Lichtenberg (Alsatian noble family)

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Coat of arms of the Lords of Lichtenberg

The lords of Lichtenberg were an Alsatian noble family who were wealthy mainly in the Lower Alsace region around the cities of Strasbourg and Haguenau . At the end of the Middle Ages , the Lichtenbergers succeeded in gaining dominance in this area through a consistent territorial policy. Aligned with Strasbourg, they had held the bailiwick over the city from 1249 and provided three bishops and numerous canons for its diocese . The sex died out in the male line in 1480.

origin

Lichtenberg Castle after an engraving by Merian

The origin of the Lords of Lichtenberg remains in the dark. There are no sources for the period before the 13th century. When the documentary tradition begins at the beginning of the 13th century, they already occupy an important position in Lower Alsace, which they expand in the following two centuries. From the beginning they are called “ nobilis viri ”, never “ ministerialis ”, so they belonged to the primeval nobility.

An Albert von Lichtenberg is first attested in 1197, but it is assumed with good arguments that he did not belong to the Alsatian family, but to the Lichtenberger family from Palatinate. The relationship between the Lichtenbergers and the Lords of Hüneburg, which is claimed in the literature, cannot be proven either.

The first reliable family member appears in Rudolf von Lichtenberg , who is named in 1203 as the canon of the diocese of Strasbourg . His brother Ludwig I (mentioned from 1206, † 1252) is the progenitor of the noble family of the Lords of Lichtenberg, named after Lichtenberg Castle .

Since all references to the family in Alsace (and elsewhere) are missing for the period before 1203 and their marriage relationships are then predominantly oriented towards the right bank of the Rhine, there are some indications that the family, who worked closely with the Staufer house during this time , supported them this took root in Lower Alsace.

13th Century

Around 1230 the Lichtenbergers build their "ancestral castle" Lichtenberg . With the dwindling of Hohenstaufen power, they leaned closely to the diocese of Strasbourg: of 32 male family members who reached the age of majority , 15 members of the Strasbourg cathedral chapter and three were elected bishops of Strasbourg:

The family provided a total of five bishops. In addition to the three mentioned in Strasbourg, these were:

In 1249 the Lichtenbergers obtained the office of bailiff over the city of Strasbourg. In 1259, the last Staufer, Konradin , granted Ludwig II of Lichtenberg the dignity of Landgrave of Lower Alsace - with the restriction that Ludwig II had to seize the office himself at his own expense: both the power of Konradin and that of Landgrave of Lower Alsace did not go very far at that time.

In the battle of Göllheim , Johann I von Lichtenberg fought on the side of the victor, Albrecht von Habsburg . This also earned him, among other things, the position of governor in Alsace.

Dynastic conditions

The Lichtenberg rule was divided twice because there was more than one descendant entitled to inheritance. In 1252, after the death of Ludwig I, the rule was initially divided into the two lines with two of his sons:

  • Heinrich II. (Mentioned from 1249, † 1269), "Older Line", and
  • Ludwig II. (Mentioned from 1249, † 1271)

The division was initially only genealogical . Only about 80 years later - around 1330, the exact date is not known - was a real division between Johann II von Lichtenberg of the Elder Line and Ludwig III in terms of territory and rights . made by Lichtenberg . Ludwig III. was also the guardian of his nephew, Simund von Lichtenberg , who was still underage , son of his older brother, Johann III, who died in 1324 . from Lichtenberg . In order to prevent a family conflict, Ludwig III. the half of the Lichtenberg lordship he took over from the previous division in 1335 between his son and successor, Heinrich IV von Lichtenberg , and his nephew Simund. Simund founded the middle line of the family, Ludwig III. and his son Heinrich IV. the younger line of the House of Lichtenberg. The middle line resided in Buchsweiler , the younger line in Lichtenau . The latter was also named after the new place of residence. As a result, there were several other contracts about which branch of the family was entitled to which share of the rule, for example 1337, 1341, 1342, 1344 and 1346. In addition, there were two mutual inheritance contracts, 1361 between the middle and the younger line, 1362 then also with the older line.

In 1390 the older line with Konrad II. Von Lichtenberg died out , in 1405 the middle line with Johann IV. (The elder) in the male line.

Ludwig IV.

In this way, Ludwig IV was able to reunite the rule in one hand in 1390. However, he suffered two serious political defeats: In alliance with the Strasbourg bishop, he waged a war against the Electorate . In doing so, he was captured. In order to raise the ransom of 30,000 guilders , he had to pledge a quarter of the Lichtenberg rule to his future father-in-law, Margrave Bernhard I of Baden . The second political disaster was a defeat in a war against the citizens of Strasbourg. This led to his resignation in 1429 in favor of his two underage sons Jakob and Ludwig. To 1436 led to Count Friedrich von Moers-Saarwerden , father of Jakob von Lichtenberg, a regency .

