Count of Werl

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Coat of arms of the Counts of Werl-Arnsberg

The counts of Werl were around the year 1000, the most influential Counts in northern Germany and lived on the territory of the old city of Werl . After moving to Arnsberg, the family was called the Counts of Werl-Arnsberg, before the Counts of Arnsberg were later mentioned . Even before this transition, the counts had lost a considerable part of their former influence. In another line, the Counts of Hövel emerged from the Counts of Werl , a sideline that then went out in the years 1225/1226. The imperial counts of Rietberg also emerged from the line that died out in the male line in 1562.

Early history

The history of the Werler counts was the subject of numerous investigations from 1930, e. B. by Bollnow (1930), v. Klocke (1949), Schölkopf (1957) and Prinz (1970); but especially by Hömberg (1949, 1950, 1963, 1967) and Leidinger (1965, 1972, 1994, 2007, 2009).

Homberg took as Spitzenahn the Werler to a 850 and 860 testified Count Hermann. This is said to come from the family of Count Ricdag . In his opinion, the Counts of Werl originally came from Meschede and lived there in the Hünenburg , which was laid out as a Franconian security for the road leading from Soest to Hesse . This first Hermann's wife was an heir to the Cobbon , who in turn descended from the Saxon dux Ekbert and his wife, the Carolingian princess and later Saint Ida von Herzfeld . Leidinger cautiously agreed to Hömberg's hypotheses about the origin of the Werler family, considering it necessary to check individual aspects. Among other things, the preference for this first name in the Werler family speaks for a close relationship with Ida von Herzfeld. This would mean a family relationship with both the Carolingians and the Liudolfingers . This aristocratic origin would explain the later marriage of Hermann I to Gerberga of Burgundy .

In the 10th century several counts appear who are believed to be ancestors of the Werler family because of their names and counties. What family relationships exist between them can only be guessed. It is also unclear to what extent the Werler have mixed up with the Billungers . The same key names Hermann and Bernhard speak for this as well as the fact that in 1001 the Billung Count Liudger had a county in the Gau Westphalia . His brother, Duke Bernhard I, also exercised count rights in Westphalia, which overlapped with those of the later Werler family.

Since Johann Suibert Seibertz (1845), a Count Hermann who appeared in 913 has generally been considered the first Werler of the 10th century. In that year King Konrad I confirmed his rights to the Meschede Monastery at his request . The king calls Hermann venerabilis comes noster . The source suggests that Hermann was a supporter of Konrad and a supporter of his house. The king made sure that Hermann received relics of St. Walburga for the church of the Meschede monastery. Apparently Count Hermann intervened as Vogt of the monastery. This Hermann was probably also at the meeting of Heinrich I with the West Franconian King Karl III in 921 . present at the conclusion of the Bonn Treaty . It is possible that the same Count Hermann was already in 889 with count rights in the Osnabrück area and as Vogt of the Reichsabbey of Werden . He is believed to be the builder of Werl Castle. Seibertz considered it likely that the counts would have moved their seat to Werl because of the importance of the court, but also because of the fertility of the area.

In 947 there is a Count Heinrich in Lerigau , who could be identical to the one who had a county in the Gau Westphalia in 955. Since the name Heinrich can be found in the later generation of the Werler family, Count Heinrich is believed to be a member of the clan and possibly son of Count Hermann from 913. There is no evidence of this. Z. B. also that an heir daughter of Count Heinrich married a Werler and thereby brought the name Heinrich and the Comitate of her father into the family.

980 a Graf Bernhard is mentioned as a Graf in Westfalengau, but also in Lerigau. Since Count Heinrich already owned a county in both districts in 947 and 950 respectively, Count Bernhard is believed to be another son of Count Heinrich. In some cases it was also represented that Count Bernhard and not his presumed brother Hermann I was married to the Burgundy Princess Gerberga. After the investigations by Leidinger, however, Hermann I continued the clan.

Rulership rights

Given the sparse sources, it cannot be clarified from when which member of the clan had which influence. Overall, the Counts of Werl had an impressive area. Their counties reached from the Rothaargebirge in the south to the North Sea coast. At times they owned the high bailiwick in the diocese of Paderborn, perhaps also in the dioceses of Münster and Osnabrück. Vogteirechte existed with regard to the Reichsabtei Werden and the Reichsstift Essen and the women's monasteries Meschede , Liesborn , Freckenhorst and Oedingen . Friedrich von Werl-Arnsberg could also have converted the church in Rastede into an abbey and exercised the bailiwick. In Westphalia, the Werlers later had the right to pre-battle, i.e. a duke-like position in wartime to lead the Westphalian contingent.

