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11th
to the 13th Century, Jahrhundertbuch der Gottscheer, Dr. Erich Petschauer,
1980.
The
history of Gottschee is, to be sure, not significantly but in its origin
clearly a chapter in the history of Carinthia and Tyrol. The delicate historical
root
network from which the former linguistic island of Gottschee was to grow
in the
1330's flourished above all on the soil of the medieval imperial fief and
duchy of
Carinthia. To it belonged the province of Carniola, later the duchy and
state of
Carniola of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the eleventh century no one
could
predict or even suspect that some day there would exist the duchy of Carniola
and the ethnic German island of Gottschee surrounded by Slovenes. The later
linguistic island in this chalk region arose rather at the end of a seemingly
endless
chain of events and coincidences, developments and decisions in the political
sphere. They entwined, again coincidentally, during a definite and brief
period
into a knot: into the largest but also last colonization undertaken by
Carinthian
nobility in the southern foothills of the eastern Alps. If only one single
link had
been missing in this chain, the word "Gottschee" would never
have been seen on
a map of Carniola. Let us now try to lift the partially buried links of
this chain
into the daylight of historiography and put them together again in the
correct
sequence.
Around the year 1070 there appeared on the political stage of Carinthia
a
noble house which called itself "von Ortenburg" and held the
title of count,
subject to the emperor only. Its origins were disputed far into the twentieth
century. Genealogists believed that the Ortenburgers had the same origins
as the
Carinthian dukes of the house of Spanheimer, who were the dukes from 1122
to
1269. According to this theory, they not only had to be of the same ancestry
as
the counts of Ortenburg in Carinthia but also of the house of the same
name in
Bavaria. The research of the genealogist Dr. Camillo Trottar has brought
this
viewpoint from the nineteenth century up to date. The former cathedral
dean of
Regensburg, Dr. E. Count of Ortenburg-Trambach, also refers to him in his
two-
volume opus "Geschichte des herzoglichen, reichsständischen und graflichen
Gesamthauses
Ortenburg", which refers to the Bavarian Ortenburgers. In the supplement,
however,
he includes, among others, the following details about the ancestry of
the counts
of Ortenburg in Carinthia: "The origin of these Ortenburgers, who
according to
Jaksch (history of Carinthia) appeared as counts in 1142 but whose origins
can
be traced to the year 1070, was obscure until very recently. Huschberg
takes these
Ortenburgers to be later-born sons of the dukes of Spanheim.
This cannot
be so
if only because this line is mentioned in documents even before the Spanheimers
received the dukeship in Carinthia. Other writers such as Tangl in his "Geschichte
der Grafen von Ortenburg in Kärnten" consider "Friderikus,
filius comites eppois" who appears in documents in 1058 as the
progenitor of the counts of Ortenburg
in Carinthia and Bavaria. Only the research of the recognized, skilled,
and thorough
genealogist Dr. Camillo
Trottar clearly showed us that the counts of Ortenburg
originated in Carinthia. It also gave us the irrefutable evidence that
there is no
connection between the counts of Ortenburg in Carinthia who became extinct
in
the fifteenth century and the counts of Ortenburg (more correct: "Ortenberg")
in
Bavaria who descended from the dukes of Spanheim.
Dr. Graf von Ortenburg-Trambach also tells us that there is an entry
for a
"Dominus Adalbertus de Carinthiae, that is, a Mr. Adalbert from Carinthia,
son of
the magistrate of Freising," in the Book of Traditions of the monastery
of St.
Castulus in Moosburg/Upper Bavaria, which is only a few kilometers from
the
bishop's seat of Freising founded in 739. The magistrate, also then referred
to as
"vice-canon" and "vice-dominus," administered the fiefs
of the bishopric of Freising
am Lurnfeld as the vice-canon of Freising. "Since this Adalbert
of Ortenburg is
furthermore designated as the magistrate of Freising in a privilege of
Emperor
Henry IV for the monastery of St. Lambrecht, dated Verone 1096, there
can be
no doubt that the one called Adalbert de Hortenburg (Ortenburg) in the
documents
of 1093 and 1096 is the same Adalbert, vice-canon of Freising, mentioned
in the
Book of Traditions of the Monastery St. Castulus. Thanks to Trottar's
research,
we now also know that this vice-canon, that is, magistrate, had two sons,
Adalbert
and Otto. We must take this Otto, who undoubtedly is of Bavarian descent,
to
be the progenitor of the counts of Ortenburg."
