The Ancient City of Büdingen
Danske Dandridge, in the manuscript of her book, Henry Bedinger of Old Shepherdstown, states that the name Bedinger is an anglicized corruption of the old German name Büdinger or Büdingen. It was spelled Büdinger in the early records of St. Michaels’ Lutheran Church in Conewago, York County (now Hanover County), Pennsylvania in 1744 when Adam Büdinger was a member of that church. Büdinger is the family name of the noble Lords of Büdingen who ruled a large feudal Wetterau territory which included the Büdinger Wald [forest].[i],[ii]
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The tradition of the Büdingen heritage was carried by Adam Büdinger’s grandson, Henry Bedinger, who was told stories of the old country and the family heritage as a child. The warrants we have today are the memories passed on by Henry to his grandchildren of an ancient seal that bore the arms of Büdingen, a griffin rampant, and, for a crest, the helmet of a knight.
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The Noble House of Büdingen
Extant to this date is the ancient Gothic town of Büdingen named in 847. Büdingen in the county of Hesse, Germany is known for its medieval castle and stronghold built by the Lords of Büdingen that to this day is still in good condition as well as for its Gothic churches and timber framed houses. During the late Middle Ages a hereditary succession of Lords of Büdingen ruled the principality, a part of the Holy Roman Hohenstaufen Empire. The first Lord of this noble family was Gerlach von Büdingen born about 1000. Research by Hans Philippi (iia) reveals that the lords of Büdingen were descended from the old and well-established family Hartmann of the Wetterau and the southern Vogelsberg regions of Hesse. A deed by the Count Hartmann is witnessed in 910 deeding the village, Kirchbacht, to Fulda Abbey. The Imperial Benedictine Abbey of Fulda was an ecclesiastical principality in the present-day German state of Hesse, founded in 744 by Saint Sturm a disciple of Saint Boniface. Later gifts by Counts of Hartmann to Fulda Abbey are recorded. In the later part of the 10th century when Hartmann and wife, Hildigunt, gave the monastery ownership in several villages of Hesse. . |
St. Remigius Church
In the 8th century the wealthy Lord Hartmann, built a wooden church in the eastern Wetterau village of Büdingen. The history of the wooden church is known from archaeological findings, patronage statements and other documents. The church was built on Hartmann property on ground above the level of recurrent floods of nearby Seemen Brook. Hartmann had the church dedicated to the Merovingian-Franconian national Saint Remigius.
In the 9th century, a hall-like stone building that forms the nave of the church today was built on the site of the original wooden church. At the beginning of the 11th century, the western transept was built. About 1050, the two parts of the building were increased to the current height. The nave and the western transept were separated by a septum, which stands on mighty pillars. Noteworthy are the ten circular windows, the late Gothic murals and the Fugenschnitte.[iii] The church continued to be managed by a nobleman who is believed to have been a member of the Hartmann family.[iv]
St. Remigius was the Büdingen parish church until the end of the 15th century. The task as a city church took over in 1495 with the laying of the sacraments, the 1492 consecrated St. Mary's Church. The St. Remigius Church was from then until now only used as a cemetery church.[iv,1,2,3]
St. Remigius was the Büdingen parish church until the end of the 15th century. The task as a city church took over in 1495 with the laying of the sacraments, the 1492 consecrated St. Mary's Church. The St. Remigius Church was from then until now only used as a cemetery church.[iv,1,2,3]
The Lords of Büdingen
The wealthy family Hartmann [Hartmännern] was known in the region in and near Büdingen. In the late 9th century they are recorded with ownership of Glauberg, Florstad and Büdingen. Documents of 1131 have been interpreted by scholars as inferring that Gerlach I, the first Lord of Büdingen, was a member of the family Hartmann. As a Lord he was styled Gerlach von Büdingen. A brother of Gerlach, Ortwin, became established as Lord Ortwin von Ortenberg. Ortwin was probably succeeded by his son, known as Werner von Ortenberg.
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Lord Gerlach I von Büdingen, began construction of the moated castle. The Büdingen castle became his residence in 1131 when it was completed. The defensive walls with 22 towers were not built until 1442. The walls are still nearly intact and well known as an important landmark for medieval strongholds in Germany. Gerlach I was succeeded by his son, Hartmann I (Hermann) von Büdingen. Hartmann I was prominently associated with Emperor Friedrich I, Archbishops of Mainz and Henry VI, of the House of Staufen. There are records of another, Hartmann II, but after 1195 neither Hartmann is found in documents. They were possibly deceased or on crusade. Gerlach II succeeded the Hermanns von Büdingen. Under Gerlach II the Büdinger increased in power and influence with the Staufen in the founding of towns and palaces and in administration of the Palatinate.[v]
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Rise of Gerlach II von Büdingen among the Hohenstaufen
The Lords of Büdingen enjoyed close connections with the Staufen dynasty and were among the most important exponents of imperial Staufen politics in Rhine-Main-area. Under Frederick I (Barbarossa), King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor, the city of Büdingen was granted the privilege of being a free imperial town. The construction of the Staufen Imperial Palace Gelnhausen was built under the direction of the Lords of Büdingen in 1170.
