Ulrich V. (Württemberg)

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Ulrich V von Württemberg and his three wives Margarete von Cleve, Elisabeth von Bayern-Landshut and Margarethe von Savoyen
Ulrich in a duel with Hans von Gemmingen on the occasion of the battle of Seckenheim; with wrong year; Studbook and tournament book of those from Gemmingen
Draft for the monument to Ulrich the Much Beloved (pen drawing watercolored by Hans Steiner , around 1578)

Ulrich V. "the beloved" (* 1413 ; † September 1, 1480 in Leonberg ) was Count of Württemberg from 1433 to 1441 and Count of Württemberg-Stuttgart from 1441 to 1480 .

Life and Political Work

Ulrich was the son of Count Eberhard IV of Württemberg and Henriette von Mömpelgard .

After the early death of his father, Ulrich and his older brother Ludwig were guarded by his mother, together with the Württemberg councilors. Ludwig was already declared of age in 1426, with which he took over the affairs of government alone until his brother Ulrich was admitted to co-government in 1433. After several years of joint government, Ulrich enforced the division of the country in 1441 after his marriage to Margarete von Kleve (1416–1444) , a daughter of Adolf II (Kleve-Mark) , which was recorded on April 23, 1441 . Ulrich received the eastern and northern part of the country with the residential city of Stuttgart, Ludwig the western and southern part of the country with the residential city of Urach . The division, which was originally limited to four years, was established as an unlimited division on January 25, 1442 by the Nürtingen Treaty .

In 1444 Ulrich supported the House of Habsburg under King Friedrich III. in the Old Zurich War in the fight against the Swiss confederates . Together with his allies, the Margrave Albrecht Achilles of Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Mainz Dietrich Schenk von Erbach, and the Margrave Jakob I of Baden , he formed the core of the Mergentheimer Bund , which was increasingly taking action against the imperial cities. These tensions culminated in the feud between Margrave Albrecht and the imperial city of Nuremberg in 1449. Count Ulrich's main opponent among the imperial cities was Esslingen , which significantly reduced the income of the county of Württemberg by increasing its tariffs. Ulrich did not succeed in gaining a decisive advantage despite several victories against Esslingen and other imperial cities.

In 1450, after the death of his brother Ludwig, Ulrich became the guardian of his two nephews, the future Counts of Württemberg-Urach Ludwig II and Eberhard V. This soon led to a dispute with Elector Friedrich I of the Palatinate , who, as an uncle maternal side, also asserted the right to guardianship. In 1456 Ulrich began building the Württemberg Landgraben in order to assert his territorial claims in the north. Ludwig II died in 1457. The Urach estates also lifted Ulrich's guardianship over Count Eberhard V in 1459.

In 1458 Ulrich had Widdern Castle destroyed, on which Palatine feudal people were. This intensified the disputes between Ulrich and Friedrich I of the Palatinate. At that time, two blocs of alliances were formed in the German Reich . Ulrich joined the alliance between Friedrich III , who was crowned emperor in 1452 . and Margrave Albrecht Achilles of Brandenburg. Their main opponents were the brother of the Emperor Duke Albrecht VI. of Austria , Elector Friedrich I of the Palatinate and Duke Ludwig IX. from Bavaria-Landshut . In 1460 there were first military clashes between the two alliance blocs. After a brief armistice, Friedrich III. In 1461, the Imperial War against Bavaria again ended . Ulrich and Albrecht Achilles took over the imperial governorate against Bavaria. In the Mainz collegiate feud that broke out shortly afterwards from 1461 to 1463, he supported Archbishop Adolf II of Nassau against his deposed predecessor Diether von Isenburg and Friedrich I von der Pfalz. After various battles, the battle of Seckenheim took place on June 30, 1462 , in which Ulrich's troops and allies were defeated and taken prisoner. Finally, after Ulrich's last duel with Hans (the Kecken) von Gemmingen , Ulrich was defeated by him and taken prisoner. Ulrich only returned to Stuttgart on April 27, 1463 after paying a ransom. In that year he had the bedchamber redesigned in his castle in Marbach am Neckar. Murals show him as a godly man and a passionate hunter; In an inscription he commemorates the Palatinate War and asserts that he waged it for honorable reasons.

In 1473 Ulrich and Eberhard V. entered into a house contract that was supposed to regulate the common succession and was already aimed at the reunification of the two parts of Württemberg. Ulrich later received support from Eberhard V. against his own unruly son, Eberhard VI., Whereby Eberhard V. also gained influence in the Stuttgart region.

family

Ulrich V. was married three times. In 1441 he married Margarete von Kleve (1416–1444) . The daughter came from the marriage:

  • Katharina (* December 7, 1441; † June 28, 1497 in Würzburg ), initially a Premonstratensian, later a Dominican, finally fled the monastery under the protection of Bishop Rudolf von Würzburg.

After Margarete's death on May 20, 1444, Ulrich met on September 9, 1444 the marriage agreement with Elisabeth of Bavaria (1419–1451) , daughter of Duke Heinrich the Rich . The following children were born from this marriage:

Elisabeth died after the birth of her daughter Elisabeth in childbed on January 1, 1451. Ulrich then married Margarethe von Savoyen (1420–1479) on November 11, 1453 , who was already with Duke Ludwig III. von Anjou and Elector Ludwig IV of the Palatinate had been married. She had the following children with Ulrich:

Preserved works of art

Hunting crossbow owned by Ulrich V, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

A hunting crossbow dated 1460 has been preserved from Ulrich V's possession, which was probably made by his court crossbow maker Heinrich Heid von Winterthur, who came from Switzerland, and which was perhaps a gift from his third wife, Margarethe von Savoyen.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On Count Ulrich's bedroom in the castle: see Simon Studion .
  2. ↑ Website for the epitaph in the Liebenau monastery
  3. ↑ Dirk H. Breiding: The Crossbow of Count Ulrich V von Württemberg. In: Metropolitan Museum Journal. No. 44, 2009, pp. 61-87

literature

Web links

Commons : Ulrich V.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Eberhard IV. Count of Württemberg
Count von Mömpelgard
(with Ludwig I )
1419–1426 		Ludwig I.
Ludwig I. Count of Württemberg
Count of Mömpelgard
(with Ludwig I )
1433–1442 		Division of Württemberg through the Nürtingen Treaty
Division of Württemberg through the Nürtingen Treaty Count of Württemberg-Stuttgart
1442–1480 		Eberhard VI.
personal data
SURNAME Ulrich V.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Count Ulrich V of Württemberg; Ulrich the much-loved
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Württemberg (1433–1441); Count of Württemberg-Stuttgart (1441–1480)
DATE OF BIRTH 1413
DATE OF DEATH September 1, 1480
Place of death Leonberg , Württemberg-Stuttgart or Württemberg-Urach , Holy Roman Empire