Werdenberg feud
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The Werdenberg feud as described herein, the confrontation between the in Sigmaringen seated branch of the family and their immediate, in Meßkirch sedentary neighbors, the rooms . Other branches of the family in the Rhine Valley were involved in other disputes, which in the local context are also known as the Werdenberg feud . The Werdenbergers and the rooms became involved in the power struggle between the Bavarian dukes and the House of Habsburg . Around 1488 the dispute took on a political dimension.
Reich political background
Albrecht IV , Duke of Bavaria-Munich , tried to increase the power of Bavaria within the empire. He also wanted to take over the Swabian possessions and the Duchy of Tyrol at the expense of the Habsburgs . Albrecht IV took advantage of the weakness of Archduke Siegmund of Tyrol , who had got into financial difficulties because of an expensive war of aggression against the Republic of Venice .
Albrecht IV had appropriated the rule after the death of the last Abensberger as an inheritance. This illegal acquisition of the Abensberg lordship was to be achieved by marrying the Habsburg family Kunigunde of Austria , the daughter of Emperor Friedrich III. to be legitimized. However, since it was an imperial fief that would revert to the empire in such a case, Emperor Friedrich was to transfer the rule to him as a dowry for his daughter. Since the conquest of Vienna by Matthias Corvinus , Kunigunde stayed in Innsbruck under the protection of her uncle Siegmund von Tirol . Fridrich III. himself was traveling to put down the unrest in Flanders with his son Maximilian I the Duke of Burgundy .
Fridrich III. initially consented to this construct. When Albrecht IV also incorporated the bankrupt Free Imperial City of Regensburg in 1486 , he withdrew his consent to marry. Before this cancellation became publicly known in Innsbruck , the festivities took place on January 2, 1487 and were carried out with great haste for the time. Wedding, home management and side camps were parts of the ceremony according to the usage at the time, which could often be months and years apart. In addition, Kunigunde did not consent to a renunciation of inheritance, as was otherwise expected of the daughters of the House of Habsburg when they married.
In the same year, Siegmund von Tirol , in the event of his death without a legitimate heir, signed all of his lands to Albrecht IV. On May 27, 1487, he pledged his lands to Albrecht IV, with the exception of the possessions in the Rhine Valley . On July 12, 1487, he sold for the small sum of 50,000 guilders his possessions in Alsace , Sundgau , Breisgau , the possessions in the Black Forest , Waldshut , Säckingen , Rheinfelden , Laufenburg , the city of Villingen and the upper and lower lordship of Hohenberg to Albrecht IV, Duke of Bavaria-Munich . Emperor Friedrich III. canceled the sale at the Reichstag in Nuremberg on July 24, 1487 and called on the population of the affected areas to resist a Bavarian occupation. On October 6, 1487, he obtained an arrest warrant against all councilors of Duke Siegmund of Tyrol , who were made responsible for this development as the "evil councilors".
The role of the Swabian Federation
In 1488 the Swabian Bund (also Bund in the state of Swabia ) was established at the Reichstag in Esslingen am Neckar at the instigation of Emperor Friedrich III. founded as a union of the Swabian imperial estates . The first federal governor was Haug von Werdenberg from 1488 to 1492 . The Swabian Confederation was an instrument of imperial reform and was intended to ensure peace in the country . Actually it would have been expected that the Werdenberfehde would be brought to an end. Both Friedrich III. , as well as Maximilian I were more interested in using the Swabian Federation for their dynastic interests, with the aim of curbing the Bavarian and federal expansion efforts. One example is Rottweil as a place facing the Old Confederation . For this it was necessary to put potential supporters of Bavaria and the Confederation in their place. In the end, the fate of von Zimmer served as a chilling example.
aftermath
The aftermath of this conflict erupted in the Swabian War of 1499.
