Babonen


The Babonen family were influential nobles from Bavaria in the Early and High Middle Ages. They are also known as Babones, Papones, Pabones, Puapones, Poppones, Papones, etc. and should not be confused with their possible ancestors the Popponids.
The Babonids, after its progenitor Count Babo of Regensburg, administered possessions in the Bavarian Donaugau and Nordgau until the end of the 12th century. Today, these Gaue constitute roughly the areas of Lower Bavaria and Upper Palatinate.

History

Historical context

After the last Agilolfing Tassilo III was deposed as ruler of Bavaria in 788, Charlemagne and his successors placed Bavaria under the rule of non-hereditary governors and civil servants. But by the late 9th century, Frankish direct power in the region had waned due to recurring attacks by the Hungarians, and local rulers had been able to grab greater independence. Luitpold, Margrave of Carinthia and Upper Pannonia, set himself up as the most prominent of Bavaria's aristocracy and thereby laid the foundations of the renewed stem duchy. In 911, his son Arnulf the Bad assumed the title of Duke of Bavaria, centered around his possessions around Regensburg and in the adjacent March of the Nordgau. Luitpold's descendants, the Luitpoldings, would remain dukes until 947, when the king ceded the Bavarian duchy to his own brother Henry I.
After the Luitpoldings, one leading Bavarian nobleman was Burkhard, who held the newly created title of the Margraviate of Austria and was furthermore appointed as the first Praefectus Ratisbonensis in 970. But Burkhard was deposed at the Reichstag of Regensburg in 976, after he had joined in the uprising of Duke Henry II of Bavaria against Emperor Otto II in the War of the Three Henries. As Margrave of Austria, he was replaced by Leopold I, the progenitor of the Younger Babenberger dynasty. As Burgrave of Regensburg, he was replaced by a relative of the Babenberger, a certain Babo; he would become the progenitor of the Babonids, who would hold to this title for the next two centuries.

Origins of the Babonids

The ancestry of Count Babo I is disputed. He is usually recognized as descending from the Popponids and related to the Younger Babenberger, but the precise linkage is unclear. His parents and grandparents would have been directly impacted by the fall of the Babenberger after the Babenberg Feud. Like the Popponids and several other related and unrelated nearby dynasties, the leading name Babo characterized the earlier Babonids generations.
Count Babo I could have been a son or grandson of the Babenberger Count Poppo IV an der Paar, a grandson of Duke Poppo of Thuringia, and Willibirg von Ebersberg . Alternatively, he could have been a son or grandson of the Babenberger Henry III and Kunigunde of the Sualafeldgau, making him a brother or cousin of Margrave Leopold I and Berthold of Schweinfurt.
Babo is furthermore also said to be related to both the Luitpoldings and the Counts of Kühbach . The link to the Luitpoldings can be explained if Babo was a son of Henry III and Kunigonde, as the latter was likely a sister of Margrave Luitpold. A relation to the Counts of Kühbach was suggested by Elisabeth Gäde, in which she dismisses a hypothetical Babo von Kühbach and instead postulates a dynastic bond between Babo I's daughter Hiltegart and Count Adalbero of Kühbach.
Mayer lists four arguments to connect the Babonids with the Elder Babenberger;
  • the geographic proximity of the lordships of Stevening, Riedenburg, and the Schweinfurt possessions at Kastl, Ammerthal, Kreussen ;
  • the roughly simultaneous enfeoffment of Babo and Leopold of Babenberg after Burkhard's fall, where Babo received the Burggraviate of Regensburg and Leopold the Ostmark;
  • the possession of the Buch estate in the Danube valley above Straubing, which was owned by Babo and which is listed in the record of estates seized from Tegernsee Abbey as having been seized by Margrave Adelbert in 1030 and by Margrave Ernest in 1060;
  • the Babonid possessions in the Nordgau, that extended as far as the Mühlviertel and the Lower Austrian border of the Machland, similarly as the Formbach and Babenberg possessions.

Count Babo I

Count Babo would have been born around 930 or 940 and is reported to have died on 5 May 1001 or 1002. He was known as Vogt of Freising prior to his elevation to Burgrave of Regensburg around 983. He also had a tenure as Count of the Western Donaugau from 976 to 983 and as Margrave of the Nordgau in roughly the same period.
Babo married at least two times. His first wife may have been Ida of Swabia, a daughter of the Conradine Hermann I and Regelinda of Zürich. His last wife was Matilda von Schweinachgau, daughter of Count Ulrich of Formbach and Kunigunda of Bavaria. Likely mostly from his first wife, Babo had a number of children:Heinrich, 981 Count and Burgrave of RegensburgRuprecht I of Regensburg, 1002 Count and Burgrave of Regensburg, married Liutana the daughter of Margrave Heinrich von Schweinfurt and Gerberga von Gleiberg AdelbretHeroltEgilolf, monk in St. Rupert's Cathedral in SalzburgLiutolf, monk in St. Emmeram's Abbey in RegensburgHiltegard, possibly married to Count Adalpero of Kühbach and later to Count Conrad Gebba, possibly nun in Niedermünster Abbey in Regensburg
Babo's descendants, the Babonids, would continue through his son Ruprecht only. They would rule the counties of Western Donaugau and Nordgau, Regensburg and Riedenburg. Babo's titles and goods would remain in the possession of his descendants until their extinction, but one descendant, Burgrave Otto I, would in addition be appointed Count of Regenstauf in 1125. Other property of the Babonids and their descending lines include Abensberg, Abenberg, Burg Rotteneck, a series of castles in the Nordgau, Sulz, Weiße and Schwarze Laber.

Count Babo's legendary 40 children

In the Vita Chuonradi archiepiscopi Salisburgensis on the life and ancestry of Archbishop of Salzburg, Conrad I of Abenberg, a direct descendant of Count Babo, it is described that Count Babo had an exceptional number of children, no less than 30 sons and eight daughters, from his three successive wives:
There has been confusion as to which Babo and which Emperor Henry he refers to. Babo I is the candidate proposed relatively early by Aventinus – he is also reported to have a relatively large number of children – but no Emperor Henry is at hand so early. Babo II is often assumed instead, as he was a contemporary of Emperor Henry II. Finally, more recently, a case was made by Elisabeth Gäde that pinpoints Babo III, the actual grandfather of Archbishop Conrad, where Henry III is the Emperor referred to. Potentially, oral traditions may simply have combined up all of these Babo's into one fictional Count Babo.
As to the wives of this legendary Count Babo, they are named as Judith, Irmengard and Getraud.
A number of later Bavarian and Austrian noble families claim their descent from one of the sons of this legendary Count Babo. But the lack of sources from this period make it difficult to verify such claims; while some are unlikely, most can simply not be verified. At least it can be said that some noble houses at some stage in their history identified themselves with the Babonids' legacy.
The following list includes individuals and families that claim to trace their fatherly descent to Count Babo, some more convincingly than others. Some of these families included the typical Babonid rose in their coats of arms.St. Leoprig of Schwandorf, either saint or beatifiedHenry of Ebrantshausen, beatifiedAlowinus ''→ Hartwig I of Bogen → Counts of Bogen Berthold I of Prunn → Lords of Prunn, Laber and Breitenegg Wolfram of Abinberg and Rohr → House of Abensberg und TraunEberhard of Abensberg → Counts of Abensberg Rudpert of Rohr → Lords of Rohr Count Dietmar I of Leonsberg → Counts of Leonsberg, Dornberg and LungauCount Erlambrecht of Biburg → Lords of BiburgWetzil of Freudenberg → Lords of Freudenberg Babo of Hochfeld'' → Lords of Hohenfeld

Later history

Babo was, among others, the grandfather of Otto von Riedenburg bishop of Regensburg
As Burgraves of Regensburg, they enjoyed the same judicial, administrative and military powers as the Gaugrafen, insofar as these were not restricted by the privileges of the Bishopric of Regensburg or the monasteries. The office of burgrave was an imperial fief. The burgrave held court in the apse of St. Giles' Church in Regensburg and was assisted by a judicial sub-officer known as the Schultheiß, tribunus or centurio. The right to ride through the streets of the town with a spear laid across the saddle, which existed until 1360, was connected to the defense of the town; anything that offered resistance to the spear had to be removed.
Since the early 12th century, the Babonids also became been known as the Counts of Riedenburg, a title with which they seemed to have become more affiliated with than the name Babonid or the title Burgrave of Regensburg. Today's coat of arms of Riedenburg still includes the typical three roses of the Babonids. They are considered to be the founders of Rosenburg Castle, Dachenstein Castle and Rabenstein, all near Riedenburg. From the Bishopric of Regensburg, they also held the counties of Kufstein, Kitzbühel, Sinzing, as well as estates in Tangrintel. Finally, the County of Regenstauf would be added to burgrave Otto I's possessions in 1125.
In the 12th century, the Babonids became Vogt of the Benedictine Prüll Abbey as well as of St. Emmeram's Abbey, where their family tomb is also located. Furthermore, the Gundershausen estate near Bad Abbach was transferred to their patronage, as well as the Abbeys of Walderbach and of Altmühlmünster, the latter which was founded by Henry III and his brother Otto II in 1155. Finally, Burgrave Otto I was also a co-founder of the Scots or St. Jakob Monastery in Regensburg.
Under the sons of Otto I, the estates were divided into two lines; Henry III and his successors were henceforth known as the Burgraves of Regensburg, Otto II and his sons as the Landgraves of Stefling. Under Henry III, the family's possessions were considerably extended, as he received estates from his wife Bertha that stretched from the Mühlviertel to Lower Austria. Henry sold part of the Beinwald forest to Otto von Machland, who transferred this property to Waldhausen Abbey.

Final period

The two Babonid branches both became extinguished in the male line by the end of the 12th century; the burgraviate line with Henry IV in 1185 and the landgraviate line with Otto VI in 1196. The fiefs belonging to the Bishops of Regensburg fell back to them. The Counts of Wittelsbach claimed inheritance to the Babonid allodial holdings on the basis of the marriage of the Babonid Otto II to Adelheid of Wittelsbach. Duke Louis' claims were settled in his favor after warlike disputes around 1203-1204 against the Bishop of Regensburg and Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, and the holdings of Haidau, Riedenburg, Nittenau and Regenstauf were formed from this inheritance. The Landgraviate of Stefling passed to the Landgraves of Leuchtenberg through Duke Ludwig.

Descendant branches

In addition to the variety of families that claim to descend from one of Count Babo's legendary 30 or 32 sons, a number of other families also trace their descent to the Babonids:
Finally, the Wolfsteiner, Sulzbürger, Hilpoltsteiner, Heidecker, and Holnsteiner are said to be Babonid descendants, as well as the Julbach, Wald and Uttendorf in Inn and Salzach.

Coat of Arms

A depiction of the coat of arms of the Babonids is lacking in the regular Rolls of arms. Nonetheless, both the Weingartner Liederhandschrift and the Codex Manesse include the coats of arms of two Babone minnesänger.
The Burgrave of Rietenburg is depicted in both the Weingartner Liederhandschrift and the Codex Manesse. In the Codex Manesse, he is shown under a triangular shield blazoned Or, on a bend gules three roses argent, alongside a great helm and a crest depicting an elaborate piece of two horns-shaped ornamental peacock feathers from which a single rose arises. The same arms are still in use nowadays by the town of Riedenburg. The great helm is depicted in gold, reserved for royalty and the higher nobility. In the Weingartner Liederhandschrift, the same burggrave is depicted with a comital crown, under a similar helm and crest and the same arms – but here with different colors, namely Or, on a bend sable three roses gules. In addition, another variant is also known, namely or, on a bend argent three roses gules.
The Babonid Burgrave of Regensburg is also depicted in the Codex Manesse, wearing the hat of a Fürst, but here his arms are completely different here; they're blazoned as Gules, two keys argent in saltire as in the coat of arms of the city of Regensburg.
In all three varieties, the great helm with the crest is golden, which indicates the bearer's high rank of princely or high nobility.
The variety of the attributed arms to the Babonids and their branches can be explained by the proto-heraldic to early heraldic times in which they lived, a period where arms were more fluid. After all, the main Babonid line extinguished already in 1196, before coats of arms became more widely adopted. Tinctures would vary, the shapes and charges would differ, rules of tincture would not yet be observed, and besides sources may have made copying errors over the centuries. Siebmacher goes as far to say that, while the roses are typically always red, the tinctures for the Babonids in his sources can only be classified as "arbitrarily added".
Several associated families, castles, towns, and abbeys bear similar arms with the Babonid roses. A selection of these are listed below:
TitleCoat of ArmsBlazonNotes
FinsingerArgent, on a bend gules three roses argent
Counts of RoningPer fess gules and argent, three roses counterchanged seeded orThe Lords and Counts of Roning descended from the Babonids
Lords/Counts of Moosburg Per fess argent and gules, three roses counterchanged seeded orThe Lords and Counts of Roning descended from the Counts of Roning on the maternal side, and likely took over their arms after the termination of the Roning line.
Biburg Per fess argent and azure, three roses counterchanged seeded orThe present-day Bavarian district of Kelheim still features the arms of the Counts of Biburg, taken from the monasteries of Biburg and Weltenburg.
Altmannstein Per bend argent and sable, with two roses counterchangedThe house's founder descended from the Abensberger on the paternal, but from the Counts of Roning on the maternal side. Their arms were based on the Abensberg arms, but with two roses added, likely after the termination of the Roning line.
Altmannstein, alternativePer fess argent and azure, three roses counterchanged seeded orThe house's founder descended from the Abensberger on the paternal, but from the Counts of Roning on the maternal side. Their arms were based on the Abensberg arms, but with two roses added, likely after the termination of the Roning line.
HohenfeldAzure, a fess argent charged with a rose gulesThe Hohenfelder claim descent from one of Babo's 32 sons, through an unidentified Babo of Hochfeld

The arms of the Swiss-Austrian-Schwabian Ehinger von Gutenau and von Hüntzerentzriedt, though similar, are likely unrelated.

Notable family members

Religious figures:Otto von Riedenburg, 17th Bishop of Regensburg
The family has produced two minnesänger:

Family tree of the Babonids

Given the many uncertainties around the familial relations of the Babonids, especially in the 10th and 11th centuries, various different trees have been reconstructed. The family tree below follows a paper by Elisabeth Gäde, in which she attempts to reconcile the various differences and integrate the information from the newest sources.

Main branch

Babo I, 975/980 Count in the Donaugau, 983 Burgrave of Regensburg
⚭ 1. Ida of Swabia, daughter of Hermann I, Duke of Swabia, and Regelinda of Zürich
  1. Henry I of the Donaugau,, 981 Count in the Donaugau
  2. Liudolf of Regensburg, 996 monk in St. Emmeram's Abbey
  3. Conrad of Regensburg
  4. Friedenbert of Regensburg
  5. Rupert I of Regensburg, 1002 Count and Burgrave of Regensburg
⚭ Liutana of Schweinfurt, possibly a daughter of Henry of Schweinfurt, Markgrave in the Nordgau, and Gerberga of Gleiberg
  1. # Otto, 1036 Count in the Donaugau, 1040 Count in the Kelsgau
  2. # Babo II
⚭ Hazacha, daughter of Count Altmann I of Freising
  1. #* Haziga of Diessen ⚭ 1. Hermann von Kastl ⚭ 2. Otto von Scheyern
  2. #** → The House of Wittelsbach
  3. #* St. Loybrigus
  4. # Henry II
  5. # Rupert II
  6. ## Henry III, 1048 Burgrave of Regensburg, 1053 Count of the lower Altmühl, Count in the western Donaugau
  7. ### Henry, 1080 Count of Sinzing, possibly identical to Henry of Ebrantshausen
  8. ##Babo III
  9. ### Otto I, 1089 Burgrave of Regensburg, 1089 Founder of Walderbach Abbey, 1125 Count of Regenstauf, 1140 Vogt of Prüfening Abbey, 1142 Vogt of St. Emmeram's Abbey
⚭ Adelheid of Plötzkau, daughter of Count Dietrich of Plötzkau
  1. #### Henry V
  2. ####*→ Burgraves of Regensburg
  3. ####Otto II
  4. ####*→ Langraves of Stefling
  5. ###Henry IV, 1090 Count in the Donaugau, 1091 Count of the lower Altmühl, 1101 dies near Jerusalem after joining Duke Welf I in the Crusade of 1101
  6. #### Konrad I, Lord of Roning
⚭ Mathilde von Ratzenhofen
→ Lords and Counts of Roning
  1. ##### Gerold von Roning, of Paring
  2. ##### Henry, first Count of Roning
  3. ##### Gebhard, Canon in Regensburg
  4. ##### Conrad II, Count of Roning
  5. ###### Conrad III, line ends
  6. ###### Benedikta
⚭ 1. Burghart von Moosburg
→ Counts of Moosburg
⚭ 2. Ulrich von Stein
→ Counts of Stein / Altmannstein
  1. ###### Bertha ⚭ Wernhart of Haarbach
  2. ###### Richinza ⚭ Altmann I of Abensberg
  3. ### Fredrick of Pettendorf ⚭ Segena of Leinungen
  4. ### Henry of Aschach
  5. ### N.N. ⚭ Count Wolfram II of Abenberg → Conrad I of Abenberg
  6. ### N.N. ⚭ Count Otto of Lechsgemünd → Henry II of Lechsgemünd ⚭ Luitgard
  7. ### Adelheid ⚭ Count Otto II of Ambras
  8. ### a multitude of further sons and daughters
  9. ##Otto, 1061 installed as 17th Bishop of Regensburg
⚭ 2. Mathilde of Schweningen , daughter of Ulrich of Formbach and Kunigunda of BavariaBerthold I of Prunn
→ Lords of Prunn, Laber and Breitenegg

Burgraves of Regensburg (1142 – 1185)

Henry V, 1135 Count, 1142 Burgrave of Regensburg and Count of the Lower Altmühl, 1144 Count of the Western Donaugau, 1147 Count of Regenstauf, ~1150 Count of Riedenburg, Vogt of Prüfening Abbey, 1156 Vogt of St. Emmeram Abbey
⚭ 1. Berta of Austria, daughter of the Babenberger Margrave Leopold III
  1. Fredrick I, 1154 Burgrave of Regensburg, 1171 Count of Riedenburg
  2. Henry VI, 1174 Burgrave of Regensburg, 1179 Count of Riedenburg
  3. Adelheid, Nun later Abbess of Obermünster Abbey
⚭ 2. N.N. of Oettingen
  1. Otto IV, 1179 Count of Riedenburg, 1183 Burgrave of Rohrbach
  2. N.N. ⚭ Count Fredrick I of Hohenburg
  3. N.N. ⚭ Count Boppo I of Wertheim, 1157/1201

Landgraves of Stefling (1143 – 1196)

Otto II, 1143 Landgrave of Stefling, 1152 Burgrave of Regensburg, 1160 Count of Regenstauf
⚭ Adelheid or Sophie, daughter of the Wittelsbacher Count Otto IV of Scheyern ⚭ Heilika of Lengenfeld
  1. Otto III, 1179 Landgrave of Stefling
  2. Otto of Stefling, 1179 Canon in Bamberg, possibly identical to Otto III
  3. Fredrick II, c. 1181/1189 Landgrave of Stefling
  4. Henry V, 1190 Landgrave of Stefling
⚭ Richenza of Austria, buried in Heiligenkreuz Abbey, daughter of the Babenberger Duke Henry II Jasomirgott ⚭ Gertrude of Süpplingenburg
  1. # Otto VI, 1192 Landgrave of Stefling, 1196 dies as the last of his line
  2. # Heinrich VI, Canon in Bamberg
  3. Adelheid, ⚭ 1. n.n. Count of Baldern, ⚭ 2. Chuno of Tieufen

Possessions and associated places

The family resided at Castle Prunn and Rosenburg, St. Emmeram, and Stefling Castle.
  • Counties
  • * Western Donaugau, until 1196
  • * Regenstauf
  • Burgraviate
  • * Regensburg
  • Landgraviates
  • * Riedenburg, including Castle Ravenstein and Castle Tachenstein
  • * Stefling, centered around Castle Stefling on the Regen
Other possessions included:
  • Castle Kallmüntz, now a ruin, owned by the counts of Riedenburg-Kallmünz
  • Lengfeld
  • Sinzing
  • Rohrbach
Monasteries founded include:

Literature

  • Elisabeth Gäde, '. Verhandlungen des Historischen Vereins für Oberpfalz und Regensburg, vol. 160, p. 9-112
  • Manfred Mayer: '. Riegersche Univ.-Buchhandlung, Diss., München 1883.
  • Manfred Mayer: Regesten zur Geschichte der Burggrafen von Regensburg. Verhandlungen des historischen Vereins von Oberpfalz und Regensburg 43, S. 1–55.
  • Adam Rottler: Abensberg im Wandel der Zeiten. Eigenverlag, Abensberg 1972, S. 23–30.
*