Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen ( – 8 December 1186) was a

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

of Zähringen and Rector of Burgundy. He was the son of

Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen Conrad I ( – 8 January 1152) was Duke of Zähringen from 1122 until his death and from 1127 also Rector of Burgundy. He spent most of his life stemming the growing power of the House of Hohenstaufen and to this end, allied himself with the ...

and Clementia of Luxembourg-Namur. He founded numerous cities, including

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

Life

Berthold IV succeeded his father, Conrad I, in 1152 as Duke of Zähringen. Berthold also claimed the title of "Duke of Burgundy", which he had agreed upon with Barbarossa to receive after conquering the Cisjuran ("French") territories of Burgundy together and also helping him out in his Italian campaign in 1152. However, the conquest of Burgundy failed and in 1156 the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa instead married Beatrice, the daughter of the last Count of Burgundy of the

House of Ivrea The Anscarids ( la, Anscarii) or the House of Ivrea were a medieval dynasty of Frankish origin which rose to prominence in Northern Italy in the tenth century, even briefly holding the Italian throne. The main branch ruled the County of Burgu ...

. This interfered with Berthold's claims and Berthold was given the title of ''Rector of Burgundy'' and was made overlord over the Transjuran ("Swiss") parts of Burgundy,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

and

Sion Sion may refer to * an alternative transliteration of Zion People * Sion (name) or Siôn, a Welsh and other given name and surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Shion or Sion, a Japanese given name Pl ...

. The rivalry with Duke Frederick IV of neighbouring Swabia caused him to fight on the side of

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf. Biography Welf inherited the familial po ...

in the Feud of Tübingen (1164-1166). In 1173, he became overlord of Zurich. An entry in the necrology of the

Abbey of Saint Peter in the Black Forest St Peter's Abbey in the Black Forest or St. Peter's Abbey, Schwarzwald (german: Kloster St. Peter auf dem Schwarzwald) is a former Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Peter im Schwarzwald, in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Bad ...

reads : "Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen donated 5 candles for the memory of John the Baptist".

Marriages and issue

Berthold IV was married to Heilwig of Frohburg, with whom he had three children: * Berthold V, the last Duke of Zähringen. After his death, the counts of Kyburg and Urach inherited the Zähringen possessions * Agnes, married to Count Egino IV of Urach — According to the necrology of Tennenbach Abbey, she was the daughter of Berthold V, vol. I. p. 340 * Anna, married to Count Ulrich III of Kyburg. They were the maternal grandparents of king

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum whic ...

References

Sources

* * Dukes of Zähringen 1120s births 1186 deaths 12th-century German nobility {{Germany-duke-stub