Adalbert II, Count of Ballenstedt (about 1030 – 1076/83) from the House of Ascania, the 23rd Great-Grandfather of Elizabeth II, was Graf

Graf

Graf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...

in Saxony

Duchy of Saxony

The medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages "Carolingian stem duchy" covering the greater part of Northern Germany. It covered the area of the modern German states of Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Saxony-Anhalt and most of Schleswig-Holstein...

  and Vogt

Vogt

A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...

of Nienburg Abbey

Nienburg Abbey

Nienburg Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Nienburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.- Abbey :Nienburg was for centuries on the extreme eastern edge of the settled territory of Germany...

.

Biography

Adelbert was born at Ballenstedt

Ballenstedt

Ballenstedt is a town in the Harz district, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the northern rim of the Harz mountain range, about 10 km southeast of Quedlinburg. The municipality includes the villages of Badeborn and Oppenrode...

 in Eastphalia

Eastphalia

Eastphalia is a historical region in northern Germany, encompassing the eastern part of the historic Duchy of Saxony, between the Elbe, Leine, Saale and Unstrut rivers. Today, it covers the southeastern part of the state of Lower Saxony and the western part of Saxony-Anhalt.-Etymology:The name...

, the son of Esiko, Count of Ballenstedt and his wife Mathilde, probably a daughter of Duke Herman II of Swabia

Herman II, Duke of Swabia

Herman II was the Conradine duke of Swabia from 997 to his death, as the son of and successor Conrad I.Herman opposed the election of Henry IV, Duke of Bavaria, as king of Germany because he himself had been a contender...

. About 1068 he married Adelheid, daughter of Margrave Otto I

Otto I, Margrave of Meissen

Otto I was the Margrave of Meissen from 1062 until his death, the second margrave of the family of the counts of Weimar and Orlamünde. He was a younger son of Weimar III of Weimar and Oda, daughter of Thietmar, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark. He inherited Orlamünde from his father in 1039 and...

 of Meissen and his wife Adele. Their two sons were Otto the Rich

Otto, Count of Ballenstedt

Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, called Otto the Rich , was the first Ascanian prince to call himself count of Anhalt, and was also briefly named duke of Saxony...

 and Siegfried of Ballenstedt, later Count Palatine of the Rhine.

According to chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld

Lambert of Hersfeld

Lambert of Hersfeld was a medieval chronicler, probably a Thuringian by birth. His work represents a major source for the history of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire in the eleventh century....

, Adalbert supported Margrave Dedi I

Dedi I, Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark

Dedi was the Margrave of the Saxon Ostmark from 1046 and a claimant for the title of Margrave of Meissen from 1069...

 of the Saxon Eastern March

Saxon Eastern March

The Saxon Eastern March or Ostmark was a march of the Holy Roman Empire from the 10th until the 12th century. The term "eastern march" or "ostmark" comes from the Latin term marchia Orientalis and originally could refer to either a march created on the eastern frontier of the Duchy of Saxony or...

 in his 1069 conflict with King Henry IV

Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...

. Dedi from the House of Wettin had married Adalbert's mother-in-law Adele, widow since 1067, and claimed the possessions of her deceased husband Otto of Meissen. Both had to surrender in short order, Adalbert however remained a fierce opponent of the king. From 1073 on he participated in the Great Saxon Revolt

Great Saxon Revolt

The Great Saxon Revolt was a civil war between 1077 and 1088 early in the history of the Holy Roman Empire led by a group of opportunistic German princes who elected as their figurehead the duke of Swabia and anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfeld, a two-way brother-in-law of the young Henry IV, Holy Roman...

 under Otto of Nordheim

Otto of Nordheim

Otto of Northeim was Duke of Bavaria from 1061 until 1070. He was one of the leaders of the Saxon revolt against Emperor Henry IV....

 for which he was arrested in 1075. Even after his release he backed antiking Rudolf of Rheinfelden until he was finally killed in a feud at Westdorf

Westdorf

Westdorf is a village and a former municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2009, it is part of the town Aschersleben....

 near Aschersleben

Aschersleben

Aschersleben is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 22 km east of Quedlinburg, and 45 km northwest of Halle .-Pre-20th century:...

 by one of Henry's liegemen.

Adalbert's widow married Count Palatine Hermann II of Lotharingia

Hermann II, Count Palatine

Hermann II , Count Palatine of Lotharingia from 1064 when reaching majority, until 1085. He was count in the Ruhrgau and the Zulpichgau, as well as count of Brabant...

 from the Ezzonid dynasty and – 3rd – Count Palatine Henry of Laach

Henry of Laach

Henry of Laach was the first count palatine of the Rhine . Henry was the son of Herman I, count of Gleiberg. Henry was a follower of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor...

 from the House of Luxembourg

House of Luxembourg

The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...

, predecessor of her son Siegfried.