Adalbero of Eppenstein ( – 28 November 1039) was

Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) 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 after the original German stem duchy, stem duc ...

and Margrave of Verona from 1011 or 1012 until 1035.

Biography

Adalbero was the son of the Bavarian count Markward of Eppenstein, who around 970 had married Hadmud, a daughter of Count Adalbero of

Ebersberg Ebersberg is the seat of the similarly named Ebersberg '' Landkreis'' (district) in the Oberbayern ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative region) in Bavaria, southern Germany. The ''Ebersberger Forst'' (forest) is one of Germany’s largest conti ...

and ruled as Margrave of Styria. About 1000 Adalbero succeeded his father as Styrian margrave. He was married to Beatrix, probably a daughter of Duke Herman II of Swabia from the Conradine dynasty and sister-in-law of the later

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty () 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 last Ottonian ...

emperor Conrad II. Upon the death of the Salian duke Conrad I in 1011, the German king

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

enfeoffed Adalbero with Carinthia. Adalbero's Carinthian dominions then included the

March of Carniola March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...

, the Windic March and the rule over the vast

March of Verona March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...

stretching from the

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

up to the Isonzo River. Late Duke Conrad's son and heir, Conrad the Younger was a minor when his father died and therefore was not taken into account, becoming a bitter rival. The tide began to turn when the

Ottonian dynasty The Ottonian dynasty () was a Saxons, Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman emperors, especially Otto the Great. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the family's origin in the German ...

became extinct with the death of Emperor Henry II in 1024 and the Salian scion Conrad II was elected his successor. Initially Adalbero sought a good relationship, he even acted as the emperor's swordsman at a 1027

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

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and during the coronation of Conrad's son Henry III as

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

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at Easter 1028. However, after the court diet on 18 May 1035 Duke Adalbero was forced to renounce all his offices and fiefdoms. Nevertheless, the

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Isar river in ...

bishop Egilbert, a councillor to Conrad's son King Henry III, advised the

Princes A prince is a Monarch, 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 title, hereditary, in some ...

and Henry himself to not recognise the deposition. Despite this, Adalbert lost his duchy and the march of Carantania, though the duchy would remain vacant until 2 February 1036. Furious, he began a bloody revenge campaign against the Salian liensmen in Carinthia, thereby killing Count William of Friesach, the husband of Saint

Hemma of Gurk Hemma of Gurk (; 27 June 1045),29 June according t also called Emma of Gurk (), was a noblewoman and founder of several churches and monasteries in the Duchy of Carinthia. Buried at Gurk Cathedral since 1174, she was beatified on 21 November 12 ...

. Finally he had to retire to the Bavarian estates of his mother in Ebersberg, where he died in 1039. The large Eppenstein estates in Carinthia were held by his eldest son Markward IV, whose sons Liutold and

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

went on to rule over the duchy from 1077 to 1122.

Marriage and children

Adalbero married to Beatrix of Swabia (died February 23 after 1125), probably a daughter of the Conradine duke Herman II. Among their children were: *Markward IV of Eppenstein (d. 1076), father of Liutold of Eppenstein, Duke of Carinthia from 1077 to 1090, and Henry of Eppenstein, Duke of Carinthia from 1090 to 1122 *Adalbero of Eppenstein,

Bishop of Bamberg This is a list of bishops and archbishops of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg and the modern Archdiocese of Bamberg in Germany. __TOC__ Bishops, 1007–1245 * Eberhard I 1007-1040 * Pope Clement II, Suidger von Morsleben 1040-1046 (Later Pope Clemen ...

from 1053 to 1057 *Willibirg (?), married Margrave Ottokar I of Styria

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adalbero, Duke of Carinthia Dukes of Carinthia 980s births 1039 deaths Year of birth uncertain Carinthia 10th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire