Henry VI, Count of Gorizia

Henry VI
Count of Gorizia
Portrait by Anton Boys, 16th century
Born	1376
Died	1454
Noble family	House of Gorizia
Spouse(s)	Elisabeth of Celje Catherine of Gara
Issue John II Leonhard
Father	Meinhard VI of Gorizia
Mother	Utehild of Mätsch

Henry VI (1376–1454), a member of the House of Gorizia (Meinhardiner dynasty), ruled as Count of Gorizia from 1385 until his death. He also served as Count Palatine of Carinthia, governor of Belluno-Feltre and Landeshauptmann of Carniola.

Life

Henry's parents were Count Meinhard VI and his wife, Utehild of Mätsch. His father had outlived his elder brother and became sole ruler in 1365. Upon his death about 1385, Henry succeeded him as Count of Gorizia (Görz). His estates went into a rapid decline, as he turned out to be an "incurable drunkard and gambler".

Since Henry's cousin Countess Margaret had bequeathed her Tyrolean estates to the Habsburg duke Rudolf IV of Austria in 1363, the Counts of Gorizia were thrown back on their original possessions around Gorizia and Lienz (Bruck Castle). Henry likewise concluded an inheritance treaty with the Habsburg dynasty; this didn't go down well with his other neighbours, the Wittelsbach dukes of Bavaria and the Republic of Venice.

After the death of his younger brother John Meinhard VII in 1430, he also inherited the Swabian county of Kirchberg from the estate of his mother.

Marriages and issue

Coat of arms of the Albertine line of the Counts of Gorizia, Ingeram Codex, 1459

Henry was engaged with Elizabeth (d. 1392), a daughter of the Habsburg duke Leopold III of Austria. However, on 31 January 1400 he married another Elizabeth (d. 1426), a younger daughter of Count Herman II of Celje. With her, he had two daughters:

• Anna, married to Bruno della Scala (d. 1434)
• Margaret (d. 1450), married Count John of Oettingen-Wallerstein (d. 1449)

After Elizabeth's death, Henry married Catherine (Katalin; d. 1471/83), a daughter of the Hungarian palatine Nicholas II Garai. He was described as a "rugged opponent" of Catherine, as she was politically inclined to side with the Habsburgs, while he was siding with the Celje relatives of his first wife. He had three sons with Catherine:

• John II (1433–1462), succeeded his father as Count of Gorizia in 1454
• Leonhard (1440–1500), succeeded his elder brother in 1462, last Count of Gorizia
• Louis (d. 1457)

External links

• Genealogy of the Middle Ages