Lothair III of Supplinburg (1075 – 4 December 1137), was
Duke of SaxonyThis article lists Dukes, Electors, and Kings ruling over territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 9th century to the end of the Saxon Kingdom in 1918.-Dukes of Saxony:...
(1106), King of Germany (1125), and
Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a Middle Ages ruler, who as German King had in addition received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope of the Holy Roman Church, and after the 16th century, the elected monarch governing the Holy Roman Empire, a Central...
from 1133 to 1137. He was the son of Count Gebhard of Supplinburg.
A note on the ordinal
The numbering of German rulers generally follows a sequence that leads back to the
CarolingianThe Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
empire and the East Frankish kingdom that emerged from it. Lothair III is thus seen as a successor of Emperor
Lothair ILothair I , king of Italy and crowned Carolingian King of Italy, Emperor of the Romans and was Emperor of the Franks .Lothair was the eldest son of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious and his wife Ermengarde of Hesbaye, daughter of...
(ruled 843-855) and King
Lothair II of LotharingiaLothair II , was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder...
(ruled 855-869), most of whose kingdom was eventually absorbed into Germany. However, because Lothair II was not Emperor and did not rule Germany proper, some historians do not count him in the German sequence and thus call Lothair of Supplinburg
Lothair II rather than Lothair III.
Rise to power
Little is known of Lothair's youth. He was a posthumous child, born in June 1075 shortly after his father, Gebhard of Supplinburg, died in battle against the Emperor
Henry IVHenry IV was King of Germany 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...
.
After years of purchasing lands or gaining them via inheritance or marriage alliances throughout
SaxonyThe Free State of Saxony is a federal state of Germany, located in the southeastern part of present-day Germany. It is the tenth-largest German state in area and the sixth largest in population , of Germany's sixteen states.Long in the heart of German-speaking Europe, Saxony became one of the new...
, Lothair gained the domains of the Billung, Nordheim and Brunswick families and became one of the dominant landowners in the northern duchy. He was made Duke of Saxony in 1106 by
Emperor Henry VHenry V was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor , the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor...
in exchange for his help against Henry's father,
Henry IV, Holy Roman EmperorHenry IV was King of Germany 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...
. Emboldened by the promotion, and incensed over the imposition of a new tax on ducal lords, Lothair subsequently revolted against Henry's rule and denied Henry's ability to rule Saxony during the
Investiture ControversyThe Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
. In 1115 his forces defeated those of the Emperor in the
Battle of WelfesholzThe Battle of Welfesholz was fought on February 11, 1115 between the Imperial army of the Holy Roman Empire and a rebellious Saxon force.Henry V, uncontested King of the Romans since 1106, had inherited the Investiture Controversy from his father Henry IV...
.
When Henry died in 1125, Lothair was viewed by the imperial chancellor, the Archbishop of Mainz, as a perfect candidate. As an extensive landowner, he brought power to the table, but he was old (slightly over fifty years of age) and had no male issue, potentially making him malleable for the nobility. He was therefore elected king of Germany after a contentious power struggle with
Frederick II, Duke of SwabiaFrederick II , called the One-Eyed, was the second Hohenstaufen duke of Swabia from 1105. He was the eldest son of Frederick I and Agnes....
, head of the
HohenstaufenThe House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufen also became Kings of Sicily...
. His election was notable in that it marked a departure from the concept of hereditary succession. Somewhat naive concerning the complex power struggle between the papacy and the empire, Lothair also consented to several symbolic acts that were subsequently interpreted by Rome as signaling acceptance of papal confirmation of his position.
A campaign undertaken in the same year against
BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
ended in defeat, making for a less than great start by Lothair. Among those imprisoned by the Bohemians was
Albert of AscanianAlbert the Bear was the first Margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly Duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142.- Life :...
, future Margrave of Brandenburg.
Dispute with the Staufens
During his reign, a succession dispute broke out between the houses of
WelfThe House of Welf is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century.The House of Welf is the older branch of the House of Este, a dynasty whose oldest known members lived in Lombardy in the 9th century. For this reason, it is sometimes also...
and
StaufenThe House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufen also became Kings of Sicily...
, the latter which was led by Frederick II and his brother Duke
ConradConrad III may refer to:*Conrad III of Germany*Conrad III of Provence *Conrad III of Dachau*Conrad III of Jerusalem*Conrad III of Wittelsbach, Archbishop of Salzburg*Conrad III Zoellner of Rotenstein*Conrad III, Duke of Bavaria...
of
FranconiaFranconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a part of southern Thuringia, and a much smaller region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Heilbronn-Franken...