Hermann I. von Werl

The first clearly attested and one of the most important bearers of the name was Hermann I (first mentioned in a document in 987). At the height of his influence, Hermann I ruled an area that included the later Duchy of Westphalia , the County of Mark (both in the Sauerland ), the south of the Münsterland and the northern part of the Duchy of Paderborn . In part, the influence extended to the area of ​​today's Schleswig-Holstein .

His marriage to Gerberga von Burgund , a daughter of King Konrad III, speaks for the important position of Hermann I. of Burgundy . Through this marriage, Count Hermann must have risen to the nobility. The couple's children are Hermann II , Rudolf (also called Ludolf) and Bernhard von Werl. All three sons acquired the title of count after taking over the inheritance.

After the death of Hermann I, Gerberga married Hermann von Schwaben . From this marriage came, among others, Gisela von Schwaben , later wife of Emperor Conrad II. This also meant that the counts were related to the Salian royal family.

Descendants of Hermann I.

The descendants include the main heir Hermann II , Rudolf von Werl and Bernhard von Werl. According to Leidinger, there are some indications that Abbess Ida / Hitda, the possible donor of the Hitda Codex , was a daughter of Hermann.

The brothers Rudolf (also called Ludolf) and Bernhard (I.) received parts of their father's property in the northeast and west. Rudolf von Werl inherited the Groningerland. He had a son named Hermann III. who married Richenza (Werl-Northeim) around 1045 . His granddaughter Oda married Udo von Stade around 1065 . Another son could have been the bishop of Paderborn Rudolf / Rotho .

Bernhard von Werl was a count on the western Hellweg and in the eastern Münsterland. It is possible that around 1027 he was also Vogt of the Essen monastery. According to research by Paul Leidinger, it is not certain whether he actually, as Albert K. Hömberg thinks, when Bernhard von Werl-Hövel was the founder of the line of the Counts of Hövel .

Hermann II.

Hermann I's successor as heir to the county was Hermann II. He inherited all of South Westphalia.

Hermann II was a political opponent of Bishop Dietrich von Münster and was captured in 1018 by Udo von Katlenburg - presumably the bailiff and a close relative (perhaps even brother) of the bishop. In this conflict, Hermann lost the bailiwick rights over the Liesborn monastery at a princes' meeting in Goslar . After his release, Hermann joined the rebellion of the Billunger and Count Palatine against the church-friendly policies of Henry II, despite his relatives with the imperial family . Claims to the Burgundian heritage probably also played a role. He was also in conflict with Archbishop Heribert of Cologne . It was also about bailiwick rights. Together with his mother Gerberga, Hermann was the founder of the Oedingen monastery , of which he was also governor.

After the death of Emperor Heinrich II, a meeting of Saxon counts took place in Werl to prepare the election of Salier Konrad as emperor. In the following years, Hermann II and his sons took part in several Saxon noble meetings. Hermann was usually named second after the Duke. Count Hermann was one of the bailiffs of the Werden monastery . After the local abbot Hettharnich complained about Hermann's interference with the emperor, the count was given, among other things, the farms near Arnsberg and other possessions; In return, the count family waived any further claims against the monastery. This made it possible to consolidate the property of the house, which had shrunk due to the division of inheritance, to some extent.

Following generations

The son Heinrich was initially the successor to Hermann II. He was Vogt of Werden Abbey and acquired the Vogtei through the Diocese of Paderborn, but played in the county alongside his brother Bernhard II , Hermann II's younger son from his second marriage to Godila von Rothenburg hardly a role itself. Bernhard built possibly the first castle in Arnsberg. Initially together with his brothers, later alone he became Hermann's successor. He was also guardian of the Paderborn Church. In contrast to his father, Bernhard II played in imperial politics under Emperor Heinrich III. hardly a role at first. Bernhard received no support from this in a dispute with the Bishop of Osnabrück . Only under Emperor Heinrich IV (1056 to 1106) was there closer contact with the imperial court again. Heinrich IV supported Bernhard in maintaining his North German possessions, which were of economic importance due to the maritime trade with England and Scandinavia . Count Bernhard was to cede the Emsgau to Adalbert von Bremen in 1062 on the orders of the emperor . Bernhard apparently also defended himself militarily, since a commander of the bishop was killed in an attempt to drive the count away. With the temporary fall of Adalbert, the Emsgau officially returned to Bernhard's possession. However, the donation to the Bremen church was confirmed again thirty years later.

