Adalbert II of Ballenstedt ( – 1076/1083), an early member of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

, was ''

Graf (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...

'' (count) in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and ''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' of Nienburg Abbey.

Life

Adelbert, first mentioned in a 1033 deed, was born at

Ballenstedt Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. Geography It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipal area comprises the vil ...

Castle in the Saxon Schwabengau, the son of Count

Esico of Ballenstedt Esico of Ballenstedt (died around 1060) is the progenitor of the House of Ascania, (i.e., the oldest known member of his dynasty). Esico was the count of Ballenstedt (r. 1036-1060), and his possessions became the nucleus of the later Principality ...

(d. about 1060) and his wife Matilda, probably a daughter of Duke

Herman II of Swabia Herman II (also ''Hermann'') (died 4 May 1003) was a member of the Conradine dynasty. He was Duke of Swabia from 997 to his death. In 1002, Herman unsuccessfully attempted to become king of Germany. Life Herman II was the son of Conrad I, Duke of ...

. About 1068 he married

Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde Adelaide of Weimar-Orlamünde ( - 28 March 1100) was the daughter of Otto I of Meissen and a member of the family of the counts of Weimar and Orlamünde. She married successively, Adalbert II of Ballenstedt, count palatine Herman II, and Henry o ...

, a daughter of Margrave

Otto I of Meissen Otto I was the Margrave of Meissen from 1062 until his death in 1067, and the second Margrave of the family of the counts of Weimar and Orlamünde. He was a younger son of William III of Weimar and Oda, daughter of Thietmar, Margrave of the Saxon Os ...

and his wife, Adela of Louvain. Their two sons were: * Otto the Rich ( – 1123), Count of Ballenstedt *

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

( – 1113), Count of Weimar-Orlamünde, Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1095/97. Adalbert was the heir to extended possessions and rose to one of the leading Saxon nobles. In 1069 he was appointed count in

Nordthüringgau The Nordthüringgau was a medieval county (german: Gau) in the Eastphalian region of the German stem duchy of Saxony. Geography The county was located on both sides of the upper Aller river in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It was bounded by the Lap ...

, later also in the

Saxon Eastern March The Saxon Eastern March (german: Sächsische Ostmark) was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" stems from the Latin term ''marchia Orientalis'' and originally could refer to either a march ...

. According to the chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld, Adalbert supported Margrave Dedi I in his 1069 conflict with King Henry IV. Dedi, a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

, had married Adalbert's mother-in-law Adela of Louvain, widow since 1067, and claimed the Thuringian possessions of her deceased husband Margrave Otto of Meissen. Their revolt found little support; both had to surrender in short order and were pardoned in 1070. Adalbert, however, remained a fierce opponent of the king. From 1072 on he participated in the Saxon Rebellion led by Count Otto of Nordheim and Bishop Burchard II of Halberstadt, for which he was arrested after King Henry's victory in the 1075 Battle of Langensalza. Even after his release about two years later, he backed the German anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden until he was finally killed, possibly in a feud, at

Westdorf Westdorf is a village and a former municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the town Aschersleben Aschersleben () is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt ...

near Aschersleben by the Saxon noble

Egeno II of Konradsburg Egeno II of Konradsburg (also ''Conradsburg'') was a free knight of Konradsburg, in the northeast of the Harz region in Central Germany, near Ermsleben. Egeno II may have been the son or grandson of Egeno I of Konradsburg. Around 1080 (after 1076, ...

. Adalbert's widow Adelaide married Count Palatine Hermann II of Lotharingia from the

Ezzonid The Ezzonids (, ) were a dynasty of Lotharingian stock dating back as far as the ninth century. They attained prominence only in the eleventh century, through marriage with the Ottonian dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. Named after Ezzo, Count P ...

dynasty and—in her third marriage—Count Palatine Henry of Laach from the House of Luxembourg, father of her son Siegfried.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adalbert 02, Count of Ballenstedt 1030s births 11th-century deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain People from Ballenstedt House of Ascania Counts of Germany