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Lordship of Diepholz

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The Lordship, later County, of Diepholz was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower-Rhenish-Westphalian Circle. It was ruled by the Noble Lords, later Counts, of Diepholz from the late tenth century until 1585, when it was incorporated into the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Territorial Borders

The territory of the County of Diepholz at its greatest extent in the sixteenth century stretched from Colnrade and Goldenstedt in the north to Wehdem, Dielingen and Lemförde in the south. The eastern border was marked by the Wietings Moor (near Barver) and the Neustädter Moor (near Wagenfeld). The western border was formed by the Dümmer See (lake) and the Hunte River. The distance from the northernmost point to the southernmost point of the county was about 47 kilometers whilst the distance from east to west was 22 kilometers at its widest point.[1][2]

The territory of the county includes most of the modern municipalities of Altes Amt Lemförde, Barnstorf, Rehden, Diepholz und Wagenfeld. The former District County of Diepholz (Landkreis Grafschaft Diepholz) was named after the territory.

The origins of the Noble Lords of Diepholz

The dynasty of the Noble Lords of Diepholz can be traced back with certainty to the family of domina Gysela, heiress of Drebber, her brother Gottschalk (cited 1080/1088) and his son, Gottschalk, Bishop of Osnabruck (1110-1118). The family belonged to the Germanic Uradel (ancient nobility) and ruled as sovereign lords over their territories on the border between the districts (Gau) of Westphalia and Engern in the stem duchy of Saxony.[3] Their family name first appears in 1160, although a continuous genealogy only starts with Gottschalk I (cited 1177-1205).[4]

The title used by the Noble Lords (edler Herr) of Diepholz was identical to that of their close neighbours, the Noble Lords of Lippe, and underlined their credentials as sovereign territorial lords and as members of the ancient Saxon nobility.

The Sovereign Lordship of Diepholz in the Middle Ages

After the fall of Henry the Lion in the late twelfth century, smaller Saxon territories were able to expand their dominions and influence, and the Noble Lords of Diepholz extended its influence to the north and south from its initial core holdings around the town and castle of Diepholz. It's expansion was however constrained by the moors that surrounded it and by the ambitions of its more powerful neighbours, the Counts of Hoya and the Bishops of Minden. The territory itself was not particularly wealthy and the sovereign dynasty continuously struggled to cover the costs of its administration and the obligations of their lifestyle.[5]

The dynasty concluded marriages with the sovereigns of neighbouring territories such as the Counts of Oldenburg, Hoya and Rietberg, and in 1285 Noble Lord Rudolf II of Diepholz (†1303/04) married the daughter of the Swedish King Valdemar (†1302). In order to prevent a division of the territory's modest resources, younger sons tended to enter religious life as canons in neighbouring bishoprics such as Osnabrück, Minden, Bremen and Cologne, where some of them also ruled as bishops.[6][7]

From Lordship to County

In accordance with their sovereign status and motivated by their marital alliances with neighbouring sovereign counts, the Noble Lords of Diepholz started titling themselves as Counts of Diepholz during the course of the fifteenth century. Friedrich I (died 1529) regularly used the title in his charters and edicts.[8] Their comtal title only came to be formally recognised under Count Johann VI around 1531.[9] After the extinction of the main line of the Lords of Bronkhorst in 1553, the Counts of Diepholz also laid claim to that territory based on their descent from Heilwig of Bronkhorst, and subsequently titled themselves Counts of Diepholz and Bronkhorst.[10]

The County of Diepholz in the Early Modern Period

Under constant threat from his more powerful neighbours and after endless hostilities with the Bishop of Minden, Rudolf VIII abdicated his absolute sovereignty over Diepholz in 1510 and recognised the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg as his liege lord in return for the promise of his protection.[11]

After the death of Rudolf VIII of Diepholz in 1510, his three sons, Friedrich I, Konrad XII and Johann VI initially ruled over Diepholz as co-sovereigns. The limited means which the territory disposed over however led the brothers to sign a treaty in 1514 recognising Friedrich I as sole ruler and making financial arrangements for the other two brothers to become canons in Cologne.[12] Friedrich I married Eva von Regenstein in 1523, by whom he had a son and daughter, and in 1528 introduced the Reformation into the County of Diepholz.[13]

When Friedrich I died in 1529, whilst visiting his sister Imgard in the Abbey of Essen, his brother, Johann VI, returned from Cologne and seized power in Diepholz. He formally agreed with his sister-in-law, Eva of Regenstein, that he would conclude a morganatic marriage in order not to impinge on the rights of his nephew, Rudolf IX, son of Friedrich I, when he came of age.[14] Johann VI also took care to sign his edicts and charters on behalf of both himself and his nephew.[15] Count Rudolf IX succeeded his uncle in 1545, and married his cousin, Margarete of Hoya-Nienburg, in 1549, by whom he had a son and a daughter. Their son, Friedrich II, died in 1585, but only left a daughter, Anna Margaretha (died childless in 1629), by his marriage to Anastasia of Waldeck, who was unable to succeed according to the strictures of Saxon inheritance law. As a result of the 1510 treaty recognising the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg as its liege lord, most of the the county was therefore absorbed into the Welf duchy.[16]

