Count Otto III Rietberg (between 1475 and 1485 – 18 December 1535) was Count of

Rietberg Rietberg () is a town in the district of Gütersloh in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located approximately 10 km south of Gütersloh and 25 km north-west of Paderborn in the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe. The town is lo ...

from 1516 to 1535. Otto III was probably born between 1475 and 1485 as the eldest son of

John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...

and his wife Margaret of Lippe. Otto's second wife, Onna of Esens, introduced the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in the County of Rietberg. In 1533, Otto III appointed two preachers from Lippe, to teach the new faith in the parishes of

and Neuenkirchen. Otto III suffered from ulcers on his leg. He died on 18 December 1535 and was buried in the

Marienfeld Abbey Marienfeld Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in the Marienfeld district of Harsewinkel, in the district of Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1185 by monks from Hardehausen Abbey and dissolved in 1803 after German Mediatisation, becoming st ...

. He was the last Count of Rietberg to be buried there. On his gravestone in the cloister before the winter refectory a Latin text could be read: : In the year of our Lord 1535, on 18 December, died : Noble Lord Otto, Count and Lord of Rietberg. : May his soul rest in peace. Beside it was the grave stone of his first wife: : In the year of our Lord 1523, the day before St. Anthony, died : Anna of Sayn, Countess in Rietberg. : May her soul may in peace.

Marriages and issue

Otto III's first marriage, which was closed before 1515, was with Countess Anna of Sayn (died: 16 January 1523). With her he had five children: *

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

(died 1553), married on 1 February 1541 Countess Palatine Catherine of the Rhine, died childless * Johanna (died: 25 June 1578), abbess of

Metelen Abbey Metelen is a municipality in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Vechte in the district of Steinfurt. Metelen Land station is located on the Münster–Enschede railway and has an hourly train service to Münster in one ...

and deaness of

Herford Abbey Herford Abbey (german: Frauenstift Herford) was the oldest women's religious house in the Duchy of Saxony. It was founded as a house of secular canonesses in 789, initially in Müdehorst (near the modern Bielefeld) by a nobleman called Waltger, wh ...

* Ursula, married on 4 March 1538 with Philip, Lord of Winneburg and Beilstein. A dowry of 6000 gold florins was paid. * Ermgart (died: 17 September 1579), abbess of

Vreden Abbey Vreden is a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany near the Dutch border. The town is located near the river Berkel. The first mentioning of the town is proven for the year 839. In 1252 Vreden obtained city rights. Demographics Religion * ...

and Metelen Abbey * Conrad (died before 1523) After Anna's death, Otto III married on 26 September 1526 Onna of Esens (died after 1559). She was the daughter of

Hero Oomkens von Esens Hero Oomkens von Esens (c. 1455 – 1522) was a Frisian nobleman, the Earl of Harlingerland. He inherited the title upon the death of his father, Sibet Attena von Esens, in 1473. Other names He is usually referred to as Hero Oomkens "the ...

, an East Frisian

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

, and the sister of Balthasar Oomkens von Esens of the House of Attena. Via this marriage, the Counts of Rietberg acquired the Harlingerland. In 1526, it was held by Onna's brother Balthasar. Five years after Otto's death, Balthasar died childless and Onna inherited his land. Otto had one child with Onna: *

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

(d. 1562), Count of Rietberg from 1553 to 1562. He was the last Count from the House of Rietberg; after his death, the title went to a junior line of the

Cirksena The House of Cirksena () was the name of the ruling family of Ostfriesland. They descended from a line of East Frisian chieftains from Greetsiel. East Frisia In 1439, in the wake of clashes between different lines of chieftains, the town of Em ...

family. Otto III had an illegitimate daughter with Jutte, who later married John of Willen, the

Seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

of the County of Rietberg: * Anna

References

* ,

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 03 Rietberg Counts of Rietberg 15th-century births 1535 deaths 15th-century German people 16th-century German people