Guntram the Rich
Guntram the Rich (died 973) was a count in Breisgau, member of the noble family of the Etichonids, and possibly the progenitor of the House of Habsburg, one of Europe's most important royal families.
Guntram the Rich lived in the mid-10th century. As a member of the Eberharde branch of the Etichonids noble family - one of the most influential families on both sides of Upper Rhine - Guntram possessed lands in Alsace and in Breisgau, from Vogesen to Kaiserstuhl and the Black Forest.[1][2]
Many of Guntram's possessions had been given to him by the king. In August 952 Guntram the Rich was convicted of treachery during an Imperial Diet in Augsburg, which resulted in King Otto the Great removing these lands from him. Guntram was however able to keep his possessions in Alsace, Breisgau, and near Aare and Reuß. The political influence of Guntram's family was restored by his grandsons.[2] One of them, Radbot, a count in Klettgau, founded the Muri Abbey, which became the first burial place of members of the House of Habsburg. It is possible that Radbot founded the castle Habichsburg, the residence of the Habsburgs, but another possible founder is Werner I.[3]
The chronology of the Muri Abbey, written in the 11th century, states that guntradamus dives (Guntram the Rich), was the progenitor of the House of Habsburg.[4] Many historians believe this indeed makes Guntram the progenitor of the Habsburgs; however, much about him and the origins of the Habsburgs is uncertain.
References
- ↑ Lexikon des Mittelalters. Volume IV, p.1795.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Trillmich, page 118
- ↑ Bönner, p.7
- ↑ Heimann, p.22
Literature
- Lexikon des Mittelalters. ISBN 978-3-423-59057-0
- Werner Trillmich: Kaiser Konrad II. und seine Zeit, hrsg. aus dem Nachlass des Verfassers von Otto Bardong. Europa-Union-Verlag, Bonn 1991.
- Andreas Bönner: Die Religionspolitik der Habsburger Kaiser in der Zeit des Dreißigjährigen Krieges. GRIN Verlag, 2010.
- Heinz-Dieter Heimann: Die Habsburger. Dynastie und Kaiserreiche. ISBN 3-406-44754-6