Gottfried von Calw or Godfrey of Calw (died 6 February 1131) was Count of Calw and

Count Palatine of the Rhine This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...

from 1113 to 1126. He was the younger son of Count Adalbert II of Calw and Wiltrudis of Lorraine, a daughter of Duke

Godfrey the Bearded Godfrey III ( – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Biography Disputed succession By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of t ...

. In 1095 he became

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

of Hirsau and succeeded his father in Calw when the latter retired to the monastery in 1094/95. Godfrey was initially a follower of

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy ...

, but from 1105, the year of the dispute over the throne between 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 (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

, he was one of the latter's most important supporters and advisors. Godfrey of Calw took part in the negotiations at San Maria in Turri and Ponte Mammolo during Henry V's first campaign in Italy in 1111, and later in the negotiations in Mouzon in 1119 and in those leading to the

Concordat of Worms The Concordat of Worms (; ), also referred to as the ''Pactum Callixtinum'' or ''Pactum Calixtinum'', was an agreement between the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire which regulated the procedure for the appointment of bishops and abbots i ...

in 1122, which he co-signed. After the death of Count Palatine Siegfried of Ballenstedt on March 9, 1113 as a result of an attack by imperial supporters, Gottfried was appointed as his successor on April 6, 1113. His appointment led to disputes in

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

the following year, as well as with the

Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

, Adalbert I of Saarbrücken, and his colleague in

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

, Bruno von Lauffen. Before his second campaign in Italy in 1116, Henry V made Godfrey one of his representatives in Germany, together with

Frederick II, Duke of Swabia Frederick II (, 1090 – 6 April 1147), called the One-Eyed (), was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138. Life Early career Fr ...

and his brother Conrad which Godfrey used against Adalbert. The death of Henry V in 1125 and the election of

Lothair III Lothair III, sometimes numbered Lothair II and also known as Lothair of Supplinburg ( June 1075 – 4 December 1137), was Holy Roman Emperor from 1133 until his death. He was appointed Duke of Saxony in 1106 and elected King of Germany in 1125 b ...

as the new king weakened Godfrey's position: although he was not immediately stripped of the County Palatine, a second Count Palatine, Wilhelm von Ballenstedt was appointed alongside him. Gottfried acted as guardian for Wilhelm, a minor, from 1126 to 1129 and was then forced to hand the County Palatine over to him. Gottfried was married to Liutgard von Zähringen, a daughter of Duke Berthold II (not to be confused with the other Liutgard von Zähringen, daughter of Berthold I). With her he had at least three children: *Gottfried, (died before 1131/32) *Liutgard * Uta of Schauenburg, (died 1196), who married

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf (also known as the House of Guelph). ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottfried Von Calw Counts Palatine of the Rhine 1131 deaths Swabian nobility 12th-century German nobility