Heinrich II. (Arnsberg)

Henry II. († after 1207 ) Count of Arnsberg and Count of Rietberg was co-regent with his father Henry I and at times his brother Gottfried II. During this was the real ruler of the county Arnsberg after the abdication of his father, was Heinrich probably Graf von Rietberg.

Tomb of Heinrich II and Ermengade

Life

Both brothers appeared in a document together with their father in 1175 when a house was handed over to the Liesborn Monastery . So you must have grown up by this point. In the following years he appeared in his father's documents without Gottfried. In 1179 he was named not only as his father's son, but also expressly as a count. In 1180 he was one of the pursuers of Henry the Lion. After that, in contrast to his brother, he was no longer mentioned as a participant in warlike actions. Since then, Heinrich II has mainly appeared in pious works. Together with his father and brother, he appeared around 1181 as a benefactor of Liesborn Monastery. In 1185 the three notarized the second large donation from the Count's House to the Wedinghausen Monastery .

In the same year Gottfried II reported in a document for the Scheda monastery that his father had transferred the government to him and that he made foundations for the monastery in memory of the victory over five counts.

This gives the impression that Gottfried ruled alone after the death of his father. This assumption is not entirely correct, as Henry II must have at least been involved in the government in further documents. Even if Heinrich I had given up his rule, he was present at the Reichstag held by Friedrich I in Worms in 1187 . His son Heinrich accompanied him there, but not Gottfried. The two brothers and the father then appeared together in documents until at least 1193. Afterwards there were still joint documents of the two brothers.

Although Heinrich is referred to as Count von Arnsberg in the documents, there is no doubt that his brother Gottfried was the actual ruling count in Arnsberg. After his father's abdication, Heinrich probably became Count von Rietberg. Because of his preference for the Wedinghausen Abbey, he continued to stay mainly near Arnsberg. However, a proper division of the estate had not yet taken place. This only followed in 1237.

Heinrich was married to his wife Ermengarde. Nothing is known about their family background. The number of his children is also unknown. It is only known that he had several offspring. These also scored Konrad I of Rietberg .

In 1203 Count Heinrich II donated an annual memorial for himself and his wife Ermengarde in Wedinghausen Abbey. The previous donations to Wedinghausen by father and brother are expressly confirmed in the certificate. In the certificate he is named as Count von Arnsberg, founder and son of the founder of the church in Wedinghausen. Because of his diverse donations, the Premonstratensian community there saw him as a second benefactor. In this document he donated one mark of silver annually so that the brothers should pray for him and his wife annually on certain days and after their death on the respective death day for the salvation of the couple. They also received the abbot's permission that both of them could move back to the monastery at the end of their lives if they so wished. The couple was also granted a funeral in Wedinghausen.

In 1207 he appeared for the last time as a mediator in a dispute between the citizens of the city of Arnsberg and the Meschede monastery . Nothing further is known about the date of death.

Tomb

After their death, the couple were buried in a large stone sarcophagus in the early Gothic style in the chapter house of the monastery . The count and countess are shown in life size on the cover plate. The count is shown in armor, his wife wears a precious robe. Both have folded their hands. A lion at the count's feet and a dog at the woman's feet are symbols of strength and loyalty.

The fact that both are shown in secular clothing suggests that they did not enter the monastery at the end of their lives.

The tomb bears the inscription:

"Hinricus Comes et Ermengardis Cometissa.
Quorum sunt ossa, monumenti condita fossa.
Hos Deus in rain, faciat gaudere superno.
Namque fuere loci, constants semper amici. "

The tomb was probably created during the reign of Wilhelm von Arnsberg (1313–1338).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ on this in detail: Gabriele Böhm: Medieval figural tombs in Westphalia from the beginnings to 1400. Münster a. a., 1993 Teildigitalisat

literature

• Johann Suibert Seibertz : Diplomatic family history of the old counts of Westphalia to Werl and Arnsberg . Arnsberg, 1845 (The history of the Duchy of Westphalia. First section. History of the Counts) pp. 127–133