House of Henneberg

Henneberg
Parent house	Babenberg in turn from the Robertians
Titles	Princely Counts of Henneberg
Estate(s)	County of Henneberg

(Princely) County of Henneberg (Gefürstete) Grafschaft Henneberg (de)
c. 1037–1660
Coat of arms
County of Henneberg around 1350
Status	Principality
Capital	Henneberg Schleusingen Römhild
Common languages	East Franconian
Government	Principality
Historical era	Middle Ages, Renaissance
• Poppo I, first count	c. 1037
• Internally divided	1274
• Raised to principality	1310
• Joined    Franconian Circle	1500
• Schleusingen branch    extinct	1583
• Divided	1660
Preceded by Succeeded by Duchy of Franconia Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Zeitz

Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (Grafen) which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (Gefürstete Grafschaft) in 1310.

Upon the extinction of the line in the late 16th century, most of the territory was inherited by the Saxon House of Wettin and subsequently incorporated into the Thuringian estates of its Ernestine branch.

Origins[]

The distant origins of this family are speculative yet seem to originate in the Middle 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 of note, Robert III of Worms. Both the Capetian dynasty and the Elder House of Babenberg (Popponids) are direct male lineal descendants of Count Robert I and therefore referred to as Robertians.

The designation Babenberger, from the castle of Bamberg (Babenberch), was established in the 12th century by the chronicler Otto of Freising, himself a member of the Babenberg family. The later House of Babenberg, which ruled what became the Duchy of Austria, claimed to come of the Popponid dynasty. However, the descent of the first margrave Leopold I of Austria († 994) remains uncertain.

County of Henneberg[]

Henneberg map dated 1594 but probably reflecting an earlier time

In the 11th century, the dynasty's estates around the ancestral seat Henneberg Castle near Meiningen belonged to the German stem duchy of Franconia. They were located southwest of the Rennsteig ridge in the Thuringian Forest, then forming the border with the possessions held by the Landgraves of Thuringia in the north. In 1096 one Count Godebold II of Henneberg served as a burgrave of the Würzburg bishops, his father Poppo had been killed in battle in 1078. In 1137 he established Vessra Abbey near Hildburghausen as the family's house monastery.

The counts lost their position as the bishops were raised to "Dukes of Franconia" in the 12th century. Nevertheless, in the course of the War of the Thuringian Succession upon the death of Landgrave Henry Raspe, Count Herman I of Henneberg (1224–1290) in 1247 received the Thuringian lordship of Schmalkalden from the Wettin margrave Henry III of Meissen. After the extinction of the Bavarian House of Andechs upon the death of Duke Otto II of Merania in 1248, the Counts of Henneberg also inherited their Franconian lordship of Coburg (then called the "new lordship", later Saxe-Coburg).

In 1274 the Henneberg estates were divided into the Schleusingen, Aschach-Römhild and Hartenberg branches. Count Berthold VII of Henneberg-Schleusingen (1272–1340) was elevated to princely status in 1310, his estates comprised the towns of Schmalkalden, Suhl and Coburg. In 1343 the Counts of Hennberg also purchased the Thuringian town of Ilmenau. The Coburg lands passed to the Saxon House of Wettin upon the marriage of Countess Catherine of Henneberg to Margrave Frederick III of Meissen in 1347.

After the Imperial Reform of 1500, the County of Henneberg formed the northernmost part of the Franconian Circle, bordering on the Upper Saxon Ernestine duchies and the lands of the Upper Rhenish prince-abbacy of Fulda in the northwest. A thorn in the side remained the enclave of Meiningen, a fief held by the Bishops of Würzburg, which was not acquired by the counts until 1542.

Disestablishment[]

Whereas the male line of the House of Babenberg became extinct in 1246, the Counts of Henneberg lived on until 1583. In 1554 William IV of Henneberg-Schleusingen had signed a treaty of inheritance with Duke John Frederick II of Saxony. However, when the last Count George Ernest of Henneberg died, both the Ernestine and the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty claimed his estates, that were finally divided in 1660 among the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Gotha and the Albertine duke Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz. The Lordship of Schmalkalden fell to Landgrave William IV of Hesse-Kassel, according to an inheritance treaty of 1360.

After the Congress of Vienna (1815), the former Albertine parts around Schleusingen and Suhl fell to the Prussian province of Saxony. King Frederick William III of Prussia assumed the title of a Princely Count of Henneberg, which his successors in the House of Hohenzollern have borne ever since.

Counts of Henneberg[]

Partitions of Henneberg under Henneberg rule[]

Table of rulers[]

(Note: Here the numbering of the counts is the same for all counties, as all (or at least the majority of them) were titled Counts of Henneberg, despite of the different parts of land and its particular numbering of the rulers. The princes are numbered by the year of their succession.)

