Helperich (Helferich) (d. 1118), Count of Plötzkau and
Walbeck, and
Margrave of the Nordmark
The Northern March or North March (german: Nordmark) was created out of the division of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' in 965. It initially comprised the northern third of the ''Marca'' (roughly corresponding to the modern state of Brandenburg) and ...
, son of
Dietrich, Count of Plötzkau, and Mathilde von Walbeck, daughter of
Conrad, Count of Walbeck, and Adelheid of Bavaria. The count's sister Irmgard was married to
Lothair Udo III, Margrave of the Nordmark
Lothair Udo III (1070-1106), Margrave of the Nordmark and Count of Stade (as Lothair Udo IV), son of Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark, and Oda of Werl, daughter of Herman III, Count of Werl, and Richenza of Swabia. Brother of his predec ...
, and was the mother of Helperich's successor in ruling the margraviate, Henry II.
Helperich inherited the title Count of Plötzkau upon his father’s death and the title Count of Walbeck from his mother, although this title was mostly ceremonial at this point. In 1112,
Emperor Henry V
Henry V (german: Heinrich V.; probably 11 August 1081 or 1086 – 23 May 1125, in Utrecht) was King of Germany (from 1099 to 1125) and Holy Roman Emperor (from 1111 to 1125), as the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. He was made co-ru ...
deposed
Rudolf I
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...
as Margrave of the Nordmark because of conspiracy against the crown in his alliance with
Lothair of Supplinburg, then Duke of Saxony (and later Holy Roman Emperor). The margraviate was given to Helperich as an interim measure until Henry II, nephew of Rudolf and heir to the title, was of age.
In 1106, Helperich married Adele, daughter of Kuno of Northeim and Kunigunde of Weimar-Orlamünde, widow of Dietrich III, Count of Katlenburg. Helperich and Adele had four children:
* Bernhard (d. 1147), Count of Plötzkau
*
Conrad, Margrave of the Nordmark
* Irmgard, Abbess of Hecklingen
* Mathilde.
Halperich died in 1118 and was buried at the Hecklingen Monastery. Upon his death, he was succeeded as Count of Plötzkau by his son Bernhard. Henry II assumed the role of Margrave of the Nordmark in 1114.
Sources
Hucke, Richard G., ''Die Grafen von Stade. 900–1144''. Genealogie, politische Stellung, Comitat und Allodialbesitz der sächsischen Udonen. Stade 1956
Medieval Lands Project (Grafen von Plötzkau)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helperich von Plotzkau, Margrave of the Nordmark
Margraves of the Nordmark
1118 deaths