Liutold of Eppenstein ( – 12 May 1090) was

Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchy, stem duc ...

and Margrave of Verona from 1077 until his death.

Biography

He was the second son of Markwart, Count of Eppenstein (d. 1076) and his wife Liutbirg, daughter of Count Liutold of

Plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

. His grandfather Adalbero of Eppenstein had already been Duke of Carinthia until he was deposed by Emperor Conrad II in 1035. Nevertheless, the

Upper Styria Upper Styria (), in the Austrian usage of the term, refers exclusively to the northwestern, generally mountainous and well-wooded half of the federal state of Styria. The southeastern half of the state around the capital of Graz is known as Cent ...

n House of Eppenstein had remained powerful in the Carinthian lands, making it difficult for foreign rulers appointed by the emperor to prevail against the local nobility. Liutold regained the ducal title, as his predecessor, the Zähringen duke Berthold II had supported the German antiking

Rudolf of Rheinfelden Rudolf of Rheinfelden ( – 15 October 1080) was Duke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, the Salian emperor Henry IV, his election as German anti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of the Great Saxon Revolt a ...

during the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

and therefore was deposed by King Henry IV in 1077. The king, having returned from

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his excom ...

, appointed Liutold instead, who had given him safe conduct across

Predil Pass The Predil Pass or Predel Pass (; , ) (el. 1156 m) is a high mountain pass on the border between Italy and Slovenia. Geography The pass is located in the Julian Alps, between the peaks of Mount Mangart to the north and Mount Kanin (mount ...

and through his Carinthian possessions on his way back to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The Eppenstein domains however were significantly narrowed, as Henry gave the Veronese

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

and

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

region to the newly established

Patria del Friuli The Patria del Friuli (, ), also known as the Patriarchal State of Aquileia (), was the territory under the temporal (political) rule of the Patriarch of Aquileia, and one of the ecclesiastical states within the Holy Roman Empire. It was creat ...

(Patriarchate of Aquileia), while the Carinthian

March of Styria The March of Styria (; ; ) was a southeastern March (territorial entity), frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, encompassing various regions around the river Mur (river), Mur. Created sometime before 970, it was broken off the larger March of ...

remained under the rule of the

Otakars The Otakars (or von Traungaus, or Traungauer) were a medieval dynasty ruling the Imperial March of Styria (later the Duchy of Styria) from 1056 to 1192. History The dynasty began with Otakar I, probably a son or son-in-law of Aribo of Austria, A ...

. Liutold later accompanied Henry IV to his

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and also had Eppenstein Castle rebuilt. Although he had married twice, he died without issue. He was succeeded by his younger brother

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

. Liutold is buried at St. Lambrecht's Abbey in Styria.

References

Sources

* {{Authority control Dukes of Carinthia 1050s births 1090 deaths Year of birth uncertain 11th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire