ONCE UPON A TIME ...
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| Emperor Henry VI holding court in Tarentum |
... there reigned a mighty Imperator Romanorum, Henricus Sixtus. It was early in the Year of the Lord 1195 and Henricus held court in Tarentum, in the South-Italian province of Apulia.
Just four years earlier, he had tried to take over his wife's rightful inheritance, Regnum Siciliae, but was forced to return empty-handed to Germania. Then Fortuna favoured him: he got hold of Ricardus Primus, Rex Angliae, upon that King's return from the Holy Land, held him captive in Speyer and only released him, in AD 1194, after he had agreed to pay the enormous ransom of 150 000 Mark Silver.
With that fortune, the Imperator could assemble a sizeable army and renew his conquest of Sicilia. This time, he was successful; Henricus was crowned Rex Siciliae in December 1194, adding this crown to his other three of Germania, Burgundia and Italia.
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| Richard the Lionheart pays tribute to Emperor Henry VI, whereupon, the Kingdom of England is returned to him as Imperial Feoff Petrus de Ebulo (1196), Liber ad honorem Augusti sive de rebus Siculis |
This brings us back to Imperator Henricus holding court in Tarentum in early 1195, as mentioned initially. As one of his rulings there, he issued, with a stern mien on his face, a command that his scribe hastened to put down on parchment, using of course the common language of Latin:
Filium Tancredi regis in Rhetiam Curentiam perductum, oculis priuari,
et in castro Amiso perpetuae captivitati addictum esse praecipio
(I hereby decree that the son of King Tancred [the infant King William III] shall be sent to Rhaetia Curiensis, with his eyes removed, and there permanently be incarcerated in the fortress Ems).
How to we know that he gave this command? The original parchment is long lost, but the story was told in a chronicle, dealing with the years 1146-1209, by a contemporary writer, and possibly one of the Emperor's scribes, called Otho de St. Blasio. A version of his manuscript is still preserved in the Imperial Library of Vienna, but unfortunately not accessible on internet. We have to satisfy ourselves with a later chronicle from 1500, which replicates Otho's text essentially verbatim.
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| Excerpt from Johannes Nauclerus (1500), Chronicon D. Johannis Naucleri Praepositi Tubingensis ... |
Now back to our own "chronicle" about the Emser, in particular, as concerns the Karolingian and early German Kingdom/Empire. You may recall (Where it all began) that the earliest mentioning of the name of "Ems", in the form of "Amedes", was back in 765, as the name for a small settlement just South of Chur in Graubünden/Grisons. What we now have, in addition, is the mentioning of the name of "Ems", in the form of "Amisa", in 1195, as the name of a fortress on the lower Alpine Rhine. In between those two documents there is a void of more than 400 years, where there exist almost no documents with the name of "Ems" within. Somewhen in between, the Emser appeared on the scene of history, to come fully into the limelight eventually, as governors of the fortress that carried their name.
When reading about the Emser in the history books, various theories about the emergence of this dynasty exist, none of those being underpinned by historical facts. This permits me to present to you my own conjecture about their coming-on-scene. It is based on the fact that the name itself is a rare one. It would appear rather unlikely for it to emerge independently in two different locations of the same geographical area, only some fifty kilometres apart. Thus, my conjecture consists of two assumptions: first, that the Emser took their name from the small settlement of Amedes close to Chur, and, second, that they gave their name to the small domain on the lower Alpine Rhine, above which the fortress Ems subsequently was built. But before developing this conjecture into a hypothesis, permit me to digress shortly and delve into the history of how feudalism emerged in the region during the late Karolingian and early German Kingdom/Empire.
It all started with Charles the Great. His father had already re-subjugated the Alemanns to the North and re-confirmed his power over Raetia Curiensis. Charles consolidated these efforts by replacing Bishopric Rule in Raetia with a newly installed Comes (Count Hunfrid) who had to pay allegiance only to the King (see A river runs through it). Thus was established the main noble family governing Raetia as count for over 100 years, before its elevation in 917, with Burkhard II, to Duke of Alemannia (including Raetia), a region which soon would change name to Swabia.
However, whilst this was an elevation, it also meant that the Hunfridinger lost immediate contact with the enormous areas they presided over, the governance of which had to be handed over to successor counts. These turned out to be, eventually, on the one hand, the Bishop of Chur, who regained power over his domains of Southern Raetia and, on the other hand, the dynasty of the Udalrichinger, who stemmed from a brother-in-law to Charles the Great and became counts in Northern ("Lower") Raetia and neighbouring areas. Relatives of this family became the Counts of Bregenz (around the year 1000) and reigned over the area for over 150 years, sometimes even reigning over the whole of Raetia. Concurrently, Members of the Hohenstaufen dynasty became Duke of Swabia and held this position until 1268.
The Udalrichinger dynasty died out and its possessions on the Lower Alpine Rhine were taken over by close relatives, the Montforter, who held sway over the region as Count for several centuries, after dividing up into two branches on each side for the Rhine, the Montforter on the right side, and the Werdenberger on the left.
To these local territorial nobles we have to add "incursions" by other noble families into the area. Foremost among them the Welfer, who had their power base as Duke of Bavaria, but also endeavoured to hold possessions in Swabia, in particular along the Lower Alpine Rhine, to get the roads to Italy under control. In contrast, the Habsburger, who would become a dominating power in later centuries, had their first possessions mostly to the West, in the region of Aargau in present day Switzerland.
I have to admit that the above barely scratches the surface of regional history, but this should suffice as a canvas to paint on, with broad brushes, the history of the Emser from the early beginnings to their appearance in documented history. So, let the story begin.
Some time, towards the end of the eighth century, there lived a small boy in the small settlement of Amedes. As was custom then (and still is), the local priest always chose small boys as assistant at church ceremonies, and our young boy was found suitable for the task. The priest soon discovered that the boy was a quick learner, absorbing Latin and Greek phrases as they were spoken, and had no trouble understanding and executing the convoluted liturgy of holy mass and other ceremonies. The priest gave him extra tutoring in Latin, but soon realised that the pupil outran his master. So he recommended the boy to the Bishop in Chur and asked the local magistrate to sponsor his vivre at the cathedral school in this cleric and administrative centre. Said and done, thus was a dynasty of magistrates borne. The boy took his family name from the village he came from and started a modest career in the bishopric household.
The descendants of this first "Amedes" rose in rank and, after some decades, the opportunity to change master arose, so they became magistrate to the ruling Count of Raetia instead. The Hunfridingers' administrative centrum lay in Vinonna (present day Rankweil, some 50 km North of Chur), so they moved there. After the Hunfridinger became Duke of Swabia and moved their court northward, the Amides staid in Rankweil and served their successor, the Udalrichinger Counts of Lower Raetia, which also had their administration in Rankweil. As the Amedes rose in rank, their income rose and they could afford to acquire a sizeable property, a bit North of Rankweil, along River Rhine. It may also have been that the count deeded them this property, so that its revenues could be their income. Thus arose the modest holding of Ems, at that time probably called "Amiz", as a shortened version of Amedes. It cannot have been large, hemmed in as it was, by a harsh cliff on its back and, on the front, the marches of River Rhine, which were flooded on a regular basis.
The following (eleventh) century was an age of great upheaval in the Kingdom of Germany, with conflicts between the Salian King/Emperor and the Pope (the Investiture Controversy). In this conflict, the Welfer, as other high nobility like the Udalrichinger, took the Pope's side, were able to grab many a possession that belonged to either the King or the Monastery of St Gallen, and established a string of domains in lower Raetia (on the RHS of the Rhine) under their suzerainty. The humble farm of "Amiz", soon to be called "Embs", happened to lie within this sphere of influence. Soon thereafter, around 1140, Duke Welf VI decided to fortify the road along the Rhine, where it bypassed the small holding of Embs. A mighty fortress was built on the rash cliff just behind the holding, and the Embs family was assigned as governor of that fortress. In line with this, the castle was given the name of "Hohen-Embs", in Latin "Alta Amisa", alluding to its location on the cliff high over Embs.
This was the beginning of the dynasty of the Emser and from then on, we can base our story on safer ground. But I think we have to stop for the moment, else my ramblings overtax your patience, Dear Readers! Let's keep you in suspension until the next blog post, where we will go forward in time all the way to the collapse of European society!
When reading about the Emser in the history books, various theories about the emergence of this dynasty exist, none of those being underpinned by historical facts. This permits me to present to you my own conjecture about their coming-on-scene. It is based on the fact that the name itself is a rare one. It would appear rather unlikely for it to emerge independently in two different locations of the same geographical area, only some fifty kilometres apart. Thus, my conjecture consists of two assumptions: first, that the Emser took their name from the small settlement of Amedes close to Chur, and, second, that they gave their name to the small domain on the lower Alpine Rhine, above which the fortress Ems subsequently was built. But before developing this conjecture into a hypothesis, permit me to digress shortly and delve into the history of how feudalism emerged in the region during the late Karolingian and early German Kingdom/Empire.
It all started with Charles the Great. His father had already re-subjugated the Alemanns to the North and re-confirmed his power over Raetia Curiensis. Charles consolidated these efforts by replacing Bishopric Rule in Raetia with a newly installed Comes (Count Hunfrid) who had to pay allegiance only to the King (see A river runs through it). Thus was established the main noble family governing Raetia as count for over 100 years, before its elevation in 917, with Burkhard II, to Duke of Alemannia (including Raetia), a region which soon would change name to Swabia.
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| Duke Burkhard III with wife as founders of the monastery of St Georg in Stein am Rhein Source: Fresco in the monastery church Photographer: Johann Schatz |
However, whilst this was an elevation, it also meant that the Hunfridinger lost immediate contact with the enormous areas they presided over, the governance of which had to be handed over to successor counts. These turned out to be, eventually, on the one hand, the Bishop of Chur, who regained power over his domains of Southern Raetia and, on the other hand, the dynasty of the Udalrichinger, who stemmed from a brother-in-law to Charles the Great and became counts in Northern ("Lower") Raetia and neighbouring areas. Relatives of this family became the Counts of Bregenz (around the year 1000) and reigned over the area for over 150 years, sometimes even reigning over the whole of Raetia. Concurrently, Members of the Hohenstaufen dynasty became Duke of Swabia and held this position until 1268.
The Udalrichinger dynasty died out and its possessions on the Lower Alpine Rhine were taken over by close relatives, the Montforter, who held sway over the region as Count for several centuries, after dividing up into two branches on each side for the Rhine, the Montforter on the right side, and the Werdenberger on the left.
To these local territorial nobles we have to add "incursions" by other noble families into the area. Foremost among them the Welfer, who had their power base as Duke of Bavaria, but also endeavoured to hold possessions in Swabia, in particular along the Lower Alpine Rhine, to get the roads to Italy under control. In contrast, the Habsburger, who would become a dominating power in later centuries, had their first possessions mostly to the West, in the region of Aargau in present day Switzerland.
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| Hugo II von Thübingen with wife Elisabeth von Bregenz. Parents of Hugo I von Montfort Photographer: Andreas Praefcke |
I have to admit that the above barely scratches the surface of regional history, but this should suffice as a canvas to paint on, with broad brushes, the history of the Emser from the early beginnings to their appearance in documented history. So, let the story begin.
Some time, towards the end of the eighth century, there lived a small boy in the small settlement of Amedes. As was custom then (and still is), the local priest always chose small boys as assistant at church ceremonies, and our young boy was found suitable for the task. The priest soon discovered that the boy was a quick learner, absorbing Latin and Greek phrases as they were spoken, and had no trouble understanding and executing the convoluted liturgy of holy mass and other ceremonies. The priest gave him extra tutoring in Latin, but soon realised that the pupil outran his master. So he recommended the boy to the Bishop in Chur and asked the local magistrate to sponsor his vivre at the cathedral school in this cleric and administrative centre. Said and done, thus was a dynasty of magistrates borne. The boy took his family name from the village he came from and started a modest career in the bishopric household.
The descendants of this first "Amedes" rose in rank and, after some decades, the opportunity to change master arose, so they became magistrate to the ruling Count of Raetia instead. The Hunfridingers' administrative centrum lay in Vinonna (present day Rankweil, some 50 km North of Chur), so they moved there. After the Hunfridinger became Duke of Swabia and moved their court northward, the Amides staid in Rankweil and served their successor, the Udalrichinger Counts of Lower Raetia, which also had their administration in Rankweil. As the Amedes rose in rank, their income rose and they could afford to acquire a sizeable property, a bit North of Rankweil, along River Rhine. It may also have been that the count deeded them this property, so that its revenues could be their income. Thus arose the modest holding of Ems, at that time probably called "Amiz", as a shortened version of Amedes. It cannot have been large, hemmed in as it was, by a harsh cliff on its back and, on the front, the marches of River Rhine, which were flooded on a regular basis.
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| Duke Welf VI, builder of Hohenems Source: Weingartner Stifterbüchlein |
This was the beginning of the dynasty of the Emser and from then on, we can base our story on safer ground. But I think we have to stop for the moment, else my ramblings overtax your patience, Dear Readers! Let's keep you in suspension until the next blog post, where we will go forward in time all the way to the collapse of European society!
Comments
Best
Per
Thank you very much for the new chapter of the Emser family! It is most interesting to pursue the events of early history and to have the opportunity to learn a lot about your family history!
As always I am awaiting the next chapter with eagerness!
Kind regards
Eva