Engelbert II (died 1 April 1191), a member of the

House of Gorizia The House of Gorizia, also called the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in Italy, on the border with Slovenia), they were originally "advocates" (''Vog ...

(''Meinhardiner'' dynasty), was Count of Gorizia (''Görz'') from 1150 until his death. At the end of his life, he also held the title of a Margrave of Istria, a

Count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

in the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...

and

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

(Reeve) of the

Patriarchate of Aquileia The Patriarchate of Aquileia was an episcopal see and ecclesiastical province in northeastern Italy, originally centered in the ancient city of Aquileia, situated near the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It emerged in the 4th century as a m ...

Life

Engelbert II was a younger son of Count Meinhard I of Gorizia and his wife Elisabeth of Schwarzenburg. He was first mentioned in 1137 as Vogt of

Millstatt Abbey Millstatt Abbey () is a former monastery in Millstatt, Austria. Established by Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monks about 1070, it ranks among the most important Romanesque architecture, Romanesque buildings in the state of Carinthia (state), ...

, an office his uncle Engelbert I (d. 1122) probably had assumed upon the death of the Aribonid founders. About 1145, Engelbert II was appointed Count Palatine of Carinthia. In 1150, he inherited the

County of Gorizia The County of Gorizia (, , , ), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of Aquileia, the Counts of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'') ruled over several fiefs in the are ...

from his elder brother

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

. Like his father, he was also served as Reeve of Aquileia and St Peter Abbey in Istria. A strong supporter of 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 dynast ...

dynasty, Engelbert II, like his younger brother

Meinhard Meinhard is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The community lies in the North Hesse Low Mountain Range landscape on the edge of the Werra valley, 3 km from the district seat of Eschwege. Near ...

, had temporarily been Margrave of Istria. Rivalling with the Dukes of Merania from the comital House of Andechs, his descendants would gain further territory in inner Istria around

Pazin Pazin (, ) is a town in western Croatia, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is known for the medieval Pazin Castle, the former residence of the Istrian margraves. Geography The town had a population of 8,638 in 2011, of which 4,386 li ...

(''Mitterburg'').

Marriage and issue

He was married to Adelaide, a daughter of Count

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

of Scheyern-Dachau-Valley. They had three children: * Engelbert III (d. 1220), Count of Gorizia and Vogt of Millstatt * Meinhard II "the Elder" (–1232), Count of Gorizia and provost of Aquileia * Beatrice of Gorizia, nun in Aquileia {{DEFAULTSORT:Engelbert 02 Gorizia Counts of Gorizia Year of birth unknown 12th-century births 1191 deaths 12th-century German nobility