Course of the feud
Here the dispute with the rooms is presented in detail , as this feud had a great influence on the imperial politics of Frederick III. and Maximilians I had, especially in connection with the establishment of the Swabian Confederation , the imperial reform policy and the history of the Swiss Confederation . The feud was instrumentalized by the interested parties in asserting their interests and thus acquired more than just regional political significance.
The trigger
The Werdenberg feud began as a small quarrel among neighbors of the lower nobility . It was conducted in the traditional way. Assaults on the neighbors' belongings, with the corresponding destruction and the capture of the opposing serfs, were the order of the day in the late Middle Ages (robber baronism). These were not subject to the lower jurisdiction in the Holy Roman Empire and were settled by an arbitration tribunal with peers . The Werdenberg and Zimmer families were connected by marriage, but as immediate neighbors were at odds with one another in their territorial growth. This also applies in particular to the Werdenberg-Trochtelfingen-Heiligenberg line. Originally, hunting rights in the area of today's Josefslust Wildlife Park were disputed. The brief acquisition of Krauchenwies by the rooms, as well as the forced sale by the Werdenbergers, shaped the dispute.
The role of the rooms and the Werdenberger
Johannes Werner von Zimmer ( the elder ) was one of the " Evil Councilors ". It was he who had obtained the marriage license for Kunigunde in the Netherlands. Haug von Werdenberg was at the same time as imperial councilor initially with Friedrich III. and later Maximilian I worked. He must have used this conflict to further his goals or those of his family.
The ban against Johannes Werner von Zimmer d. Ä.
On January 8, 1488, at another Reichstag in Esslingen , the ban was pronounced against the councils, d. H. their property was confiscated and they were expelled from the country. Even before the ban was published, Johannes Werner seemed to understand the further implications. Before the imperial court in Rottweil , on the Tuesday before the birth of the Virgin Mary (September 8th) 1487, he transferred his two lords of Messkirch and Oberndorf to his 4 sons and 4 daughters. Since they were not yet of age, he transferred custody of Messkirch to his uncle Gottfried, and of Oberndorf to Eberhard the Elder of Württemberg. Movable goods were first brought to the Wildenstein .
The Werdenberger and Zimmerische possessions
Messkirch
With the ban, Emperor Friedrich III. the rule of Messkirch to the brothers Georg, Ulrich and Haug von Werdenberg. These immediately get the homage of the citizens. They tried to convince Johannes Werner not to use force against the Werdenbergers. They also tried to obtain appropriate guarantees from the Werdenbergers. They also assured themselves that Margarethas von Öttingen, Johannes Werner's wife and their 8 children in Messkirch were safe. Johannes Werner sent his brother Gottfried to Sigmaringen to present the argument that the occupation was illegal because it was not Johannes Werner's property but that of his children. The Werdenbergers assure Gottfried that he was acting with the highest mandate of the emperor and only protecting the children's property from the enemies of Habsburg until they came of age. They convince Gottfried to join the Swabian League together with the children. As early as June 26, 1487, at the Reichstag in Nuremberg, the Swabian princes and cities were called to found a Swabian League . Focus: Bavaria and the Swiss Confederation. This was announced on February 14, 1488 at the Reichstag in Esslingen. Johannes Werner had to see the Swabian Federation as an executive body, which he himself could not join as an outlaw, as a hostile institution, especially since the Bund with Haug von Werdenberg was its greatest enemy. So he fled to the Swiss Confederation.
The Werdenbergers consolidate their position
The Werdenbergers, especially Haug, did everything in their power to consolidate their position. They had lent the emperor 8,000 guilders , which they were demanding back. They gave him to understand that they also accepted the transfer of the Messkirch rule as repayment, which Haug also received. Haug obtained another homage in Messkirch, and contrary to his previous promise, he went to see Margarete von Zimmer to leave the palace and Messkirch. She refused. Haug came again that night, and when he found the doors locked, he had his soldiers force them open. While Margarete was still appealing to Haug, his soldiers were already throwing the furniture and clothes out of the window. Margarete was taken through the cemetery and back alleys to Gottfried von Zimmer's house. She stayed there for 6 months, but after hearing about plans in 1489 that the Werdenbergers were planning to bring their sons to a monastery, she smuggled the two eldest, Veit Werner and Johannes Werner, in girls' clothing initially on the Wildenstein, from there to the Elector Philip to the Palatinate near Rhine in Heidelberg. She and her other children first went to Seedorf under Gottfried's rule, at the end of the year she moved with the children to her husband in Switzerland.
