Rupert IV of Nassau

Rupert IV of Nassau, (died after 1 January 1239), was Count of Nassau. He later became a Knight of the Teutonic Order.

Life

Rupert IV was the second son of Count Walram I of Nassau and a certain Kunigunde, possibly a daughter of a count of Sponheim or a daughter of Poppo II, Count of Ziegenhain. The Nassau possessions in this area were expanded around 1214 when Rupert's brother Henry received the Imperial Vogtship (Reichsvogtei) over Wiesbaden and the surrounding Königssondergau, which he held as fiefdoms.

About the year 1200, Rupert, together with his brother Henry, began building Sonnenberg Castle on a spur of Spitzkippel peak in the Taunus above Wiesbaden. This was intended for protection against the Archbishop of Mainz and its vassals, the Lords of Eppstein, who held the lands bordering Wiesbaden. However, the cathedral chapter of St. Martin's Cathedral in Mainz claimed Sonnenberg as their own. To settle the dispute, Nassau paid 30 Marks to the cathedral chapter in 1221 to acquire the land of Sonnenberg Castle. They were also forced to recognize the sovereignty of the Archbishops of Mainz over Sonnenberg, taking the castle as a fief of Mainz.

Rupert is mentioned as a Knight of the Teutonic Order in 1230.

Marriage and children Rupert married before 11 December 1215 to Gertrud (died ca. 1222), possibly a daughter of the Count of Cleeberg. From this marriage no children are known.