the wake of the emperor, king or a bishop. Shortly after the birth of a daughter named Adelheid , her father Heinrich von Lauffen must have died; because according to the chronicle of Lauffen Castle, the corpse of the nobleman of Lauffen is said to have been eaten by mice. Schroeder assumes that for her grandfather, Count Bernhard von Hövel, the birth of Adelheid von Lauffen was another reason to build a wooden church on his land in Bockum (formerly Buchem, Bochem or Bukheim). He dedicated the church to St. Stephen, who was one of the first martyred Christians - the St. Stephen's Church in Bockum ( Bockum-Hövel district of the city of Hamm ) still testifies to this today . Stephen was highly venerated around 1050. At the same time, Bernhard brought a female order to Hövel that was not yet affiliated with any community. He settled this in today's cloister courtyard. According to the finds made, this farm is said to have been inhabited as early as Roman times; for in 1803 Roman lance tips and smaller horseshoes were found that were carried by mules. Pastor Sutthoff seems to have identified these finds. That the assumption was correct was confirmed again in 1927 by museum director Bänfer from Hamm; for bricklayers found a Roman sword and various other objects while excavating the cellar on the monastery mill. Adelheid's uncle was Bruno von Lauffen , who was archbishop in Trier. Through his mediation, the mother married Ida von Lauffen, born von Hövel, the Saxon count of Ertiniburg.

Second generation - Adelheid von Lauffen, b. around 1050/60

The granddaughter of Count Bernhard von Hövel, Adelheid von Lauffen , married Count Adolf von Berg-Hövel around 1070 , mentioned in a document as Adolf de Huvili. His father, Count Adolf Graf von Berg , was already Vogt in Deutzgau at that time, as well as Vogt von Gerresheim , Werden and Berg. After his death, Adolf von Berg-Hövel became hereditary Vogt of Deutz and through his marriage to Adelheid Herrenvogt of the Hövel Monastery and hereditary Vogt of the Reichsstift Essen and the Reichskloster Werden . Adelheid von Berg could not yet become heir to the county of Hövel, as a male descendant of the Werler counts, Count Hermann von Groningerland, was still alive. But it didn’t take long before she could inherit, because Hermann von Groningerland died childless a few years later. Now Adolf von Berg-Hövel was raised to the nobility of that von Hövel. His wife's great-grandmother was the daughter of King Konrad of Burgundy and her uncle, Bruno von Lauffen, was Archbishop of Trier. Adolf I von Berg-Hövel was very much in the company of Archbishop Anno in Cologne. In the presence of the Archbishop of Cologne, he always signed the contracts with Adolf von Hövel . In addition, Adolf was Count in Auelgau / Siegburg.

With Adelheid von Lauffen, Adolf fathered a son, Adolf I. von Berg . After the death of her husband in 1090, Adelheid remarried, namely Friedrich I. von Sommerschenburg. Depending on the source, the wedding must have taken place in 1090 or 1093. A statement according to which she is supposed to have married her first husband in 1090 and her second in 1120 is obviously incorrect, since her first husband was no longer alive in 1090. Rather, 1120 is the date of death of Friedrich, her second husband.

Third generation - Adolf I. von Berg, b. around 1078

The next count of Hövel was Adolf I von Berg . He was married to Adelheid von Kleve, daughter of Count Rütger II. With her Adolf I fathered three sons, namely Adolf II von Berg , Everhard von Berg and Bruno II von Berg . But already after the birth of his third child, Adolf I von Berg died.

With the marriage of his mother Adelheid von Lauffen to Adolf von Berg-Hövel , this line of the former Counts of Werl and Hövel merged into the line of the Counts of Berg - Adolf I is considered to be the founder of the Berger counts. The Werler Counts are thus the ancestors of the Counts of the Mark , the later founders of the Grafschaft Mark and the city of Hamm .

Fourth generation - Adolf II. Von Berg, b. around 1095

Adolf II von Berg (* around 1095 ; † October 12, 1170 in Odenthal - Altenberg ) was the son of Adolf I von Berg (also called Adolf I de Monte ) and ruled the county of Berg from 1115 to 1160 . He was mentioned for the first time in 1115 in deeds and documents. At that time he was Count and Vogt of the Benedictine Abbey in Werden and was around 20 years old. In 1120 he married the Count von Arnsberg's daughter Adelheid and thus consolidated his property in Westphalia. According to Leidinger's research, it was this connection to the Arnsberg family that made Adolf II part of Hövel's legacy. Adolf concluded his second marriage around 1127 with a niece of the Archbishop of Cologne, Friedrich I. von Schwarzenburg . Adolf II was the founder of Burg Castle . In 1133 he handed over the old ancestral castle of the Counts of Berg, Berge Castle in Odenthal-Altenberg, to the Cistercian Order . In 1138 he was Vogt of Siegburg Abbey . He was also Vogt of Werden, Dünnwald, Deutz and Cappenberg as well as the properties of the cathedral foundation on the right bank of the Rhine. The control of the trade routes between Cologne and Dortmund as well as the silver wealth of the Bergisches Land, which is documented by coinage from the second third of the 11th century, was of great economic and political importance for the county of Berg . Adolf II von Berg also had coins struck in Wildberg, Bensberg and Siegburg. Like other German princes, he took part in the crusades; his son Adolf fell before Damascus in 1148 . In 1152 he had Altena Castle expanded. In 1160 he gave up the offices and became a monk in Altenberg. He most likely died on October 12, 1170 and was first buried in the Markuskapelle, Altenberg's oldest building from 1125. After the transept of Altenberg Cathedral was completed, the bones were transferred to the cathedral for the funeral of Provost Konrad in 1313.

The sons Eberhard I von Berg-Altena († 1180) and Engelbert I von Berg († 1189) now divided the territory between themselves. This also included the county of Hövel, whose Count Adolf had been since 1128.

Adolf's other sons held ecclesiastical offices: Friedrich II. Von Berg was Archbishop of Cologne from 1156 to 1158 , Bruno III. von Berg was Archbishop of Cologne from 1191 to 1193, and Adolf was abbot of Werden monastery from 1160 to 1174.

Fifth generation - Eberhard I. von Berg-Altena, b. around 1130

Eberhard I von Berg-Altena , born around 1130 and died on January 23, 1180, was the son of Count Adolf II von Berg and Irmgard von Wasserburg. His brother was Count Engelbert I von Berg († 1189), with whom he was in a long dispute. He was married to Adelheid von Cuyk-Arnsberg. His children were Count Adolf von Berg-Altena, Archbishop Adolf von Altena (* 1157, † 1220), Count Arnold von Altena (* approx. 1150, † 1209), Count Friedrich von Berg-Altena (* 1173, † 1198) and his daughter Oda († 1224), married to Count Simon von Tecklenburg .

Eberhard von Berg was probably the builder of the first Nienbrügge castle and Count von Hövel since 1166.

Sixth generation - Arnold von Altena, b. before 1150

Count Arnold von Altena (* probably before 1150; † after 1206, probably 1209) was the son of Eberhard I von Berg-Altena . Together with his brother, the Archbishop of Cologne, Adolf I , he had Isenburg near Hattingen built and owned many properties. Arnold was the brother of Count Friedrich von Berg-Altena (* 1173, † 1198), another son of Eberhard I von Berg-Altena and father of Count Adolf I von der Mark . It was Friedrich who had Oberhof Mark expanded to become Burg Mark for the benefit of his son .

After the death of his father Eberhard, the county was split up as part of the Altenaische inheritance. Arnold and his brother Friedrich von Altena divided the entire property between themselves. The relationship between the brothers does not seem to have been completely free of tension. According to Uta Vahrenhold-Huland, Friedrich von Altena was the initiator of the division of the estate, of which there is no example in Westphalia. In contrast to the Berg-Altenaische territorial division of 1161, this is a mixture division. Injustices , allodes and fiefdoms were separated - with unusual accuracy for the circumstances at the time - according to the following principles of division:

Both brothers had a common, indivisible right to the same object.
Both brothers had separate rights to the same property.
Both brothers had different goods or rights in the same place.
Both brothers had rights and possessions in neighboring towns.

According to this mode of division, the division of the County of Hövel also went to work, which, like the counties of Bochum and Altena, was split up. The Großgrafschaft Hövel consisted of three Comitaten, the counties Warendorf, Ahlen and Unna. Warendorf and Ahlen were north of the Lippe in the Diocese of Münster, while the Comitat Unna was south of the Lippe. The comitate were now divided between the brothers. The Go Warendorf went to Arnold, the Go Telgte went to Friedrich.

In the case of Ahlen Comitat, the Go Rinkerode, which also contained the old ancestral castle Hövel, which had previously been in Arnold's possession, came to Friedrich von Altena. The Go Ahlen was assigned to Arnold. When the Comitat Unna was divided, Arnold received the Go Benker Heide, Friedrich the Go Unna. In Go Benker Heide, directly on the Lippe, only a few kilometers from his former Hövel Castle, was Nienbrügge.

The Altenaische division was not a process that was carried out in one go, but probably lasted until the 1990s. When Friedrich von Altena died in 1199, however, it must have been irreversible. Otherwise Friedrich's son, Count Adolf I von Altena, who later became Adolf I von der Mark , would hardly have been able to inherit the father's inheritance without being contradicted.

Although Arnold and Friedrich owned their ancestral castle Altena as a fiefdom of Cologne, both in equal parts, Arnold withdrew from it early on. He did not sell his share to his brother, but to his liege lord, Archbishop Philipp von Heinsberg. After Philip's death, the portion of the castle was returned to him until he sold it to his brother Adolf von Altena, the former Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Westphalia, in 1200. The sale of his share in the castle can possibly be seen as a hostile act against his brother, as the archbishop lent the share to strangers who now moved into the castle next to Friedrich. It is also conceivable, however, that the archbishop was the actual initiator of the Altenaische inheritance, in order to prevent the possibility of a great territorial rule in his duchy in the beginning. So he could have forced Arnold into the sale.

As a consequence, Arnold had Nienbrügge Castle and Isenburg expanded or built.

