Sophia of Rheineck, also known as Sophie of Salm, Countess of Bentheim ( – 26 September 1176 in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

) was a ruling

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

Countess of Bentheim between 1150 and 1176. She was also countess consort of Holland by marriage to

Dirk VI, Count of Holland Dirk VI (c. 11145 August 1157) was Count of Holland between 1121 and 1157, at first, during his minority, under the regency of his mother Petronilla. He was the son of Count Floris II. After his death he was succeeded by his eldest son Floris ...

, who was her co-ruler ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' in the

County of Bentheim The County of Bentheim (, Low German ''Benthem'') was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the south-west corner of today's Lower Saxony, Germany. The county's borders corresponded largely to those of the modern administrative district ...

Life

Sophia was the only daughter of

Otto I, Count of Salm Otto I, Count of Salm ( – 1150) was a German nobleman. He was a ruling count of Salm and from 1125 to 1137, he was co-ruler of the County Palatine of the Rhine with his stepson William. Life His parents were the German anti-king Herma ...

, the son of the German

anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry ...

Hermann of Salm Herman(n) of Salm ( – 28 September 1088), also known as Herman(n) of Luxembourg, the progenitor of the House of Salm, was Count of Salm and elected German anti-king from 1081 until his death. Life Hermann was a son of Count Giselbert of ...

, and Gertrude of Northeim. She was married to

sometime before 1135. Sophia would fund the construction of new churches in the abbeys of Egmond and

Rijnsburg Rijnsburg () is a village in the eastern part of the municipality of Katwijk, in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It lies on the Oude Rijn (Utrecht and South Holland), Oude Rijn, from which it takes its name. History Rij ...

. In 1138, she made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with her husband. During their return journey, they visited the pope in Rome. In 1150, Sophie inherited the County of Bentheim from her brother Otto II. Her rights were defended by her mother, who acted as her regent in Bentheim.Hildebrand, Herzog Lothar von Sachsen, p. 63. Sophie successfully claimed Bentheim, and made her spouse co-regent jure uxoris. After her husband's death in 1157, Sophia made a pilgrimage to

Santiago de Compostella Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedra ...

, and two more pilgrimages to Jerusalem in 1173 and 1176. During the latter visit, she died in the St. Mary's hospital of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

in Jerusalem.''The Teutonic Knights in the Crusader States'', Indrikis Sterns, ''A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on the Near East'', Vol. V, ed.Norman P. Zacour and Harry W. Hazard, (University of Wisconsin Press, 1985), 319. She was buried in Jerusalem.

Issue

# Dirk, known as "the Pilgrim" () ( – 1151), buried in Egmond # Floris III ( – 1 August 1190 at

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

), who succeeded his father as Count of Holland in 1157 # Otto ( – 1208 or later), who inherited his mother's possessions and became Count of Bentheim #

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

( – 30 April 1196), who was

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

at St. Maria in Utrecht and later

Bishop of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

from 1178 until his death #

Dirk A dirk is a long-bladed thrusting dagger.Chisholm, Hugh (ed.); "Dagger", ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th ed., Vol. VII, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press (1910), p. 729. Historically, it gained its name from the Highland dirk (Scott ...

( – 28 August 1197 in

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

), who also became Bishop of Utrecht, in 1197, but died the same year # Sophia, who became

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

Rijnsburg Abbey Rijnsburg Abbey () was a Benedictine Order, Benedictine nunnery in Rijnsburg, Netherlands, active between 1133 until 1574. History It was founded by Petronilla of Lorraine, regent of Holland, in 1133 and was thereafter under the protection of the ...

in 1186 # Hedwig (d. 28 August 1167), who was a nun at Rijnsburg # Gertrud, died in infancy # Petronilla

External links

Biography

References

Countesses in Germany 12th-century births Year of birth unknown 1176 deaths Salm family Countesses of Holland 12th-century women from the Holy Roman Empire 12th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire 12th-century countesses regnant Counts of Bentheim {{Germany-countess-stub