The County of Diepholz (West Low German: Deefholt), that was first known as the Lordship of Diepholz, was a territory in the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower-Rhenish-Westphalian Circle. It was ruled by the Noble Lords, later Counts, of Diepholz from the late tenth century until 1585, when it was mostly incorporated into the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Territorial Borders
The territory of the County of Diepholz at its greatest extent in the sixteenth century stretched from Colnrade and Goldenstedt in the north to Wehdem, Dielingen and Lemförde in the south. The eastern border was marked by the Wietings Moor (near Barver) and the Neustädter Moor (near Wagenfeld). The western border lay to the west of the Dümmer See (lake). The distance from the northernmost point to the southernmost point of the county was about 47 kilometers whilst the distance from east to west was 22 kilometers at its widest point.
The towns of Diepholz, Drebber and Lemförde, as well as the area around the Auburg Castle (most notably Wagenfeld) fell directly under the allodial rule of the Noble Lords of Diepholz. Their properties in Barnstorf, Goldenstedt and Colnrade fell under the full jurisdiction of the Noble Lords from 1291 in their capacity as holders of the Vicecomitat of Sudholte but was a fief of the Bishop of Munster. The Lords of Diepholz were vassals of the Count of Ravensberg for the tithes of Weddeschen and vassals of the Abbey of Corvey for various smaller goods, such as the "wood tithes" in Bosel. Their tithes in Aschen and Ostenbeck were fiefs of the Counts of Tecklenburg.
The territory of the county includes most of the modern municipalities of Altes Amt Lemförde, Barnstorf, Rehden, Diepholz und Wagenfeld. The former District County of Diepholz (Landkreis Grafschaft Diepholz) was named after the territory.
The origins of the Noble Lords of Diepholz
The family belonged to the Germanic Uradel (ancient nobility) and originated from the border area between the districts (German: Gau) of Westphalia and Angria (German: Engern) in the stem duchy of Saxony. In contrast to neighbouring noble dynasties they were not appointed as territorial counts (Latin: comes; German: Graf) or imperial officeholders by the Holy Roman Emperor but exercised allodial power locally as noble landowners. Whilst their origins go further back in time, the family name first appears in 1160 (in Latinised German) as de Thefholte, and a continuous genealogy of the dynasty only starts with Gottschalk I (cited 1177–1205).
The continuity in ownership of the feudal domains around Drebber, Barnstorf and Goldenstedt, which later belonged to the Noble Lords of Diepholz, suggests that the dynasty descended from or was related to Folcred, who donated a manor in Barnstorf with its serfs around 890–900 to the Abbey of Corvey for the salvation of his brother Alfric's soul. In 1070, another Folker, undoubtedly a descendant of the first, and his wife Badeloch, donated a manor in Goldenstedt to the Bishop of Osnabruck.
The first members of the dynasty of the Noble Lords of Diepholz who can be identified with certainty are domina Gysela, heiress of Drebber and Molbergen, her brother Gottschalk (cited 1080/1088) and his son, Gottschalk, Bishop of Osnabruck (1110-1118). It remains uncertain whether they are agnatic or uterine forebears of the later dynasty. Around 1085 Gysela swapped various goods around Drebber and Diepholz with the Bishop of Osnabruck in return for the manor in Goldenstedt which had previously belonged to Folker. The German historian Carl Heinrich Niedberding speculated, based on the geographical location of these earliest known estates, that the Noble Lords of Diepholz might descend from the Saxon leader Widukind, but noted that there was no firm proof for such a descent.
The title used by the Noble Lords (German: edler Herr / Edelherr) of Diepholz was identical to that of their close neighbours, the Noble Lords of Lippe, and underlined their credentials as sovereign territorial lords and as members of the ancient Saxon nobility.
The Sovereign Lordship of Diepholz in the Middle Ages
After the fall of Henry the Lion in the late twelfth century, smaller Saxon territories were able to expand their dominions and influence, and the Noble Lords of Diepholz extended their reach to the north and south from their initial allodial holdings around the town and castle of Diepholz, Drebber, Barnstorf and Goldenstedt. The territory's expansion was however constrained by the moors that surrounded it and by the ambitions of its more powerful neighbours, most notably the Counts of Hoya and the Bishops of Minden.