Oberndorf
Haug then turned his attention to Oberndorf. He offered 2000 guilders for the pledge that was awarded to him on October 10, 1492. Eberhard von Württemberg had to submit; perhaps did not want to jeopardize his later elevation to duke.
Wildenstein
Finally, Haug also tried to conquer the Wildenstein. This was, however, locked and well-guarded. But before Haug could make a second attempt, Johannes Werner sold the Wildenstein to Endress von Sonnenberg with the stipulation of an express repurchase right.
Johannes Werner von Zimmer's further path in life
Escape
Of course, Johannes Werner's “escape behavior” also contributed to the suspicion against him. But where should he have turned? He first went to the court of Duke Albrecht in Munich and tried, through the mediation of remaining friends, to get a hearing from the Kaiser at the various Reichstag.
Inputs
Johannes Werner left no stone unturned in presenting his matter at various diets. Sun 1488 in Esslingen, 14 ?? in Nuremberg ... His main argument was that the ban had been pronounced against him without a legal hearing. Likewise, the focus of the argument was on the view that the expropriation of the children was illegal. But when he also had to find out that Duke Siegmund of Tyrol had to join the Swabian Confederation, he lost hope of being heard by Emperor Friedrich. He then sought to present his position in a personal audience with King Maximilian I. But even this action, shown in the chronicle, was unsuccessful. (I 549). Finally, on January 7, 1489, he appealed to Pope Innocent VIII . He also had this appellation posted by notaries in Innsbruck at the castle gate , at the emperor's residence and at the court chancellery.
- The wedding of Kunigunde without the consent of the emperor. He would not have wanted to act against the will of the emperor. He and the other councilors, as well as the Bishop of Eichstätt, who celebrated the wedding, assumed approval, but only he, Johannes Werner, would be held responsible for it.
- As the keeper of the seal for Duke Siegmund of Tyrol, Johannes Werner was responsible for the sales of the properties in Upper Austria, she even suggested. Johannes Werner argued that he would never have used the seal to harm the emperor, Count Heinrich von Fürstenberg had often picked up the seal on behalf of Duke Siegmund of Tyrol, and that he would not have been in Innsbruck at the time of the sale.
- The most serious accusation, as Friedrich III. in his indictment himself writes: “… die peen, so one to Latin nempt crimen lesae majestatis” (ZC, Hermann I, 519), that is, lese majesty, which alone was sufficient for the ban. On November 16, 1486, Duke Albrecht III informed . , since 1484 father-in-law Siegmund of Tyrol and loyal follower of Emperor Friedrich III., the emperor of the rumor of a conspiracy at the Innsbruck court, which Siegmund's councilors and his former lover Anna Spiess, Siegmund of Tyrol had brought. Rumor had it that the newly wed Katharina von Sachsen, on behalf of Emperor Friedrich and her father Duke Albrecht, poisoned her husband Siegmund von Tirol, drowned her former lover Anna Spiess and had two of the councilors beheaded. This rumor is supposed to alienate Siegmund from his uncle, Emperor Friedrich III., And drive him into the arms of Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria. With regard to the murder plot, Johannes Werner denied any knowledge of the incident.
- In this connection there was the fourth accusation, that Johannes Werner had threatened the imperial ambassador at the court of Duke Sigmund with a cocked crossbow. After Friedrich III. Having heard the rumors about the murder plot, he decided at the Reichstag in Nuremberg, Duke Albrecht III. to Innsbruck to persuade Sigmund to abdicate and to obtain the oath of allegiance from the subjects in Tyrol and on the Adige. Albrecht III. Rode out in early April 1487 with 120 mounted soldiers. In Kufstein he was received by two councilors from Duke Sigmund, including Johannes Werner von Zimmer. While Albrecht III. waited in Kufstein, the councilors brought the news to Innsbruck. Sigmund agreed to negotiate, but only if Albrecht III. would meet him without an armed escort. This leads to negotiations again, and Albrecht III. 24 mounted men were last admitted. But no sooner had the national border been crossed than they were expected and escorted by an armed force led by Johannes Werner von Zimmer. The meeting with Sigmund on April 21, 1487 was unsuccessful. On April 25, Sigmund Albrecht III. with, he would first have to consult with his councilors and the Duke of Bavaria. In the meantime, Albrecht III should. leave. He was again accompanied by an armed escort under Johannes Werner. Albrecht III. report to the emperor that Sigmund's councilors had completely isolated it from the rest of the world, that it was the councils that spread the rumor of the murder plot and that it was also the councils that conducted the negotiations with the Bavarian duke. Thereupon, Emperor Friedrich III. Haug von Werdenberg received the mandate to form a Swabian Confederation in June.
In his open letter to the emperor, Johannes Werner denied the allegations regarding his role in meeting Duke Albrecht III. not, but he restricted that the procedure was not his idea. Instead, he had advised Sigmund against such a procedure as being improper against an emissary of the emperor and prince of the empire, but had to act on Sigmund's orders as follows: “... to the most serious with köpfabhawen and if required irer duty and aide, obbemelten bevelch with duke Albrechte to execute and to complete ”(ZC HS B, 274; Hermann I 541).
Swiss exile
According to Zimmer's chronicle, he was kept from a train to Rome by some distinguished confederates with the promise that he would be reinstated in his estates as a back seat or as a companion if he lived there for a while with his wife and children. He therefore bought a house in Weesen am Walensee , right next to the parish church of the Holy Cross, and moved there in 1491. The two oldest daughters are housed in the Fraumünster monastery in Zurich. Anna, the eldest, died there in 1517. In 1499 Katharina became abbess there. In 1509 she exercised the renunciation of inheritance before the imperial court in Rottweil. After the Reformation and the dissolution of the monastery, she married the Zurich citizen Eberhard von Reischach in 1525. (An Eberhard von Reischach is also involved in the later reconquest of Messkirch by Johannes Werner the Younger; see below whether this is the same person is open. According to Barack's register of persons, there are two people). They had a son who died early and a daughter Anna who later married a nobleman from Mandach. Eberhard von Reischach fell in the Second Kappel War in 1531 . During his time in Switzerland, Johannes Werner tried himself as a mediator between the Swiss, the city of Rottweil and Duke Albrecht of Bavaria. An undertaking that did not go beyond a mutual non-aggression pact between Bavaria and the Swiss Confederation. Johannes Werner was also slowly becoming a nuisance to Duke Albrecht of Bavaria. He had to endure it, but Johannes Werner could no longer be politically useful to him, in fact, with a possible rapprochement with Maximilian I, he even became a burden.
Rome trip and death of Johannes Werner the Elder
In 1493 Johannes Werner finally traveled to Rome to personally raise his concerns with the Pope. According to the chronicle, the matter was on the verge of a positive conclusion when Johannes Werner suddenly fell ill. The chronicle suspects that he was poisoned. He left for Munich via Salzburg. There he stayed at Duke Albrecht's court. When a plague epidemic broke out in 1495 , the farm moved to the countryside. When news arrived from Innsbruck that Maximilian I wanted to finally show himself inclined to him, he traveled to Munich to await further news. There he died of the plague on "Friday on St. Gallus Day (October 16) 1495" at the age of 40. He was buried in Andechs Monastery .
The battle of the rooms for their inheritance
Margarete von Öttingen had already moved to Gottfried von Zimmer with the remaining children. This brought her now in Rottweil. So again under the protection of the Swiss Confederation. The condition that Rottweil set for this shed light on the city's desires. One of the sons was supposed to acquire citizenship there. Should the rooms get back Oberndorf, the city and the mansions should come under the protection of Rottweiler. In addition, he should then pay 1,000 guilders to the city. Haug von Werdenberg went so far that he withheld her marriage property from Margarete von Öttingen herself. He offered to help her get married. However, she refused, because she feared that a new marriage should only serve to create a new basis for the children and thereby take the pressure off Haug von Werdenberg. Some of the Swabian nobility were deeply affected by this shabby treatment, and these nobles also questioned their participation in the Swabian League. The ban had meanwhile been lifted by Maximilian I, who now ruled alone, but at the Diet of Worms (1495) he refused to hear the case. However, he set up an arbitration commission that should bring about a decision. This came to the following compromise:
- Oberndorf should be returned to the rooms.
- Haug von Werdenberg was supposed to pay Margarete 4,000 guilders and all the debts of the rooms in the town of Messkirch.
- In return, the Werdenbergers should keep Meßkirch.
Recapture of Oberndorf
Not so with Veit Werner von Zimmer. He refused to waive the claims to Messkirch. He got the support of his Palatine patrons, as well as Eberhardts in the beard of Württemberg and the city of Rottweil. After all submissions were fruitless, he set out on December 5, 1496, supported by some nobles and 400 foot soldiers from Rottweil, to conquer Oberndorf. They encountered no resistance, a Werdenberg tax officer who wanted to get away with tax money and tax lists was sent empty-handed to Sigmaringen . After he had obtained homage from the city and the villages that belonged to it, he informed Maximilian I that he had obtained what was his right after all. He even hoped that Maximilian I would confirm the fiefdoms associated with Oberndorf. But this was too clear a breach of the peace that had just been announced .
Diplomatic back and forth
Veit Werner started an information campaign in which he described the suffering that the Werdenbergers had inflicted on his family on the pretext of apologizing for the breach of the peace. And he found open ears. Veit Werner therefore continued his dispute with Werdenberg according to the old rules. On January 25th ( Conversionis Pauli ) 1497 he published a letter of rejection to Hugo von Werdenberg. Maximilian I was faced with the dilemma that his recently created executive body, the Swabian Federation, threatened to break up. At the Reichstag in Lindau on February 7, 1497, he pronounced another ban against Veit Werner and the city of Rottweil. Because of the danger of the Swabian Confederation breaking up, Maximilian I took care of mediation in the conflict. He commissioned Eitel Friedrich II. Von Zollern and Wolf von Fürstenberg to mediate. In 1497 they presented a secret agreement: Werdenberg should return Meßkirch and all the localities belonging to the rooms at the time of the acquisition by Werdenberg. New acquisitions are to be added to Sigmaringen. Zimmer should pay 2,000 guilders to Werdenberg as compensation for Oberndorf. Should Zimmer want to pledge or sell part of his property, Werdenberg should receive a right of first refusal. Fishing and hunting rights should be clarified at a later date. Gottfried Werner was ready to accept this, but not Veit Werner. He suspected a hidden game in the secret behavior. When he finally traveled to Innsbruck, his suspicions were confirmed. Haug von Werdenberg did not appear, and Maximilian I confirmed that appointments with Haug von Werdenberg made it difficult for him to transfer back. Veit Werner continued to feel humiliated because he could no longer finance his stay at the imperial court out of his own pocket. He had to borrow money from Duke Georg the Rich of Bavaria-Landshut . Maximilian I finally had to realize that the matter needed clarification. The nobility of southern Germany was too divided into the camps of Zimmer and Werdenberg. He in turn instructs Eitelfriedrich von Zollern and Wolf von Fürstenberg to seize the rule of Messkirch until an arbitration decision is reached at a Reichstag in Freiburg. Haug von Werdenberg handed over the rule two months later. The ban against Veit Werner was lifted, but with the requirement to stay away from the Werdenbergers. This could have ended the Werdenberg feud.
