Heinrich, Count of Hamburg

Heinrich, Count of Hamburg (* 1035 ; † on October 31, after 1093 ) administered the Billungian counties in northern Elbe as Count of Hamburg .

Possible parents of Count Heinrich von Hamburg

Live and act

Heinrich von Hamburg was possibly born out of wedlock to canon Rikquur from the Heeslingen Abbey . This could have been a Billungerin. His grandparents would then have been St. Emma von Lesum and the Billunger Count Liudger († 1011). The birth father is unknown, but could have been an Udone. The illegitimate birth triggered a decade-long legal dispute with the Archdiocese of Bremen . After Rikquur had ceded parts of their inheritance in Stade and Dithmarschen to the church in 1059 , Archbishop Adalbert von Bremen decided not to pursue the matter. Since Heinrich von Hamburg was allowed to marry and was refractory, either the Pope or Archbishop Adalbert, representing the Pope in the north, should have given him a dispensation .

Ordulf von Sachsen was one of Heinrich von Hamburg's alleged cousins . He had the New Castle built on the Alster around 1060 or an existing ring wall re-fortified. Shortly after 1059 Ordulf handed over the rule of the Billunger north of the Elbe to Heinrich von Hamburg, who chose the Neue Burg as his official residence. In 1100 his son Gottfried von Hamburg described his father's work in a dedication document in the festival gospel book of Hamburg Cathedral . Heinrich donated churches and relics. In addition, he had shown himself to be "very glorious" militarily.

There is evidence of Heinrich von Hamburg's participation in campaigns in 1066, 1069 and 1072. He led one of three armies in the Saxon Wars of 1073/74. He fought both against Henry IV and against the Abodrites . In July 1073 he was one of the ten leading princes and eight bishops from Saxony who, allegedly supported by 60,000 people, negotiated with Heinrich IV near Hötensleben in order to obtain the release of Magnus of Saxony . A document from the Bishop of Verden from 1075/76 names Heinrich as a witness next to the bailiff Count Hermann .

Like his cousins ​​Magnus and Hermann, he probably switched to the Salian king in January 1080 . Since then, no leading member of the Billunger ranks has fought against the king. In 1087/88 Heinrich took part in a court day in Achim with the title “Count of Hamburg” . The court tried against Gerhard von Stumpenhusen for alleged breach of the peace. Heinrich took part in the negotiations as the first "Knight of the Duke".

Heinrich von Hamburg had a long-lasting friendship with Heinrich von Alt-Lübeck , whose godfather he was probably, and his father Gottschalk . By sponsoring Heinrich von Hamburg and Prince Gottschalk, the Billunger, Udonen and Nakonids worked together for four generations , which led to the victory in the battle of Schmilau in 1093. It is possible that Heinrich was personally involved in the battle he won. Heinrich von Hamburg and his wife Margareta von Loewen were buried in Hamburg's Mariendom between 1094 and 1099.

The suffix “von Hamburg” can only be found in a single document from 1087/88. Since eight other sites refer to him as "Count Heinrich", it can be assumed that he was the most important person in the ducal family after Ordulf, Count Hermann and Duke Magnus.

literature

• Gerrit Aust: Heinrich, Count of Hamburg . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 5 . Wallstein, Göttingen 2010, ISBN 978-3-8353-0640-0 , p. 176-177 .
• Dieter Riemer : The canon Rikquur - a Billungerin? . Jahrbuch der Männer vom Morgenstern 96 (2016) pp. 13–40.