Thus, we are
not beinq too rash if we summarize the ancestry of the counts of Ortenburg
as follows: the counts of Ortenburg in Carinthia came from
Bavaria
and the Bavarian counts of Ortenburg came from Carinthia.
This brief genealogical survey was necessary in order to prevent confusion.
Thus it is clear that only the counts of Ortenburg in Carinthia could
have
colonized
the later linguistic island of Gottschee. Although they were free counts,
they too
could not unilaterally dispose of arable land wherever they wished. All
of the land
belonged to the elected German king. He then gave it "in fief" to
the nobility,
the bishops, monasteries, abbeys, and cloisters. In short, all of the
land, including
the subjects living on it, was in the hands of the nobility and the church.
The immediate feudal tenants of the king were allowed to give their fiefs
to
the lower nobility. "Fief" always meant taxes. Other revenue-yielding
income
could also be given as a fief, as for instance, tolls, tariffs, right
to strike coinage,
and so forth.
As was already established in the introduction, the counts of Ortenburg
in
Carinthia had received their fiefs in Lower Carniola from the patriarchs
of Aquileia.
They themselves were direct feudal tenants of the king, who was also
Emperor of
the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. We could just stop here and
start immediately with the colonization. All the historiographies on
Gottschee up
to now have done that. That is why the Gottscheers still do not know
exactly
when and from which patriarch the Ortenburgers received their fiefs in
Lower
Carniola and if the primeval forest in which their forefathers settled
already belonged
to them then. The granting of the fiefs to the counts from Carinthia
by the
patriarchs, the defensive and offensive alliance which lasted for 350
years, and the
allegiance to the high prince of the church which was based on the humane
and
moral character of the Ortenburgs, were the unalterable prerequisites
for the
beginning of Gottschee.
Before we follow the first Ortenburger to Lower Carniola, we should take
a
look at the history of the patriarchy of Aquileia. The bishopric of Aquileia
was
probably already founded in the second century A.D. by St. Hermagoras.
The
city of Aquileia, at that time still a port city located on the upper
Adriatic between
Trieste and Venice, was originally a military outpost of the Romans.
The bishops
of Aquileia declared themselves patriarchs in 568 on their own authority.
When
at the beginning of the sixth century - after the withdrawal of
the Romans - Slavic tribes began to infiltrate the region of the
eastern Alps and that of
present-day Slovenia, Aquileia was directed to Christianize them. Thus, the church
province
known by this name was extended considerably towards the east and now
covered,
among others, wide regions of the eastern Alps and its foothills, as
well as the
later bishopric of Carniola and the Wendian Marches. The patriarch, elevated
to
archbishop, was at the same time ruler of a state, of the "patriarchal
state." As
such, he held the title of a duke of Friaul and of a prince of the Holy
Roman
Empire in Italy. His power was tied to the existing state of discord
between the
emperors and the popes.
The patriarch occupied a key position in northern Italy. Both parties
wanted
to have men of whom they could be sure in the seat of St. Hermagoras.
According
to previous agreements between emperors and popes, the emperor named
the
patriarch whereas the pope bestowed upon him the "confirmation," that
is, the
confirmation as archbishop. As long as the emperor had the right to appoint
the
bishops in Germany, German counts reigned in Aquileia.
The year 811 is particularly significant for our topic. In 739 St. Boniface
founded the bishoprics of Freising/Upper Bavaria and Salzburg. In 789
Charlemagne
got the papacy to elevate Salzburg to an archbishopric. Salzburg began
to colonize
extensively the region of the eastern Alps. The archbishop - the
patriarch of
Aquileia - perceived this as an encroachment on his sphere of
influence. Disputes,
jealousies, and warlike conflicts were the result. Charlemagne ended
this in 811
by declaring the Drava as the demarcation line between the two quarreling
arch-
bishoprics. Hence, the Drava also became the language boundary.
In 1075 the "Investiture Dispute," the dispute about the appointment
of the
bishops, broke out into the open. Pope Gregory VII forbade the appointment
of
bishops by laymen. This was aimed particularly at Emperor Henry IV (1056-
1106) because he was, according to church law, a layman. In a countermove
Henry
IV granted the bishops greater worldly power by giving them larger fiefs.
This
was to strengthen their ties to him and the empire. He particularly bestowed
worldly fiefs in Carniola upon the patriarch of Aquileia. In the meantime,
the
district of Carniola had become part of Carinthia as a mostly independent
administrative district. Since there just happened to be a "sedisvacanz" (vacant
seat),
the emperor went out of his way, and in 1077 appointed a man who had
his
personal confidence, his chancellor Sieghard, as patriarch.
In the meantime, the bishopric of Freising in eastern Carniola had also
begun
to colonize. It had established a colonial center in the Puster valley
by taking over
the cloister Innichen. From there the bishops repeatedly sent new colonizers
to
their Carniolean fiefs.
Back to the counts of Ortenburg.
Their close association with the patriarchs of Aquileia must have already
existed
in the last third
of the eleventh century. Among others, the statement by Türk,
on page 9 of his book about the city of Spittal an der Drau, that the
ancestral
seat of the counts of Ortenburg was already finished in 1093 supports
this. It
stood, as the ruins still testify today, south of the Drau near Baldramsdorf,
thus
clearly in the Aquileian sphere of influence. When the fief of Lurnfeld
was granted
to the Ortenburgers, that is, when they were granted the title of dukes,
cannot
be determined for certain by the research data available today. In any
case, one
does not find any references to it in the registers of the reign of Henry
IV. We
have thus returned to this question: When did which patriarch give the
fief in
Lower Carniola to the counts of Ortenburg? The answer is found in the
patriarchal
register of Klebel (see Carinthia I, Volume 153, page 325). It lists
the following
patriarchs for the period outlined above:
1086
to 1121 |
Ulrich
I, presumably a count of Treffen |
1130
to 1132 |
Ulrich
Count of Ortenburg, chosen "prior to May 30, 1130" by the pope as patriarch, that is, archbishop but not confirmed |
1132
to 1161 |
Peregrin
I, son of a duke of the House of Spanheim |
1161
to 1182 |
Ulrich
II, Count of Treffen |
1191
to 1204 |
Peregrin
II, according to Klebel perhaps a nephew of Peregrin I. |
The key figure in this series is without a doubt Count Ulrich of Ortenburg.
He was legally elected to be the head of the patriarchy by the appropriate
board
and thus nominated to be patriarch. Since, however, the Holy Seat, that
is the
College of Cardinals, refused to confirm him, he had to withdraw as the
ruler
according to the constitution. The actual reasons for the position of
the papacy
can no longer be fully elucidated. Possibly Ulrich was too young for
the old
gentlemen in Rome and not yet experienced enough in his priestly duties.
Nevertheless, as the head of the state until his successor was elected,
he had full authority
and could make decisions as he saw fit. Thus, Ulrich had almost two years
in
which he could increase the wealth of his house by granting new fiefs
in Lower
Carniola. To be sure, there does not exist in the literature found so
far any record
as to when he granted the fief, but a later familial event supports the
just posed
logical conclusion and allows us to fix the date for the year 1131.
In the year 1140 Count Otto I of Ortenburg, already known to us, married
Agnes, the daughter of an Auersperg noble. We first mention the year
1140 in
order to quickly acquaint you with the House of Auersperg. The librarian
Franz
Xaver Richter, almost totally unknown up to now in the literature on
Gottschee,
has written extensively about this family. His nineteen contributions
about the
dukes and counts of Auersperg were published in 1830 in the Viennese "Neuen
Archiv für Geschichte, Staatenkunde, Literatur und Kunst." According
to the
subtitles, he bases his writings on documents that had until then not
yet been
published. The Auerspergers coming from Swabia, most likely surfaced
already
as "free nobles" in the tenth century in Carniola. They called
themselves "Ursperg." The name of the primogenitor Adolph
has been established. He died around 1060.
A second branch of the Auerspergers settled around the same time in Friaul.
There
they produced several new generations who called themselves by Italian
names.
Nevertheless, the familial ties with the Carniolian line were maintained.
Both
groups stood out in the politics of their states. In Friaul, the family
Cucagna
gained the largest influence at the court of the patriarch, that is,
in the parliament
of the patriarchal state. In Carniola, the Auerspergers quickly gained
recognition
and influence by closely aligning themselves with the Carinthian ducal
family.
They were particularly active as ministers, that is, as officials at
the ducal court.
They very soon were chamberlains and marshals of the patrimonial dominions.
Adolfs sons Konrad I and Peregrin I - not to be confused with the
Patriarch
Peregrin I - built the family fortress of their line near Reifnitz,
which was to be
called "Oberhaus" (Upper House) in the history of Carniola.
In the time in which we find ourselves, the Auerspergers were only "free
nobles" even though they carried out the already mentioned high
offices. Nevertheless,
they did not succeed in raising their noble rank. They were, however,
very skilled
at marrying into the higher and highest ranks of the nobility - thus
also into the
Ortenburg family. Both families had sensible reasons for this marriage,
which was
then not quite happy. When they took possession of their fiefs in Lower
Carniola,
the Ortenburgers had become immediate neighbors of the Auerspergers.
