Rudolf of Rheinfelden | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Swabia | |
 Bronze graveslab, Merseburg Cathedral | |
| Born | c. 1025 |
| Died | (1080-10-15)15 October 1080 Hohenmölsen,Saxon Eastern March |
| Buried | Merseburg Cathedral |
| Spouses | Matilda of Swabia Adelaide of Savoy |
| Issue | |
| Father | Kuno of Rheinfelden |
Rudolf of Rheinfelden (c. 1025 – 15 October 1080) wasDuke of Swabia from 1057 to 1079. Initially a follower of his brother-in-law, theSalian emperorHenry IV, his election as Germananti-king in 1077 marked the outbreak of theGreat Saxon Revolt and the first phase of open conflict in theInvestiture Controversy betweenEmperor andPapacy. After a series of armed conflicts, Rudolf succumbed to his injuries after his forces defeated Henry's in theBattle on the Elster.
Rudolf was the son of theSwabian count (Graf) Kuno ofRheinfelden. He was first mentioned in a 1048 deed issued by theSalian emperorHenry III as a count in the Swabian Sisgau on theHigh Rhine (in present-dayNorthwestern Switzerland), an estate then held by thePrince-Bishopric of Basel.[1] Rudolf's family had large possessions up toSankt Blasien Abbey in the Black Forest and down to theAargau beyond the border with theKingdom of Burgundy. He probably was related to KingRudolph II of Burgundy (d. 937), theDukes of Lorraine and theOttonian dynasty.
When DukeOtto III of Swabia died without male heirs in 1057, EmpressAgnes, consort of late Henry III, appointed Rudolf Swabian duke and administrator of Burgundy.[2] Rivalling with theZähringen countBerthold, Rudolf, according toFrutolf of Michelsberg, had taken advantage of the minority of Agnes' son Henry IV, electedKing of the Romans, by kidnapping his sisterMatilda of Swabia.[3] Rudolf demanded, and received, Matilda's hand in marriage (1059).[4] In 1061 Berthold received theDuchy of Carinthia instead. When Matilda died in 1060, Rudolf subsequently, in 1066, marriedAdelaide of Savoy (d. 1079), a daughter of CountOtto of Savoy andAdelaide of Susa.[5] When Adelaide's sisterBertha of Savoy married Henry IV in 1066, Rudolf became brother-in-law to the king twice over.
During Agnes' regency, thePrinces of the Holy Roman Empire could further strengthen their position against the Imperial authority. In the 1062Coup of Kaiserswerth, several princes led by ArchbishopAnno II of Cologne even abducted the minor king to enforce the surrender of theImperial Regalia. When Henry came of age in 1065, he continued the policies of his father against the reluctant Saxon nobility, sparking theSaxon Rebellion in 1073. While other princes like the Carinthian duke Berthold of Zähringen or DukeWelf of Bavaria distanced themselves, Rudolf supported Henry's campaigns inThuringia, when he was a primary force in the 1075Battle of Langensalza against the insurgents. However, after the joint victory, Rudolf became estranged to the king and rumours occurred that he was involved in adversarial conspiracies. Empress Agnes repeatedly had to arbitrate between the parties.[6]
Finally when theInvestiture Controversy broke out and King Henry wasexcommunicated byPope Gregory VII in February 1076, Duke Rudolf met with Berthold, Welf and several other princes inTrebur in order to decide on a course of action and to arrange a new election. Henry, observing the proceedings from his camp inOppenheim on the other side of theRhine, had to face a massive loss of support among the German nobles and realized that he had to achieve the lifting of his ban. Pope Gregory agreed to meet with the princes atAugsburg in February 1077.
Already in January, Henry hastened to see the pope on his way to the Empire fromRome. Duke Rudolf attempted to have theAlpine passes closed, but the king through wintry weather made hisWalk to Canossa, where Gregory, fearing an armed attack by Henry's forces, had found refuge withMatilda of Tuscany. By doing penance, Henry managed to achieve absolution, buying time at the price of his reputation and secular authority. The rebels continued with their plans. Rudolf was electedanti-king on 15 March 1077 at theKaiserpfalz inForchheim, where alreadyLouis the Child andConrad I of Germany had been crowned. The first anti-king in the history of the Empire, he promised to respect theinvestiture solely according tocanon law, as well as the concept of theelective monarchy. Further claims raised by the princes were rejected assimony by the attendantpapal legates.
The men who elected Rudolf were ArchbishopsSiegfried I of Mainz,Werner of Magdeburg andGebhard of Salzburg; BishopsBurchard II of Halberstadt,Altmann of Passau,Adalbert II of Worms [de] andAdalbero of Würzburg; DukesBerthold II of Carinthia,Welf I of Bavaria and Rudolf himself; andOtto of Northeim, former duke of Bavaria. DukeMagnus of Saxony and MargraveUdo II of Stade may also have taken part.[7] Rudolf proceeded toMainz, where on 25 May he was crowned by ArchbishopSiegfried I, but soon after was forced to flee to Saxony, when the Mainz citizens revolted. This presented a problem, since the Saxon duchy was cut off from his Swabian homelands by the king's Salian territory. Moreover, the pope avoided taking sides and adopted a waiting attitude. Rudolf was accused of greed, treason and usurpation by Henry's liensmen, while his own support crumbled.[8]
Rudolf gave Swabia to his sonBerthold and attempted to rectify his situation by stalking Henry's forces nearWürzburg, but to little effect. Meanwhile, he was deprived of Swabia by theHoftag diet atUlm in May, and the king gave the duchy toFrederick of Stauf, the firstHohenstaufen ruler.
The next year Henry waged a successful campaign to Bavaria, while Pope Gregory rejected excommunicating Rudolf. TheBattle of Mellrichstadt on 7 August 1078 proved indecisive; though the opposition forces under Otto of Nordheim were victorious, the troops of Berthold and Welf were stuck in a peasants' revolt. Rudolf found it difficult to convince the Saxons to fight beyond their borders; they viewed him as a southerner and distrusted him. He was also frustrated by the apparent reluctance of the pope to recognize his cause. In order to gain and maintain supporters, he was forced to grant large parts of the crown lands, as well as those of the church, to his followers. Nevertheless, things seemed to be improving in 1080. Thebattle of Flarchheim (27 January 1080) went well in his favor. On 7 March, the pope excommunicated Henry again and recognized Rudolf as king.
Emboldened, Rudolf's forces met Henry's at theWhite Elster river in theBattle of Elster. The battle, which took place on 14 October 1080, would have been a huge victory for the anti-royalists. However, Rudolf lost his right hand in the battle and was mortally wounded in the abdomen. He withdrew to nearbyMerseburg, where he died the next day and was buried. The majority of the support for the rebellion against Henry IV soon evaporated, but the struggle continued on in effect into 1085, with a final flare up in 1088 under Rudolph's successor, the second anti-king,Herman of Luxembourg.
With his second wife, Adelaide, Rudolf had at least four (and perhaps five) children:
Rudolf of Rheinfelden Born:c. 1025 Died: 15 October 1080 | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Swabia 1057–1079 | Succeeded by |
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