Eberwin III. from Bentheim-Steinfurt

Eberwin III. von Bentheim-Steinfurt painted by Hermann tom Ring

Eberwin III. von Bentheim-Steinfurt (* 1536 ; † February 19, 1562 at Bentheim Castle ) was Count von Bentheim and Steinfurt from the House of Bentheim-Steinfurt from 1544 and by marriage from 1557 Count von Tecklenburg and Mr. zu Rheda .

Life

Eberwin is the son of Count Arnold II of Bentheim-Steinfurt a.L. and the Walburga from Brederode-Neuenahr. The 18-year-old Eberwin was married to the 21-year-old Tecklenburg heir daughter Anna in 1553. The motives for this connection were confessional and especially territorial. The marriage was so important for both count houses that a further passage was included in the contractual marriage negotiations in addition to the morning gift and the Wittumsschrift . Thereafter, if Eberwin died prematurely, the younger brother Arnold would marry Anna.

After the death of Count Konrad von Tecklenburg the marriage of the count broke down. Eberwin claimed government power over the county of Tecklenburg and the rule of Rheda from his wife . Countess Anna wanted to run the government herself. Thereupon the count had his wife imprisoned in her own residence, the Tecklenburg . This imprisonment could only be ended with the intervention of Count Christoph von Oldenburg . There were also allegations of adultery against Eberwin. The Tecklenburg knighthood took the side of Countess Anna and accused the Count of having "kept with women other than Countess Beylager" and thus broke the marriage. Eberwin is also said to have had a penchant for luxury, because the countess accused him of keeping too many valuable horses. He also had himself portrayed by the painter Hermann tom Ring . With the help of surrounding territorial princes, the marital dispute was settled in a marriage process.

The tragedy finally ended with the death of Eberwin in 1562. The count died at the age of 26 of the "French disease", syphilis .

progeny

• Arnold II. (IV.) (* October 2, 1554 in Neuenhaus, † January 11, 1606 in Tecklenburg)
• Walburga (* October 24, 1555, † April 9, 1628) ⚭ 1576 Count Hermann I von Wied

portrait

The character study Hermann tom Rings by Count Eberwin III. from Bentheim-Steinfurt Ä.L. is located in the LWL State Museum in Münster.

literature

• Hans-Joachim Böckenholt: Castle and rule Rheda . Rhode Druck und Verlag, Harsewinkel-Marienfeld 1979, ISBN 3-921961-02-8 , pp. 26-27.
• Hermann Schaub: The rule of Rheda and their residence city. From the beginning to the end of the Old Empire (= publications from the Gütersloh district archive. Vol. 10). Publishing house for regional history, Bielefeld 2006, ISBN 3-89534-610-1 , pp. 99-103.
• Stephanie Marra : Alliances of the Nobility. Dynastic action in the Grafenhaus Bentheim in the 16th and 17th centuries. Böhlau, Cologne et al. 2007, ISBN 3-412-31105-7

Web links

• Extract from portrait: Portrait 1560
• Other data: Eberwin III. from Bentheim-Steinfurt (a.L.)
• Map: territories
• Document requests from the Princely Archive Rheda / Digital Westphalian Document Database (DWUD)

swell

• Oskar Prince von Bentheim: Anna von Tecklenburg 1532–1582. The first Protestant regent in Westphalia. In: Yearbook for Westphalian Church History. Vol. 98, 2003, ISSN  0341-9886 , pp. 77-86.
• Gerhard Arnold Rumpius: Of salvation. Rom. Reichs clock, highly commendable Graffschaff Tekelenburg (1672), p. 105 ff.
• Go Justizrat in Arnsberg, Müller: From the history of the county of Tecklenburg. Verlag Bischof, Lengerich 1920, p. 12 ff.

predecessor	Office	successor
Arnold (I.) III.	Count of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt , Lord of Rheda 1544–1562	Arnold (II.) IV.