Berthold II, Duke of Carinthia
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Berthold II, Duke of Carinthia (c. 1000 – 6 November 1078), also known as Berthold I of Zähringen, was a progenitor of the Swabian
House of Zähringen The House of Zähringen (german: Zähringer) was a dynasty of Swabian nobility. The family's name derived from Zähringen Castle near Freiburg im Breisgau. The Zähringer in the 12th century used the title of Duke of Zähringen, in compensation ...
. From 1061 until 1077, he was the
Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...
and Margrave of Verona.


Life

He was possibly a descendant of one Berthold (or Bezelin) von Villingen (d. 1024), a Swabian count in the
Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...
region and relative of the
Ahalolfing The Alaholfings (occasionally Ahalolfings) were a noble family of Alemannia in the Early Middle Ages. They were related to the previous rulers of Alemannia, to the Bavarian Agilolfings and to the Geroldings. Their original power base was around t ...
dynasty. The early Zähringer were close allies of the Imperial
Ottonian dynasty 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 the ...
; Berthold von Villingen's son Count Birchtilo was among the nobles capturing and mutilating
Antipope John XVI John XVI ( 945 – 1001; born gr, Ιωάννης Φιλάγαθος, Ioannis Philagathos; it, Giovanni Filagato; la, Johannes Philagathus) was an antipope from 997 to 998. Biography John was of Greek descent and was a native of Rossan ...
in 998, at the behest of Emperor
Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...
. On his mother's side of the family, Berthold probably descended from the
Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
family, who then ruled as Swabian counts in
Ortenau The Ortenau, originally called Mortenau, is a historic region in the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the right bank of the river Rhine, stretching from the Upper Rhine Plain to the foothill zone of the Black Fore ...
,
Thurgau Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part ...
, Breisgau, and Baar. Berthold quickly rose to be one of the most powerful counts in Swabia, and the
Salian 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 l ...
emperor Henry III even promised his party-follower the title of
Duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family ...
, then held by
Otto of Schweinfurt Otto III (died 28 September 1057), called the White and known as Otto of Schweinfurt, was the margrave of the Nordgau (1024–1031) and duke of Swabia (1048–1057). He was the son of Henry of Schweinfurt, margrave of the Nordgau, and Gerberga ...
. However, upon Otto's death in 1057, Henry's widow
Agnes of Poitou Agnes of Poitou ( – 14 December 1077), was the queen of Germany from 1043 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1046 until 1056 as the wife of Emperor Henry III. From 1056 to 1061, she ruled the Holy Roman Empire as regent during the m ...
gave the
Duchy of Swabia The Duchy of Swabia (German: ''Herzogtum Schwaben'') was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German Kingdom. It arose in the 10th century in the southwestern area that had been settled by Alemanni tribes in Late Antiquity. While the ...
in
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
to Count
Rudolf of Rheinfelden Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian dynasty, Salian emperor Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 mar ...
. Berthold received, as compensation for the abandonment of his claim, the
Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial Sta ...
and the
March of Verona The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I of Germany in 952, ...
, after the death of the
Ezzonid The Ezzonids (, ) were a dynasty of Lotharingian stock dating back as far as the ninth century. They attained prominence only in the eleventh century, through marriage with the Ottonian dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors. Named after Ezzo, Count P ...
duke Conrad III in 1061. As a result, the Zähringer finally ascended to the status of a
princely A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
house. Berthold remained the only Carinthian duke from the Zähringen dynasty. Both in Carinthia and Verona, like his Ezzonid predecessor, he was considered a foreign ruler and was never really accepted by the local nobles. According to the contemporary chronicler
Lambert of Hersfeld Lambert of Hersfeld (also called Lampert; – 1082/85) was a medieval chronicler. His work represents a major source for the history of the German kingdom of Henry IV and the incipient Investiture Controversy in the eleventh century. Life What ...
, he was even temporarily declared deposed in 1072/1073. Moreover, Berthold fell out with King Henry IV during the fierce
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 monast ...
when, together with Duke Welf I of Bavaria, he supported the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
of his former rival Rudolf of Rheinfelden as
antiking An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, ...
, after King Henry's
Walk to Canossa The Humiliation of Canossa ( it, L'umiliazione di Canossa), sometimes called the Walk to Canossa (german: Gang nach Canossa/''Kanossa'') or the Road to Canossa, was the ritual submission of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV to Pope Gregory VII ...
in 1077. In turn, the king convened the Imperial Diet at
Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...
, where he seized the duchy and gave Carinthia to
Liutold of Eppenstein Liutold of Eppenstein ( – 12 May 1090) was Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona from 1077 until his death. Biography He was the second son of Markwart, Count of Eppenstein (d. 1076) and his wife Liutbirg, daughter of Count Liutold of Pla ...
, whose grandfather
Adalbero Adalbero or Adalberon (french: Adalbéron) is a masculine given name, a variant of Adalbert (given name), Adalbert, derived from the Old High German words ''Ethel (disambiguation), adal'' ("noble") and ''beraht'' ("bright") or '':en:wikt:bero#Old_Hi ...
had held it until 1035. Berthold then retired to his Swabian home territory, where he had to ward off constant attacks by King Henry's forces. He died the next year at
Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
Castle and was buried in
Hirsau Abbey Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most important Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It is located in the Hirsau borough of Calw on the northern slopes of the Black Forest mountain range, in the present-day state of B ...
, where he had backed the construction of the monastery church under Abbot
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
.