At that
time, however, this proximity did not mean a peaceful risk-free coexistence.
Even
minor differences of opinion were settled in private wars, the "feuds." Being
related did not preclude these disputes which often took a very bloody
course.
Through marriage with Agnes, the clever Ortenburgers wanted to acquire
a piece
of ancient Carniolian land, because in the eyes of the old established
nobility they
were "newcomers." The Auerspergers, however, saw the marriage
as another
increase in status, thus as a matter of prestige.
Three sons and two daughters issued from this marriage between Otto and
Agnes. The second-born, Otto II, became the primogenitor of his line.
It was he
who around 1165 started the first heated feud with his relatives, the
Auerspergers.
In 1160 the father of his mother Agnes had died. This Agnes now demanded
her
share of the paternal inheritance from her tribe. They refused. When
peaceful
negotiations remained unsuccessful, Otto attacked the "Oberhaus" and
partially
destroyed it. (See F. X. Richter, page 618.) During this private war,
Otto von
Ortenburg was based in the Ortenegg fortress. It was located several
kilometers
south of the "Oberhaus" and likewise not far from Reifnitz,
where the greater
parish of the patriarch of Aquileia, which was responsible for all of
Lower Carniola,
was housed. The fortress of the counts of Carinthia was located on an
easily defended
mountain ridge. Its wall remnants were still standing at the beginning
of the
1970's. The designation of Ortenegg immediately precludes the idea that
someone
other than an Ortenburger could have built this fortified site or - what
has to be
unlikely - have given this name to an already existing fortress.
In both cases, it
has been proven that the counts of Ortenburg had jurisdiction over Fort
Ortenegg
according to the then existing feudal laws. No one, however, was allowed
to build
on or assume ownership of land and soil that did not belong to him, that
is, was
not given to him in fief. If he did so, then, already at that time, the
erected
structure belonged to the owner of the land. In addition, no one was
allowed to
settle on land that was not given to him. Furthermore, since a structure
of this
size took years to build, the counts of Ortenburg must have already received
the
rights to the building site years before.
If one dismisses the idea that Count Ulrich of Ortenburg became the feudal
lord of his relatives after being chosen the head of the patriarchal
state, then only
his successor Peregrin I, ducal son of Carinthia, could have been it.
The time of
the granting of the fief thus would have shifted only slightly. Due to
a lack of
documentary evidence, one circumstance cannot, however, be conclusively
explained:
Did the primeval forest between Reifnitz and Kulpa, the later settlement
region
of the Gottscheers, already belong to the original fiefs of the Ortenburgers
in
Lower Carniola? Probably not. We only know for sure that it was a possession
of
Reifnitz. There will be more to say about that in later discussions of
the thirteenth
century.
We cannot leave the twelfth century without reference to the founding
of a
city by the Ortenburgers, a city which, to be sure, only became significant
for
the Gottscheers in the second half of the twentieth century: "Spittal
an der Drau"
in the center of Upper Carinthia. It came about with the founding of
a hospital
for the poor and the needy. Türk gives the following account:
"On the founding day, April 11, Archbishop Albert (of Salzburg,
notation
by the author) issued a charter in the presence of many outstanding worldly
and
religious persons. This charter proclaimed that for the sake of their
salvation the
counts of Ortenburg, Archpriests Hermann and Otto II (sons of Otto I),
have
erected a chapel with a hospital on their own land, "in proprio fundo",
and have
equipped it with properties for the benefit of the poor." The
keyword in this
charter is: salvation.
The thirteenth century to which we now turn is an age which saw the further
decline of the empire both inwardly and outwardly, the self-laceration
of the
nobility, the growth of the cities, in which the citizens ruled and set
new standards.
Trade flourished and the robber barons exploited the efforts of the citizens.
The
church directed the thinking of the faithful totally to the hereafter.
It promised
all classes all the joys of eternal life if only they performed good
deeds here on
earth. Cathedrals, parish churches, cloisters, and foundations arose
in ever increasing
numbers. The Gothic church spire aspiring to the heavens is the most
eloquent
expression of this spiritual attitude. The nobles, monks, and nuns filled
the
monasteries; participation in the crusades reached its peak. Ordinary
piety was
carried to the extreme. Nevertheless, evil deeds predominated on earth.
