Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg ( – 12 March 1122) was a German nobleman. He was a Count in the Upper
Lahngau and from 1121, he was Count of
Gudensberg in
Lower Hesse and Imperial
Standard Bearer. During his lifetime, the Gisones dynasty reached the peak of its power, its largest territorial expanse and the largest number of bailiff positions.
Giso IV was first mentioned in a document dated 1099, as the son of Countess Matilda from her first marriage with either
Giso II or
Giso III. She later married Count
Adalbert of Saffenberg, a Count in the
Ahr valley. After he died in 1109, she lived at
Hollende Castle, the ancestral seat of the Gisones near
Wetter, north of
Marburg, where she died in 1110.
Giso IV married
Kunigunde Kunigunde, Kunigunda, or Cunigunde, is a European female name of German origin derived from "kuni" (clan, family) and "gund" (war). In Polish this is sometimes Kunegunda or Kinga. People with such names include:
* Kunigunde of Rapperswil (c. early ...
, the daughter of Count Rugger II of Bilstein. Her mother, whose name is unknown, was probably a daughter of Count
Werner III of Gudensberg. Giso IV acquired considerable possessions and bailiwicks via her, mostly in the
Werra area, the Upper
Lahngau and on the Rhine — among these were the
''advocatus'' positions over
Hersfeld Abbey and the St. Florins church in
Koblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
.
In contemporary documents, Giso IV is often mentioned together with Count
Werner IV of Maden and Gudensberg. Both were confidants of Emperor
Henry IV. Even after
Henry V forced Henry IV to abdicate in 1105, Giso IV remained loyal to Henry IV. In 1114, he went to war against Archbishop
Frederick I of
Cologne, who supported the Pope in the
Investiture Controversy. He did considerable damage to
Grafschaft Abbey in the
Sauerland
The Sauerland () is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited.
The Sauerland is the largest tourist region in ...
region.
[Manfred Wolf: ''Schmallenberger Sauerland Almanach 1990 — Geschichte des Kloster Grafschaft'', edited by the Westfälisches Schieferbergbaumuseum in Schmallenberg-Holthausen, p. 143]
Later, Giso IV and Werner IV switched sides. Between 1115 and 1118, they recognized the Archbishop
Adalbert of Mainz
Adalbert I von Saarbrücken (died June 23, 1137) was Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1111 until his death. He played a key role in opposing Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, during the Investiture Controversy, and secured the election of Lothair III ...
, an avowed opponent of the Emperor in the Investiture Controversy, as
liege lord
Homage (from Medieval Latin , lit. "pertaining to a man") in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position (inv ...
for all of their formerly imperial fiefs in Upper and Lower Hesse, including Hollende Castle, the ancestral seat of the Gisones. This brought
Mainz considerably closer to its aim of dominating a large, contiguous territory in Hesse.
Werner IV died without a male heir on 22 February 1121. Giso IV inherited his possessions, probably based on his marriage to Kunigunde of Bilstein. Later that year, Giso IV is first mentioned as ("Count of Gudensberg").
Giso IV had two children from his marriage to Kunigunde of Bilstein:
*
Hedwig. In 1110 she married Count
Louis of Thuringia, who later became the first
Landgrave of
Thuringia
*
Giso V, who succeeded his father as Count of Gudensberg
Giso IV died on 12 March 1122. His son, Giso V, inherited his possessions. While he was still a minor, he stood under the guardianship of his stepfather
Henry Raspe I of Thuringia
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
*Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
, whom Kunigunde had married in 1123. Henry Raspe I also held the office of Imperial Standard Bearer.
It is unclear whether Giso inherited the counties of Maden and Gudensberg and the office of Imperial Standard Bearer because of his marriage with Kunigunde, or for some other reason. However, his marriage seems to be the most plausible explanation.
References
* Christa Meiborg: ''Die Hollende bei Wetter (Hessen)-Warzenbach. Führungsblatt zu der Burg der Grafen Giso im Kreis Marburg-Biedenkopf'', in the series ''Archäologische Denkmäler in Hessen'', issue 157, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Hessen, Wiesbaden, 2003,
External links
The Gisones dynasty and Hollende castle near TreisbachPDF; 97 kB)
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giso 04 Gudensberg
Counts of Germany
Hessian nobility
1070s births
1122 deaths