Ruler		Born	Reign	Death	Ruling part	Consort	Notes
		1040	1052-1078	7 August 1078	County of Henneberg	two children	Founder of the county. Died fighting in the Battle of Mellrichstadt.
		c.1040	1078-1091	c.1091	County of Henneberg	Unmarried	Brother of the predecessor, left no heirs. The county was divided between the sons of Poppo I.
		c.1070?	1091-1144	20 October 1144	County of Henneberg-Henneberg (Goteboldian line)	six children	Son of Poppo I, inherited Henneberg.
		c.1040	1091-1118	21 August 1118	County of Frankenstein (Popponian line)	four children	Son of Poppo I, inherited Frankenstein.
		c.1100	1118-1156	1156	Frankenstein-Irmelshausen	Unknown three children	Son of Poppo II, inherited Irmelshausen.
		c.1100	1118-1164	1164	County of Frankenstein	A woman from Zimmern five children	Son of Poppo II, inherited Frankenstein.
		c.1128	1144-1156	1 September 1156	County of Henneberg-Henneberg	no children	Sons of Gotebold II, probably ruled jointly.
		c.1130	1156-1159	18 October 1159	County of Henneberg-Henneberg	Bertha of Putelendorf three children
		c.1150?	1156-1199	29 May 1199	Frankenstein-Irmelshausen	one child	Sons of Poppo III, probably ruled jointly.
		c.1150?	1156-1167	1167	Frankenstein-Irmelshausen	Unmarried
		c.1150?	1159-1190	14 June 1190	County of Henneberg-Henneberg	c.1182 four children
		c.1150?	1164-1197	1197	County of Frankenstein	Unknown two children
		c.1170?	1190-1212	24 August 1212	Henneberg-Würzburg	one child no children	Son of Poppo VI, inherited Würzburg.
		c.1170?	1190-1245	21 August 1245	County of Henneberg-Henneberg	1217 four children Jutta of Thuringia 3 January 1223 Leipzig five children	Son of Poppo VI, inherited Henneberg, and in 1218, Würzburg.
Otto I		c.1177	1190-1234	3/4 October 1244	Henneberg-Botenlauben	Beatrix de Courtenay 1208 three children	Son of Poppo VI, inherited Botenlauben. In 1234 sold it to the Diocese of Würzburg.
		c.1200?	1220-1234	22 September 1249	Henneberg-Botenlauben	1228 one child	Son of Otto I, probably co-ruled with his father.
In 1234 Botenlauben was sold to the Diocese of Würzburg
		c.1170?	1197-1233	26 October 1233	County of Frankenstein	Unknown two children
		c.1170?	1199-1228	6 December 1228	Frankenstein-Irmelshausen	A woman from Wildberg five children	Died fighting in Meiningen.
		c.1190?	1212-1218	1218	Henneberg-Würzburg	no children	After his death with no heirs, Würzburg returned to Henneberg.
In 1218 Würzburg was annexed to Henneberg.
		c.1190?	1228-1253/55	Between October 1253 and 31 January 1255	Frankenstein-Irmelshausen	one child	Left a daughter, who married count Henry of Frankenstein and so returned Irmelshausen to Frankenstein.
In 1255 Irmelshausen was annexed to Frankenstein.
		c.1190?	1233-1263	11 January 1263	County of Frankenstein	Unknown two children
Herman I		c.1224	1245-1290	18 December 1290	Henneberg-Coburg	Margaret of Holland 1249 two children	Son of Poppo VII, inherited Coburg.
		c.1226	1245-1262	9 April 1262	County of Henneberg-Henneberg	four children Sophia of Meissen three children	Son of Poppo VII, inherited Henneberg.
		c.1250	1262-1317	Between 9 September and 17 December 1317	Henneberg-Hartenberg	no children 3 May 1287 seven children	Sons of Henry III, inherited Hartenberg, where they probably ruled jointly. Berthold became Bishop of Würzburg in 1267, and possibly abdicated from the co-regency.
		c.1250	1262-1267	29 September 1312	Henneberg-Hartenberg	Unmarried
		c.1245	1262-1284	15 September 1284	Henneberg-Schleusingen	c. or before 7 March 1268 Elgersburg eight children	Son of Henry III, inherited Schleusingen.
		c.1250	1262-1292	9 February 1292	[de]	25 March 1277 six children	Son of Henry III, inherited Aschach.
		c.1230?	1263-1295	22 December 1295	County of Frankenstein	eight children	Son of Poppo II, inherited Frankenstein.
		c.1280	1284-1330	21 January/August 1330	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Unmarried	Sons of Berthold V, ruled jointly.[1] Berthold VI was Knight Hospitaller, and Berthold VII was made regent for Louis V of Bavaria between 1323 and 1330.
Berthold VII the Wise[1]		1272	1284-1340	13 April 1340	Henneberg-Schleusingen	1284 five children no children
		c.1254	1290-1291	4 December 1291	Henneberg-Coburg	1277 Landshut no children	After his death, his sister Judith inherited the county and so it was annexed to Brandenburg.
In 1291 Coburg was annexed to the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
		c.1280	1292-1355/6	Between 14 August 1355 and 26 January 1356	Henneberg-Aschach	c.3 March 1315 five children	Sons of Herman II, ruled jointly.
		c.1277	1292-1307	12 July 1307	Henneberg-Aschach	no children
		c.1280	1292-c.1350	After 1362	Henneberg-Aschach	Unmarried
		c.1280	1292-1329	After 1329	Henneberg-Aschach
		c.1280	1292-1329	10 December 1329	Henneberg-Aschach
		c.1270?	1295-1326/7	Between 26 April 1326 and 25 March 1327	County of Frankenstein	11 April 1291 seven children	Sons of Henry I, probably ruled jointly. In 1255 they inherited the county of Irmelshausen by the marriage of Henry VIII with the heiress Lutgard.
		c.1270?	1295-1297	c.1297	County of Frankenstein	11 April 1291 no children Judith no children
