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Birth:          ABT 1159 of Andechs, Oberbavern, Bavaria
Death:          12 Aug 1204 

Notes
also Duke of Dalmatia and Dule of the Coast Meran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berthold,_Duke_of_Merania
Berthold IV (c. 1159 – 12 August 1204),[1] a member of the House of Andechs, was 
Margrave of Istria and Carniola (as Berthold II). About 1180/82 he already bore the 
title of a Duke of Merania, that is, the Adriatic seacoast of Dalmatia and Istria.

Life[edit]

Berthold was the son of Count Berthold III of Andechs and his wife Hedwig of 
Wittelsbach. His father had been a loyal liensman of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa 
and in turn was enfeoffed with the Istrian march upon the death of the Sponheim 
margrave Engelbert III.

Young Berthold IV first appeared in 1170 and was mentioned as Count of Andechs in a 
1172 deed. In 1175 he served as co-ruler in the March of Istria. After Emperor 
Frederick deposed Duke Henry the Lion in 1180, his mother's relative Otto of 
Wittelsbach received the Duchy of Bavaria, while Berthold was received the Duchy of 
Merania.[2] The rule over "Merania" actually encompassed the same area as the old 
Istrian margraviate, but its ruler now gained much prestige from his new title and the 
comital House of Andechs was elevated to Princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1186, he accompanied Emperor Frederick's son Henry VI to Italy and his marriage 
with Constance of Sicily. In 1189, he led the third division of the imperial army and 
was its standard-bearer on the Third Crusade. In 1195, he appeared as Vogt (reeve) of 
Tegernsee Abbey in Bavaria. Berthold committed himself to join the Crusade of 1197, 
however, he did not participate until Henry's death in the same year. Though he had 
opposed the emperor's Erbreichsplan, he backed the claims of Henry's younger 
brother Philip of Swabia against the politics of Pope Innocent III who supported 
Philip's Welf rival Otto IV. At this juncture, the House of Andechs was at the height of 
its power and influence, with extended possessions stretching from Franconia down to 
the Adriatic.

Berthold died in 1204 and was buried at the Andechs private monastery in Dießen, 
Bavaria.

Marriage and issue[edit]

About 1180, Berthold married Agnes of Rochlitz[1] (died 25 March 1195), a daughter 
of Margrave Dedi III of Lusatia from the Saxon House of Wettin. They had the 
following children:[1]
Otto I (d. 1234), succeeded his father as Duke of Merania, married Beatrice II of 
Hohenstaufen, daughter of Count Otto I of Burgundy, became Count palatine of 
Burgundy in 1211
Ekbert (d. 1237), Bishop of Bamberg from 1203, guardian of his nephew Otto II from 
1234
Henry (d. 1228), Margrave of Istria and Carniola from 1204, married Sophia of 
Weichselburg, heiress of the estates in Windic March and Metlica
Hedwig (1174–1243), married Henry I the Bearded, Duke of Silesia, became High 
Duchess of Poland in 1232, canonized by the Catholic Church in 1267
Gertrude (d. 1213), married Andrew II, brother of King Emeric of Hungary, became 
Queen of Hungary in 1205, murdered
Agnes (d. 1201), married King Philip II of France and became French consort in 1196, 
repudiated in 1200
Berthold (d. 1251), Archbishop of Kalocsa from 1206, Patriarch of Aquileia from 1218
Matilda (Mechtild, d. 1254), wife of Engelbert III, Count of Gorizia.

While passing through Serbia on the Third Crusade, Frederick Barbarossa met the 
Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja in Niš on 27 July 1189. There it was negotiated that a 
daughter of Berthold would marry Tohu, son of Prince Miroslav of Zahumlje on the fest 
of Saint George next (24 April 1190). This marriage does not seem to have taken 
place and the Historia de Expeditione Friderici Imperatoris does not name the 
daughter. Scholars are divided over whether it was one of Berthold's known daughters 
or else a fifth daughter not otherwise recorded.[3]

Parents
____ Berthold I (V) (ABT 1110 - 14 Dec 1188)
OF WITTELSBACH Hedwig (ABT 1130 - 16 Jul 1174)

Siblings
____ Berthold IV (VI) (ABT 1159 - 12 Aug 1204)

Marriage To VON GROITZACH-ROCHLITZ Agnes (ABT 1156 - 1195)
    m. 1170 

Notes

Parents
____ Dedo V "Der Fieste" (ABT 1130 - 16 Aug 1190)
VON HEINSBERG Mathilde (ABT 1136 - 20 Nov 1189)

Children by VON GROITZACH-ROCHLITZ Agnes ABT 1156 - 1195
VON MERAN Gertrude (1185 - 22 Sep 1213)

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