Cappenberg (noble family)
The Counts of Cappenberg were an important medieval noble family with a focus on Westphalia and possessions on the Lower Rhine , in Swabia and in the Wetterau . The brothers Gottfried and Otto von Cappenberg donated their property to found the Premonstratensian monasteries Varlar , Cappenberg and Ilbenstadt .
Early history
Only a few generations of the family are really documented. In addition to a few scattered documented sources, knowledge about the family is based in particular on the vites of Gottfried (II.) And Otto von Cappenberg.
Tradition has it that the family descended from the family of the Saxon Duke Widukind . After his submission, he married one of his sons to Imenza, a niece of Charlemagne . This is not really verifiable. The later claim that there was a relationship with the Ottonians , whose progenitor Liudolf is said to have had his seat at Castle Cappenberg afterwards, is also unproven .
After all, an Imenza is buried in Xanten . However, the grave dates from the 11th century. The Viten report that through Imenza the possessions near Wesel came to the family. She also donated the Dorsten and Schwerte farms to the Xanten monastery . Until the end of the monastery, the canons commemorated Imenza with a solemn feast. This Imenza is equated with a Reginmuod in later sources. This is supported by the Cappenberg tradition, there is a document from the time of Bishop Siegfried von Münster (1022-1032), in which the bishop confirms the foundation of seven churches to a lady of the same name and her daughter, which are in the area of interest of the later Cappenbergers lay. These were Varlar , Appelhülsen , Bentlage , Coerde , Ichter (today Capelle ), Handorf and Uentrop an der Lippe. The later Cappenberg Abbey was proven to have possessions in at least some of the towns through the donors. A Gottfried and a Hermann are named as witnesses. Both names came from the Cappenbergers. The Imenza buried in Xanten could therefore actually have been an ancestor or a member of the Cappenberg family.
It was assumed, based on the neighborhood, that the Cappenbergers and the Counts of Ravensberg had common ancestors. But this also remains unclear.
Generation succession
Three generations are really clear. Hermann von Cappenberg was married to a Gerberga von Hüneburg. This probably comes from the family of the Counts von Blieskastel . The marriage produced three sons. The documentary evidence for Hermann is sparse. It is unclear whether he is Count Hermann in a document from Heinrich IV. From 1065. It is also not clear whether the mention of a deceased Count Hermann in 1082 in the Iburg Annals refers to the Cappenberger.
Gottfried (I.) was the main heir. He was married to Beatrix von Hildrizhausen. Their grandfather Otto von Schweinfurt was Duke of Swabia around 1050 . Through this marriage there were family ties to the Sali and Staufers .
From the marriage Gottfried (II.), Otto and two sisters emerged. One sister was called Beatrix . A second was Gerbergis . She was kidnapped and married by Bernher von Erprath . The life of Gottfried (I.), apart from the vitae of his sons, is only documented in three documents, the last of which is dated to the year 1105. He is referred to as a count.
Gottfried (I.) died young. Borckhorst assumes that he is to be equated with a count who died in 1106, whom the Paderborn annals call. It is also possible that he did not fall until 1115 in the Battle of the Welfesholz , as Grundmann suspects. His widow Beatrix married Heinrich von Rietberg , a younger brother of Count Friedrich von Arnsberg . The daughter Elika, who emerged from this marriage, married Count Egilmar von Oldenburg .
Gottfried (II.) Married the daughter Ida / Jutta of Count Friedrich von Arnsberg. With his death, the county of Arnsberg would have come into the hands of the Cappenbergers. This would have meant a strong concentration of power in the hands of the Cappenbergers.
Possessions and functions
During this time the Cappenbergers were among the most important Westphalian noble families. Their castle, located on a hill, was able to control large parts of the Westphalian plains as far as Dortmund . The counts also had other rights in other areas, such as on the Lower Rhine near Wesel, in the Wetterau near Friedberg and in Swabia. The background to the widely scattered possessions was the fact that they were related to other important families.
In Swabia, the castles Hildrizhausen (near Böblingen ) and Kräheneck (near Pforzheim ) with numerous ministerials and 2000 Hufen land belonged to the Cappenberg family. This property complex goes back to the legacy of Beatrix von Hildrizhausen. It is less clear how the property in the Wetterau came to the family. The estates probably came to the family in the 11th century and were in their possession for at least two generations.
The possessions in Westphalia can be derived from the possessions of the later Varlar and Cappenberg monasteries. Coesfeld and possessions in Hamminkeln north of Wesel also belonged to the property around Varlar . The possessions of the later Cappenberg Abbey were still scattered. These included the farms of Werne , Netteberge , Alstedde and Heil . These were located near Cappenberg Castle. There were also farms in Mengede , Coerde , Saerbeck and Wessum . Some of these were located far from Cappenberg. Other possessions were in Hilbeck , Werne- Langern and Wethmar . Hilbeck came into the possession of the Cappenbergers through the marriage of Gottfried (II.) To the Count's daughter from Arnsberg. Apparently there was an intensive holdings around Cappenberg and further free float. Overall, the southern Lippe formed the border of the Cappenberg area of influence, but also partially beyond.
There is little evidence of the public work of the counts and the role of their county before the time of Gottfried (II.). Gottfried (I.) accepted holdings for the Werden monastery , thus officiating as a representative of the monastery bailiff. Based on the possessions, the county of Cappenberger is to be assumed north of the Lippe and south and west of Munster . Apart from over 100 ministerials, vassals were probably the noblemen of Horstmar . Possibly Dülmen was also in the county.
End of the family
Gottfried (II.) Initially sided with Heinrich V , but later switched to the camp of the emperor's opponents. At the side of Lothar von Supplingenburg he was involved in the conquest and destruction of Münster in order to reinstate the expelled Bishop Dietrich .
Out of repentance, Gottfried founded the Cappenberg Monastery in 1122 and given the castle and the properties belonging to it. The Wetterau property gradually passed to the Ilbenstadt monastery, also donated by the Cappenbergers in 1122. The Cappenbergers donated Varlar monastery in 1123/24 from the surrounding property.
The property in Swabia was sold to Duke Friedrich von Swabia around 1124 in connection with the entry into the order of the brothers Gottfried and Otto . Possibly in connection with this Otto became godfather of the future emperor Friedrich Barbarossa . A reliquary cross comes from the sale, which Otto and the Cappenberger Barbarossakopf bequeathed to the Cappenberg monastery.
He subordinated the numerous ministerials to the Bishop of Munster . He himself later entered the monastery. He also made his brother and sisters give up worldly life. His wife Jutta von Arnsberg complied only reluctantly. After Gottfried's death, she married Gottfried von Cuyk and thus became the ancestor of the younger line of the Counts of Arnsberg.
literature
- Herbert Grundmann : Gottfried von Cappenberg. In: Westphalian pictures of life. Vol. 8, 1959, ZDB -ID 222275-9 , pp. 1–16 (also as a special print: Aschendorff, Münster 1959, digitized version (PDF; 942 kB) ).
- Wolfgang Bockhorst: The Counts of Cappenberg and the beginnings of Cappenberg Abbey. In: Irene Crusius , Helmut Flachenecker (ed.): Studies on the Premonstratensian Order (= publications of the Max Planck Institute for History. 185 = Studies on Germania Sacra. 25). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-525-35183-6 , pp. 57-74.