Background
Engelbert II was the son of Count Engelbert I of Sponheim (d 1096) and his wife Hedwig of uncertain descent, maybe a daughter of the Billung duke Bernard II of Saxony.
Engelbert II was the son of Count Engelbert I of Sponheim (d 1096) and his wife Hedwig of uncertain descent, maybe a daughter of the Billung duke Bernard II of Saxony.
In 1099 Pope Urban II appointed Engelbert II Vogt protector of Saint Paul's Abbey, founded by his father. He also acquired two castles in the Trixen valley near Völkermarkt from the Bishop of Gurk and the market town of Friesach in 1106. About 1107 he was elevated to a margrave in Istria and Carniola, succeeding Count Ulric II of Weimar.
He stood as guarantor of German king Henry V at his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor in February 1111 and witnessed the Concordat of Worms with Pope Callixtus II in September 1122.
