The County of Regenstein was a mediaeval

statelet A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. It was ruled by the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

comital

House of Regenstein the Regenstein family, also ''Reinstein'', was a German nobility, Lower Saxon noble family, which was named after the eponymous Regenstein Castle near Blankenburg (Harz), Blankenburg on the edge of the Harz Mountains of central Germany. History ...

, named after their residence at

Regenstein Castle Regenstein Castle () is a ruined castle that lies three kilometres north of Blankenburg (Harz), Blankenburg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is a popular tourist destination where, each year, a knight's tournament and a garrison festival a ...

near Blankenburg north of the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountain range.

History

The progenitor of the family, Count

Poppo I of Blankenburg Poppo I of Blankenburg (c. 1095–1161 or 1164) probably came from the House of Reginbodonen and was Count of Regenstein- Blankenburg in the Harz in central Germany. His father was Conrad, Count of Blankenburg. His uncle, Reinhard of Blankenbu ...

(c. 1095 – 1161 or 1164) probably was related to the

Rhenish The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy Roman Empir ...

Reginbodonid dynasty of Archbishop Siegfried of Mainz (d. 1084), a cadet branch of the Franconian

Conradines The Conradines or Conradiner were a dynasty of Franconian counts and dukes in the 8th to 11th Century, named after Duke Conrad, Duke of Thuringia, Conrad the Elder and his son King Conrad I of Germany. History The family is first mentioned in 8 ...

. His uncle

Reinhard of Blankenburg Reinhard of Blankenburg (11th century – 1123) was Bishop of Halberstadt from 1107 to 1123. He was related to the later comital family. Reinhard may have not have been native in Saxony, but had Saxon relations. As a young man, he went to Paris t ...

was

Bishop of Halberstadt The Diocese of Halberstadt was a Roman Catholic diocese () from 804 until 1648."Dio ...

from 1107 onwards and provided him with large estates in the Eastphalian

Harzgau The Harzgau was a medieval shire ('' Gau'') in the northeastern foorhils of the Harz mountains, part of the Eastphalia region of Saxony. It included the towns of Halberstadt, Quedlinburg, and Osterwieck, and was bounded by the Oker in the west, b ...

region between the Ilse and Bode rivers. Poppo was first documented as ''

comes ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...

'' in an 1128 deed, serving the Saxon duke

Lothair of Supplinburg Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg ( June 1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 be ...

and his

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

successors. His son Conrad was the first descendant to call himself ''Comes de Regenstein'' in 1162, while his brother Siegfried continued to rule as Count of Blankenburg. After the deposition of the Saxon duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

in 1180, the Regenstein counts were temporarily arrested by the forces of 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 ...

, but were reconciled with the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

monarch soon after. After a lengthy feud

Heimburg Castle Heimburg Castle (), also called the ''Altenburg'' or ''Alteburg'', is a ruined castle on an oval hilltop about 330 metres above sea level (NN) which is located just north of the Harz Mountains in central Germany. The ruins of this hilltop castle s ...

, built about 1170 by King Henry IV and soon after devastated during the Saxon Rebellion, was acquired by the Regenstein counts in the early 14th century. The Regenstein-Heimburg branch re-united the Regenstein and Blankenburg estates in 1343, under the rule of the most renowned Count (1310–49), who since the 1330s was frequently in dispute with the leaders of the surrounding estates like the Halberstadt bishops and the Abbesses of Quedlinburg; he was finally assassinated by the henchmen of Bishop

Albert II of Halberstadt Albert II of Brunswick-Lüneburg (–1358), a member of the House of Welf, was Prince-Bishop of Halberstadt from 1325 until his death. His regnal numbers indicate that he was the second Bishop Albert of Halberstadt. His reign can be character ...

. These tales were romanticised in the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

''The Robber Count'' () by

Gottfried August Bürger Gottfried August Bürger (31 December 1747 – 8 June 1794) was a German poet. His ballads were very popular in Germany. His most noted ballad, ''Lenore (ballad), Lenore'', found an audience beyond readers of the German language in an English l ...

, melodized by

Johann Philipp Kirnberger Johann Philipp Kirnberger (also ''Kernberg''; 24 April 1721, Saalfeld – 27 July 1783, Berlin) was a musician, composer (primarily of fugues) and music theorist. He studied the organ with Johann Peter Kellner and Heinrich Nicolaus Gerber, and ...

and the novel of the same name by Julius Wolff. Julius Wolff In the 15th century the comital family finally relocated its seat to Blankenburg Castle; the Regenstein fortress lapsed and was left to ruin. In order to gain greater independence from the Halberstadt bishops, the counts turned

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

in 1539. The last scion of the comital family, Count John Ernest, died in 1599. With Blankenburg, the County of Regenstein fell back to the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt. Shortly thereafter Blankenburg and Regenstein were separated: Regenstein remained with the secularised

Principality of Halberstadt The Principality of Halberstadt () was a state of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by Brandenburg-Prussia. It replaced the Bishopric of Halberstadt after its secularization in 1648. Its capital was Halberstadt. In 1807, the principality was made a ...

, while the remaining

County of Blankenburg The County of Blankenburg () was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Blankenburg, it was located in and near the Harz mountains. History County of Blankenburg About 1123 Lothair of Supplinburg, then Duke of Saxony, had Blankenbu ...

was annexed and held by the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.

Counts of Regenstein

* Siegfried (-1073), brother of Konrad, Count of Blankenburg-Regenstein * Henry (-1235), son * Siegfried II (-1251), son * Ulric, Count of Regenstein-Heimburg (-1267), brother * Ulric III (1287–1322) * Albert II (1310–1349), son * Albert III (1341–1365), son * John Ernest, Count of Blankenburg and Regenstein (-1599)

Notes

The following articles do not yet exist on the

English Wikipedia The English Wikipedia is the primary English-language edition of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger on 15 January 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition. English Wikipedia is hosted alongside o ...

, but do exist on the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regenstein, County Of Lower Saxon Circle States and territories established in 1368 States and territories disestablished in 1599 Counties of the Holy Roman Empire