		1286	1317-1349	30 July 1349	Henneberg-Hartenberg	no children 6 November 1316 five children
		c.1270?	1326/7-1334	September/October 1334	County of Frankenstein	two children	Brother of the predecessors. Left a daughter, Elisabeth, who later transferred the county to the .
		c.1290?	1334-1335	Between 26 April 1326 and 25 March 1327	County of Frankenstein	Unmarried	Son of Henry II.
		c.1310?	1335-1354	29 September 1354	County of Frankenstein	Unmarried	Nephew of Siboto. After his death, his second cousin Elisabeth transferred the county to the .
In 1354 Frankenstein was added to the patrimony of the
		1289	1340-1359	2 May 1359	Henneberg-Schleusingen	1349 four children	Sons of Berthold VI, ruled jointly. Berthold IX was a Knight Hospitaller.
		1288	1340-1347	10 September 1347	Henneberg-Schleusingen	1 January 1317 or 1 February 1319 five children
		1300	1340-1356	c.1356	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Unmarried
[1]		c.1330/40	1349-1371	26 May 1378	Henneberg-Hartenberg	Unmarried	Left no heirs, and in 1371 sold Hartenberg to the Herman IV.
In 1371 Hartenberg was sold to Aschach
		c.1330	1355/6-1403	27 January or 28 March 1403	Henneberg-Aschach	no children 1366 four children	Son of Henry VI, probably ruled jointly.
		c.1330	1355-1411	1 April 1411	Henneberg-Aschach	Unmarried
		c.1340/50	1359-1405	2/3 August 1405	Henneberg-Schleusingen	c.4 July 1376 six children	Sons of John I, ruled jointly. Berthold was canon at Bamberg and resigned his noble titles in 1375.[1]
[1]		1356	1359-1375	11 February 1416	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Unmarried
		1367	1405-1422	24 September 1422	Henneberg-Aschach	c.4 May 1393 four children	Sons of Herman V, probably rule jointly.
		c.1370	1405-1416	11 September 1416	Henneberg-Aschach	Unmarried
		31 July 1384	1405-1426	7 July 1426	Henneberg-Schleusingen	c.30 May 1413 nine children
		1395	1422-1465	25 July 1465	Henneberg-Aschach	no children 13 May 1423 twelve children
		c.1430	1450/60-1464	13 February 1464	Henneberg-Aschach	Unmarried	Probably ruled with his father.
William II		14 March 1415	1426-1444	8 January 1444	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Katharina of Hanau 28 February 1433 seven children
William III		12 March 1434	1444-1480	25 May 1480	Henneberg-Schleusingen	5 November 1469 Wolfenbüttel eight children	Sons of William II, probably ruled jointly. Bethold XIII died as a minor, Berthold XIV became canon at Bamberg in 1452, and John II became also canon in the ame year at Strasbourg, so they may have probably resigned co-regency.
		2 July 1439	1444-1452	20/26 May 1513	Henneberg-Schleusingen
		8 January 1441	1444-1446	20 April 1446	Henneberg-Schleusingen
		4 March 1443	1444-1452	20 April 1495	Henneberg-Schleusingen
		1437	1465-1502	9 June 1502	Henneberg-Aschach	Unmarried	Sons of George I, ruled jointly. In 1484 Berthold became Archbishop of Mainz, probably abdicating from co-regency.
		1429	1465-1488	7 November 1488	Henneberg-Aschach	13 September 1469 Münnerstadt twelve children
Berthold XV		1442	1465-1484	21 December 1504	Henneberg-Aschach	Unmarried
(regent)		1451	1480-c.1492	13 February 1509	Henneberg-Schleusingen	William III 5 November 1469 Wolfenbüttel eight children	Regent for her minor sons, Poppo XI William IV.
		14/17 March 1479	1480-1483	14/24 May 1483	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Unmarried	Died as a minor.
William IV		29 January 1478	c.1492-1559	24 January 1559	Henneberg-Schleusingen	7 or 16 February 1500 Neustadt an der Aisch eleven children
		30 April 1503	c.1520-1529	20 May 1541	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Unmarried	Probably co-ruled with his father. Became Prince-abbot in Fulda in 1529, probably abdicating from the co-regency.
		1470	1502-1535	5 April 1535	Henneberg-Aschach	23 October 1491 Aschaffenburg nine children	After his death, his sons divided Aschach.
		1493	1535-1549	23 March 1549	Henneberg-Aschach-Römhild	17 August 1529 no children	Son of Herman VIII, inherited Römhild. After his death, his county was sold to the County of Mansfeld.
In 1549 Römhild was sold to the County of Mansfeld, and in 1555 it was sold again to the Electorate of Saxony
		1495	1535-1549	5 May/June 1549	Henneberg-Aschach-Schwarza	1537 no children	Son of Herman VIII, inherited Schwarza. After his death, his county was annexed to the County of Stolberg.
In 1549 Schwarza was annexed to the County of Stolberg
		27 May 1511	1559-1583	27 December 1583	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Elisabeth of Brunswick-Calenberg 19 August 1543 Münden one child 31 May 1568 Stuttgart no children	Sons of William IV, ruled jointy, and neither of them left descendants. After their death, the county was divided between the Electorate of Hesse and the Electorate of Saxony.
		20 September 1513	1559-1574	4 March 1574	Henneberg-Schleusingen	Elisabeth of Brandenburg 30 May 1546 Münden no children 22 June 1562 Schleusingen no children
In 1583 Schleusingen was divided between the Electorate of Hesse and the Electorate of Saxony