To be sure, the counts of Ortenburg are not quite children of their time
in
this. They too founded numerous religious stablishments, namely in Carniola,
but they hardly participated in feuds. The two most prominent figures
of the
House of Ortenburg in the thirteenth century, Frederick I and Frederick
II, rather
have the reputation of being successful and magnanimous peacemakers.
The severe internal strife among the nobility finally brought about the "Interregnum," the "emperor-less
and horrible time." It lasted
from 1254 to 1273.
In this period of nearly 20 years there were, to be sure, German kings,
but the
empire had no real leader. Lawlessness and intellectual confusion prevailed
throughout
the land.
With the decline of the nobility and its feudal rule, the peasant gained
in
dominion in a two-fold sense. To be sure, towards the end of the century
everyone
still had to have a lord, but the relationship of the peasantry to the
lord had
changed. The peasant stepped out of his unconditional dependence. He
could now
make contracts, that is, he became a contractual equal of his lord. The
term "Holde" (gracious one) for the peasant comes into use and becomes
reality. In its
most profound meaning, this word means being mutually agreeable, that
is, the
customary feudal relationship that until now had only existed among the
nobility
was transferred in an altered form to the relationship between lord and
subject.
The lord is obligated to protect his peasants and they in turn have to
supply
certain yields and services, particularly military service, as soon as
they are called
upon to do so. The flight from the homestead, which with the growth of
the
cities at times resembled a flight from the land, was no longer punished
as severely
as previously. It had become increasingly difficult to track down the
fleeing.
Understandably, the self-assurance of the peasants increased with the
raising of
their rank to the level of contractual equals. Here and there, resistance
manifested
itself against those lords who still dealt with their peasants with traditional
harshness.
But let us now select from this wealth of events of the thirteenth century
those links which were essential for the origin of Gottschee: With the
decline of
the empire, the fate of Aquileia was also sealed. Venice had become an
economic
and military power and the patriarchs of Aquileia felt pressured and
moved to
Udine at the beginning of the century. Their palace still stands there.
Emperor
Frederick II (he reigned from 1212 to 1250) finally relinquished for
himself and
his descendants the right to participate in the appointments of the bishops.
Already
in 1251, upon the death of the last patriarch of German descent, Berthold
of
Andechs-Meran (1208-1251), the pope appointed an Italian as his successor.
A decisive event is connected with the name of the last German patriarch
for
the time being. Patriarch Berthold gave Reifnitz and its possessions,
which also
included the primeval forest, the later settlement region of the Gottscheers,
in
fief to the counts of Ortenburg in 1247. The Auerspergers had declined
the fiefship
for reasons which are not essential here. At the same time, the Castle
of Zobelsberg
was bestowed upon the Ortenburgers as fief. Reifnitz also appears as
a fief of the
Ortenburgers in the division agreement between Count Frederick II and
his brother
Henry. Thus, it is proven that the Carinthian Counts of Ortenburg knew
by 1247
at the latest that the patriarch intended to open to them the primeval
forest in
Lower Carniola for colonization. However, almost three generations were
to pass
before its German colonization was vigorously undertaken.
The long delay was due mainly to developments on the large political
scene.
Only at the end of September 1273 did the electors agree to elect the
Swiss Count
Rudolf of Hapsburg to be the German king. With surprising energy, he
asserted
himself against the nobility, the robber barons, and the young conqueror
Ottokar
II, King of Bohemia. In his political scheme, he named Count Frederick
II of
Ortenburg to be the ruling head in Carniola. Frederick had three sons:
Meinhart
I, Otto V, and Albrecht II. After the death of his brother Henry, the
aging count
was sole lord of the possessions of the Ortenburgers in Carinthia and
Carniola. It
suggests itself and is certainly not wishful thinking by the Gottscheers,
if they
assume that Count Frederick already occupied himself with plans for settling
the
primeval forest towards the end of the thirteenth century. That those
plans matured only slowly was not solely due to the general political state in the
empire and in
Carinthia. This undertaking surely required reflection. Frederick of
Ortenburg
was not the kind of man who rushed into things. He resided in Laibach
(now
called Ljubljana) and, already before the turn of the century, he left
much of the
administration of the properties in Lower Carniola to his oldest son.
No document reveals when the plans for the "primeval forest colonization" took
concrete form. Particularly absent is any indication if Frederick II
himself
still took the first direct step to begin the colonization, or if his
son Meinhart did
so. Whichever Ortenburger did begin, he knew that a colonizing undertaking
of
this magnitude could not succeed without thorough preparation. Who carried
it
out?
("Jahrhundertbuch
der Gottscheer", Dr. Erich Petschauer)
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