Limburg succession dispute

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The Limburg succession dispute was a political conflict between 1283 and 1289, which strongly influenced the further development of the Rhineland and Westphalia.

Starting position

When Duke Walram V of Limburg , a brother of Count Adolf IV. Von Berg , died in 1280 without male descendants, her husband, Count Rainald I von Geldern, succeeded his daughter Irmgard von Limburg . This fiefdom transition, as in a kunkellee , was confirmed by the German King Rudolf von Habsburg . When Irmgard died before her husband in 1283, Adolf V. von Berg objected to this inheritance despite the confirmation of the fief for Rainald von Geldern. For his part, he made inheritance claims to the Duchy of Limburg. However, there was with Count Heinrich VI. von Luxemburg and Walram von Valkenburg had other relatives from the house of Limburg , who could also make inheritance claims.

Foundations of the conflict

Formally, the conflict was about the inheritance of the Duchy of Limburg. The dispute, however, basically concerned the territorial order in Lower Lorraine with the Rhineland and Westphalia . In 953 Otto the Great gave both the Archdiocese of Cologne and the Duchy of Lorraine to his brother Brun . From that time on, the Archbishop of Cologne was basically also the secular representative of the German King in the areas of Kurköln . He gave individual areas as fiefs to his vassals. Conrad III. extended the episcopal rights in the "ducatus Coloniensis" 1151, along with other rights, to include the right to fortify places in the area under control of Kurköln. In the 12th and 13th centuries, some of his tenants tried to break away from the suzerainty of the Archbishop of Cologne. In addition, the originally strong imperial power of the German kings became significantly weaker during this period. As a result, the support of the ecclesiastical dukes by the king in disputes was reduced. Both the Counts of Berg in the Rhineland and the Counts of the Mark in Westphalia wanted to take advantage of this situation to increase their power and gain independence from the Archbishop.

John I of Brabant, for his part, endeavoredto enlargehis sphere of influence to the east with the Duchy of Limburg and areas on the Meuse . These areas were of interest due to their economic development with a high tax revenue. This ledto constant disputes,especially with the Bishop of Liège , as the Dukeclaimedbenefices in the area of ​​the Diocese of Liège . He therefore used the efforts of the mountain people for his goals and bought Adolf V's inheritance claims in 1283. In addition, with great diplomatic skill it was possible to win the Bishop of Liège as a supporter for the claims to Limburg, although he was actually his opponent. On October 20, 1283 a corresponding alliance contract was concluded between the duke and the bishop.

Since Cologne's Archbishop Siegfried von Westerburg was against an increase in power for the Grafschaft von Berg - the expansion of its own supremacy in the Rhineland was thereby hindered - he raised an objection to the inheritance claim. This resulted in the Limburg succession dispute over the Duchy of Limburg. Adolf V saw no way of successfully enforcing his claims. He therefore sold his inheritance claims to Duke John I of Brabant. The claim by Brabant was rejected by Kurköln for the same reasons as that of Berg . Two groups formed in this dispute with the following main parties:

On the side of Kurköln Archbishop Siegfried von Westerburg with the allies Count Reinald I. von Geldern, Count Heinrich VI. von Luxemburg, Count Adolf von Nassau and Count Dietrich von Altena-Isenberg .

On the opposite side were Duke Johann I von Brabant with Count Adolf V. von Berg, Count Eberhard I von der Mark , Count Walram von Jülich and the Cologne citizenship and nobles who wanted to separate from the electorate, as well as Bergische farmers.

course

The warlike turmoil that broke out especially in the Duchy of Limburg after 1283 ended with the Battle of Worringen in 1288 north of Cologne . It was one of the largest medieval knight battles in the area of ​​Lower Lorraine and the Rhineland with around 4500 to 6100 knights plus a large number of unmounted fighters. Kurköln and its allies were defeated and the archbishop was taken prisoner. The archbishop was only released after signing the atonement contract of May 19, 1289 and paying a large ransom to Count Adolf V. von Berg.

Results

In the treaty of October 15, 1289, Reinald von Geldern renounced Limburg. After another dispute with Walram von Valkenburg about the duchy, this was legally united with the duchy of Brabant with the loan from King Adolf von Nassau in 1292. It then remained under the sovereignty of Brabant until 1406.

This defeat of Kurköln and its allies led to many other changes in Lower Lorraine, the Rhineland and Westphalia. Some examples of this:

  • Eberhart I. and with it the "Mark" became independent of Kurköln, which renounced its responsibility for the granting of feudalism
  • Adolf V consolidated and expanded the power of the Counts of Berg in the Rhineland and limited the power of Kurköln there; the fortifications of some castles on the left bank of the Electoral Cologne were demolished
  • Cologne became a Free Imperial City , even if this was not formally confirmed by the German King until 1476; the archbishop had to give up his residence in the city and this no longer legally belonged to the electorate of Cologne.

See also

Remarks

  1. ↑ For the power constellation before the battle of Worringen see: Irmgard Hantsche: Atlas zur Geschichte des Niederrheins . Cartography by Harald Krähe. Bottrop / Essen: Verlag Peter Pomp, 1999 (series of publications by the Niederrhein Academy, vol. 4), p. 32f
  2. ↑ Anna-Dorothee Brincken in: BDLG, Volume 114 , 1978 , p. 243.
  3. ↑ Klaus Flink in: BDLG, Volume 120 , 1984 , p 158th
  4. ↑ Wilhelm Janssen in: BDLG, Volume 120 , 1988 , p 407th
  5. ^ Jean-Louis Kupper in: BDLG, Volume 121 , 1989 , pp. 87 to 97.
  6. ^ Jean-Louis Kupper in: BDLG, Volume 121 , 1989 , p. 91.
  7. ↑ William Janssen in: BDLG, Volume 120 , 1988 , p 432nd
  8. ↑ A more detailed list of those involved is given under the Battle of Worringen
  9. ↑ Under “Participants in the Battle of Worringen” Ulrich Lehnart, in: “Die Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte”, Volume 124, 1988, pp. 135 to 185 gives a detailed list with the names of around 420 participants from the nobility.
  10. ↑ Ulrich Lehnart, in: Participants of the Battle of Worringen , Deutsche Landesgeschichte, Volume 124, 1988, pp. 135 to 185.
  11. ^ Jean-Louis Kupper in: BDLG, Volume 121 , 1989 , p. 96.
  12. ↑ Anna-Dorothee Brincken in: BDLG, Volume 114 , 1978 , p. 245.
  13. ↑ Anna-Dorothee Brincken in: BDLG, Volume 114 , 1978 , p. 244.

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