Documents show Gerlach II von Büdingen rose in influence over the jurisdiction of the surrounding imperial courts and his relationship with the ruler made him appear at the head of the regional nobles of the Staufen empire. Early in his rule, the domain of the House of Büdinger was principally the three districts of Büdingen, Ortenberg and Staden. By the end of the 12th century his domain included Wachtersbach, Birsten and Burgbracht to which were included Burgmannen and the south and east sides of the Reichforst. After the election of Henry VII in 1220, Gerlach III appeared in the advisory board. He accompanied Henry in 1226 and 1232 to Italy. By 1235, Gerlach seems to have detached himself from the royal court.[vii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
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The Close of Two Dynasties
The House of Büdingen closely paralleled in time the Hohenstaufen dynasty, both arising in the ninth century and coming to a close in the thirteenth century.
The House of Staufen attained its greatest power and dominance during a dynasty of German kings from 1138 to 1254, during which besides Germany, they also ruled the Kingdom of Sicily (1194–1268) and Swabia[vi] from 1079. Three members of the dynasty, Frederick I, Henry VI and Frederick II, were crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
The Hohenstaufens rule came to an end through the rivalry for rule of the domain by the Welf Dynasty of German nobles and rulers which gained strength and prominence in the thirteenth century.[vii, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The Büdinger dynasty closed without a male heir to succeed Lord Gerlach II von Büdingen. Gerlach II, died in 1247 leaving four daughters. His daughter Mechtild married a second time to Heinrich III von Isenburg. Heinrich III was heir of the medieval aristocratic family of Isenburg, a family well-established in the region. This joining of these two related medieval families was reinforced by the marriage of their son, Ludwig I von Isenburg-Büdingen, to Hedwig von Büdingen, daughter of Luitgard von Büdingen. Thus, Ludwig I von Isenburg-Büdingen, heir of the Lords of Büdingen and Isenburg inherited the castle, city and domain. Thereby the principality of Isenburg-Büdingen came into being. Through the succeeding centuries the principalities of the Isenburg-Büdingen heirs were variously mediatized (joined) and partitioned as succeeding generations merged with other houses and inherited fortunes as royal lines died out. Through time of some 700 years the House of Isenburg–Büdingen has remained intact and exists to this day.
The arms of the House of Isenburg-Büdingen combine the arms of Büdingen, a lion rampant with a Knight’s helmet for a crest, overlying a shield bearing the bars of the Isenburg arms.
Migration of Büdinger Family
The documentation of our Bedinger line begins with Niclaus Biettinger in Switzerland and his son Elias born in Gondiswil, Switzerland in the 16th century. Between the known end of the line of the Lords of Büdingen in the 13th century is a time gap that spans the turmoil of wars that ravaged the states of Holy Roman Empire in Europe. The turbulent conflicts among principalities of Germany were aggravated by unrest of clergymen of the Catholic Church presaging the advent of the Protestant Reformation as early as the fourteenth century by John Wycliffe (1330-1384) and followed closely by John Huss (1369-1415) who attacked what he conceived to be corruptions within the Roman Church including the sale of indulgences and low moral standard of ordained priests. Martin Luther argued that the Bible was the sole standard of Christian doctrine and the authority of the Pope was not based on scripture. Historians date the start of the Protestant Reformation at 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses into the Wittenberg Church door. His hope that his criticisms would spur renewal of the church did not prevail and he was excommunicated. Luther effectively used the power of the press to spread his ideas and teachings. He inspired many Germans, both peasants and princes. It is said that when Martin Luther passed through Büdingen in 1521 that many converted to Protestantism. Over time, with a succession of different ruling lords, there has been a succession of changes in state sanctioned religious beliefs.
Our Bedinger forebears left the Catholic Church before or during the early 16th century when, with many Protestant exiles, our line of Bedinger ancestors sought refuge in Switzerland, where the Reformation was led by Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin. But even in Protestant Switzerland bitter theological differences emerged creating disparate belief systems and hostile fractionation within the protestant movement. By the later part of the 16th century we find our Bedinger ancestors being religious outcasts of the Mennonite faith in Gondiswil, Switzerland where they were forced to live in conclaves away from large centers of the population. Seeking relief from persecution, Peter Bietinger removed his family to Ottwiller, in the territory of Lützelstein, Alsace, a part of France, but populated predominantly by Germans. In Ottwiller, and later in nearby Durstel, Alsace, the Bedingers joined with the Protestant congregations where the family births and marriages were recorded.
Our Bedinger forebears left the Catholic Church before or during the early 16th century when, with many Protestant exiles, our line of Bedinger ancestors sought refuge in Switzerland, where the Reformation was led by Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin. But even in Protestant Switzerland bitter theological differences emerged creating disparate belief systems and hostile fractionation within the protestant movement. By the later part of the 16th century we find our Bedinger ancestors being religious outcasts of the Mennonite faith in Gondiswil, Switzerland where they were forced to live in conclaves away from large centers of the population. Seeking relief from persecution, Peter Bietinger removed his family to Ottwiller, in the territory of Lützelstein, Alsace, a part of France, but populated predominantly by Germans. In Ottwiller, and later in nearby Durstel, Alsace, the Bedingers joined with the Protestant congregations where the family births and marriages were recorded.
Sources:
[i] Dandridge, Danske, unpublished manuscript, “Henry Bedinger and Old Shepherdstown” in Bedinger and Dandridge Family Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
[ii] Dandridge, Danske, 1909, George Michael Bedinger A Kentucky Pioneer, The Michie Company, Printers, Charlottesville, Virginia, 232 p., 4,5.
[iia] Philippi, Hans, 1954, Territorialgeschichte der Grafschaft Büdingen, Marburg, 212 p.
[iii] Fugenschnitte are joint cuts artificially applied joints in plaster that give a façade the appearance of a monumental masonry. This technique was used, for example, in the prestigious Renaissance palaces in Florence.
[iv] St.-Remigius-Kirche (Büdingen)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St.-Remigius-Kirche_(B%C3%BCdingen)
1.Historical monuments in Hessen, Wetteraukreis I (= Denkmaltopographie Federal Republic of Germany .). Braunschweig, Wiesbaden 1982, ISBN 3-528-06231-2 , p 69.
2. Klaus Peter Decker: Parish History and Church Politics - The Church in Büdingen between the Middle Ages and the Reformation. In: 1491-1991 - 500 years of the Marienkirche Büdingen. Protestant parish of Büdingen, Büdingen 1991.
3. Walter Nieß: On the origin of Büdingen. In: Büdinger history association (Hrsg.): Büdinger history sheets. Volume 17, 1999, p. 71.
[v] The relationships and lineages related here are somewhat conjectural. The documents available have been carefully read and analyzed by researchers, but the records are not primarily of a genealogical nature. Vital data for persons was not systematically collected and recorded and much genealogical lineages are inferred from incidental references gleaned from documents of business, contracts, agreements and the like.
The genealogical relations given in this page are generally consistent with the genealogy compiled by Robert Lord. Other compilations of the families of Büdingen and of Isenburg differ in many respects from that of Robert Lord. The genealogy compiled by Robert Lord is given in Rootsweb’s WorldConnect Project: "Robert Lord Ancestors, Robert E. Lord".
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=SHOW&db=rlord335&recno=12305
[vi] Swabia was a historic region of southwestern Germany, southwestern Bavaria, eastern Switzerland and Alsace.
[vii] A principal source of information on the history of the Lords of Büdingen is from
"Büdingen (noble family), Wikipedia, retrieved from
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%BCdingen_(Adelsgeschlecht)
The principal references for the Wikipedia article follow.
1. Klaus-Peter Decker: Lords in the Wetterau. In: knights, counts and princes - worldly dominions in the Hessian area about 900-1806 (= Handbook of Hessian history, Vol 3 = Publications of the Historical Commission for Hesse, Vol. 63). Marburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-942225-17-5. 2. Karl Ernst Demandt : The Lords of Büdingen and the empire in the Hohenstaufen period. In: Hessian yearbook for country history. Vol. 5, 1955, pp. 49-84. 3. Karl Ernst Demandt: History of the Land of Hessen. 2nd edition, Bärenreiter, Kassel and Basel 1972, ISBN 3-7618-0404-0 , pp 496-498. 4. Angela Metzner: Reichslandpolitik, nobility and castles - Investigations of the Wetterau in the Staufer period. In: Büdinger Geschichtsblätter. Vol. 21, 2008/2009, especially pp. 113-128. 5. Hans Philippi : Territorial history of the county Büdingen (= writings of the Hessian office for historical regional studies, volume 23). Elwert, Marburg 1954, pp. 90-114. |
Page modified 13 March 2016 and 22 November 2017
Page revised 29 November and 6 December 2017
Page revised 29 November and 6 December 2017