Lordship of Diepholz

270: 652: 245: 679:, Konrad XII and Johann VI initially ruled over Diepholz as co-sovereigns. The limited means which the territory disposed over however led the brothers to sign a treaty in 1514 recognising Friedrich I as sole ruler and making financial arrangements for the two other brothers to become canons in Cologne. Friedrich's territories were constantly under attack by the Bishop of Minden, despite the fact that the Archbishop of Cologne, the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor had issued 786: 522: 40: 1052: 730:, returned from Cologne and seized power in Diepholz. He formally agreed with his sister-in-law, Eva of Regenstein, that he would conclude a morganatic marriage in order not to impinge on the rights of his nephew, Rudolf IX, son of Friedrich I, when he came of age. Johann VI also took care to sign his edicts and charters on behalf of both himself and his nephew. Count 588:(cited 1300–1350), continued to actively extend his possessions by his forceful and considered interventions during a very tumultuous period in the region. In 1350, together with his sons and grandchildren, he founded the parish church of Diepholz (which had previously been in Drebber), which he dedicated to Saints Nicholas, Catherine and Elisabeth. 494:, Bishop of Osnabruck (1110-1118). It remains uncertain whether they are agnatic or uterine forebears of the later dynasty. Around 1085 Gysela swapped various goods around Drebber and Diepholz with the Bishop of Osnabruck in return for the manor in Goldenstedt which had previously belonged to Folker. The German historian 568:

The prosperity of the Noble Lords of Diepholz was greatly enhanced by the many members of the family who held high ecclesiastical offices, thus enhancing the dynasty's prestige and allowing it to act with increasing independence within its own domains. Under the joint rule of the brothers Rudolf II

318:

The territory of the County of Diepholz at its greatest extent in the sixteenth century stretched from Colnrade and Goldenstedt in the north to Wehdem, Dielingen and Lemförde in the south. The eastern border was marked by the Wietings Moor (near Barver) and the Neustädter Moor (near Wagenfeld). The

618:

of Utrecht. The marriage dowry included properties in the surroundings of Wagenfeld, Bokel and Struten, which consolidated the dynasty's hold on the lands around Auburg castle to the east of their territories. This marriage would also form the basis of the Count of Diepholz's later claims to

777:, daughter of Friedrich I, who was married to a local nobleman, Adolf von Schuren, Lord of Horst an der Ruhr (died 1552). Anna's son, Evert von Schuren, and his cousins, Count Friedrich II and his sister, Anna, the Coadjutrix of Bassum, were the only heirs of Irmgard when she died in 1575. 772:

as a religious in 1505 and slowly rose through the ranks to become Princess-Abbess in 1561. Her election as Princess-Abbess procured far greater wealth and influence than her family in Diepholz enjoyed, and she generously dispensed patronage to her niece,

671:

in 1517. The moor-covered territory of Diepholz had never been particularly wealthy and from Rudolf VIII's reign onwards the dynasty continuously struggled to cover the costs of its administration and the obligations of their semi-sovereign lifestyle.

565:(died 1302). In order to prevent a division of the territory's modest resources, younger sons tended to enter religious life as canons in neighbouring bishoprics such as Osnabrück, Minden, Bremen and Cologne, where some of them also ruled as bishops. 537:

in the late twelfth century, smaller Saxon territories were able to expand their dominions and influence, and the Noble Lords of Diepholz extended their reach to the north and south from their initial allodial holdings around the town and castle of

595:(cited 1373–1422), the grandson of Rudolf IV, granted town rights to Diepholz. His reign was marked by continuous tensions and conflict with and between neighbouring territories in which Diepholz was largely spared any major depredation. His son, 923:, son of Johann II and brother of Rudolf II, co-ruler in Diepholz with his brother, he had inherited the extensive Blankena domains from his cousin, Hermann von Blankena, in 1285, married Hedwig of Rietberg, daughter of Friedrich I, Count of 542:, Drebber, Barnstorf and Goldenstedt. The territory's expansion was however constrained by the moors that surrounded it and by the ambitions of its more powerful neighbours, most notably the Counts of Hoya and the Bishops of Minden. 639:. His son, Friedrich I (died 1529), also regularly used the title in his charters and edicts. The comtal title only came to be generally recognised under Count Johann VI. After the extinction of the main line of the Lords of 451:) or imperial officeholders by the Holy Roman Emperor but exercised allodial power locally as noble landowners. Whilst their origins go further back in time, the family name first appears in 1160 (in Latinised German) as 710:

in 1521, who subsequently re-enfeoffed him with them, thus losing the last vestige of full allodial sovereignty that had not already been abdicated to the Dukes of Brunswick-Calenberg. In 1523 Friedrich I married