Notable members of the Henneberg family[]

Family tree (click to enlarge)

• Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild (1442 – December 21, 1504), Prince-elector and archbishop of Mainz, son of George, count of Henneberg-Römhild.
• Count Otto von Henneberg, known commonly as Otto von Botenlauben from 1206, probably born in 1177 in Henneberg, died in Reiterswiesen near Bad Kissingen before 1245, was a German minnesinger, crusader and founder of Frauenroth Abbey.
• Herman I, Count of Henneberg
• Catherine of Henneberg
• William II, Princely count of Henneberg-Schleusingen
• William III, Princely count of Henneberg-Schleusingen
• William IV, Princely count of Henneberg-Schleusingen

Castles[]

• 

  Henneberg, Thuringia

• 

  Bertholdsburg Castle, Schleusingen

• 

  Römhild Castle

• 

  Coburg Castle

Coats of arms incorporating Henneberg[]

• 

  Wartburgkreis

• 

  Landkreis Hildburghausen

• 

  Ilm-Kreis

• 

  Schmalkalden-Meiningen

• 

  Suhl

• 

  Schleusingen

• 

  Meiningen

• 

  Themar

• 

  Schmalkalden

See also[]

Monument of Count Otto IV of Henneberg-Münnerstadt +1502

• Bishopric of Würzburg
• Vessra Abbey
• Aura Abbey
• Römhild
• Sondheim vor der Rhön
• Münnerstadt
• Irmelshausen
• Bad Kissingen (district)
• Poppo
• Schmalkalden-Meiningen
• Wartburgkreis
• Hildburghausen (district)
• List of states in the Holy Roman Empire (H)

References[]

• Schwennicke, Detlev. Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge. [European Family Trees: Family Trees for the History of European States, New Series.] BAND II, Tafel 10:Die Robertiner I und die Anfänge des Hauses Capet, 922-923 König der Westfranken, Marburg, Verlag von J.A. Stargardt (1984)
• Historische Landkarte: Grafschaft Henneberg 1755 mit den Ämtern Schleusingen, Suhl, Kühndorf mit Bennshausen, Reprint 2003, Verlag Rockstuhl, ISBN 3-936030-15-4
• Johannes Mötsch: Regesten des Archivs der Grafen von Henneberg-Römhild. Volumes 1 und 2. Böhlau, Köln etc. 2006, ISBN 978-3-412-35905-8

External links[]

• Media related to House of Henneberg at Wikimedia Commons
• Henneberg Genealogy
• (in German) Direct male descent of Babenberger from Robertiner (Capet) family, in the German Wikipedia
• (in German) Early Babenberger genealogy, in the German Wikipedia