Berthold IV, Duke of Merania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berthold IV (died 12 August 1204) was the Count of Andechs (from 1172) and first Duke of Merania, that is, the seacoast of Dalmatia and Istria.

In 1175, he was raised to the margraviate of Istria and then years later (1185) made the duke of the region called "Merania" after the Adriatic Sea (mare is Latin for "sea"). Merania encompassed the same area as the old margraviate, but its ruler now gained much prestige from his new title.

In 1186, he accompanied the Emperor Henry VI to the Kingdom of Sicily for his marriage to the heiress Constance on 27 January. In 1189, he led the third division of the imperial army and was its standard-bearer on the Third Crusade. In 1195, he appeared as the advocate of Tegernsee Abbey. After Henry's death in 1197, he sided with the claimant Philip of Swabia. At this juncture, the duke of Merania was at the height of his power and influence. He possessed lands from Franconia to the Adriatic. Berthold married both his daughter to kings: Gertrude to Andrew II of Hungary and Agnes to Philip II of France. An unnamed daughter married into the Nemanjic family of Serbia. Berthold was succeeded by his son Otto I and buried in Diessen.