Marriage and children

Berthold married one Richwara, possibly a descendant of Duke Conrad II of Carinthia. The couple had at least three sons: *
Herman I Herman I may refer to: * Herman I (Archbishop of Cologne) (died in 924) * Herman I, Duke of Swabia (died in 949) * Herman I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (died in 996) * Herman I, Margrave of Meissen (died in 1038) * Herman I, Margrave of Baden (c ...
( – 1074), used the Veronese margravial title and became progenitor of the
Margraves of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...
* Berthold II ( – 1111),
Duke of Swabia The Dukes of Swabia were the rulers of the Duchy of Swabia during the Middle Ages. Swabia was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German kingdom, and its dukes were thus among the most powerful magnates of Germany. The most notable family ...
in opposition to Frederick of Hohenstaufen from 1092 to 1098, then
Duke of Zähringen Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...
* Gebhard ( – 1110),
Bishop of Constance The Prince-Bishopric of Constance, (german: Hochstift Konstanz, Fürstbistum Konstanz, Bistum Konstanz) was a small ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the mid-12th century until its secularisation in 1802–1803. In his dua ...
from 1084. Richwara also gave birth to two daughters: *Liutgard (d. about 1119), married the
Nordgau The Nordgau (from the Germanic for "northern region") can refer to two distinct areas: * Nordgau (Alsace), the Alsatian Nordgau, the medieval County of Nordgau, the northern part of Alsace * Margraviate of the Nordgau, the Bavarian Nordgau in the a ...
margrave Diepold of Vohburg; mother of Margrave Diepold III and grandmother of
Adelaide of Vohburg Adelaide of Vohburg (german: Adela or ''Adelheid''; – 25 May after 1187) was Duchess of Swabia from 1147 and German queen from 1152 until 1153, as the first wife of the Hohenstaufen king Frederick Barbarossa, the later Holy Roman Emperor. Lif ...
, the first wife of Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
*Richinza, married Count Rudolf of
Frickingen Frickingen is a municipality and a village in the district of Bodensee in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...
, secondly married to Louis of
Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen ...
, progenitor of the
House of Helfenstein The House of Helfenstein was a German noble family during the High and Late Middle Ages. The family was named after the family castle, Castle Helfenstein, located above Geislingen an der Steige in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, ...
. In his second marriage, Berthold was married to Beatrice, sister of Count Theodoric I of Montbéliard. In the end, the Zähringer were able to maintain their position, when around 1098 Berthold II reached an agreement with the Hohenstaufen duke
Frederick I of Swabia Frederick I (c. 1050 – 1105) before 21 July was Duke of Swabia from 1079 to his death, the first ruler from the House of Hohenstaufen (''Staufer''). Life Frederick was the son of Frederick of Büren (c. 1020–1053), Count in the Riesgau and ...
, retaining the title of "Duke of Zähringen". From 1112, Herman II, son of Herman I, ruled as
Margrave of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...
.


Notes


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berthold 02, Duke of Carinthia House of Zähringen Dukes of Carinthia 1000s births 1078 deaths Year of birth uncertain