Engelbert I, Count of the Mark (died 16 November 1277 at Castle of Bredevoort) was a German nobleman. He was the ruling

Count of the Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

from 1249 until his death.

Life

He succeeded his father, Adolf I as the ruling count in 1249. His brother Otto, who had been a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

in Liège, returned to the lay state after their father's death and claimed a share of the inheritance. Engelbert ceded the castles at

Altena Altena (; Westphalian: ''Altenoa'') is a town in the district of Märkischer Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town's castle is the origin for the later Dukes of Berg. Altena is situated on the Lenne river valley, in the northern stre ...

and

Blankenstein Blankenstein is a village and a former municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the municipality Rosenthal am Rennsteig Rosenthal am Rennsteig is a municipality in the district Saa ...

and the surrounding land to Otto. He was afraid that this might be the first step in the fragmentation of the county. However, Otto died without a male heir in 1262, and his possessions fell back to Engelbert. Early in his reign, a feud broke out between Engelbert II and his namesake, Archbishop Engelbert II of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. They fought a number of battles and their troops devastated each other's territory; in 1265, they made peace. In 1262 Engelbert and William IV, Count of Jülich, came to the assistance of the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

during the

Siege of Königsberg The siege of Königsberg was a siege laid upon Königsberg Castle, one of the main strongholds of the Teutonic Knights, by Prussians during the great Prussian uprising from 1262 possibly though 1265. History Background Pagan Prussians rose a ...

. Engelbert I was married twice. His first wife was Kunigunde of

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrü ...

and they had one daughter Agnes of Mark who married Henry of Berg, Lord of Windeck about 1272. His second wife, Elisabeth of Valkenburg, was a niece of the Archbishop of Cologne. This marriage ensured peace between Cologne and the Mark. In 1274, Archbishop Engelbert II of Cologne died. His successor,

Siegfried II of Westerburg Siegfried (or Sigfrid) II of Westerburg (before 1260 – 7 April 1297, in Bonn) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1275 to 1297. Siegfried was the second son of Siegfried IV, Count of Runkel in Westerburg (died 1266). His older brother was Henry ('' ...

tried to expand his influence in Westphalia and the Rheinland. This led to a conflict with the other rulers in the area. In 1277, they formed an alliance, led by Bishop Simon I of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

. Engelbert II of the Mark joined this alliance. Later that year, he was attacked by Herman of Lohn while travelling near

Tecklenburg Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor ...

. He was seriously wounded in the attack, and died of his wounds on 16 November 1277, at the Castle of Bredevoort, where he was held captive by Herman. He was buried in Cappenberg Abbey and was succeeded by his son * Eberhard II.

References

* Christians of the Prussian Crusade Counts of the Mark 1277 deaths 13th-century German nobility Year of birth unknown {{Germany-count-stub