æz ðə sˈʌn ʌv ˈædəlˌeɪd ʌv mˈɛts, hiː wʌz ɐn ˈʌŋkəl ʌvðɪ ˈɛmpɚɹɚ hˈɛnɹi ɹˌoʊmən θɹˈiː ænd ɐn ˈælaɪ ʌvðɪ ˈɛmpɚɹɚɹ ɪn bɐvˈɛɹiə, wˌɛɹ hiː fˈɛl ˌɪntʊ kˈɑːnflɪkt wɪððə dˈuːk kˈɑːnɹæd ˈaɪ. dʒˈɛbhɑːɹd kˈeɪm fɹʌmðə fɹˈæŋkɪʃ nˈoʊbəl fˈæmɪli ʌvðə hˈoʊhənlˌoʊh ænd wʌzɐ stˈɛpbɹʌðɚɹ ʌv kˈaɪzɚ kˈɑːnɹæd ɹˌoʊmən tˈuː θɹuː hɪz mˈʌðɚ ʌv hˈuːm hiː wʌzɐ sˈʌn ʌv hɜː sˈɛkənd mˈæɹɪdʒ.
As the son of Adelaide of Metz, he was an uncle of the Emperor Henry III and an ally of the emperor in Bavaria, where he fell into conflict with the Duke Conrad I. Gebhard came from the Frankish noble family of the Hohenlohe and was a stepbrother of Kaiser Konrad II through his mother (of whom he was a son of her second marriage).