Hot-headedness destroys almost everything
The Werdenbergers were also involved in a feud with Count Endress von Sonnenberg. (The same one who bought the Wildenstein pro forma). Since this feud also threatened the peace in the country, Maximilian I invited the opponents to Martini (11.11.) 1497 to a court day in Dillingen. Veit Werner learned from informants that Haug von Werdenberg was supposed to represent his house there, and the information must have been so good that he also knew about the route, which deviated from the usual one. Veit Werner saw the chance to take revenge on the man who had brought his family into misery and poverty. Despite Maximilian's conditions, he was already lying in wait outside Sigmaringen with some of Haug von Werdenberg's loyal followers. Haug von Werdenberg did not ride himself because of a sudden illness, but had his nephew Christoph von Werdenberg represent him. Some of Christoph's companions were slain or drowned while fleeing in the Danube. Christoph was only able to save himself to the Hedingen Monastery because of his good local knowledge, under great pressure from Veit Werner. Haug von Werdenberg was a spectator from the nearby Sigmaringer Castle.
Further arbitration commissions and Veit Werner's death
Maximilian I ordered Veit Werner to Ulm in the spring of 1498 and presented him with a new arbitration commission. This was directed by the Augsburg bishop, Friedrich von Zollern, a nephew of Haug von Werdenberg, and also had the chancellor Albrechts III. von Sachsen (see above) as a member. Veit Werner refused this, very mountainous arbitration commission, whereupon he was invited to the Reichstag in Freiburg. But Maximilian I refused to handle the case there. Veit Werner turned to Berthold von Henneberg with the request to justify himself to the imperial estates. They suggested that Zimmer should give part of the property to Maximilian I before it was returned, in order to then get it back as a fief. Gottfried Werner and Veit Werner offered rule over Wald, only to meet Maximilian I's rejection. But the room-related matter was now part of Berthold's dispute between the imperial estates and Maximilian I about the influence on the imperial policy of emperors or imperial estates. The argument had weakened Veit Werner physically. On the way to take part in the Swiss War, he collapsed from exhaustion near Sulz and died a day later, on April 25, 1499. The symptoms described by the Zimmerische Chronik indicate physical weakness accompanying depression (and the associated increased susceptibility to infection), however the chronicle also expresses the suspicion that Veit Werner may have been poisoned.
Politics of Johannes Werner von Zimmer d. J.
Maximilian's policy of delay
Now it was up to Johannes Werner the Younger (1480–1548) to continue the fight for the inheritance. As a member of the court of the Count Palatine near Rhine, he took part in the Swiss War. This support of Maximilian I did not lead to a change of opinion in this. The war was not a success for Maximilian I. In the peace treaty at Basel he had to in fact recognize the independence of the Confederation. He attributed this failure to the insufficient support of the estates of the Swabian Federation. Insufficient funding and poorly trained troops against highly motivated Swiss troops.
Even the help of Berthold von Henneberg as a domestic political opponent of Maximilian did little to help the Zimmeric cause. This was carried off until 1502. Johannes Werner the Elder J. secured in the meantime the support of the Electoral Palatinate, Württemberg and Eitelfriedrich von Zollern and Wolf von Fürstenberg. In 1502, Elector Philip of the Palatinate drew Maximilian I's attention to the general unrest that would arise among the southern German estates as a result of another deportation. Maximilian I wrote to Philipp that he would support a contract in the sense of Zimmer, if it came about: “... but wherever the contract denounced by Zimbri gets right to our regiment, then we will happily handle the same contract with them ... “(ZC, Hermann II, p. 52). When Philipp wanted to work out the details with Maximilian in Darmstadt, Maximilian explained to him that he could no longer award Messkirch the rooms because he was too deep in the word with the Werdenbergers. However, should the rooms come into the possession of Messkirch again in some other way, then “… wele Ir Majestat therefore ir most ungracious king not be.” (ZC, Hermann II, p. 49).
