Henry VI (1376–1454), a member of the

House of Gorizia The House of Gorizia, also called the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in Italy, on the border with Slovenia), they were originally "advocates" (''Vog ...

(''Meinhardiner'' dynasty), ruled as

Count of Gorizia The County of Gorizia (, , , ), from 1365 Princely County of Gorizia, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. Originally mediate ''Vogts'' of the Patriarchs of Aquileia, the Counts of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'') ruled over several fiefs in the area ...

from 1385 until his death. He was also

Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

(a hereditary title),

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Belluno-Feltre and ''

Landeshauptmann The Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute,'' ) is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Ty ...

'' of

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

. Through his first marriage with Elizabeth of Cilli, he was the brother-in-law of

Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elec ...

, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary.

Life

Henry's parents were Count Meinhard VI and his wife, Utehild of Mätsch. His father had outlived his elder brother and became sole ruler in 1365. Upon his death about 1385, Henry succeeded him as Count of Gorizia (''Görz''). His estates went into a rapid decline, as he turned out to be an "incurable drunkard and gambler". Since Henry's cousin Countess

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

had bequeathed her Tyrolean estates to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

duke

Rudolf IV of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...

in 1363, the Counts of Gorizia were thrown back on their original possessions around

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

and

Lienz Lienz (; Southern Bavarian: ''Lianz'') is a medieval town in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is the administrative centre of the Lienz district, which covers all of East Tyrol. The municipality also includes the cadastral subdivision of ''Pat ...

( Bruck Castle). Henry likewise concluded an inheritance treaty with the Habsburg dynasty; this didn't go down well with his other neighbours, the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

dukes of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. After the death of his younger brother John Meinhard VII in 1430, he also inherited the

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 ...

n county of Kirchberg from the estate of his mother.

Marriages and issue

Henry was engaged with Elizabeth (d. 1392), a daughter of the Habsburg duke Leopold III of Austria. However, on 31 January 1400, he married another Elizabeth (d. 1426), a younger daughter of Count Herman II of Celje. Through this marriage, he eventually became the brother in law of the Emperor

. With Elisabeth, he had two daughters: * Anna, married to Brunoro

della Scala The House of Della Scala, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History ...

(d. 1437) * Margaret (d. 1450), married Count John of

Oettingen-Wallerstein The House of Oettingen was a high-ranking noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank ...

(d. 1449) After Elizabeth's death, Henry married Catherine (''Katalin''; d. 1471/83), a daughter of the Hungarian palatine

Nicholas II Garai Nicholas II Garai (, ; c. 1367 – December 1433) was a powerful Hungarian baron who served as the Palatine of Hungary from 1402 until 1433 and the ban (title), ban of ban of Macsó, Macsó, Usora (region), Usora, Soli (region), Só, Ban of Slavo ...

. He was described as a "rugged opponent" of Catherine, as she was politically inclined to side with the Habsburgs, while he was siding with the

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

relatives of his first wife. He had three sons with Catherine: *

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–114 ...

(1438–1462), succeeded his father as Count of Gorizia in 1454 *

Leonhard Leonhard is a male given name and surname in German and other Germanic languages, as well as Estonian, sharing the same origin as English Leonard. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Alfred Leonhard Maluma (1955–2021), Tanzanian Ro ...

(1440–1500), succeeded his elder brother in 1462, last Count of Gorizia * Louis (d. 1457)

External links

Genealogy of the Middle Ages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 06 Gorizia Counts of Gorizia 1376 births 1454 deaths 14th-century German nobility 15th-century German nobility