Ludwig V and Jacob

The two heirs, Jakob von Lichtenberg (1416 - 1480) and Ludwig V. von Lichtenberg (1417 - 1471), were completely opposing characters: the elder Jakob was primarily interested in "sciences", astrology and alchemy . As an elder, he claimed political leadership of the government but failed to exercise it adequately. Ludwig V, on the other hand, had the political talent to claim the leadership position when he was younger. This constellation gave rise to disputes that lasted for years and several compromises that were ultimately unsustainable. On the other hand, both of them worked together successfully in the event of external threats and were reconciled shortly before Ludwig's death in 1471.

After Walpurga, Jacob's wife, died in 1450 without leaving any descendants and a war against the Counts of Leiningen was successfully ended for Lichtenberg in the following year, Jakob increasingly lost his influence. He devoted himself to his astrological and alchemical interests and privately turned to the unequal Bärbel von Ottenheim . In 1458 Jakob received from Emperor Friedrich III. the dignity conferred. 1462 it came to the so-called women war of Buchsweiler , a potentially fueled by Louis V. uprising against the influence of Bärbel von Ottenheim to the administration of the country. As a result, Jakob had to accept that she was deported to Speyer . Jacob tried his lands under the protection of the French King Louis XI in 1463 . to secure them from Ludwig V's claims to power, but this remained without consequences. In 1466 he finally gave up and renounced his half of the county for a payment of 1,000 guilders a year.

Succession

Anna von Lichtenberg on her epitaph in the town church of Babenhausen

Another genealogical coincidence led to the end of the independent rule of Lichtenberg: Jacob's marriage remained childless and from the marriage of Ludwig V there were two daughters, Anna and Elisabeth, who were "heir daughters" and inherited the rule of Lichtenberg in equal parts to their descendants .

Anna married Count Philipp I, the elder , von Hanau -Babenhausen. In the future, their descendants called themselves von Hanau-Lichtenberg , in contrast to the older Hanau line, the Counts of Hanau-Münzenberg .

Elisabeth married Count Simon IV. Wecker von Zweibrücken-Bitsch . After this line became extinct in 1570, the half of the Lichtenberg lordship that had initially come to Zweibrücken fell to Hanau-Lichtenberg through its inheritance.

See also

literature

  • Gisela Probst: The Memoria of the Lords of Lichtenberg in Neuweiler (Alsace). Adelphus carpets, high grave of Ludwig V (died 1471), holy grave (1478), glass paintings. Berlin 2015.
  • Lichtenberg certificates. Regesta on the document holdings and copies of the archives of the Counts and Lords of Lichtenberg in Darmstadt, Karlsruhe, Munich, Speyer, Strasbourg, Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg, 1163-1500 . Edited by Friedrich Battenberg and Bernhard Metz. 5 vols. Darmstadt 1994 - 1996.
  • Fritz Eyer: The territory of the Lords of Lichtenberg 1202-1480. Investigations into the property, the rule and the politics of domestic power of a noble family from the Upper Rhine . In: Writings of the Erwin von Steinbach Foundation . 2nd edition, unchanged in the text, by an introduction extended reprint of the Strasbourg edition, Rhenus-Verlag, 1938. Volume 10 . Pfaehler, Bad Neustadt an der Saale 1985, ISBN 3-922923-31-3 (268 pages).
  • Frank Baron Freytag von Loringhoven: European family tables III. Marburg 1976, plate 90.
  • Charles Haudot: Les Sceaux des Lichtenberg et des Hanau-Lichtenberg . In: Société d'Histoire et d'Archaeologie de Saverne et Environs (eds.): Cinquième centenaire de la création du Comté de Hanau-Lichtenberg 1480–1980 = Pays d'Alsace 111/112 (2, 3/1980), p 39-46.
  • Peter Karl Weber: Lichtenberg. Alsatian domination on the way to becoming a territorial state. Writings of the Erwin von Steinbach Foundation Frankfurt 12. Heidelberg 1993. Diss. Phil. University of Bern 1989.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Every son who did not enter the clergy was entitled to an equal share.
  2. ↑ Freytag von Loringhoven describes her more inappropriately as "Agnes".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eyer, p. 16.
  2. ↑ Eyer, p. 18.
  3. ↑ Eyer, p. 16.
  4. ↑ Eyer, p. 16 f.
  5. ↑ Eyer, p. 18; Freytag von Loringhoven, plate 90.
  6. ↑ Eyer, p. 18 f.
  7. ↑ Eyer, p. 21.
  8. ↑ Eyer, p. 22.
  9. ↑ Eyer, p. 27.
  10. ↑ Eyer, p. 27.
  11. ^ See: Freytag von Loringhoven, plate 90.
  12. ↑ Eyer, p. 81.
  13. ↑ Eyer, p. 82ff.
  14. ↑ Eyer, p. 89.
  15. ↑ Freytag von Loringhoven, plate 90.
  16. ↑ Eyer, p. 32.
  17. ↑ Eyer, p. 35.
  18. ↑ Eyer, p. 36.