Irmgard of Diepholz, daughter of Rudolf VIII and Elisabeth of Lippe, had entered Essen Abbey as a religious in 1505 and slowly rose through the ranks to become Princess-Abbess in 1561. Her election as Princess-Abbess procured far greater wealth and influence than her family in Diepholz enjoyed, and she generously dispensed patronage to her niece, Anna von Diepholt, daughter of Friedrich I, who was married to a local nobleman, Adolf von Schuren, Lord of Horst an der Ruhr (died 1552). Anna's son, Evert von Schuren, and his cousins, Count Friedrich II and his sister, Anna, the Coadjutrix of Bassum, were the only heirs of Irmgard when she died in 1575.[17]

The East-Frisian and Dutch branches of the Diepholz dynasty

Rudolf IV, succeeded his father as sovereign of Diepholz in 1484, thanks to the premature death of his older brother, Konrad XI (died 1483), who had left progeny by an unknown partner. Konrad XI's son, Otto von Diepholt, married the Frisian noblewoman, Anna Remets Ubbena, sister of Dr. Hayo "Hermannus Phrysius" Hompen, humanist scholar, Imperial Councillor and correspondent of Erasmus,[18] and half-sister of Wilhelm Ubbena, Chancellor of East-Frisia.[19] Otto was initially a commander of the forces of Count Edzard I of East-Frisia in the Saxon Feud, but later became a supporter and legate of the Habsburg dynasty in the Netherlands, who appointed him as imperial warden in Amersfoort.[20][21]

Otto's oldest son, Coenraat van Diepholt (died 1572), married Fransken van IJsselstein, the illegitimate niece of Floris van Egmont, Count of Buren. He was Marshal of the Nether-Bishopric (Nedersticht) of Utrecht and Montfoort and acted as castellan of Abcoude. Coenraat's children, Floris and Francisca, left progeny in the Netherlands and Germany.[22]

Jost von Diepholt (died after 1573), Otto's second son, married Almuth Ukena, whose father was a bastard son of Count Uko Cirksena of East-Frisia (brother of Edzard I). This couple became the ancestors of the noble Von Diepholt family of East-Frisia.[23]

List of the Noble Lords and Counts of Diepholz

  • ca 1160: Cono (Konrad) I and Wilhelm I
  • from 1177: Gottschalk I
  • from 1219: Rudolf I (until after 1242) and his brother, Cono III (until 1233), probably sons of Gottschalk I.
  • 1233/42–1265: Johann II, son of Cono III, married Hedwig of Roden, daughter of Hildebold II, Count of Roden and Limmer.
  • 1265-1304: Rudolf II, son of Johann II, married firstly Agnes of Cleves, daughter of Dietrich IV "Nust", Count of Cleves, married secondly Marina, Princess of Sweden, daughter of Valdemar, King of Sweden; died childless.
  • 1304-1310: 1265–1302: Konrad V, son of Johann II and brother of Rudolf II, he had inherited the Blankena domains of the dynasty in 1285 and succeeded his childless brother in Diepholz upon his death, married Hedwig of Rietberg, daughter of Friedrich I, Count of Rietberg.
  • 1310–1350: Rudolf IV, son of Konrad V, married Jutta of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, daughter of Otto II, Count of Oldenburg in Delmenhorst.
  • 1350–1378: Konrad VII, son of Rudolf IV, married (secondly) Armgard of Waldeck, daughter of Heinrich IV, Count of Waldeck.
  • 1378–1422: Johann II, son of Konrad VII, married Kunigunde of Oldenburg, daughter of Konrad II, Count of Oldenburg in Oldenburg.
  • 1422–1426: Konrad IX, son of Johann II, died in battle at Detern, married Irmgard of Hoya, daughter of Otto III, Count of Hoya.
  • 1426–1484: Otto IV, son of Konrad IX, married Heilwig van Bronkhorst, daughter of Otto, Lord of Bronkhorst.
  • 1484–1510: Rudolf VIII, son of Otto IV, abdicated his absolute sovereignty over Diepholz to the Duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg in return for its protection, married Elisabeth of Lippe, daughter of Bernhard VII "Bellicosus", Noble Lord of Lippe.
  • 1510-1514: Co-Lordship of the brothers Friedrich I, Johann VI and Konrad XII, sons of Rudolf VII; the brothers signed a treaty in 1514 allocating sole rule to Friedrich I.
  • 1510-1529: Friedrich I (as sole Lord / Count), married Eva von Regenstein, daughter of Ulrich VIII, Count of Regenstein and Blankenburg.
  • 1529–1545: Johann VI, brother of Friedrich I, his use of the title of Count of Diepholz was generally recognised from 1531 onwards, he seized the county after the death of his brother and ruled as sovereign count during his nephew's minority.
  • 1545–1560: Rudolf IX, son of Friedrich I, married Margarete of Hoya, daughter of Jobst II, Count of Hoya in Nienburg.
  • 1575–1585: Friedrich II (1560–1575), son of Friedrich I, married Anastasia of Waldeck; their only daughter could not by dynastic law inherit the county, which therefore fell to the Duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg.