Bernhard II had three sons. Konrad II. (* Around 1050) succeeded him as Count, but mainly inherited the eastern and southern parts of the area and called himself Count von Arnsberg-Werl. The second son, Heinrich II. , Was first provost of the cathedral in Goslar and from 1084 bishop of Paderborn. A third brother, Liupold , sometimes also called Ludolf, called himself Graf von Werl. Werl and other parts of the county belonged to his inheritance. Since he died childless, he bequeathed his property to the Archbishop of Cologne, Friedrich I. This also included the headquarters near Werl and the area around Hemer. Liupold had already transferred the church in Erwitte to the Patroklimünster in Soest. The reason why Liupold bequeathed his inheritance to the church and not to his brother was arguably because of conflicts with him. As a result, the Archbishops of Cologne had since then had a considerable territorial base in the Westphalian region.

The center of gravity of the county now shifted to the east with the center Arnsberg. At times the counts called themselves "von Werl-Arnsberg". Friedrich I the controversial no longer called himself Count von Werl, but Count von Arnsberg.

The territory of the counts gradually shrank to the area of ​​the later districts of Arnsberg and Meschede. Under increasing pressure from the Counts of the Mark and the Electorate of Cologne as the bearer of the title of Duke of Westphalia, the last Count Gottfried IV sold the county to the Elector of Cologne in 1369. The county became the territorial core of the Duchy of Westphalia as a neighboring country to the Electorate of Cologne.

people

See also

Remarks

  1. ^ Paul Leidinger: The Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg (approx. 980-1124): Genealogy and aspects of their political history in the Ottonian and Salian times. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia. Volume I: The Electorate of Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803. Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , p. 125
  2. ^ Paul Leidinger: The Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg (approx. 980-1124): Genealogy and aspects of their political history in the Ottonian and Salian times. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia. Volume I: The Electoral Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne's rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803. Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , p. 124
  3. ↑ Seibertz, Grafen, p. 12.
  4. ^ Paul Leidinger: The Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg (approx. 980-1124): Genealogy and aspects of their political history in the Ottonian and Salian times. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia. Volume I: The Electorate of Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne's rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803. Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , p. 132.
  5. ^ Paul Leidinger: The Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg (approx. 980-1124): Genealogy and aspects of their political history in the Ottonian and Salian times. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia. Volume I: The Electorate of Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne's rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803. Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , p. 139.
  6. ^ Paul Leidinger: The Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg (approx. 980-1124): Genealogy and aspects of their political history in the Ottonian and Salian times. In: Harm Klueting (Ed.): The Duchy of Westphalia. Volume I: The Electorate of Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803. Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , pp. 138f.
  7. ↑ Seibertz, Grafen, pp. 46–57.
  8. ↑ Viehweger, pp. 89–92, Seibertz, Grafen, pp. 58–72.

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)
  • 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: Westphalian magazine. 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: Westphalian magazine. 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: The time of the Counts of Werl (approx. 950–1124) . In: Amalie Rohrer , Hans-Jürgen Zacher (Ed.): Werl. History of a Westphalian city . (Studies and sources on Westphalian history, 31). Volume 1. Bonifatius et al., Paderborn et al. 1994, ISBN 3-87088-844-X , pp. 61-94.
  • Paul Leidinger: On the history of the castle and burgraviate Stromberg. A national festival built around 1082 in the interests of the Salian Empire. With an excursus: On aspects of the investiture dispute and the Saxon Wars in Westphalia (approx. 1070–1122) . In: Westphalian magazine. 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.
  • Paul Leidinger: The Counts of Werl and Werl-Arnsberg (approx. 980–1124). Genealogy and aspects of its political history in the Ottonian and Salic times . In: Harm Klueting , Jens Foken (ed.) The Duchy of Westphalia . Volume I: The Electoral Cologne Duchy of Westphalia from the beginnings of Cologne rule in southern Westphalia to secularization in 1803 . Aschendorff, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-402-12827-5 , pp. 119-170.
  • Paul Leidinger: From the Carolingian mission during the Staufer period, contributions to the early and high medieval history of Westphalia from 8.-13. Century . (Sources and research on the history of the Warendorf district, volume 50). District History Association Beckum-Warendorf eV, Warendorf 2012, ISBN 978-3-920836-99-7 .
  • 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, DNB 880694866 .

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