Rudolf IV of Praunheim-Sachsenhausen

Rudolf IV von Praunheim-Sachsenhausen († beginning of 1426) was the last male representative - and thus name bearer - from the family of the Lords of Praunheim .

family

Rudolf IV. Belonged to the branch of the Reichschultheissen family , which provided a number of Reichschultheiss of the imperial city of Frankfurt am Main , including the father of Rudolf IV, Rudolf III. from Praunheim . His mother was Irmel von Erligheim . Rudolf IV was not married.

meaning

Rudolf IV was the last surviving male representative and bearer of his family's name. After the death of his father in 1413 and his uncle, Friedrich I. von Praunheim-Sachsenhausen in 1414, he and his older brother Friedrich II. Von Praunheim-Sachsenhausen united the property of the family. Friedrich II died in 1420 and left behind his two daughters Irmel and Else from his marriage to Else von Bellersheim , who did not follow as women into the family inheritance. Neither Rudolph nor Friedrich were therefore obliged to leave direct male descendants as strong a position of power as possible. So they were no longer in a position or willing to enforce the office of city school or other rights and taxes due to their family, which is often exercised in the family, vis-à-vis the strengthened bourgeoisie of the city of Frankfurt. Rather, they pursued a policy of consolidation aimed at giving up property that was difficult to manage or secure. Distant properties, for example from the estate of Frederick I in the Koblenz area , were assigned to female members of the family as compensation for claims. In exchange for appropriate payment, the city of Frankfurt waived customs and duties that the family had previously been entitled to collect. Contrary to the criticism made about such behavior, this is more likely to mean that Rudolf IV and his brother were trying to switch from traditional income from agriculture to "modern" money management. It also made it easier to pass assets on to the heirs, while third parties often tried to assert claims when inheriting property or rights.

After Frederick II died in 1420, Rudolf IV went to the Diet in Breslau and had King Sigismund re-grant him the imperial fiefs that his family held. With the widow of Frederick II, Else, Rudolf IV concluded a contract according to which she and her daughters were paid off and waived as heirs - except in the event that Rudolf IV died without an heir. They received the family seat in Sachsenhausen and money payments.

The Heritage

Since the death of the unmarried Rudolf IV seemed likely without male descendants entitled to inheritance, a dispute about the expected estate began. Peter Wacker , protonotary of the emperor, had the emperor transfer the entitlement to the imperial fiefs held by Rudolf IV. However, since it was not clear whether it was a male fief or a possible succession of the daughters, an inheritance dispute was inevitable: After Rudolf's death, Wenzel von Cleen , husband of Irmel, a daughter of Friedrich II. Von Praunheim and niece of the testator , first complained , on loan from the Reichslehen. The emperor asked both the Castle side of the castle Roedelheim and from the Imperial Castle Friedberg information on how the legal situation is, so that he could administer justice. The process also encouraged the demands of other relatives in the rich inheritance, especially the children of Christines von Ingelheim , a sister of Rudolf IV. The emperor sided with Peter Wacker, rejected all claims of the (potential) heirs and in 1429 commissioned Graf Philip I of Katzenelnbogen with the execution of the imperial judgment . But it failed. So there was a second trial before 1431, but with the same outcome and the same failure in enforcement. The process was rolled out again. In 1433 there was a judgment that rejected Peter Wacker's claims and confirmed the claims of the sons-in-law Wenzel von Cleen and Wilhelm von Ingelheim. In 1434 they could finally take over the inheritance; however, both were enfeoffed with imperial fiefs in 1440.

literature

• Alfred Friese: The Lords of Praunheim-Sachsenhausen, inheritance of the Reich in Frankfurt am Main: Property, social and cultural history of an imperial family of the high and late Middle Ages . Masch. Diss. 1952.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Friese, pp. 90f.