Liutold of Eppenstein ( – 12 May 1090) was

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 State ...

and

Margrave of Verona The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast Marches, 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, Holy Roman ...

from 1077 until his death.

Biography

He was the second son of Markwart, Count of

Eppenstein Eppenstein is a former municipality in the district of Murtal (district), Murtal in the Austrian state of Styria. Since the 2015 Styria municipal structural reform, it is part of the municipality Weißkirchen in Steiermark. Eppenstein lies in the ...

(d. 1076) and his wife Liutbirg, daughter of Count Liutold of

Plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

. His grandfather Adalbero of Eppenstein had already been Duke of Carinthia until he was deposed by Emperor

Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

in 1035. Nevertheless, the

Upper Styria Upper Styria (german: Obersteiermark), in the Austrian usage of the term, refers exclusively to the northwestern, generally mountainous and well-wooded half of the federal state of Styria. The southwestern half of the state around the capital of ...

n House of Eppenstein had remained powerful in the Carinthian lands, making it difficult for foreign rulers appointed by the emperor to prevail against the local nobility. Liutold regained the ducal title, as his predecessor, the Zähringen duke Berthold II had supported the German antiking

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 emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt an ...

during 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 ...

and therefore was deposed by King Henry IV in 1077. The king, having returned from

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a '' comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his ...

, appointed Liutold instead, who had given him safe conduct across Predil Pass and through his Carinthian possessions on his way back to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The Eppenstein domains however were significantly narrowed, as Henry gave the Veronese

Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giuli ...

and

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...

region to the newly established

Patria del Friuli The Patria del Friuli ( la, Patria Fori Iulii, fur, Patrie dal Friûl) was the territory under the temporal rule of the Patriarch of Aquileia and one of the ecclesiastical states of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1420, the Republic of Venice acquir ...

(Patriarchate of Aquileia), while the Carinthian

March of Styria The March of Styria (german: Steiermark), originally known as Carantanian march (''Karantanische Mark'', ''marchia Carantana'' after the former Slavic principality of Carantania), was a southeastern frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire. It was ...

remained under the rule of the

Otakars The Otakars (or von Traungaus) were a medieval dynasty ruling the Imperial March of Styria (later the Duchy of Styria) from 1056 to 1192. History The dynasty began with Otakar I, probably a son or son-in-law of Aribo (c. 850909), margrave in Pan ...

. Liutold later accompanied Henry IV to his

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and also had Eppenstein Castle rebuilt. Although he had married twice, he died without issue. He was succeeded by his younger brother Henry. Liutold is buried at St. Lambrecht's Abbey in Styria.

Sources

* {{Authority control Dukes of Carinthia 1050s births 1090 deaths Year of birth uncertain Burials in Austria 11th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire