Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg ( – 12 March 1122) was a German nobleman. He was a Count in the Upper
Lahngau The Lahngau was a medieval territory comprising the middle and lower Lahn River valley in the current German states of Hesse and (partially) Rhineland-Palatinate. The traditional names of the Gau are ''Loganahe Pagus'' or ''Pagus Logenensis''.
The ...
and from 1121, he was Count of
Gudensberg
Gudensberg () is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany. Since the municipal reform in 1974, the nearby villages of Deute, Dissen, Dorla, Gleichen, Maden and Obervorschütz have become parts of the municipality.
Geography
Gudensberg is situated ...
in
Lower Hesse
Lower Hesse is a historic designation for an area in northern Hesse, Germany.
The term Lower Hesse originated in the Middle Ages for the so-called "lower principality" of Hesse, which was separated until 1450 from the so-called "upper principalit ...
and Imperial
Standard Bearer
A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...
. 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
Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...
, 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
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...
, 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
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...
area, the Upper
Lahngau The Lahngau was a medieval territory comprising the middle and lower Lahn River valley in the current German states of Hesse and (partially) Rhineland-Palatinate. The traditional names of the Gau are ''Loganahe Pagus'' or ''Pagus Logenensis''.
The ...
and on the Rhine — among these were the
''advocatus'' positions over
Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue.
History
...
and the St. Florins church in
Koblenz.
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 Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...
forced Henry IV to abdicate in 1105, Giso IV remained loyal to Henry IV. In 1114, he went to war against Archbishop
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, who supported the Pope in the
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy, also called Investiture Contest ( German: ''Investiturstreit''; ), was a conflict between the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops ( investiture) and abbots of mona ...
. He did considerable damage to
Grafschaft Abbey
Grafschaft Abbey (german: Kloster Grafschaft) is a community of the Sisters of Mercy of Saint Charles Borromeo, formerly a Benedictine monastery, in Schmallenberg-Grafschaft in the Sauerland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
First foundation ...
in the
Sauerland 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, an avowed opponent of the Emperor in the Investiture Controversy, as
liege lord for all of their formerly imperial fiefs in Upper and Lower Hesse, including Hollende Castle, the ancestral seat of the Gisones. This brought
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
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 Hedwig may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist
* Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist
* Romanus Adol ...
. In 1110 she married Count
Louis Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ( ...
of Thuringia, who later became the first
Landgrave
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave"), ...
of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
*
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, 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