Berthold III ( – 14 December 1188), a member of the Bavarian House of Andechs, was Margrave of Istria (as Berthold I) from 1173 until his death. He was the son of Count Berthold II of Andechs, ruler over Dießen in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Plassenburg Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were Ministerialis, ministerial of the counts of And ...

Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...

and Stein in

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

, and his first wife Sophia, a daughter of Margrave Poppo II of Istria. His brother Otto became Prince-Bishop of Brixen in 1165. A loyal supporter of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

, Count Berthold rose to one of the most important nobles, holding extended estates in Bavaria as well as in Franconia and in Carniola south of the

Eastern Alps The Eastern Alps are usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley, up to the Splügen Pass at the Main chain of the Alps, Alpine divide, and down the Liro (Como), Liro River to Lake Como in the south. ...

. In 1173, he was appointed Margrave of Istria, succeeding Engelbert III, the last Margrave from the

House of Sponheim The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval Germans, German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were Imperial immediacy, immediate Counts of County of Sponheim, Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Duchy of Carinthia, Carint ...

and cousin of his mother Sophia. When in 1180 Emperor Frederick deposed the Welf duke Henry the Lion, he vested Berthold's son, Count Berthold IV, with the title of a Duke of Merania, thereby elevating the House of Andechs to princely status.

Marriage and issue

Berthold III was married twice. In 1152 he married Hedwig of

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, daughter of the Bavarian

Count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

Otto IV of Scheyern and Heilika of Pettendorf-Lengenfeld-Hopfenohe. They had: # Berthold IV, Duke of Merania (1153–1204) # Sophia (died 1218). Married Poppo VI, Count of Henneberg (died c. 1190) # Kunigunde (died after 1207), married Eberhard, Count of Eberstein # Matilda, Countess of Pisino (died 1245), married Berthold, Margrave of Vohburg. In c. 1190 married secondly Engelbert III, Count of Gorizia (died 1217/1220). # ''unidentified'' daughter, married Ampud II, ''

ispán The ispánRady 2000, p. 19.''Stephen Werbőczy: The Customary Law of the Renowned Kingdom of Hungary in Three Parts (1517)'', p. 450. or countEngel 2001, p. 40.Curta 2006, p. 355. (, , and ),Kirschbaum 2007, p. 315. deriving from title of župan, ...

'' of Szolnok County (fl. 1199) His second wife was Luitgard of Denmark, daughter of king

Sweyn III of Denmark Sweyn III GratheFor the significance of the epithet, see (; – 23 October 1157) was the king of Denmark between 1146 and 1157, in shifting alliances with Canute V and his own cousin Valdemar I of Denmark, Valdemar I. In 1157, the three agreed ...

and Adela of Meissen. They had: # Poppo, Bishop of Bamberg (died December 2, 1245) # Berta, Abbess in Gerbstadt (died 1190)

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berthold 01 of Istria 12th-century births 1188 deaths Year of birth uncertain House of Andechs Margraves of Istria