. The Staufens, in addition to claiming the private Salian lands which clearly fell to them, also claimed all of the crown lands gained under Henry IV and Henry V. Lothair's attempts to seize the crown lands following approval from a group of nobles meeting in Regensburg provoked Staufen reaction. Frederick of Swabia was placed under the imperial ban, Conrad was deprived of Franconia, and the rectorate of Burgundy passed to Conrad of
ZähringenZähringen is the name of an old and influential German noble family, taken from the castle and villageof that name. Zähringen today is part of the city of Freiburg, which the dukes founded in 1120.-History:...
.
The Staufens, who had the support of their own lands plus support in many imperial cities,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
and the Duchy of
SwabiaSwabia, Suabia, or Svebia is both a historic and linguistic region in Germany. Swabia consists of much of the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg , as well as the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia...
, raised Conrad as anti-king Conrad III. In 1128 he was crowned
King of ItalyKing of Italy is a title adopted by many rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire...
by the
Anselm VAnselm V was the Archbishop of Milan from 30 June 1126 to his deposition early in 1135. He died on 14 August 1136.Like most young Milanese of his day, he went to France for his education...
, Archbishop of Milan. Lothair took advantage of Conrad's expedition into Italy and his lack of resources by attacking the Staufens in Germany. Nürnberg and
SpeyerSpeyer is a city in Germany with approx. 50,000 inhabitants, located beside the river Rhine. It lies 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Its oldest known name was Civitas Nemetum, named by a Teutonic tribe, the Nemeter, settling in this area...
, two strong cities in support of the opposition, fell in 1129. Conrad's failure to make anything of his position in Italy, causing him to return in 1130 without anything to show for it, assured at least a partial victory for the king.
Relations with the Papacy
In the double papal election of 1130, both sides campaigned for Lothair's support. The king had an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and reassert imperial control over the papacy, but choosing instead to deal with the Staufen resistance, he let his inferiors make the decision. Anacletus II offered Lothair the Imperial crown, but in the end Innocent II gained his support, and he promised to escort the new pope back to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
. In 1131 the two met at
LiègeLiège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders...
, where the king demonstrated subservience to the pope, and his request that investiture be restored to him was ignored. He also agreed to assist Innocent against King
Roger II of SicilyRoger II was King of Sicily, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, later became Duke of Apulia and Calabria , then King of Sicily...
, an ally of Anacletus.
The force Lothair took with him into Italy in 1132 was not strong, due to his leaving troops in Germany to prevent the Hohenstaufen from revolting. Carefully avoiding the cities, which were hostile, he reached Rome in 1133, which was mostly held by Anacletus. As
St. Peter's BasilicaThe Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as the ' and commonly known as St. Peter's Basilica, is located within the Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world, holding 60,000 people. It is the symbolic "Mother church" of...
was closed to them, Innocent instead crowned Lothair as emperor in the
LateranThe Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the Church of Rome, Italy, and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...
on June 4, 1133. The emperor continued giving little or no resistance against papal interference with his power; he even ignored a bull by Innocent which stated that the emperor's authority derived from him. He also recognized papal claims to the Matildine lands (formerly owned by Countess Matilda), in exchange receiving those lands as fiefs.
Campaign against Sicily
Returning to Germany, he set out to create peace. The Staufen brothers, falling short on resources, were compelled to submit. The Reichstag in
BambergBamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
in 1135 pardoned the two brothers and restored them to their lands. In return, they recognized Lothair as emperor and promised to assist him in another Italian campaign, and a ten-year Landpeace was declared.
In 1136, at the insistence of Innocent and Byzantine Emperor John II Comnenus, the campaign began, directed against Roger of Sicily. Two main armies, one led by Lothair, the other by Henry the Proud of Bavaria, entered Italy. On the river
TrontoThe Tronto is a 115 km-long Italian river that arises at Monte della Laghetta and ends in the Adriatic Sea at Porto d'Ascoli, San Benedetto del Tronto. Anciently the Truentus, it traverses the Lazio, Marche, and Abruzzo regions....