460:

The continuity in ownership of the feudal domains around Drebber, Barnstorf and Goldenstedt, which later belonged to the Noble Lords of Diepholz, suggests that the dynasty descended from or was related to

1029:, brother of Friedrich I, his use of the title of Count of Diepholz was generally recognised, he seized the county after the death of his brother and ruled as sovereign count during his nephew's minority. 513:) of Diepholz was identical to that of their close neighbours, the Noble Lords of Lippe, and underlined their credentials as sovereign territorial lords and as members of the ancient Saxon nobility. 323:

See (lake). The distance from the northernmost point to the southernmost point of the county was about 47 kilometers whilst the distance from east to west was 22 kilometers at its widest point.

577:

of Sudholte, which gave them full jurisdiction over their subjects in the parishes of Drebber, Barnstorf and Goldenstedt. In addition, in 1285, Konrad V, inherited the rich patrimony of the

643:

in 1553, the Counts of Diepholz also laid claim to that territory based on their descent from Heilwig of Bronkhorst, and subsequently titled themselves Counts of Diepholz and Bronkhorst.

912:, son of Johann II, co-ruler of Diepholz, married firstly Agnes of Cleves, daughter of Dietrich IV "Nust", Count of Cleves, married secondly Marina, Princess of Sweden, daughter of 627:

In accordance with their sovereign status and motivated by their marital alliances with neighbouring sovereign counts, the Noble Lords of Diepholz started titling themselves as

1837: 1832: 358:

of Sudholte but was a fief of the Bishop of Munster. The Lords of Diepholz were vassals of the Count of Ravensberg for the tithes of Weddeschen and vassals of the

1701:

Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert

1662:

Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert

1623:

Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert

1223:

Die Graffschaft Diepholz zur Zeit ihres Überganges an das Haus Braunschweig-Lüneburg. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Graffschaft Diepholz in sechzehnten Jahrhundert

573:(cited 1267–1302), the borders of the Lordship were forcefully expanded and sovereignty attained within their core territories by the acquisition in 1291 of the 1043:(1560–1575), son of Friedrich I, married Anastasia of Waldeck; their only daughter could not by dynastic law inherit the county, which therefore fell to the 1847: 631:

of Diepholz during the course of the fifteenth century. Rudolf VIII (died 1510) was the first dynast to describe himself as Count of Diepholz in 1482, and

956: 935: 1852: 498:

speculated, based on the geographical location of these earliest known estates, that the Noble Lords of Diepholz might descend from the Saxon leader

269: 1094: 306:. It was ruled by the Noble Lords, later Counts, of Diepholz from the late tenth century until 1585, when it was mostly incorporated into the 1116: 362:

for various smaller goods, such as the "wood tithes" in Bosel. Their tithes in Aschen and Ostenbeck were fiefs of the Counts of Tecklenburg.

303: 706:. To further protect his estates while under the imperial ban, Friedrich I, relinquished sovereignty over the territories around Auburg to 1842: 988:, son of Otto IV, first Noble Lord to title himself Count of Diepholz, relinquished his absolute sovereignty over Diepholz to the 750:, who was unable to succeed according to the strictures of Saxon inheritance law. As a result of the 1510 treaty recognising the 668: 636: 820:, but later became a supporter and legate of the Habsburg dynasty in the Netherlands, who appointed him as imperial warden in 862: 813: 1044: 989: 751: 664: 307: 263: 207: 174: 667:

as his liege lord in return for the promise of his protection. This agreement was only formally recognised as valid by the

477:, undoubtedly a descendant of the first, and his wife Badeloch, donated a manor in Goldenstedt to the Bishop of Osnabruck. 703: 663:, son of Otto IV and Heilwig van Bronkhorst, abdicated his absolute sovereignty over Diepholz in 1510 and recognised the 707: 244: 836: 793:

Rudolf IV, succeeded his father as sovereign of Diepholz in 1484, thanks to the premature death of his older brother,

599:, died as an ally of the Archbishop of Bremen in a battle near Detern in 1426, whilst engaging the Frisian forces of 39: 993: 945: 659:

Under constant threat from his more powerful neighbours and after endless hostilities with the Bishop of Minden,

913: 687: 562: 545:

The dynasty tended to conclude marriages with the sovereigns of neighbouring territories such as the Counts of

466: 370: 359: 805:, sister of Dr. Hayo "Hermannus Phrysius" Hompen, humanist scholar, Imperial Councillor and correspondent of 1649: