The Lords of Sanneck Castle were elevated to comital status by Emperor Louis IV in 1341 at Munich, and received the title Cylie or Cilli derived from name of the Celje Castle in Lower Styria. In the early 14th century they had allied with the Austrian Habsburgs in their conflict against the Meinhardiner duke Henry VI of Carinthia around the Kingdom of Bohemia, making them Habsburg vassals in 1308.[1] The Lords of Sanneck inherited the large possessions of the late Counts of Heunburg in 1322; the Celje estates itself became a property of the dynasty in 1333,[1] not before years of feud against several rivalling noble dynasties. Frederick I, Lord of Sanneck, finally prevailed with the support of Otto the Merry, the Habsburg duke of Styria. In a short period of time the Counts of Celje owned more than 20 castles all over the territory of modern Slovenia and beyond through the marriages of their daughters. With their acquiring large estates in the adjoining duchies of Styria and Carinthia, in the March of Carniola as well as in the territories of the Hungarian Crown (including Croatia and Slavonia) their influence rose and they became one of the most powerful families in the area. Count Ulrich I of Cilli, a leader of mercenary soldiers, joined King Louis I of Hungary on his 1354 campaign into Dalmatia and, shortly afterwards, the Rex Romanorum Charles IV to his coronation at Rome. His son William married Anna of Poland, daughter of the Polish king Casimir III the Great. The Counts of Cilli were related by marriage with rulers of Bosnia and Polish and Hungarian kings.[2] Also through the Barbara of Cilli the Counts were in kinship with kings of Bohemia.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 07:26:00 +0000
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