The County of Regenstein was a mediaeval statelet of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. It was ruled by the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

comital

House of Regenstein Regenstein, also ''Reinstein'', was a Lower Saxon noble family, which was named after the eponymous Regenstein Castle near Blankenburg on the edge of the Harz Mountains of central Germany. History In 1162 ''Cunradus Comes de Regenstein'' (Conrad, ...

, named after their residence at

Regenstein Castle Regenstein Castle (german: Burg Regenstein) is a ruined castle that lies three kilometres north of Blankenburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is a popular tourist destination where, each year, a knight's tournament and a garrison festiva ...

near

Blankenburg Blankenburg may refer to: Places * Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt * Blankenburg Castle (Harz), the castle in Blankenburg am Harz (see above) * Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt dis ...

north of the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

mountain range.

History

The progenitor of the family, Count

Poppo I of Blankenburg Poppo I of Blankenburg (c. 1095–1161 or 1164) probably came from the House of Reginbodonen and was Count of Regenstein-Blankenburg in the Harz in central Germany. His father was Conrad, Count of Blankenburg. His uncle, Reinhard of Blankenburg ...

(c. 1095 – 1161 or 1164) probably was related to the

Rhenish The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

Reginbodonid dynasty of Archbishop Siegfried of Mainz (d. 1084), a cadet branch of the Franconian

Conradines The Conradines or Conradiner were a dynasty of Franconian counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad the Elder and his son King Conrad I of Germany. History The family is first mentioned in 832, with Count Gebhard in ...

. His uncle Reinhard of Blankenburg was

Bishop of Halberstadt The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese (german: Bistum Halberstadt) from 804 until 1648.

from 1107 onwards and provided him with large estates in the Eastphalian

Harzgau The Harzgau was a medieval shire ('' Gau'') in the northeastern foorhils of the Harz mountains, part of the Eastphalia region of Saxony. It included the towns of Halberstadt, Quedlinburg, and Osterwieck, and was bounded by the Oker in the west, ...

region between the Ilse and Bode rivers. Poppo was first documented as ''

comes ''Comes'' ( ), plural ''comites'' ( ), was a Roman title or office, and the origin Latin form of the medieval and modern title "count". Before becoming a word for various types of title or office, the word originally meant "companion", either i ...

'' in an 1128 deed, serving the Saxon duke Lothair of Supplinburg and his

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 ...

successors. His son Conrad was the first descendant to call himself ''Comes de Regenstein'' in 1162, while his brother Siegfried continued to rule as Count of Blankenburg. After the deposition of the Saxon duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

in 1180, the Regenstein counts were temporarily arrested by the forces of Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

, but were reconciled with the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

monarch soon after. After a lengthy feud

Heimburg Castle Heimburg Castle (german: Burg Heimburg), also called the ''Altenburg'' or ''Alteburg'', is a ruined castle on an oval hilltop about 330 metres above sea level (NN) which is located just north of the Harz Mountains in central Germany. The ruins of ...

, built about 1170 by King Henry IV and soon after devastated during the

Saxon Rebellion The Saxon Rebellion or Rebellion of the Saxons (german: Sachsenkrieg), also commonly called the Saxon Uprising (not to be confused with the Saxon Wars, also called the Saxon Uprising), refers to the struggle between the Salian dynasty ruling the H ...

, was acquired by the Regenstein counts in the early 14th century. The Regenstein-Heimburg branch re-united the Regenstein and Blankenburg estates in 1343, under the rule of the most renowned Count Albert II (1310–49), who since the 1330s was frequently in dispute with the leaders of the surrounding estates like the Halberstadt bishops and the

Abbesses of Quedlinburg An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

; he was finally assassinated by the henchmen of Bishop Albert II of Halberstadt. These tales were romanticised in the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

''The Robber Count'' (german: Der Raubgraf) by

Gottfried August Bürger Gottfried August Bürger (31 December 1747 – 8 June 1794) was a German poet. His ballads were very popular in Germany. His most noted ballad, '' Lenore'', found an audience beyond readers of the German language in an English and Russian ada ...

, melodized by

Johann Philipp Kirnberger Johann Philipp Kirnberger (also ''Kernberg''; 24 April 1721, Saalfeld – 27 July 1783, Berlin) was a musician, composer (primarily of fugues), and music theorist. He was a student of Johann Sebastian Bach. According to Ingeborg Allihn, Kirnberg ...

and the novel of the same name by Julius Wolff. Julius Wolff In the 15th century the comital family finally relocated its seat to Blankenburg Castle; the Regenstein fortress lapsed and was left to ruin. In order to gain greater independence from the Halberstadt bishops, the counts turned

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

in 1539. The last scion of the comital family, Count John Ernest, died in 1599. With Blankenburg, the County of Regenstein fell back to the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt. Shortly thereafter Blankenburg and Regenstein were separated: Regenstein remained with the secularised Principality of Halberstadt, while the remaining

County of Blankenburg The County of Blankenburg (german: Grafschaft Blankenburg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Blankenburg, it was located in and near the Harz mountains. History County of Blankenburg About 1123 Lothair of Supplinburg, then ...

was annexed and held by the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Counts of Regenstein

* Siegfried (-1073), brother of Konrad, Count of Blankenburg-Regenstein * Henry (-1235), son * Siegfried II (-1251), son * Ulric, Count of Regenstein-Heimburg (-1267), brother * Ulric III (1287–1322) * Albert II (1310–1349), son * Albert III (1341–1365), son * John Ernest, Count of Blankenburg and Regenstein (-1599)

Notes

The following articles do not yet exist on the

English Wikipedia The English Wikipedia is, along with the Simple English Wikipedia, one of two English-language editions of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was founded on January 15, 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition, and, as of , has the most arti ...

, but do exist on the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regenstein, County Of Lower Saxon Circle States and territories established in 1368 States and territories disestablished in 1599 Counties of the Holy Roman Empire