Henry VII (Waldeck)

Heinrich VII. Von Waldeck († after 1442) was Count von Waldeck zu Waldeck and several times Kurmainzer Oberamtmann in Upper and Lower Hesse from 1397 until his death .

Life

He was the second son of Count Heinrich VI. von Waldeck and Elisabeth von Berg and a feudal man.

During his father's lifetime he invaded the area of ​​the duchy of Paderborn and was accused of devastating the castle and town of Blankenrode . In 1395 he had to swear never to invade the Paderborn area again. At the same time, the Waldeckers had to cede their share in the town and castle of Liebenau to Paderborn.

After the father's death, the county of Waldeck was divided under the two sons Adolf into a Landau and Heinrich into a Waldeck line. Heinrich was the founder of the new Waldeck line from the Waldeck family . He resided at Waldeck Castle . He was married since 1398 to Margarethe von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein, niece of Archbishop Johann II of Mainz . With her he had the son Wolrad and the daughters Elisabeth and Margarethe.

On November 16, 1399 he was appointed chief magistrate and bailiff over the Mainz offices of Fritzlar , Hofgeismar , Battenberg , Rosenthal , Elenhog and Wetter . He temporarily lost this office in 1404, but was probably restored at least temporarily in 1406. Through the office his power seemed to him to be great enough to be able to break the alliances of his house with the Landgraviate of Hesse . At Pentecost 1400 he moved with a strong troop to Kassel , where he could not do anything against the city itself, but set some villages in the area on fire. A short time later, on June 5, 1400, he attacked with his people, including Friedrich III. von Hertingshausen and Konrad (Kunzmann) von Falkenberg , near Kleinenglis , south of Fritzlar, Duke Friedrich von Braunschweig , where the Duke was killed in a fierce battle. Duke Friedrich, who had just returned from the Frankfurt Fürstentag , had a good chance of succeeding after the planned deposition of King Wenzel , but Archbishop Johann II of Mainz favored Ruprecht , the Count Palatine near the Rhine . Although the new King Ruprecht I, elected soon after, had the matter investigated, Heinrich was only obliged to donate an altar with perpetual mass for the soul in the collegiate church of St. Peter in Fritzlar as atonement for the slain of the duke .

Heinrich also had violent and sometimes violent arguments with his brother Adolf. An agreement was only reached in 1421. The division of the county was then confirmed, but it was also determined that neither side could sell or pledge any part of the country without the knowledge and consent of the other side. The documents and fiefdoms that were valid for both sides were to be collected in a joint archive at Waldeck Castle . Failed fiefdoms should revert to the entire house. Likewise, the spiritual benefits should be given by both sides. The castle men and councilors should investigate and resolve any conflicts. In the following years this contract was renewed and refined.

Heinrich led numerous feuds with neighboring nobles, including the Padbergers and the Bengler Bund . The Padberg feud lasted from 1413 to 1418.

Relations with the Landgraviate of Hesse were temporarily normalized in 1402, and Heinrich even acted as a mediator for them. In 1410 he was again the top representative of Mainz in Upper and Lower Hesse. He invaded Hessian territory in 1412 and destroyed the town of Kirchhain . Landgrave Hermann succeeded in dismissing Heinrich from Mainz service for eight years. In 1420, Heinrich made an alliance with Landgrave Ludwig for life.

In 1424 he, together with his son Wolrad, pledged half of his county to Landgrave Ludwig von Hessen for 22,000 guilders for life. The landgrave reimbursed him for the sum and also received the corresponding homage from the castle and feudal men, citizens and farmers. But after the intervention of Archbishop Konrad von Mainz and Cologne Archbishop Dietrich II von Moers , who was also the administrator of the Diocese of Paderborn , Heinrich and Wolrad revoked the contract in 1426, citing a promise allegedly given to the Archbishop of Mainz earlier. Instead, they pledged half of their land to the Archbishop of Mainz for 18,000 guilders, and opened their castles to him and the Archbishop of Cologne. This was one of the two triggers of the Mainz-Hessian War of 1427 . Archbishop Konrad offered the landgrave to reimburse him for the deposit of 22,000 guilders he had paid on Waldeck, but Ludwig refused. Heinrich and his son Wolrad took an active part on the Mainz side of the war, which officially began on July 21 with the archbishop's declaration of feud. After the defeat of Mainz and the conclusion of peace in December 1427, the landgrave returned his pledge against reimbursement of the pledge amount. But as early as 1438 Heinrich was forced to give his part of the county of Waldeck to the landgrave as a fief.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 1444 is usually assumed

literature

• Adolph Theodor Ludwig Varnhagen: Basis of the Waldeck country and regent history. Vol. 2, Arolsen, 1853, pp. 18-31