Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen ( – 8 December 1186) was a

Duke 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 above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of Zähringen and Rector of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. He was the son of Conrad I, Duke of Zähringen and Clementia of Luxembourg-Namur. He founded numerous cities, including

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

Life

Berthold IV succeeded his father, Conrad I, in 1152 as Duke of Zähringen. Berthold also claimed the title of "Duke of Burgundy", which he had agreed upon with Barbarossa to receive after conquering the Cisjuran ("French") territories of Burgundy together and also helping him out in his Italian campaign in 1152. However, the conquest of Burgundy failed and in 1156 the Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

instead married Beatrice, the daughter of the last Count of

of the

House of Ivrea The Anscarids () or the House of Ivrea were a medieval dynasty of Burgundians, Burgundian and Franks, Frankish origin which rose to prominence in Northern Italy in the tenth century, briefly holding the Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire), Ita ...

. This interfered with Berthold's claims and Berthold was given the title of ''Rector of Burgundy'' and was made overlord over the Transjuran ("Swiss") parts of Burgundy,

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and Sion. The rivalry with Duke Frederick IV of neighbouring

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

caused him to fight on the side of

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph). ...

in the Feud of Tübingen (1164–1166). In 1173, he became overlord of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. An entry in the necrology of the Abbey of Saint Peter in the Black Forest reads : "Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen donated 5 candles for the memory of John the Baptist".

Marriages and issue

Berthold IV was married to Heilwig of Frohburg, with whom he had three children: * Berthold V, the last Duke of Zähringen. After his death, the counts of Kyburg and Urach inherited the Zähringen possessions * Agnes, married to Count Egino IV of Urach — According to the necrology of Tennenbach Abbey, she was the daughter of Berthold V, vol. I. p. 340 * Anna, married to Count Ulrich III of Kyburg. They were the maternal grandparents of king

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's imperial election of 1273, election marked the end of the Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire), Great Interregnum whic ...

References

Sources

* * Dukes of Zähringen 1120s births 1186 deaths 12th-century German nobility {{Germany-duke-stub