Henry III. from Kuenring

Henry III. von Kuenring (* around 1185; † around 1233) belonged to the ministerial family of the Kuenringer in the Duchy of Austria . He and his older brother Hadmar III. were important members of the Austrian gentry who exercised important offices under the dukes from the house of the Babenbergs and who owned extensive estates in Lower Austria in the Wachau and the Waldviertel . In the popular tradition they are known as robber barons , with the designation " The dogs of Kuenring ".

Life

Henry III. was born as the son of Hadmar II and Eufemia von Mistelbach in the 80s of the 12th century and appears in the sources from 1204 onwards. He and his older brother Hadmar III. live on as robber barons with the nickname " The Dogs of Kuenring " in the legend and have shaped the image of the Kuenringer for centuries. Under their father, the Kuenringers had risen to become the leading ministerial family in the state, which was wealthy with dominance in the Wachau between Aggstein and Dürnstein and in the Waldviertel with the center of Weitra . After the death of their father in 1217, Heinrich and his brother Hadmar expanded this important position. While his father was still alive, he married Adelheid von Falkenstein-Neuburg, who came from a count's family .

Heinrich, who like his brother to the closest circle around Duke Leopold VI. counted, had been hereditary marshal since 1228 and the duke entrusted him with rulership of the country several times when he was absent. In 1226/27, Leopold gave him watch over his country (" custodia terrae suae ") and when the duke stayed in Italy in 1229/30 , Heinrich was Verweser of the country (" rector totius Austriae ").

As Leopold VI. died suddenly in 1230 during an attempt to mediate between Emperor Friedrich II and the Pope , the nobility, led by the Kuenringer brothers , rose up against their young successor Friedrich II. The background to this uprising was the demand for confirmation of the rights of the ministerials, such as it was already regulated in the Georgenberger Handfeste for the Styrian ministerial. Despite the defeat of the rebels and the loss of their seats in power, the Kuenringers' power base was not seriously damaged. In 1232, when his brother was already dead, Heinrich von Kuenring was called Marshal again.

Until his death he tried to make amends for the damage done to the monasteries, returned the goods to Göttweig and Melk and issued Zwettl with a mortgage note. Nevertheless, the Zwettler monks had bad memories of him and his brother.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Uprising of the nobility against Frederick II of Austria
2. ↑ Henry III. von Kuenring in the Lower Austrian Chronicle , accessed on August 16, 2016