Otto von Botenlauben
Encyclopedia
Otto von Botenlauben or Botenlouben (1177, Henneberg
– before 1245, near Bad Kissingen
), the Count of Henneberg
from 1206, was a German minnesinger, Crusader
and monastic founder.
Otto von Botenlauben was the fourth son of Count Poppo VI von Henneberg and his wife Sophia, countess of Andechs
and margravine of Istria
. In the oldest records (from 1196 and 1197), he still called himself Count von Henneberg
. In 1206, he pronounced himself Count von Botenlauben, after Botenlauben Castle Ruins near Bad Kissingen, the ruins of which remain to this day.
Otto’s existence is first recorded at the court of Emperor Henry VI in 1197, when he took part in the Emperors' campaign to Italy. After that, Otto travelled to the Holy Land
and made a career in the kingdom of Jerusalem
, where he gained good standing, prosperity and married the daughter of the royal seneschal
, Beatrix de Courtenay, in 1205. In 1220, he sold his lands to the Teutonic Knights
and returned to Germany, where he would attend the royal court often in the years that followed. His sons, Otto and Henry, as well as his grandson Albert, joined the clergy and so Otto’s line ended without an heir.
Otto and his wife founded the Cistercian cloister of Frauenroth
in 1231, where both are buried. The cloister was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War
, but their headstone remains to this day.
Otto was one of the minnesingers collated in the Codex Manesse
. His works are limited: fewer than ten wooing and love songs were carried over, and one lai
. His texts are also in the Weingarten and short Heidelberg collection of ballads (a poem under the name Niune).
Henneberg
Henneberg may refer to:*the House of Henneberg, German nobility*County of Henneberg, a mediæval state in the Holy Roman Empire*Henneberg, Thuringia, a municipality in Thuringia, Germany*Mary Jane Henneberg, b. 1973, TV reporter...
– before 1245, near Bad Kissingen
Bad Kissingen
Bad Kissingen is a spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and is the seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is a world-famous health resort.- Town structure :...
), the Count of Henneberg
House of Henneberg
-Origins:The distant origins of this family are speculative yet seem to originate in the Rhine Valley, east of modern-day France. Charibert, a nobleman in Neustria is the earliest recorded ancestor of the family, dating before 636. Five generations pass between Charibert and the next descendant...
from 1206, was a German minnesinger, Crusader
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
and monastic founder.
Otto von Botenlauben was the fourth son of Count Poppo VI von Henneberg and his wife Sophia, countess of Andechs
Andechs
The Benedictine abbey of Andechs is a place of pilgrimage on a hill east of the Ammersee in the Landkreis of Starnberg in Germany, in the municipality Andechs. Andechs Abbey is famed for its flamboyant Baroque church and its brewery...
and margravine of Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
. In the oldest records (from 1196 and 1197), he still called himself Count von Henneberg
Henneberg
Henneberg may refer to:*the House of Henneberg, German nobility*County of Henneberg, a mediæval state in the Holy Roman Empire*Henneberg, Thuringia, a municipality in Thuringia, Germany*Mary Jane Henneberg, b. 1973, TV reporter...
. In 1206, he pronounced himself Count von Botenlauben, after Botenlauben Castle Ruins near Bad Kissingen, the ruins of which remain to this day.
Otto’s existence is first recorded at the court of Emperor Henry VI in 1197, when he took part in the Emperors' campaign to Italy. After that, Otto travelled to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
and made a career in the kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
, where he gained good standing, prosperity and married the daughter of the royal seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
, Beatrix de Courtenay, in 1205. In 1220, he sold his lands to the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
and returned to Germany, where he would attend the royal court often in the years that followed. His sons, Otto and Henry, as well as his grandson Albert, joined the clergy and so Otto’s line ended without an heir.
Otto and his wife founded the Cistercian cloister of Frauenroth
Cloister Frauenroth
Frauenroth Abbey is a former Cistercian nunnery in Burkardroth in Bavaria, South Germany, in the bishopric of WürzburgThe abbey, dedicated to Saint George and All Saints, was built in 1231 by Count Otto II and Beatrix von Botenlauben, who were both later buried here...
in 1231, where both are buried. The cloister was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, but their headstone remains to this day.
Otto was one of the minnesingers collated in the Codex Manesse
Codex Manesse
The Codex Manesse, Manesse Codex, or Große Heidelberger Liederhandschrift is a Liederhandschrift , the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German Minnesang poetry, written and illustrated between ca. 1304 when the main part was completed, and ca...
. His works are limited: fewer than ten wooing and love songs were carried over, and one lai
Lai
A lai is a lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.Lais were mainly composed in France and Germany, during the 13th and 14th centuries. A Provençal term for a similar kind of poem is descort.The English term lay is a...
. His texts are also in the Weingarten and short Heidelberg collection of ballads (a poem under the name Niune).