Loretta from Sponheim

Loretta von Sponheim (* 1300 ; † 1346 ) was a countess from the Sponheim family .

Life

Loretta was born around 1300 as the daughter of John I von Salm and Jeanne von Joinville (daughter of Lord Geoffrey de Geneville ) in the Vosges . She was raised bilingually. Loretta was married to Heinrich II von Sponheim- Starkenburg in 1315 . She gave birth to three sons in the eight years of their marriage. After her husband died of an illness in 1323, she moved from Wolfstein an der Lauter to Starkenburg an der Mosel . Her father-in-law Johann II died in 1324, so that from then on the young widow had to direct the county's fortunes alone in an economically and politically difficult time.

During this time, which was characterized by territorial conflicts, rural exodus and bad harvests, poverty and lack of money were major problems. Out of this emergency, Loretta let herself be put on a trial of strength with the then influential Elector Baldwin of Luxembourg , Archbishop of Trier (1285-1354) , one of the most powerful men in Europe.

In 1326 Loretta von Sponheim had the stubborn wild count of Kyrburg taken into custody until he and his son promised allegiance to her.

Excursion boat Countess Loretta on the Moselle near Bullay

In May 1328, despite a standstill agreement, Loretta grabbed again to this drastic measure: She surprised with their train the unsuspecting Elector Baldwin of Luxembourg on a boat trip and forced it to a forced stay at their current impregnable Starkenburg . Despite the threat of excommunication and the associated political and social sanctions, it arrested the mighty Baldwin of Luxembourg and, after tough negotiations, forced a ransom and political demands to be met.

Your request for absolution and atonement to Pope John XXII. was later accepted, supported by her hostage Balduin of Luxembourg, with whom she formed a political friendship - further evidence of her diplomatic skill.

As a countess she worked until the end of her life at Frauenburg Castle near Birkenfeld , which, according to legend, she had built with the help of the ransom received from Baldwin. She died in 1346 and was buried in the Cistercian Abbey of Himmerod .

progeny

The following children are known from his marriage to Heinrich II von Sponheim († 1322):

• Johann III., Count of Sponheim (* 1315; † 1398), ∞ Mechthild von der Pfalz
• Heinrich, canon of Strasbourg , Aachen etc.
• Gottfried († 1396), Archdeacon of Longuyon

literature

• Friedrich Back : Countess Loretta von Sponheim , Association for Local History, Birkenfeld 1925
• Heinrich Disselnkötter: "Countess Loretta von Spanheim née von Salm", a picture of life and time from the 14th century. Rheinisches Archiv 1940, issue 37.

predecessor	Office	successor
Henry II	Countess of Sponheim 1324–1331	Johann III.