Historical Traces of the Carinthian Cup-bearers from Osterwitz in the Territory of Modern Slovenia

Abstract

The Spanheim descendants from Osterwitz in Austrian Carinthia held this picturesque castle as a hereditary fief from the middle of the twelfth century until the last quarter of the fifteenth century. They were first mentioned as hereditary cup-bearers at the beginning of the thirteenth century, when Duke Bernhard of Carinthia created court offices in his residence in Sankt Veit an der Glain before leaving for the imperial coronation in Rome with King Otto IV. The Lords of Osterwitz also left a noticeable trace in Slovenian history, which is confirmed by more than 270 sources related to them, which belong to the so-called Slovenian corpus. Most of these are original documents, some are notarial records, and a small part subsequent copies of originals that have not been preserved to date. The discussion focuses on their connection with the territory of modern Slovenia. They acquired important properties in Vipava and central Carniola through grants and purchases in the fourteenth century, and also owned the Šenkov turn tower (Ger. Schenkenthurn) in Šinkov Turn near Vodice, named after their position of hereditary cup-bearers (Ger. Schenk). A few found their spouses among the Carniolan nobility; at the end of the fourteenth century and in the first half of the fifteenth century, they were also the provincial governors of Styria and Carniola.