Johann III. (Werdenberg)

Count Johann III. von Werdenberg (* before / around 1416 ; † April 26, 1465 ) is considered to be the "renewer" of the line of the Counts of Werdenberg-Heiligenberg-Sigmaringen in the 15th century.

origin

He came from the Werdenberg-Trochtelfingen-Sigmaringen-Heiligenberg line , a side line of the Counts of Werdenberg and was a descendant of the Count Palatine of Tübingen through them . He had a younger brother, Count Eberhard III. from Werdenberg.

The marriage

Johann von Werdenberg was brought up together with his brother Eberhard at the court of the Counts of Württemberg . There he made the acquaintance of Elisabeth von Württemberg , the daughter of Count Eberhard III. from his second marriage to Margravine Elisabeth von Brandenburg-Kulmbach , which in January 1428 with Duke Albrecht III. von Baiern-Munich was engaged , although the date of the marriage was already fixed. In the spring of 1428 Johann and Elisabeth married, which meant that this marriage project did not materialize. However, their marriage, entered into without the knowledge and consent of their families, was officially recognized on April 27, 1430. The conflict between the houses of Württemberg and Baiern-Munich ended with a fine to Duke Albrecht III. attached.

"Renewal" of the lords of the Counts of Werdenberg

As a result, Johann III succeeded. Based on the House of Württemberg and taking advantage of the political conditions in the empire, a successful territorial policy. After his marriage was recognized, the Wuerttembergers confirmed the Sigmaringen and Veringen pledges . From 1429 to 1434, with their help, he secured the county of Heiligenberg for himself in a fiscal litigation against King Sigmund , to which he had asserted inheritance claims. In 1439 he had King Albrecht II confirm this county in oven as an imperial fief.

In 1456 his wife brought an inheritance lawsuit against Count Ulrich V von Württemberg at the imperial court , which resulted in a feud that lasted until 1459 and brought Johann, as Count Ulrich's longstanding counselor, into a serious conflict of loyalty. In 1459 he and Elisabeth renounced the inheritance to the Counts of Württemberg, for which they received the Sigmaringen and Veringen pledges as an allod . She and Johann had these transferred to imperial fiefs by the emperor, whereby they were also granted the right to female succession.

His membership and main team in the knighthood of St. Jörgenschild and an alliance with the "Bodensee cities" proved their worth in 1464 and in the following years in a conflict with the Counts of Rechberg and the Lords of Klingenberg .

Death and inheritance

Tumba Johann von Werdenberg † 1465 in St. Martin's Church Trochtelfingen

Johann von Werdenberg probably died on April 26th, probably in 1465. He was buried in the parish church of St. Martin in Trochtelfingen . Even before his death in 1459, he had left the county of Heiligenberg to his eldest son Georg, who after his death also exercised the senior family council. Georg's sons later inherited Sigmaringen and Veringen, but the male line died out with them around 1534.

progeny

From his marriage to Elisabeth von Württemberg, Johann had several children, some of whom were able to enter into very advantageous marriages. His children include:

• Count Georg III. von Werdenberg († March 12/15, 1500) ⚭ 1464, with Margravine Katherina von Baden .
• Count Johann II von Werdenberg († 1486), Bishop of Augsburg
• Count Haug von Werdenberg († 1508), Councilor of Emperor Friedrich III. and Maximilian I.
• Count Heinrich XIII. von Werdenberg († 1501 or 1505), canon of Strasbourg
• Count Rudolf X. von Werdenberg († 1505), Grand Prior of the Johanniter
• Count Ulrich von Werdenberg († July 17, 1503)
• Count Gabriel von Werdenberg
• Count Ludwig von Werdenberg (died young)
• Countess Margarete von Werdenberg (* 1436/37; † 1496), abbess of the Buchau women's monastery
• Countess Anna von Werdenberg († 1497), abbess of the Buchau women's monastery
• Countess Agnes von Werdenberg (* 1434; † December 13, 1467) ⚭ 1445 with Count Jobst Nikolaus I. von Zollern († February 9, 1487/88), mother of Count Friedrich II. Von Zollern , who served his uncle Johann as bishop of Augsburg followed.
• Countess Elisabeth von Werdenberg († February 9, 1487/88) ⚭ 1462 with Count Haug XI. von Montfort-Tettnang (January 9, 1454/55; † August 16, 1491)
• Countess Martha von Werdenberg († 1486) ⚭ after 1465 with Nikolaus (Nicholas) von Abensberg (July 2, 1441 - February 28, 1484/85)

literature

• Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493). Court, government, politics (= research on the imperial and papal history of the Middle Ages. Vol. 17). 3 volumes, Böhlau, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-412-15595-0 (at the same time: Gießen, University, habilitation paper, 1993), s. Vol. 3, Register, p. 1783 and especially Vol. 1, p. 333ff.

Remarks

1. ↑ Numbering after Paul-Joachim Heinig: Kaiser Friedrich III. (1440–1493) , Vol. 1, p. 333. In other Wikipedia articles he is also referred to as Johann IV.
2. ^ Year of death after Paul-Joachim Heinig: Kaiser Friedrich III. (1440–1493) , Vol. 1, p. 333. In the Wikipedia article on Elisabeth von Württemberg , April 26, 1460 is given as the date of death, but he was still involved in conflicts in the 1460s, which suggests a later year of death.
3. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, p. 334.
4. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, p. 333
5. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, p. 334 with footnote 836
6. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, p. 334, p. 335, there footnote 837 and p. 366
7. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, pp. 333f.
8. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, p. 335, footnote 838
9. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, p. 335, footnote 838
10. ^ Paul-Joachim Heinig: Emperor Friedrich III. (1440-1493) , Vol. 1, p. 335, footnote 838