Adolf IV was a Count of Schauenburg (1225–1238) and of Holstein

Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein

The Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein were titles of the Holy Roman Empire. The dynastic family came from Schauenburg near Rinteln on the Weser in Germany...

 (1227–1238), of the family of the Schauenburger. Adolf was the eldest son of Adolf III of Schauenburg and Holstein

Adolf III of Holstein

Adolf III, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein was the ruler of the Counties of Schauenburg and Holstein. He is particularly remembered for his establishment of a new settlement for traders on the banks of the Alster near the Neue Burg in Hamburg.- Descent :Adolf III was the only son of Count Adolf...

 by his second wife, Adelheid of Querfurt.

Life

Adolf IV won several victories against the Danes

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. In 1225 he won the Battle of Mölln against Albert II, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde. On 22 July 1227 with his coalition army Adolf was victorious in the Battle of Bornhöved

Battle of Bornhöved (1227)

The Battle of Bornhöved took place on 22 July 1227 near Bornhöved in Holstein. Count Adolf IV of Schauenburg and Holstein — leading an army consisting of troops from the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg, about 1000 Dithmarsians and combined troops of Holstein next to various north German nobles —...

 against a Danish army under the command of King Valdemar II of Denmark

Valdemar II of Denmark

Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...

 and thus regained Holstein. In 1235 he founded Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

 and in 1238 Itzehoe

Itzehoe

Itzehoe is a town in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.As the capital of the district Steinburg, Itzehoe is located on the Stör, a navigable tributary of the Elbe, 51 km northwest of Hamburg and 24 km north of Glückstadt...

. In 1238 he took part in a crusade in Livonia

Livonia

Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...

.

In fulfilment of an oath taken during the heat of the Battle of Bornhöved, Adolf withdrew in 1238 to a Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 friary and in 1244 was ordained a priest in Rome (his two under-age sons passed into the guardianship of his son-in-law Duke Abel of Schleswig

Abel of Denmark

Abel of Denmark was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to Eric IV and Christopher I....

). Also in 1244 he founded Neustadt in Holstein

Neustadt in Holstein

Neustadt in Holstein is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Bay of Lübeck , approx...

. He died in 1261 in the Franciscan friary in Kiel, which he himself had founded, whereupon Holstein was divided between his sons John (of Holstein-Kiel) and Gerhard (of Holstein-Itzehoe).

Marriage and issue

He married Heilwig von der Lippe, daughter of Count Hermann II of Lippe and by her had the following children:

• Mechthild
  Mechtild of Holstein
  Matilda of Holstein or Mechthild was a Danish queen consort, married to King Abel of Denmark and then to Birger Jarl, Regent of Sweden.-Biography:...
  
   (1225–1288): she married firstly in 1237 Abel of Denmark
  Abel of Denmark
  Abel of Denmark was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to Eric IV and Christopher I....
  
  , Duke of Schleswig and later King of Denmark (this marriage provided the basis for later claims by the Schauenburgers on the Duchy of Schleswig); and secondly Birger Jarl
  Birger jarl
  , or Birger Magnusson, was a Swedish statesman, Jarl of Sweden and a member of the House of Bjelbo, who played a pivotal role in the consolidation of Sweden. Birger also led the Second Swedish Crusade, which established Swedish rule in Finland. Additionally, he is traditionally attributed to have...
  
  , Regent of Sweden
  Sweden
  Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
  
  
• John I of Holstein-Kiel (Count Johann I of Kiel) (1229–1263)
• Gerhard I of Holstein-Itzehoe (1232–1290)
• Ludolf, d. in childhood

Sources

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 1875, vol 1, p 108 (digital version de.wikisource): Adolf IV. (Graf von Holstein)
• Neue deutsche Biographie, vol. 1, Berlin, 1953 Adolf IV., Graf von Holstein (article by Heinz Maybaum)

External links

• genealogie-mittelalter.de

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