Berthold I of Zähringen
| Berthold II | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Carinthia | |
 |
|
| Reign | 1061–1077 |
| Born | c. 1000 |
| Died |
6 November 1078 Limburg Castle, Weilheim, Swabia |
| Buried | Hirsau Abbey |
| Noble family | House of Zähringen |
Berthold II, Duke of Carinthia (c. 1000 – 6 November 1078), also known as Berthold I of Zähringen, was a progenitor of the Swabian House of Zähringen. From 1061 until 1077, he was the Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona.
He was possibly a descendant of one Berthold (or Bezelin) von Villingen (d. 1024), a Swabian count in the Breisgau region and relative of the Ahalolfing dynasty, who was killed in the Battle of Stilo in 982 while fighting against the Kalbid emir of Sicily. The early Zähringer were close allies of the Imperial Ottonian dynasty; Berthold von Villingen's son Count Birchtilo was among the nobles capturing and mutilating Antipope John XVI in 998, at the behest of Emperor Otto III. On his mother's side of the family, Berthold probably descended from the Hohenstaufen family, who then ruled as Swabian counts in Ortenau, Thurgau, Breisgau, and Baar.
Berthold quickly rose to be one of the most powerful counts in Swabia, and the Salian emperor Henry III even promised his party-follower the title of Duke of Swabia, then held by Otto of Schweinfurt. However, upon Otto's death in 1057, Henry's widow Agnes of Poitou gave the Duchy of Swabia in fief to Count Rudolf of Rheinfelden. Berthold received, as compensation for the abandonment of his claim, the Duchy of Carinthia and the March of Verona, after the death of the Ezzonid duke Conrad III in 1061. As a result, the Zähringer finally ascended to the status of a princely house.
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