Otto II (Ravensberg)

Otto II von Ravensberg († April 1, 1244 ) was Count von Ravensberg . After the division of the estate with his brother Ludwig in 1226, he received the areas around Vlotho and Vechta .

Life

He was the son of Hermann II and Jutta of Thuringia. He himself married Sophia from the Oldenburg family , daughter of Count Burchard von Wildeshausen. The son Hermann emerged from the marriage and died young. The daughter Jutta married Count Heinrich von Tecklenburg in her first marriage and Walram III in her second marriage . from Montjoie .

Otto fought together with his father and brothers in the secular class at the beginning of the 13th century against the Counts of Tecklenburg . Count Simon von Tecklenburg was killed by one of the Ravensbergers in 1202. Otto and his father were temporarily imprisoned. They had to recognize the Tecklenburger as feudal lords for parts of their property. Archbishop Adolf of Cologne brokered a reconciliation between the two parties.

After the father's death Otto II had the strongest position. His brother Ludwig was involved in the rule. There was a quarrel between the brothers. In 1226, both brothers signed a division contract through the bishop of Paderborn and Hermann von der Lippe (Herford division). Ludwig got the castle Ravensberg , Bielefeld , the bailiwick over the monastery Borghorst and other possessions. Otto received the greater part of the property with the castles Vlotho and Vechta. In addition, there were imperial fiefs and fiefs of the archbishops of Cologne and Bremen, the bishops of Paderborn, Minden, Osnabrück, Utrecht and the Corvey monastery . After the division of the estate, family property could only be sold with the consent of the other brother.

After the murder of Archbishop Engelbert I of Cologne , Friedrich von Isenberg fled to live with the Tecklenburg people who were related to him. These were also banned. An alliance came about between Archbishop Heinrich I of Cologne and the Bishop of Osnabrück Konrad I of Velber against the Tecklenburger. Otto and Ludwig von Ravensberg also renewed the old feud. This ended that same year. The brothers Otto II and Ludwig signed another atonement with the Tecklenburg people in 1231. Various possessions were returned to the Ravensbergers and the recognition of the feudal sovereignty of the Tecklenburger was canceled.

After the feud ended, his wife Sophie donated the Bersenbrück monastery with his brother's approval . In 1242 he made further donations to the monastery.

In 1232 Otto took part in a diet of King Heinrich in the presence of Emperor Friedrich II in Worms .

In order to further strengthen the reconciliation with the Tecklenburg people, Otto promised his child Jutta , the heiress of Vlotho and Vechta, to Heinrich von Tecklenburg as his wife in 1238, but Heinrich died shortly afterwards.

After his death Otto was buried in the Bersenbrück monastery. When the Tecklenburgers demanded the inheritance of his daughter Jutta, another feud broke out with the now sole Count Ludwig.

literature

• W. Tobien: Memories from the past of Westphalia. Vol. 1. Elberfeld 1869, pp. 217-222.
• Friedrich Müller: History of the Ravensberg Castle in Westphalia. Osnabrück 1839, pp. 35-44.

Web links

• Entry on mediveal lands