Robert I of Nassau
Encyclopedia
Robert I of Nassau (ca. 1090ca. 1154) was from 1123 co-Count of Laurenburg and would later title himself the first Count of Nassau
. The House of Nassau
would become an important aristocratic family in Germany
, from which are descended the present-day rulers of both the Netherlands
and Luxembourg
.
(German: Dudo-Heinrich von Laurenburg) and Anastasia of Arnstein an der Lahn (near present day Obernhof
), daughter of Count Louis II of Arnstein. Count Dudo, considered the founder of the House of Nassau, had built the castle of Laurenburg
around 1080. He had also laid the foundations of Nassau Castle in present day Nassau, Germany
, around 1100, on land belonging to the Bishopric of Worms
. After 1120, Robert, ruled from Nassau Castle together with his brother Arnold I
.
In 1124, Robert became the Bishopric of Worms's Vogt
over the Weilburg
Diocese. He inherited this position from the Hessian
Count Werner IV, Count of Gröningen. Idstein
, which had come under the control of Count Dudo in 1122, was also added to this fief. Through this, Robert was able to decisively expand the possessions of the House of Nassau. He gained, among other lands, the village of Dietkirchen
and established himself in the Haiger Mark
.
Along with numerous property and lordship rights in the Westerwald
and Dill River region, Weilburg's territory included the former Königshof Nassau, which had fallen to Weilburg in 914. This did not, however, settle the dispute with the Bishop of Worms over the legality of constructing Nassau Castle. When Robert I began calling himself the Count of Nassau after the castle, the Worms Bishopric disputed the title. The title was only confirmed through the intervention of the Archbishop of Trier in 1159, about five years after Robert’s death, under his son Walram I
.
In 1126, Robert endowed the Benedictine
Schönau Abbey
near Lipporn
. The land had already in 1117 been donated by Count Dudo-Henry to Schaffhausen Abbey for construction of a monastery. Under Robert’s rule, from 1126 to 1145, the Romanesque
buildings were constructed, presumably including a three-nave basilica
. The Abbey included both a monastery for monks and a convent
for nuns. From 1141 until her death in 1164, the abbey convent would be the home of St. Elizabeth of Schönau
.
Robert had continual disputes with several of his neighbors. He was a loyal follower of the Hohenstaufen
Emperors
. Robert died before May 13, 1154.
(born ca. 1115, deceased July 12, after 1164), daughter of Walram II
the Pagan, Count of Limburg
and Duke of Lower Lorraine
, and Jutta of Guelders
(daughter of Gerard I, Count of Guelders). At least two, and possibly as many as four, children were born of this union:
The chronology of the Counts of Laurenburg is not certain and the link between Robert I and Walram I is especially controversial. It is certain that Arnold II and Robert II were sons of Robert I and Beatrix of Limburg.
Some sources consider Gerhard, listed as co-Count of Laurenburg in 1148, to be the son of Robert I's brother, Arnold I
. However, Erich Brandenburg in his Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen states that it is most likely that Gerhard was Robert I's son, because Gerard was the name of Beatrix of Limburg's maternal grandfather.
This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia and Dutch Wikipedia articles, as of 2009-01-21.
Nassau (state)
Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, now extinct in male line, was the House of Nassau.-Origins:...
. The House of Nassau
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled Count of Nassau, then elevated to the princely class as...
would become an important aristocratic family in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, from which are descended the present-day rulers of both the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
Biography
Robert was the eldest son of Count Dudo-Henry of LaurenburgDudo-Henry of Laurenburg
Dudo-Henry of Laurenburg was Count of Laurenburg in 1093 and is considered the founder of the House of Nassau...
(German: Dudo-Heinrich von Laurenburg) and Anastasia of Arnstein an der Lahn (near present day Obernhof
Obernhof
Obernhof is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
), daughter of Count Louis II of Arnstein. Count Dudo, considered the founder of the House of Nassau, had built the castle of Laurenburg
Laurenburg
Laurenburg is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn district of Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany. The town, a health resort situated in the lower Lahn River valley, belongs to the Diez Municipal Association.-History:...
around 1080. He had also laid the foundations of Nassau Castle in present day Nassau, Germany
Nassau, Germany
Nassau is a town located in the German Land of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies in the Lahn River valley between the cities of Bad Ems and Limburg an der Lahn. Nassau is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Nassau. The town is on the German-Dutch holiday road, the Orange Route...
, around 1100, on land belonging to the Bishopric of Worms
Bishopric of Worms
The Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Palatinate. Worms had been the seat of a bishop from Roman times...
. After 1120, Robert, ruled from Nassau Castle together with his brother Arnold I
Arnold I of Laurenburg
Arnold I of Laurenburg , an early member of the House of Nassau, was from 1123 co-Count of Laurenburg. The House of Nassau would become an important aristocratic family in Germany, from which are descended the present-day Kings of the Netherlands and Grand Dukes of Luxembourg.-Biography:Arnold was...
.
In 1124, Robert became the Bishopric of Worms's 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...
over the Weilburg
Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.- Location :...
Diocese. He inherited this position from the Hessian
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
Count Werner IV, Count of Gröningen. Idstein
Idstein
Idstein is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt it is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße , connecting towns with fine timber-frame buildings and...
