Engelbert I (died 1 April 1096 in Saint Paul's Abbey, Lavanttal) was

Margrave of Istria Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empir ...

(1090–1096), Count of

Sponheim Sponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany. History Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim. Sponheim Abbey There was a Benedictine abbey which was founded in 1101 by Steph ...

Kraichgau The Kraichgau () is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is c ...

, and

Pustertal The Puster Valley ( ; , ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The South Tyrolean municipalities of the ...

and ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'' of the

Archbishopric of Salzburg The Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg (; ) was an ecclesiastical principality and state of the Holy Roman Empire. It comprised the secular territory ruled by the archbishops of Salzburg, as distinguished from the much larger Catholic diocese f ...

. As a supporter of

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

, he lost the county of Pustertal. In 1091, Engelbert founded the Benedictine monastery of St. Paul. He retired as a monk there in 1095 and died in 1096.

Life and work

Engelbert was the eldest son of

Siegfried I, Count of Sponheim Siegfried I (c. 1010 – 7 February 1065) is considered the progenitor of the Duchy of Carinthia, Carinthian ducal House of Sponheim (''Spanheimer'') and all of its lateral branches, including the Counts of Laufen, Germany, Lebenau and the Counts ...

and Richardis of Lavant, heiress of Count Engelbert IV. In 1065 he followed the Zeisolf-Wolframs as a count in the Kraichgau, from 1070 he is documented as a count in the Pustertal. In the

he belonged with his brothers to the party of the South Germans supporting

and, as a supporter of the Archbishop of Salzburg, Gebhard von Helfenstein, fought in the years 1085 and 1086 against the imperial appointed counter-bishop Berthold von Moosburg. In 1086 he succeeded in bringing Archbishop Gebhard back to Salzburg from exile. As a result of his position in the Investiture Controversy, Engelbert was relieved of the district of Pustertal by Emperor Henry IV in 1091, which the Emperor then gave to the Bishop Burkhard von Brixen. On 1 May 1091, Engelbert founded the Benedictine monastery of St. Paul, inhabited by monks from Hirsau and their Abbot Wezilo. This monastery became the house monastery of the Sponheimers, who continued to give it rich gifts. It is also the oldest burial sites of the House of Sponheim and their descendants are found there. In April 1095 Engelbert joined St. Paul monastery as a monk. He died there on 1 April 1096.

Descendants

Engelbert was married to Hedwig, daughter of Bernhard II of Saxony. They had: * Bernhard of Trixen (d 1147), Count of Trixen * Richarda (d around 1112), married Count Berthold I of Schwarzenburg (d.1090), secondly married Poppo II, Margrave of Istria (d. 1107), thirdly married Gebhard I, Count of Reichenhall (d. 1102) * Henry IV, Duke of Carinthia, (1122–1123), * Engelbert II (d. 1141), Margrave of Istria (1103–1134), Duke of Carinthia (1123–1135), married Uta daughter of Ulric of Passau * Siegfried II (d 1132), Count of Spanheim-Lebenau * Hartwig (d 1126),

Bishop of Regensburg The Bishops of Regensburg (; or ) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany.

(1105–1126) * Diemut, married Meginhard, Count of Lurn

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Engelbert 01, Margrave of Istria Margraves of the Holy Roman Empire Counts of the Holy Roman Empire House of Sponheim 1096 deaths Year of birth unknown