The Alsatian Nordgau was a medieval
Gau in an area roughly comparable to the present-day French
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...
department.
History
In the Middle Ages, what was then Alsace was divided into two districts, called Nordgau (“Nordgowe”, Unterelsass) and
Südgau (“Suntgowe”, Sundgau, Oberelsass). The border roughly corresponded to that which was established in 297, when the Roman province of
Germania Superior was divided into
Maxima Sequanorum
The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Name
They are mentioned as ''Sequanos'' by Caesar (mid-1s ...
in the south and
Germania Prima in the north.
The Alsatian Nordgau is to be distinguished from the
Bavarian Nordgau, that existed at the same time.
From the 9th to the end of the 11th century, the Alsatian Nordgau was almost entirely in the hands of the
Etichonids
The Etichonids were an important noble family, probably of Frankish, Burgundian or Visigothic origin, who ruled the Duchy of Alsace in the Early Middle Ages (7th–10th centuries). The dynasty is named for Eticho (also known as Aldarich), who r ...
family. The family developed into the Counts of
Egisheim and
Dagsburg, whose possessions were however situated more in Upper Alsace.
The last Count was Hugues VII de Dabo who was dispossessed of Nordgau by
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV (german: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the so ...
, during the
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...
, and killed in 1089 in an attempt of its recover.
The Nordgau was later largely merged into the
Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg
The Prince-Bishopric of Strasburg (german: Fürstbistum Straßburg; gsw-FR, Fìrschtbischofsìtz Strossburi(g)) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the 13th century until 1803. During the late 17th century, most of ...
, other parts came to the
Habsburgs and the
Décapole.
See also
*
Lower Alsace
Sources
* Julius Cramer, ''Die Geschichte der Alamannen als Gaugeschichte - Siebentes Buch - Die neualamannischen Gaue des Elsass'', M. & H. Marcus, Breslau, 1899, onlin
Pag. 522-527
* Jean-Daniel Schoepflin, ''L'Alsace illustrée: ou recherches sur l'Alsace pendant la domination des Celtes, des Romains, des Francs, des Allemands et des Français Volume 3'', François Perrin Libraire-Èditeur, Mulhouse, 1851, Onlin
Pag. 269-271
* Charles Wastelain, ''Description de la Gaule-Belgique selon les trois ages de l'histoire, l'ancien, le moyen et le moderne'', Cramé, Lille, 1761, Onlin
Pag. 98-102
Geography of France
History of Alsace