Notable members of the Diepholz dynasty in religious life

Castles and Seats

  • Auburg
  • Diepholz
  • Cornau
  • Lembruch
  • Lemförde

Literature

  • Bach, Otto, Heimatgeschichte im Spiegel der Karte, Diepholz 1999.
  • Gade, Heinrich, Historisch-geographisch-statistische Beschreibung der Grafschaften Hoya und Diepholz. Nienburg 1901.
  • Giesen, Klaus, Die Münzen von Diepholz. Osnabrück 2001.
  • Guttzeit, Emil Johannes, Geschichte der Stadt Diepholz, Diepholz 1982.
  • Hucker, Berend Ulrich, „Genealogie und Wappen der Edelherren von Diepholz in 12. und 13. Jahrhundert“ in Norddeutsche Familienkunde, Jahrgang 1990, pp. 180–188.
  • Kinghorst, Dr. Wilhelm, Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert, Diepholz 1912 (reprinted 1979).
  • Moormeyer, Willy Die Grafschaft Diepholz. Göttingen 1938.
  • Museum Nienburg: Die Grafschaften Bruchhausen, Diepholz, Hoya und Wölpe. Nienburg 2000.
  • Nieberding, C.H., Geschichte des ehemaligen Niederstifts Münster und der angränzenden Grafschaften Diepholz, Wildeshausen, etc., Vechta 1840 (reprinted 1967).
  • Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015.
  • Schwennicke, Detlev, Europäische Stammtafeln (neue Folge), Band XVII, Tafel 130 (Diepholz), Frankurt am Main 1998.
  • Vaterländisches Archiv des historischen Vereins für Niedersachsen, Luneburg 1837: „Nachrichten von der adlichen Familie von Diepholt in Ostfriesland“, pp. 12 –16.

References

  1. ^ Bach, Otto, Heimatgeschichte im Spiegel der Karte, Diepholz 1999.
  2. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, p. 16.
  3. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, p. 6.
  4. ^ Berend Ulrich Hucker, „Genealogie und Wappen der Edelherren von Diepholz in 12. und 13. Jahrhundert“ in Norddeutsche Familienkunde, Jahrgang 1990, pp. 180-188.
  5. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, p. 16.
  6. ^ Emil Johannes Guttzeit, Geschichte der Stadt Diepholz, Diepholz 1982; p. 142-145.
  7. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, p. 6.
  8. ^ Nieberding, C.H., Geschichte des ehemaligen Niederstifts Münster und der angränzenden Grafschaften Diepholz, Wildeshausen, etc., Vechta 1840 (reprinted 1967), pp. 139-143, 204-206.
  9. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, p. 17.
  10. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, p. 17.
  11. ^ Nieberding, C.H., Geschichte des ehemaligen Niederstifts Münster und der angränzenden Grafschaften Diepholz, Wildeshausen, etc., Vechta 1840 (reprinted 1967), p. 139.
  12. ^ Kinghorst, Dr. Wilhelm, Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert, Diepholz 1912 (herdruk 1979); p.9.
  13. ^ Kinghorst, Dr. Wilhelm, Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert, Diepholz 1912 (reprinted 1979).
  14. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, p. 17.
  15. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, pp. 33-34.
  16. ^ Kinghorst, Dr. Wilhelm, Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert, Diepholz 1912 (reprinted 1979).
  17. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, pp. 25-37.
  18. ^ Bietenholz, Peter G. & Brian,Thomas (editors), Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation, Volume 2, Toronto 1985, pp. 157-158.
  19. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, pp. 20-22.
  20. ^ Vaterländisches Archiv des historischen Vereins für Niedersachsen, Luneburg 1837: „Nachrichten von der adlichen Familie von Diepholt in Ostfriesland“, pp. 12 -14.
  21. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, pp. 18-19.
  22. ^ Rootenberg, Francesco Uys, Het geslacht Van Diepholt in het Sticht en Westfalen en hun verwantschap aan de graven van Buren, Kaapstad 2015, pp. 12-23, 54-59.
  23. ^ Vaterländisches Archiv des historischen Vereins für Niedersachsen, Luneburg 1837: „Nachrichten von der adlichen Familie von Diepholt in Ostfriesland“, p. 14.
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