Heinrich I. (Arnsberg)

Heinrich von Arnsberg (* around 1128 ; † June 4, 1200 in Arnsberg ) was regent of the county of Arnsberg from about 1154 to 1185 .

Origin and family

Count Heinrich I as the founder of the Wedinghausen Monastery (Baroque portrait from the 17th century)

Heinrich was the son of Count Gottfried I von Cuyk and Ida von Werl-Arnsberg , the heir to Count Friedrich I. He had four children with his wife Ermengard. The daughter Adelheid was the abbess of the women's monastery in Meschede . A second daughter with an unknown name married Thiemo II. Count von Soest-Hoenrode (elsewhere an Otto von Bentheim is mentioned). In addition there was the first-born son, called Heinrich II . This was also variously referred to as the Count of Arnsberg. The actual inheritance as the ruling count, however, went to the second son, who later became Gottfried II .

First years of reign

In 1145, while his father was still alive, Heinrich led a feud with Count Volkwin von Schwalenberg-Waldeck . The background was that the residents around the Obermarsberg monastery had rebelled against the abbot there. While he made an alliance with the Waldecker, the residents were supported by Heinrich, to whom and his troops they opened the gates. Heinrich's aim was to bring the strategically important settlement on the site of the old Eresburg into his possession. The plans came to nothing after the opponents stormed the fortifications and forced Heinrich to withdraw.

Like his father, Heinrich stayed at the side of the emperors for the next few years. When Friedrich Barbarossa was in Soest in April 1152 , Henricus comes de Arnesberg was in his vicinity , and in the same year his brother Friedrich was in the imperial court camp in Cologne . In addition, the count could also be found in the vicinity of Archbishop Rainald von Dassel and his relative Henry the Lion .

Consequences of fratricide

However, with the murder of his brother, he fell out of favor with the princes. The brother, also named Heinrich, may have made inheritance claims to the county of Rietberg as an independent rule. His brother had him captured and imprisoned until his death in 1165.

The Archbishop of Cologne and Henry the Lion (in his capacity as Duke of Saxony ) appeared as avengers. Other bishops of Westphalia joined them. Together they besieged Arnsberg Castle in 1166 . This was conquered and destroyed.

The count escaped and managed to assert his rule by self-humiliation in front of the Archbishop of Cologne. Count Heinrich had to make considerable concessions to the archbishop and was, if not de jure, de facto a vassal of the prince of the church. One of the positive consequences of the murder for the region was the Wedinghausen Premonstratensian Monastery, founded in atonement around 1170 .

Limits to independence

At first, this changed little about Heinrich's violent policies. In 1172 he had his son-in-law arrested, who also made certain demands. Only after he had promised not to ask for anything more than the dowry was he released. The fact that Heinrich described himself in a document from 1175 as " by God's grace Count of Arnsberg " also speaks for the exaggerated claim to power .

However, developments that were detrimental to the future development of the county occurred during Heinrich's time. As a result of the conflict with Frederick I, Henry the Lion lost the Duchy of Saxony. As the Duchy of Westphalia , parts of it fell to the Elector of Cologne . Unlike the Saxon dukes, who had hardly interfered in the rule of the counts and other nobles, the archbishops in Westphalia began to establish their own territorial rule. This increased the pressure of the archbishopric on the county of Arnsberg in the medium term, especially since the bishops had fortified castles and cities built on the borders. Even if the county of Arnsberg was able to assert itself, the title of duke gave the Cologne bishops considerable rights within the Arnsberg territory. For example, they were able to prohibit the establishment of new castles and city foundations in order to maintain peace. The Gelnhausen document , in which Henry the Lion lost his ducal rights, was also sealed by Count Heinrich. He even supported the Archbishop of Cologne in the following years when Henry the Lion refused to accept the conditions.

Last years

In 1185 Count Heinrich donated considerable property to the Wedinghausen Monastery, such as the oak wood, which was directly adjacent to the monastery, the Evenho court, the Rumbeck court and other estates. At the same time he transferred the rule to his son Gottfried. In 1187 Heinrich was present at the Reichstag in Worms and served Emperor Friedrich I as a witness when issuing certificates. Heinrich later entered the monastery he founded as a lay brother and died there on June 4, 1200.

literature

• Karl Féaux de Lacroix : History of Arnsberg. HR Stein-Verlag, Arnsberg 1895, pp. 23-28 ( ULB Münster ) (reprint: Stein, Werl 1983, ISBN 3-920980-05-0 ).