County of Calvelage

The County of Calvelage existed at the end of the 11th century and in the first half of the 12th century in the region of

Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta (district), Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta. It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The Court of Kalvelage in the farming community of Brockdorf in Lohne provided the name for the county. The name disappeared in the 17th century, when it was changed to "Brockdorf" by the lords of the manor from the ''

von Galen The House of Galen is an ancient and influential German noble, Westphalian family, historically Roman Catholic, from the County of Mark. History The earliest von Galens appeared in the twelfth century. Some branches of the family spread to Eas ...

'' family, who were responsible for the area. The counts of Calvelage, who had property in

and

Bersenbrück Bersenbrück (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Bessenbrügge'') is a town in the Osnabrück (district), district of Osnabrück, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hase, approx. 30 km north of Osnabrück. Bersenbrück is the seat of ...

, acquired areas in

Teutoburg Forest The Teutoburg Forest ( ; german: Teutoburger Wald ) is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. Until the 17th century, the official name of the hill ridge was Osning. It was first renamed th ...

northwest of Halle around 1100 and erected Ravensberg Castle. They moved their main residence to the new castle around 1140 and called themselves

Counts of Ravensberg 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.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...

from then on. Counts of Calvelage: *Hermann I, died probably in 1082, Count of Calvelage; after 1070 he married

Ethelinde of Northeim Ethelinde of Northeim (born 1050/1060, died after 1075) was the daughter of Otto of Northeim and the wife of Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, and Herman of Calvelage. Family Ethelinde was the oldest daughter of Otto of Northeim, duke of Bavaria (r.1060- ...

, daughter of

Otto of Northeim Otto of Nordheim (c. 1020 – 11 January 1083) was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75 and the Great Saxon Revolt of 1077-88 against King Henry IV of Germany. Life Family Otto was born ...

, 1061-1070

Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...

, after he had been deposed and his daughter had been repudiated by his son-in-law and successor,

Welf I, Duke of Bavaria Welf I (c. 1035/10406 November 1101) was Duke of Bavaria from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the Welf branch of the House of Este. In the genealogy of the Elder House of Welf, he is counted as Welf IV. Biog ...

1070-1101 (

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

). *Hermann von Calvelage, documented to have lived 1115–1134, their son, count in 1120, Count of Calvelage in 1125. *Otto I, documented to have lived 1140–1170, probably his first son, first Count of Ravensberg; married to Oda, documented to have lived in 1166. Former states and territories of Lower Saxony Medieval Germany {{Europe-hist-stub