The Nahegau was in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, which covered the environs of the Nahe and large parts of present-day

Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...

, after a successful expansion of the narrow territory, which did not reach the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, to the disadvantage of the

Wormsgau The Wormsgau ( la, pagus wormatiensis) was a medieval Gau (territory), county in the East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) stem duchy of Duchy of Franconia, Franconia, comprising the surroundings of the city of Worms, Germany, Wo ...

. Among other expansions were

Ingelheim Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein ( en, Ingelheim upon Rhine), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's west bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat ...

in 937,

Spiesheim Spiesheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location As a winegrowing centre, Spiesheim ...

in 960,

Saulheim Saulheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies in Rhenish He ...

in 973 and

Flonheim Flonheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies in the middle ...

in 996, until after the end of the expansion the

Selz The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and a left hand tributary of the Rhine. It flows through the largest German wine region, Rheinhessen (Rhenish Hesse). It rises near the village of Orbis in the county of Donnersbergkreis ...

set the southern limit and the limit to the Wormsgau. The Nahegau was among the central possessions of the

Salian dynasty The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the la ...

, to which from the mid-11th century the

Emichones The Emichones (german: Emichonen) were an early medieval family in the southwestern German region. Its members were counts (''Gaugrafen'') in the Nahegau, perhaps as undercounts of the Salian dynasty. The conventional name Emichones is due to the p ...

succeeded. The family of the Emichones divided itself later into the

Counts of Veldenz The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mose ...

, the

Wildgraves The noble family of the Waldgraves or Wildgraves (Latin: ''comites silvestres'') descended of a division of the House of the Counts of Nahegau in the year 1113. When the (a countship named after the river Nahe) split into two parts in 1113 ...

and the

Raugraves The Raugraves were a German noble family, which had its center of influence in the former Nahegau. They descended from the Emichones (Counts of Nahegau). History First family in the 12th until 15th centuries The family of the Raugraves (the ...

. Perhaps the

Leiningen family The House of Leiningen is the name of an old German noble family whose lands lay principally in Alsace, Lorraine, Saarland, Rhineland, and the Palatinate. Various branches of this family developed over the centuries and ruled counties with Impe ...

descended from the Emichones as well. Counts in Nahegau were: # Werner (died probably 920) Count in Nahegau,

Speyergau Speyergau was a medieval county in the East Frankish (German) stem duchy of Franconia. It was centred around the administrative centre of Speyer and roughly covered the former Roman administrative area of Civitas Nemetum, which is today the south-e ...

and Wormsgau c. 890/910, married NN from the House of the

Konradiner 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 ...

# Conrad der Rote (died 955), his son, Count in Nahegau, Speyergau, Wormsgau and

Niddagau Nidda is a town in the district Wetterau, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the Nidda river, approximately northeast of Frankfurt am Main. Division of the town The municipality consists of the districts Unter-Widdersheim, Ober-Widdersheim, B ...

, Count in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

, Duke of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

, married c. 947 Liutgard of Saxony (born 931, died 953) daughter of King

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...

(

Liudolfinger The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after ...

) # Otto "of Worms" (died 1004), his son, Count in Nahegau, Speyergau, Wormsgau,

Elsenzgau Elsenz is a river of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It passes through Sinsheim and flows into the Neckar in Neckargemünd. See also *List of rivers of Baden-Württemberg A list of rivers of Baden-Württemberg, Germany: A * Aal * Aalbach *Aalen ...

Kraichgau The Kraichgau () is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is c ...

Enzgau The Enz is a river flowing north from the Black Forest to the Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. It is 106 km long. Its headstreams – the Little Enz (german: Kleine Enz) and the Great Enz or Big Enz (''Große Enz'') – rise in the Northern B ...

Pfinzgau The Pfinz is a right tributary of the Rhine in Baden-Württemberg. Its origin is located at the northern edge of the Black Forest near the Straubenhardt borough of Pfinzweiler. Near Durlach it enters the Upper Rhine Plain and continues, splitting ...

and

Ufgau Ufgau (Old High German ''Ufgowe'', ''Uffgau''; ''Usgau, Osgau''; ''pagus auciacensis'') was a historical county ('' gowe'') of the duchy of Franconia, along the Oos River and the lower Murg, delimited to the south by the counties of Albgau and O ...

, Duke of Carinthia # Conrad II. der Jüngere (born probably 1003, died 1039) his grandson, Count in Nahegau, Speyergau and Wormsgau, Duke of

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

1036–1039

Literature

* Bauer, Thomas: ''Geschichtlicher Atlas der Rheinlande'', 7. Lieferung, IV.9: ''Die mittelalterlichen Gaue''; 2000; {{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate