General Notes

The following information was supplied in a post-em by Curt Hofemann, curt_hofemann@@yahoo.com:

Rudolf I Graf von Rheinfelden, Gegenkˆnig [Ref: Max G]
Graf=Count, Rheinfelden is 10 km east of Basel, Switzerland in southmost Black forest (now Baden-W¸erttemberg, Germany) & Gegenkˆnig=Anti-king... Curt)

1057: Duke of Swabia [Ref: CMH p424]
1077: anti-King [Ref: CMH p424]
Hg v. Schwaben, Deutscher Kˆnig [Ref: ES I:129] (Duke of Swabia, German King... Curt)

died: 15/16 Oct 1080 Hohenmˆlsen (in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany... Curt) date: [Ref: ES II:190, ES XII] 1080 [Ref: CMH p424, ES I:4], place [Ref: Max G]

From 1077-1080, Germany was roiled by the Investiture Contest, a competition between king and pope, which left local lords unchecked and free to engage in a massive land and property grab, especially regarding monasteries. The duke of Swabia, Rudolf, was even elected the anti-king during this time, but never gained widespread acceptance. [Ref:  A quick history of Suevia (Swabia) http://art1.candor.com/barbarian/suevi.htm]

Although the pope insisted that the matter was not at all settled, yet Henry (IV, King of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor) was a free man and his subjects were bound to obey him. He carefully prevented the pope from going to Germany and soon gained powerful support from the Lombards. Nevertheless his opponents in Germany met in 1077 and elected an anti-king, Rudolf of Swabia. But Rudolf found support only in Saxony, and his own subjects refused to obey him. A long and bloody struggle ensued during which Germany was devastated. Finally, in 1080, Gregory renewed the ban against Henry; but this time the excommunication had practically no effect; few of Henry's supporters left him. In fact, the tide had turned In strongly in the king's favor and most of the bishops and archbishops declared Gregory deposed and elected an anti-pope.

Continuance Of the Struggle. The struggles which ensued, now that there were two rival kings and two rival popes, were exceedingly bloody. In all portions of Germany except Saxony, in northern Italy and in the city of Rome, the people were divided. In Germany Henry could count upon the support of the cities which he had especially favored and which were now very important; of the parish priests, except in Saxony, because of Gregory's attitude toward their marriage; and of many of the bishops. In opposition to the nobles who were against him he had put other men in their places so that each noble had to struggle against a rival claimant. In northern Italy, where bishops appointed by Henry were in power, the orthodox were on Henry's side and the numerous heretics against him. In the city of Rome the nobles aided Henry and the common people sided with the pope. Civil war, marked by the greatest atrocities, ravaged a large part of Germany. In 1080 a great and bloody battle was fought between Rudolf and Henry, in which the former lost his life, after having his right hand cut off in the fight. This was judged by many to be a decision from heaven in favor of Henry. A contemporary chronicler reports that Rudolf said as he was dying, holding up his mutilated arm, " Look, this is the hand with which I swore fealty to my king." [Ref: THE EMPIRE AND THE PAPACY, Dana Carleton Munro, The Middle Ages, 395-1272 (New York: The Century Company, 1921), pp. 160-175 http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Munro11.html]

CMH = The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History by C.W. Previte-Orton, 1952, Cambridge University Press, Chatham

Mag G = Max Gschneidinger "Ahnen aus Deutschland mit Linien bis ins Mittelalter" (German Ancestors back to the Middle Ages) http://www.worldroots.com/ged/max/default.htm

Regards,
Curt