Conrad I of Raabs (died 1143) was Burgrave of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

from to jointly with his older brother Gottfried II. After Gottfried II died, Conrad ruled alone until his own death.

Life

Conrad I was a member of the

edelfrei The term ''edelfrei'' or ''hochfrei'' ("free noble" or "free knight") was originally used to designate and distinguish those Germanic noblemen from the Second Estate (see Estates of the realm social hierarchy), who were legally entitled to atonem ...

von Raabs family. He was a son of Gottfried I of Gosham and a grandson of Ulrich of Gosham, the family's ancestor, who ruled an area northwest of Melk when the House of Babenberg ruled the

Margraviate of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (german: Markgrafschaft Österreich) was a medieval frontier march, centered along the river Danube, between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods (''Wienerwald''), within the territory of modern Austrian provinces of Up ...

. The family takes its name from their ancestral castle in Raabs an der Thaya, which is now in

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. In 1105,

Nuremberg Castle Nuremberg Castle (german: Nürnberger Burg) is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the city walls, is considered to be one ...

and the city became entangled in a dispute between Emperor Henry IV and his son

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

. The city and castle were partially destroyed. In order to better protect the castle and city in the future, the emperor appointed Conrad I and his brother Gottfried II as Burgmann and made them responsible for the protection of the castle, making them burgraves. However, their official job title was

Castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

; the title was first used by

Gottfried III of Raabs Gottfried III of Raabs (died ) was Burgrave of the medieval Burgraviate of Nuremberg from around 1146 until his death. Life Gottfried III was a member of the von Raabs family, an ''edelfrei'' family named after their first castle, Burg Raabs a ...

. In the following years, Conrad I acted primarily to extend his territorial base to the west of Nuremberg. This brought him into conflict with the Bishopric of Bamberg; a document in Bamberg even calls him ''Conrad tyrannus''. He appears to have lived in the area west of Nuremberg during this period, and occasionally called himself "Conrad of Riedfeld", after his castle near

Neustadt an der Aisch Neustadt an der Aisch (officially: ''Neustadt a.d.Aisch'') is a small town of around 13,000 inhabitants in the northern part of Bavaria (Germany), within the Franconian administrative region Middle Franconia. "Neustadt an der Aisch" (mapping), ...

. After his brother's death, Conrad became the sole lord of

. After his death, he was succeeded by his nephew, Gottfried II's son, Gottfried III.

References

* Sigmund Benker and Andraes Kraus (eds): ''Geschichte Frankens bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts'', founded by Max Spindler, 3rd ed., Beck, Munich, 1997, * Norbert Angermann ''eet al''. (editor and advisor): ''Lexikon des Mittelalters'', vol. 6, Artemis & Winkler Verlag, Munich, 1993, Burgraves of Nuremberg House of Raabs 11th-century births 1140s deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 12th-century German nobility {{Germany-noble-stub