Engelbert I, Count of the Mark (died 16 November 1277 at

Castle of Bredevoort The Bredevoort Castle () was a castle in the city of Bredevoort, Guelders in the Netherlands. History The earliest known mention of the castle dates from 1188 as "castrum Breidervort". On the forecourt of the castle developed a small city durin ...

) was a German nobleman. He was the ruling

Count of the Mark The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme and Lenne rivers. The Counts d ...

from 1249 until his death.

Life

He succeeded his father, Adolf I as the ruling count in 1249. His brother

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

, who had been a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, returned to the lay state after their father's death and claimed a share of the inheritance. Engelbert ceded the castles at

Altena Altena (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Altenoa'') is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, i ...

and Blankenstein and the surrounding land to Otto. He was afraid that this might be the first step in the fragmentation of the county. However, Otto died without a male heir in 1262, and his possessions fell back to Engelbert. Early in his reign, a

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

broke out between Engelbert II and his namesake, Archbishop Engelbert II of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

. They fought a number of battles and their troops devastated each other's territory; in 1265, they made peace. In 1262 Engelbert and

William IV, Count of Jülich William IV, Count of Jülich (c. 1210 – 16 March 1278) was the son and heir of William III of Jülich and Mathilde of Limburg, daughter of Waleran III, Duke of Limburg.Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlechter im Mittelalt ...

, came to the assistance of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

during the

Siege of Königsberg The siege of Königsberg was a siege laid upon Königsberg Castle, one of the main strongholds of the Teutonic Knights, by Prussians during the great Prussian uprising from 1262 possibly though 1265. History Background Pagan Prussians rose a ...

. Engelbert I was married twice. His first wife was Kunigunde of

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz-Kreis, Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and e ...

and they had one daughter Agnes of Mark who married Henry of Berg, Lord of Windeck about 1272. His second wife, Elisabeth of Valkenburg, was a niece of the Archbishop of Cologne. This marriage ensured peace between Cologne and the Mark. In 1274, Archbishop Engelbert II of Cologne died. His successor,

Siegfried II of Westerburg Siegfried (or Sigfrid) II of Westerburg (before 1260 – 7 April 1297, in Bonn) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1275 to 1297. Siegfried was the second son of Siegfried IV, Count of Runkel in Westerburg (died 1266). His older brother was Henry (' ...

tried to expand his influence in Westphalia and the Rheinland. This led to a conflict with the other rulers in the area. In 1277, they formed an alliance, led by Bishop Simon I of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

. Engelbert II of the Mark joined this alliance. Later that year, he was attacked by Herman of Lohn while travelling near

Tecklenburg Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor ...

. He was seriously wounded in the attack, and died of his wounds on 16 November 1277, at the

, where he was held captive by Herman. He was buried in Cappenberg Abbey and was succeeded by his son * Eberhard II.

References

* Christians of the Prussian Crusade Counts of the Mark 1277 deaths 13th-century German nobility Year of birth unknown {{Germany-count-stub