Count Arnold von Hövel and Altena had nine sons who all wanted to be looked after. He understood, however, that six sons took up the spiritual profession - three became prince-bishops and three provosts or canons. The other three became secular counts, namely the eldest and the two youngest sons. The youngest, called Wilhelm Graf von Isenberg, inherited Isenberg Castle and died as a single. Adolf von Altena married into the von Arnsberg-Holte family and called himself Graf von Holte. Eberhard inherited the County of Altena and died unmarried in 1209.

Seventh generation - Friedrich von Isenberg, b. before 1193

As a result, Arnold's second eldest son, Friedrich von Isenberg , became the heir of his father's property, in particular the city and castle of Nienbrügge . Friedrich, until then canon of Cologne, resigned himself and took up his legacy as Count von Isenberg-Nienbrügge-Hövel. Friedrich remained a follower of the Guelph emperor Otto IV until at least 1212, possibly 1214 , until Otto was defeated by the Hohenstaufen king Friedrich II in the fight for the imperial crown and Count Friedrich von Altena, like many nobles, changed fronts. This different positioning of the nobles created unfavorable starting conditions for Friedrich in the later disputes between the nobles who were originally loyal to the Guelph and the Archbishop of Cologne, who turned to Friedrich the Staufer.

In 1214 Friedrich von Isenberg married Sophia von Limburg, the daughter of Walram III. (Count of Luxembourg and from 1221 Duke of Limburg ad Maas).

Arnold von Altena's son Friedrich von Isenberg went down in history as the murderer of Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne , who, on the orders of the Pope and with the approval of the Emperor, was supposed to prevent Frederick's blackmail against the Reichsstift Essen.

The line of the Counts of Hövel ended with Friedrich von Isenberg . Woven for his part in the murder of Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne , his possessions were divided among other nobles.

Count Adolf I von der Mark deserves a special mention here, who dragged Nienbrügge and subsequently founded the city of Hamm . The remaining possessions of the County of Hövel were incorporated into the Prince Diocese of Münster under the reign of Prince Bishop Count Dietrich von Altena. Since the prince-bishop exercised the jurisdiction over the region, Adolf I practically had no power of his own in the areas north of the Lippe and therefore gave up the rule there completely.

Incidentally, the rulership of those of Berg-Altena - laboriously divided in the years after 1180 - was now again in one hand. This is the beginning of County Mark .

For the Counts of Hövel see also

Individual evidence

^ Paul Leidinger: The time of the counts of Werl (approx. 950–1124) . In: Amalie Rohrer / Hans-Jürgen Zacher (eds.): Werl. History of a Westphalian City, Volume 1. Paderborn 1994, ISBN 3-87088-844-X .
↑ Seibertz: Landes- und Rechtsgeschichte, p. 126 f.

literature

Hermann Bollnow : The Counts of Werl. Genealogical research on the history of the 10th to 12th centuries . Ostsee-Druck und Verlag, Stettin 1930 (= dissertation, University of Greifswald; partial online edition )
Albert K. Hömberg : County, Free County, Gografschaft . Aschendorff, Münster in Westphalia 1949.
Albert K. Hömberg: History of the comités of the Werler count house . In: Westfälische Zeitschrift , Vol. 100, 1950, ISSN 0083-9043 , pp. 9-134.
Friedrich von Klocke : The Counts of Werl and the Empress Gisela. Studies on the history of the 10th and 11th centuries with an excursus on medieval genealogy. In: Westfälische Zeitschrift , Vol. 98/99, 1949, ISSN 0083-9043 , pp. 67-111.
Paul Leidinger : Investigations into the history of the counts of Werl. A contribution to the history of the High Middle Ages . Association for History and Archeology of Westphalia Department Paderborn, Paderborn 1965 (= revised dissertation, University of Münster 1963).
Paul Leidinger: On the history of the castle and burgraviate Stromberg. A state festival built around 1082 in the Salian imperial interest with an excursus: On aspects of the investiture dispute and the Saxon Wars in Westphalia (approx. 1070–1122) , In: Westfälische Zeitschrift , Vol. 157, 2007, ISSN 0083-9043 , pp. 9–36.
Paul Leidinger: Westphalia and the Salians. A landscape close to the king in the Salier period and especially in the investiture dispute by the Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg . In: History, Politics and Their Didactics 35, 2007, ISSN 0343-4648 , pp. 231–237.
Johann Suibert Seibertz : State and legal history of the Duchy of Westphalia . Volume 1, Section 1: Diplomatic family history of the old Counts of Werl and Arnsberg . Ritter, Arnsberg 1845.
Willi E. Schroeder: Two districts introduce themselves. Bockum and Hövel. A home book . WE Schroeder, Hamm 1980.
Reinhold Stirnberg: Before the Märker came . Series of essays in Active Seniors , Issues 55–63.

Web links

[1] Paul Leidinger: The time of the counts of Werl (approx. 950–1124) . In: Amalie Rohrer / Hans-Jürgen Zacher (eds.): Werl. History of a Westphalian City, Volume 1. Paderborn 1994, ISBN 3-87088-844-X .

[2] Seibertz: Landes- und Rechtsgeschichte, p. 126 f.