346 Hohenzollern dynasty
Further reading: Michael Frassetto, “Staufen” in
John M. Jeep, ed., Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia
(New York: Garland, 2001), 732–734; Karl Hampe,
Germany under the Salian and Hohenstaufen Emperors,
trans. Ralph Bennett (1909; reprint, Totowa, N.J.: Row-
man & Littlefield, 1973); John Larner, Italy in the Age of
Dante and Petrarch, 1216–1380 (London: Longman,
1980); Steven Runciman, The Sicilian Vespers: A History of
the Mediterranean World: The Later Thirteenth Century
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958).
Hohenzollern dynasty The German dynasty, best
known for the modern dynasty in Brandenburg-Prussia,
was originally from SWABIA, the castle of Zollern. The
first Zollern were mentioned in 1061 and were linked
with the HOHENSTAUFEN. Count Frederick III (d. ca.
1200) was made burgrave of NUREMBERGin 1191–92 by
the emperor HENRYVI. His sons shared his possessions in
- Conrad I (ca. 1186–1261) inherited the burgraviate
and founded both a Franconian and a Brandenburg
branch; Frederick IV (1300–32) took over the Swabian
possessions. The Franconian branch stopped calling itself
Zollern. The designation Hohenzollern reappeared for the
Swabian branch in 1350. It did not designate the Zollern
of Brandenburg-Prussia until the 18th century.
The further rise of the Hohenzollern in the 14th cen-
tury was based on inheritance or on obtaining in fief the
property of extinct dynasties and gifts and appointments
of the emperor CHARLESIV of the burgraves of Nurem-
berg to the rank of prince of the empire in 1363. In 1415
the feudal investiture of Frederick IV (r. 1415–40) as
margrave of Brandenburg later included the title of impe-
rial elector in 1417. Imperial connections continued to be
the foundation of the 15th-century Hohenzollern dynasty.
Further reading:William Bradford Smith, “Hohen-
zollern” in John M. Jeep, ed., Medieval Germany: An Ency-
clopedia(New York: Garland, 2001), 364–367.
Holland As a county, Holland initially belonged to the
duchy of Lotharingia, which then included part of west-
ern FRISIA, between the Rhine and Amstel Rivers. The
county was established at the beginning of the 10th cen-
tury by a Frisian leader, Dirk I (ca. 921–ca. 928), who
organized a territory he had conquered from the VIKINGS.
In 922, he was created count of Holland by Charles the
Simple (r. 893–923), king of FRANCE. His descendants
ruled the county, which gradually grew, through both
the reclamation of land from the sea and by strategic
marriages with the families of the counts of Zeeland
and FLANDERS.
Under Count William II (r. 1234–56), Holland gained
influence in GERMANY, William was elected an antiking
in 1247 by the German princes who were rebelling
against FREDERICKII and Conrad IV (r. 1250– 54). The
count’s attempts to gain imperial power in 1254 failed; he
returned to Holland, where he died two years later. In
1299 the old Frisian dynasty died out and Holland was
inherited by the Avesnes family, the counts of Hainault,
who had been ruling as imperial princes over an impor-
tant group of counties in the Low Countries. Under the
Avesnes family and later the Bavarian house of WITTLES-
BACHbetween 1299 and 1417, the county prospered as a
result of the development of TRADEand industry. By the
late 15th century, Holland had begun to overcome the
HANSEATICLEAGUEand replaced them in the Baltic trade.
In 1436 Holland and Hainault were united with Burgundy.
Further reading:H. A. Heidinga, H. H. van Regteren
Altena, eds., Medemblik and Monnickendam: Aspects of
Medieval Urbanization in Northern Holland(Amsterdam:
Universiteit van Amsterdam, 1989).Holy Lance The Holy Lance was supposedly the spear
that pierced Christ’s side. According to Christian tradi-
tion, a Roman legionary, Longinus, pierced Christ’s side
with his lance to end his Passion. This lance later disap-
peared. In the fourth century, a lance, considered that of
the Passion, was rediscovered in JERUSALEMat the same
time as the True Cross. It was venerated at Constantino-
ple. According to an Armenian tradition from the 13th
century, the Holy Lance had been taken to ARMENIAby
Saint Thaddeus or Jude and was deposited at a monastery.THE HOLY LANCE AND THE FIRST CRUSADE
In 1098, during the First Crusade, the discovery of
another lance of Longinus renewed the hope of the des-
perate crusaders laying siege to ANTIOCHwhile them-
selves besieged by an army of Turks. This led to a spirited
offensive that captured the city. On June 10, 1098, a cer-
tain Peter Bartholomew, a peasant in the army of RAY-
MOND IV of Toulouse, claimed that Saint Andrew
appeared to him and revealed where this holy lance was
hidden. Despite skepticism by the papal legate ADHÉMAR
of Le Puy, the leaders of the Crusade believed the tale. On
June 14, their excavations in Saint Peter’s church near
Antioch discovered the lance. The crusaders saw this as a
sign of God’s favor. Later other leaders of the Crusade
opposed to Raymond cast doubt on the authenticity of
the lance. Peter Bartholomew was challenged and sub-
jected to an ordeal by fire in which he died, somewhat
discrediting the lance among the crusaders.OTHER LANCES
The idea that the lance was a fraud was recognized in the
West, but the Christians of the East kept a memory of the
discovery of this important RELIC; some considered it a
nail of the cross, and others thought it to be the lance
that JEWShad used to pierce an image of Christ.
According to other Eastern sources, it was later given
by Raymond to the emperor ALEXIOSI KOMNENOSand
became part of the imperial treasure. According to a