Eberhard I, count of Württemberg

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eberhard_I,_Count_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg

Eberhard supported the Bohemian nobility in their struggle against Albert I and his successor Henry VII. Imperial Vogt Konrad IV von Weinberg, who acted on the orders of Henry VII, declared war on Eberhard, causing much distress in Württemberg. Württemberg was saved from defeat by the death of Henry VII on 24 August 1313 and the election in 1314 of Louis IV as King of the Germans and of Frederick the Fair as anti-king. By maneuvering tactically between the king and the anti-king, Eberhard managed to offset his territorial losses and even gain some more territories. His participation in the war in Bohemia brought in additional funding, which he used to purchase land and towns in Swabia from impoverished noble families, for example, the Count Palatine of Tübingen.

Eberhard I made Stuttgart the capital of Württemberg. He died in 1325 and was buried in the Stiftskirche in Stuttgart.

First marriage

The identity of the first wife is uncertain. Martin Crucius thought she may have been Adelaide of Werdenberg-Heiligenberg from Sigmaringen. Other authors think that she was a member of the noble Hohenberg family, but they may be confused with Matilda of Hohenberg, who married his son and successor Ulrich III. A third theory holds that she was a daughter of the Dukes of Teck. The fact that his son Ulrich III acquired Sigmaringen in 1325 and that his daughter Agnes married Count Henry of Werdenberg-Sargans-Trochtelfingen both point to a close relationship between Eberhard and the Werdenberg dynasty.

This marriage produced a son and a daughter:

  *  Ulrich (born: after 1285; died: 1315)

• Agnes (born: before 1300; died: before 1349), married Henry of Werdenberg-Sargans-Trochtelfingen

Second marriage

Eberhard's second wife was Margaret, a daughter of Duke Frederick III of Lorraine. From this marriage, Eberhard had a son:

  *  Ulrich III (born: between 1286 and 1291; died: 11 July 1344), Count of Württemberg from 1325 to 1344

Third marriage

Eberhard's third wife was Irmengard, a daughter of Margrave Rudolph I of Baden-Baden. From this marriage, Eberhard had three daughters:

  *  Agnes (born: around 1295; died: 1317), countess by marriage of Oettingen

• Adelaide Matilda (born: between 1295 and 1300; died: 3 September 1342), married Kraft II of Hohenlohe (d. 3 May 1344)
• Irmengard (born: after 1300; died: 1329), countess by marriage of Hohenberg

Illegitimate

The clergyman Ulrich von Höfingen is believed to have been an illegitimate son of Eberhard's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eberhard_I,_Count_of_W%C3%BCrttemberg

Artikel „Eberhard der Erlauchte“ von Paul Friedrich von Stälin in: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Band 5 (1877), S. 554–555, Digitale Volltext-Ausgabe in Wikisource, URL: http://de.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=ADB:Eberhard_der_Erlauch... (Version vom 12. Oktober 2012, 18:58 Uhr UTC)