Sizzonen

Sizzo (Syzzo), benefactor figure at Naumburg Cathedral

Käfernburger painting with Gundar, Sigerius and Sizzo

The Sizzonen were a Thuringian aristocratic family whose family name is derived from the frequently recurring name Sizzo. The Kevernburger and Schwarzburger emerged from the Sizzonen and probably also the Beichlinger .

history

Much remains in the dark when the family started out. The Sizzonen were an "originally Thuringian noble family" ( Immo Eberl ). The assertion to be read by Hans Patze and other authors that the sex came from Franconia is problematic. Pope Gregory II stated in writing that nobles in Thuringia were converted to Christianity . This leads to the conclusion that the Sizzonen were not foreign (Franconian) counts. Gregory II mentioned 722 in a letter for the missionary Bonifacea Gundhareus (Gundar). The spread of the Christian faith should be supported. Members of the House of Kevernburg-Schwarzburg often had the guiding name Günther. A relationship with Gundhareus is still unlikely, even if this is often assumed in the literature. From 1108 at the latest, the dynasty exercised grave rights to imperial estates in the Längwitzgau and had extensive possessions in Thuringia between Gotha and the Saale . The Sizzonen designated themselves in 1029 as Counts of Kevernburg , from 1123 as Counts of Schwarzburg , from 1143 as Counts of Kranichfeld and from 1160 as Counts of Rabenswald .

Model of the Käfernburg near Arnstadt

The Schwarzburg

Sizzo I. lived around 1000, and according to the family history, Gunther the Hermit was possibly a relative. The gender name Günther was not mentioned, and the saint was only referred to as Noble Thuringia. He made extensive donations to the Göllingen monastery around 1005. Sizzo II is seen as a descendant of Sizzo I. We already have somewhat more reliable information about his probable son Günther I. His reign was in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. Whose presumed son Sizzo III. (* around 1093; † 1160) is mentioned several times in documents and is clearly identified as a person. He is the progenitor of the House of Kevernburg-Schwarzburg and founded the Georgenthal Monastery around 1142 and was the guardian of the Paulinzella Monastery (1133–1153). Sizzo III. his sons Günther II and Heinrich I followed . The possessions of Sizzos III. were widely scattered in Thuringia. The county of Schwarzburg grew later through acquisitions, the county of Kevernburg became increasingly insignificant as a result of the division of property. Günther II was the owner of the Kevernburg (today Käfernburg ), Heinrich I owned the Schwarzburg . After Heinrich I died, Günther II inherited the Schwarzburg. The Schwarzburg was then given to his son Heinrich II († 1236), who founded the Schwarzburg line. Since Heinrich II. One can speak of an independent Schwarzburg history. The Kevernburg line was extinguished as early as 1385.

A not well-known Count Günther , who married Mechthilde, the daughter of Kunigunde von Weimar-Orlamünde († around 1117) and the Rurikid prince, Prince Jaropolk († around 1087), is also part of the Sizzonen or Kevernburger family. Mechthilde inherited the county of Beichlingen from her mother , which fell to her presumed son Friedrich von Beichlingen, who founded the family of the Counts of Beichlingen with his wife Hilenburg, a daughter of Count Ernst von Gleichen .

Counts Gundar, Sigerius and Sizzo (also Sigehardus) are shown in the Käfernburg painting from the end of the 15th century. The personalities shown are considered the ancestors of the House of Kevernburg-Schwarzburg. The sitters were subsequently specified in the painting itself by name and family relationships. The picture itself shows that it is about father, son and grandson. The counts thus lived in the 10th and 11th centuries. An alternative scholarly opinion is that Gundar is identical to the Gundhareus mentioned in the letter of Pope Gregory II in 722. This would then be in contradiction to the picture captions. Sizzo was named as the founder of the Naumburg Cathedral . This is indicated in the painting by a model of a church in the Count's left hand. A count named Sizzo ( Syzzo ) can also be found at the cathedral as one of the Naumburg donors . The figures were created around 1250.

The place name Sitzendorf (near Schwarzburg ) is derived from the family name.

Representative

There is a lot of confusion regarding the history of the Sizzonen. The following people are confirmed or presumed family members:

• Gunther the Hermit (* around 955, † 1045)
• Sizzo I. († before 1005)
• Sizzo II († 1075)
• Günther I. (* around 1060; † 1109)
• Sizzo III. von Schwarzburg-Käfernburg (* around 1093, † 1160), progenitor of Kevernburg-Schwarzburg
• Günther II von Schwarzburg-Käfernburg (* between 1129 and 1135; † 1197), son of Sizzo III.
• Heinrich I (* around 1130; † 1184), son of Sizzo III.

literature

• Paulus Götz (Jovius): Chronikon Schwarzburgicum (Schwarzburgische Chronik), In: Diplomataria et Scriptores Historiae Germanicae medii aevi I., edited by Christian Schoettgen and Gregor C. Kreysig, Altenburg 1753, pp. 109-724
• Johann Wilhelm Driver: About the origin of the old Lords of the Counts of Kevernburg and the current Lords of Princes v. Schwarzburg , 1787 E-Book
• Friedrich Apfelstedt : The House of Kevernburg-Schwarzburg from its origins to our time , 1890
• Roland Scharff: Boniface and the cradle of the Counts of Käfernburg-Schwarzburg in the central Thuringian Forest . 1st edition. Thüringer Chronik-Verlag Müllerott, 1994, ISBN 3-910132-21-9 .
• Hans Eberhardt, Immo Eberl, Horst Fleischer: Thuringia in the Middle Ages: The Black Burger . Thuringian State Museum Heidecksburg, 1995, ISBN 3-910013-16-3 .
• H. Müllerott: Rule Günther des Eremiten and his brother Sizzo, The Sizzonen and the origin of the rule Schwarzatal, The origin of the county Kevernburg-Schwarzburg under Sizzo III. (Reg. 1059-1119 and Sizzo IV. 1123-1160). In: Archeology and history of Geschwenda in Schwarzburg. Part 1, Thüringer Chronik Verlag, 2002

Web links

• Information about the Sizzonen from Werner Trillmich
• The early history of the Schwarzburg house by Immo Eberl
• On the origin of the House of Kevernburg-Schwarzburg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Early history of the Schwarzburg family
2. ^ Letter from Pope Gregory II.
3. ↑ 1000 years of Göllingen monastery ( memento of the original from December 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Lexicon of the Middle Ages
5. ↑ Counts of Beichlingen (genealogy)
6. ↑ Naumburg donor figures, including Count Syzzo
7. ↑ Early history, there about the donor of the Naumburg Cathedral
8. ↑ St. Gunther the Hermit
9. ↑ Gunther the Hermit
10. ↑ Sizzo I.
11. ↑ Sizzo II.
12. ^ Günther I.
13. ↑ Sizzo III.
14. ↑ Günther II.