The Ahrgau (also Argau) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

''gau'' that lay either side of the

River Ahr Ahr () is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at an elevation of approximately above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle of Blankenheim. After it crosses from ...

in the north of the present-day German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

, but also reached the gates of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

(the

Kottenforst The Kottenforst is a large forest, about 40 km² in area, to the south, west and north of the city of Bonn in Germany. It is part of the Rhineland Nature Park (1,045 km²) and forms its eastern side. Geography The Kottenforst is the s ...

forest still belonged to the Ahrgau), especially after the dissolution of the Odangau. The Ahrgau is mentioned in the records under various names including ''Arisco'' (880), ''pagus Aroensis'' (882), ''Argowe'' (1064) and ''Archgouwe'' (1065).

Territory

The Ahrgau belonged to Ripuaria in

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as '' Lothier'' or '' Lottier''

and to the diocese of the

Archbishopric of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Colo ...

, which had an Ahr deanery (''Ahrdekanat'' or ''Decanatus Areuensis'') named after it. In the south the Ahrgau bordered on the Mayenfeldgau on the line from

Rheineck Rheineck is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Rheineck is first mentioned about 1163 as ''castellum Rinegge''. In 1218 it was mentioned as ''Rinegg''. An older ...

up the

Vinxtbach The Vinxtbach is a stream of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is around long, rises south-southwest of Schalkenbach-Obervinxt and east of the ''Adert'' and discharges into the River Rhine near Rheineck Castle between Bad Breisig and Brohl-Lüt ...

stream to the

Hohe Acht The Hohe Acht () is the highest mountain ( ) in the Eifel mountains of Germany. It is located on the boundary between the districts of Ahrweiler and Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate. Geography and geology The Hohe Acht is located in the H ...

; in the west it bordered on the

Eifelgau The Eifelgau was a Frankish '' gau'' in the region of the present day Limestone Eifel in Germany. Location and history The Eifelgau derives its name from the Eifel mountains between the Rhine, Ahr, Rur, Our, Sauer and Moselle rivers. It ...

and Zülpichgau along the Adenaubach stream as far as the

Ahr Ahr () is a river in Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. Its source is at an elevation of approximately above sea level in Blankenheim in the Eifel, in the cellar of a timber-frame house near the castle of Blankenheim. After it crosses fro ...

, along the Vischbach, the Sürsch and the

Swist The Swist is a stream, long, in the German Rhineland. It rises on the northern edge of the Eifel at 330 metres above sea level and empties from the right and southeast into the Rhine tributary, the Erft, between Weilerswist and (a district ...

; in the north it bordered on the Bonngau; in the east the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

separated the Ahrgau from the Auelgau.

Gaugraves

The gaugraves (''Gaugrafen'') of Ahrgau mentioned in the records were: * Sigbod, or Sybodo, (fl. 930), founder of Steinfeld Abbey * Sicco, (fl. 1064) * Pertold, also Bertoldus, (fl. 1065) * Sicco, (fl. 1074) The gaugraves of Ahrgau were the ancestors of the

counts of Are Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. Gaugrave Sicco, mentioned in 1074, is supposed to have been the father of

Dietrich I of Are Theoderich of Are ( German: ''Dietrich von Are'', Dutch: ''Dirk van Are''; 1087–1126) was the first count of Are (the area around Ahrweiler in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). Theoderich was a nephew of bishop Odo of Toul,'' Odon de ...

Literature

* Geschichtlicher Atlas der Rheinlande, 7th issue, IV.9: Die mittelalterlichen Gaue, 2000, 1 map sheet, 1 enclosure, revised by Thomas Bauer, {{ISBN, 3-7927-1818-9

References

Heinrich Beyer: ''Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der, jetzt die preussischen Regierungsbezirke Coblenz und Trier bildenden mittelrheinischen Territorien'', Vol. 2, Coblenz: Hölscher, 1865, page XVIII
dilibri Rheinland-Pfalz

Johann Friedrich Schannat Johann Friedrich Schannat (23 July 1683 – 6 March 1739) was a German historian. Schannat was born in Luxembourg. He studied at the University of Louvain and when twenty-two years of age was a lawyer, but before long he turned his attention ...

: ''Eiflia illustrata oder geographische und historische Beschreibung der Eifel'', Vol. 1, 1824, pp. 131 ff
Google Books
Werner Bornheim: ''Zur älteren Geschichte der Grafen von Ahre'' in "Archiv für mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte", Gesellschaft für Mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte, 1954, p. 130
dilibri Rheinland-Pfalz
Carolingian counties History of the Palatinate (region) Eifel in the Middle Ages History of the Rhineland Ahr