| Born: circa 1160
Legendary founder of the von Bennhausen and von der Dressel
families. He is believed to have been a free nobleman,
lord of the Bernhardshausen estates, and vassal of the abbot
of Hersfeld monastery which was founded between 769 and 775
in the Duchy of Hessen.
The main source for the existence of Bernhard is in the analysis
of the family name von Bennhausen. The original name had to
be Bernhardshausen, which latter evolved to such forms as Bennenhus,
Bennenhusen, Beinhausen, Benhausen, etc. "Benn" was and still
is a nickname for Bernhard; "Hausen" can be translated either
as houses, villages, fields, forests, or estates. The
original name simply meant Bernhard's property. We know from
the 1179 document, n2.6; see exhibit 41, that the villa Bennenhus
consisted of various estates. Therefore for a piece of property
to be called "Bernhard's properties" a Bernhard had to exist.
8th - 9th century: During this period the area of northern Hessen
was settled by the Frankish Chatte tribe. The hilly and dense
forest area, Rothenburg, in which the Bernhardshausen properties
were situated were settled a bit latter, n ?. . Since the Benhausen
family were free noble men, (none of their earliest documents
ever refer to them as belonging to the ministrales class, n2.6;
n2.7), and, who were in possession of their properties generations
before 1179, n2.6, it is possible that the Bennhausen family
owned their lands already in the 10th century.
1003 AD: The entire Rohrbach valley including eastern properties
in the Fuldabeuge bei the Blankenheim - Breitenbach area were
given to the Benedictine monastery of Hersfeld by King Heinrich
II, n book
Circa 1160 AD: Birth of Bernhard. This is the latest date Bernhard
could reasonable be born. Because, it would have taken several
generations for the property which was held by Benn (Bernhard)
to become generally accepted and to phonetically evolve into
the Bennenhaus and other similar name forms. Furthermore, naming
an estate after the original owner was a common practice at
this time.
The 1179 document, n2.6 also clearly states that the villa Bennenhaus
was an inherited family property. Therefore, it must have been
in the family for several generations. The 1179 document also
mentions "other relatives"; again, it takes more than one generation
to accumulate other relatives".
We know Ruppertus was a mature man in 1179. He was married and
had heirs. It is reasonable to assume that he was born circa
1150. It is also reasonable to assume that the property was
in the family at least for three generations. Give 30 years
for each generation. You have a time period of approxiately
90 years. Subtract 90 years from 1150 and you have 1060, the
approximate birth date of Bernhard.
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