, Count
William of LoritelloWilliam was an Italo-Norman nobleman, the son and successor of Count Robert II of Loritello in 1137.He reigned only briefly, because, immediately after his succession, the Emperor Lothair II descended the peninsula to fight the royal pretensions of Roger II of Sicily in the Mezzogiorno. On the...
did homage to Lothair and opened the gates of
TermoliTermoli is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, and it is a local resort town known for its beaches and old fortifications...
to him. This was followed by Count Hugh II of Molise. Advancing deep into the southern part of the peninsula, the two armies met at
BariBari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, and continued further south in 1137. Roger offered to give
ApuliaApulia is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its southern portion known as Salento, a peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy...
as a fief of the Empire to one of his sons and give another son as a hostage—terms which Lothair refused after being pressured by Innocent.
The German troops, however, were adamant against campaigning during the hot summer and revolted. The emperor, who had hoped for the complete conquest of Sicily, instead separated
CapuaCapua is a city in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. The city is often mistaken for Santa Maria Capua Vetere: the remains of the ancient Capua are effectively located in the latter commune's...
and Apulia from Roger's kingdom and gave them to Roger's enemies. Innocent, however, protested, claiming that Apulia fell under papal claims; the two eventually jointly enfeoffed the duchy to Rainulf of Alife. Lothair turned north, but died while crossing the Alps on December 4,1137. Shortly beforehand, he gave his
TuscanTuscany is a region in North-Central Italy. It has an area of and a population of about 3.6 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence.Tuscany is known for its landscapes and its artistic legacy...
Matildine lands to his son-in-law, Henry the Proud of Bavaria, and his last acts were to give him also the Duchy of Saxony and the imperial regalia. However, the kingship subsequently ended up in the hands of the Staufens, destroying Lothair's hopes for a powerful Welf hereditary monarchy. He is entombed in the monastery church of Saints Peter and Paul at Königslutter, which he endowed as his burial church and for which he lay the cornerstone in 1135.
Actions in the North and East
The emperor's most long-lasting contribution to Germany came from his actions in the north and east. Being a Saxon, he gave more attention to the region than previous emperors. Even before becoming German king, he had given control of
HolsteinHolstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
and
StormarnStormarn is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Segeberg and Ostholstein, the city of Lübeck, the district of Lauenburg, and the city state of Hamburg.- History :...
to Adolf I of
SchauenburgSchaumburg and Schauenburg are the two versions of the name of a regional German dynasty.The usage is scattered, historically as well as locally:* Schaumburg, a district and former county in Lower Saxony*Schauenburg, Hesse, a municipality in Germany...
. In 1134 he appointed the Ascanian Albert as margrave of
BrandenburgBrandenburg is one of the sixteen states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. In 1136 he appointed Conrad the Great of Wettin, already margrave of Meissen, to the position of margrave of Lausitz, uniting the two marches. In addition, he petitioned the pope to expand the rights of the Archbishops of Bremen and
MagdeburgThe Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Magdeburg and it was located along the Elbe River....
in the area. King
Eric II of DenmarkErik II Emune was king of Denmark between 1134 and 1137. His nickname means "the Memorable". Erik was an illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark....
was made a vassal of the emperor in 1135, becoming a member of the Reichstag. Successful diplomatic intervention by Lothair in ending war between
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and
BohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Czech Republic...
resulted in the Polish Duke's Bolesław III Wrymouth submission and his payment of tribute that was long overdue. In addition, the Polish Duke had to accept
PomeraniaPomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East. It is inhabited...
and
RügenRügen or Rugia is Germany's largest island. It is located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rügen makes up the principal part of the Rügen District, which also includes the neighboring islands Hiddensee and Ummanz, as well as several small islands.- Geography :Rügen is...
as fiefs of the Empire.
Issue
By his wife,
Richenza of NortheimRichenza of Northeim was a member of the dynasty of the Counts of Northeim, and a German Empress.She was the daughter of Henry the Fat of Northeim and Gertrud of Brunswick of the Brunonen dynasty....
, Lothair had only one surviving child, a daughter
GertrudeGertrud of Süpplingenburg was the only child of Emperor Lothar III , Duke of Saxony, and his wife Richenza of Northeim....
, born April 18, 1115. In order to secure Welf support for his election, Lothair married Gertrude to
Henry the Proudthumb|right|Henry X in a much later engraving.Henry the Proud was the Duke of Bavaria , Duke of Saxony , and Margrave of Tuscany .-Life and reign:...
, the duke of Bavaria, in May 29, 1127. Their son was
Henry the LionHenry the Lion was a member of the Guelph dynasty and Duke of Saxony, as Henry III, from 1142, and Duke of Bavaria, as Henry XII, from 1156, which duchies he held until 1180....
.
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