, which had come under the control of Count Dudo in 1122, was also added to this fief. Through this, Robert was able to decisively expand the possessions of the House of Nassau. He gained, among other lands, the village of Dietkirchen
Dietkirchen
Dietkirchen an der Lahn is a borough of Limburg an der Lahn, seat of the district of Limburg-Weilburg in the state of Hesse, Germany. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Limburg in 1971. The town is dominated by the St...
and established himself in the Haiger Mark
Haiger
Haiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger.-Location:Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern edge of the Westerwald range, near where the three states of...
.
Along with numerous property and lordship rights in the Westerwald
Westerwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
and Dill River region, Weilburg's territory included the former Königshof Nassau, which had fallen to Weilburg in 914. This did not, however, settle the dispute with the Bishop of Worms over the legality of constructing Nassau Castle. When Robert I began calling himself the Count of Nassau after the castle, the Worms Bishopric disputed the title. The title was only confirmed through the intervention of the Archbishop of Trier in 1159, about five years after Robert’s death, under his son Walram I
Walram I of Nassau
Walram I of Nassau was the first Count of Nassau, reigning from 1154 to 1198. The House of Nassau would become an important aristocratic family in Germany, from which are descended the present-day rulers of both the Netherlands and Luxembourg.- Early life :Walram was the younger son of Count...
.
In 1126, Robert endowed the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Schönau Abbey
Schönau Abbey (Nassau)
Schönau Abbey is a monastery in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limburg on the outskirts of the municipality of Strüth in the Rhein-Lahn district, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
near Lipporn
Lipporn
Lipporn is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
. The land had already in 1117 been donated by Count Dudo-Henry to Schaffhausen Abbey for construction of a monastery. Under Robert’s rule, from 1126 to 1145, the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
buildings were constructed, presumably including a three-nave basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
. The Abbey included both a monastery for monks and a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
for nuns. From 1141 until her death in 1164, the abbey convent would be the home of St. Elizabeth of Schönau
Elizabeth of Schönau
Elizabeth of Schönau was a German Benedictine visionary. When her writings were published, the title of "Saint" was added to her name. She was never canonized, but in 1584 her name was entered in the Roman Martyrology and has remained there...
.
Robert had continual disputes with several of his neighbors. He was a loyal follower of the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
Emperors
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. Robert died before May 13, 1154.
Descendants
Before 1135, Rupert married Beatrix of LimburgDuchy of Limburg
The Duchy of Limburg, situated in the Low Countries between the river Meuse and the city of Aachen, was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory is now divided between the Belgian provinces of Liège and Limburg , the Dutch province of Limburg , and a small part of North Rhine-Westphalia in...
(born ca. 1115, deceased July 12, after 1164), daughter of Walram II
Waleran, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Waleran II , called Paganus meaning "the Pagan", probably due to a late baptism, was the Duke of Limburg and Count of Arlon from his father's death in about 1119 until his own twenty years later...
the Pagan, Count of Limburg
Duke of Limburg
The counts of Limburg rose to prominence when one of their house was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine.Though Lorraine was soon confiscated, the ducal title was kept within the family, transferred it to the county of Limburg, which was eventually ratified by the Holy Roman Emperor...
and Duke of Lower Lorraine
Lower Lorraine
The Duchy of Lower Lorraine or Lower Lotharingia , established in 959 was a stem duchy of the medieval German kingdom, which encompassed part of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, the northern part of the German Rhineland and a part of northern France east of the Schelde river.It was created out...
, and Jutta of Guelders
Guelders
Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...
(daughter of Gerard I, Count of Guelders). At least two, and possibly as many as four, children were born of this union:
- Robert II (German: Ruprecht), Count of Laurenburg, 1154-1158 (died ca. 1159)
- Arnold II, Count of Laurenburg, 1151-1154 (died April 1, 1158).
- (possibly) Gerhard, Count of Laurenburg, 1148
- (possibly from another mother) Walram IWalram I of NassauWalram I of Nassau was the first Count of Nassau, reigning from 1154 to 1198. The House of Nassau would become an important aristocratic family in Germany, from which are descended the present-day rulers of both the Netherlands and Luxembourg.- Early life :Walram was the younger son of Count...
, Count of Nassau (born ca. 1146, died February 1, 1198)
The chronology of the Counts of Laurenburg is not certain and the link between Robert I and Walram I is especially controversial. It is certain that Arnold II and Robert II were sons of Robert I and Beatrix of Limburg.
Some sources consider Gerhard, listed as co-Count of Laurenburg in 1148, to be the son of Robert I's brother, Arnold I
Arnold I of Laurenburg
Arnold I of Laurenburg , an early member of the House of Nassau, was from 1123 co-Count of Laurenburg. The House of Nassau would become an important aristocratic family in Germany, from which are descended the present-day Kings of the Netherlands and Grand Dukes of Luxembourg.-Biography:Arnold was...
. However, Erich Brandenburg in his Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen states that it is most likely that Gerhard was Robert I's son, because Gerard was the name of Beatrix of Limburg's maternal grandfather.
Sources
. Table 60.- Die territoriale Entwicklung Nassaus by Ulrich Reuling.
External links
This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia and Dutch Wikipedia articles, as of 2009-01-21.