The reconquest of Messkirch
Then Johannes Werner d. J. the reconquest of Messkirch. Johannes Werner the Elder J. realizes that he only has one more try. So he relies on military superiority, secondly, on the right time and thirdly, he keeps his great-uncle Gottfried, as well as his brothers Gottfried Werner and Wilhelm Werner out of the enterprise, so that a negative consequence does not fall back on them. The undertaking is planned in Heidelberg with the approval of the Electoral Palatinate court. The Bavarian court is also asked for qualified military personnel. Duke Georg von Bayern-Landshut brings the soldier Jergen Weisbecken, "... so the time for ain meet, errnen kriegsman respected ..." (ZC, A276b; Hermann II, p. 52) himself in Heidelberg and also approved that in his country other teams could be recruited. There is also a lot of support from Württemberg. A total of about 630 men are available. Of those named, two are interesting to highlight. Eberhart von Reischach and Hainrich Zimberer. The first is obviously a relative of the counterparty named under 1. It is questionable whether he was with the later husband of the sister Johannes Werner the Elder. J., is identical to Katharina von Zimmer , the last abbess of Zurich. And Hainrich Zimberer is the illegitimate son of great-uncle Gottfried von Zimmer.
The implementation
On the evening of September 16, 1503, the troops gathered in Nusplingen in the Bäratal. The timing was chosen so that the Counts von Fürstenberg and von Zollern stayed at the court of Maximilian I in Innsbruck. These, although on the side of the rooms, still formally held the protectorate over Messkirch. That same night they advanced across the Danube to Leibertingen. A car with firearms, lead and powder, which had been provided by Count Endress (Andreas) von Sonnenberg , was picked up in Calenberg (Kallenberg ruins, southeast of Fridingen on the Danube ). Johannes Werner the Elder J. joined the troops coming from Wildenstein and around 6 o'clock in the morning they advanced towards Messkirch. The Werdenbergers were warned so that the farmers from the surrounding villages could move into the city, but the warning time was not long enough for them to bring their products to safety, and the Werdenberg administrator, who was on his Owelfingen Castle was located on the edge, no longer arrive in time. He is still trying to get into the castle in Meßkirch, but was intercepted.
A Werdenberg troop of around 30-40 mounted men showed up, but moved away in view of the superior strength of the rooms. The city's negotiators tried to remain unscathed in the dispute between two noble houses. They initially referred to Maximilian I. After the deliberations in the city dragged on until after 1 p.m. and the Werdenberg party seemed to gain the upper hand, Johannes Werner the Elder threatened. J. open with looting and pillage of the villages Rohrdorf and Heudorf and the property in front of the city along the Ablach . Thereupon and after promise that there would be no looting, the city surrendered. Johannes Werner the Elder J. and his force moved in full order to the city bridge, where the keys were handed over to him. The gates were opened and occupied, a scaffold was erected on the market square, from which Johannes Werner the Elder descended. J. accepted the homage to the city and the countryside. “The Werdenberg coat of arms was thrown from the bronnen and trampled; Alda was also a felicitous warrior, called Hans Manz, from Biberach, who jumped several times across the brook in front of Frewden, screaming with loud voices: "Here cimbric ground and floor!" and the like cheeky. "(ZC HS B, p. 345 ; HS A 281b; Decker-Hauff, Vol. 1, p. 334). This scene will certainly sound familiar to those familiar with the history of Württemberg. It would be interesting to know who copied from whom.
validation
After the hereditary homage to the city of Messkirch and the surrounding villages took place on September 17, 1503, Johannes Werner the Elder began. J. to secure what has been achieved. The war people, who were no longer needed, were released after three days with one guilder compensation. The noble helpers and their troops remained behind, however, and various letters were sent to the emperor and the imperial princes. Wildenstein was occupied again by Gottfried von Zimmer. Messkirch's fortifications were renewed and, where necessary, supplemented. The castle was protected with a large moat and a wall behind it. This reached from the hospital to the Mettenbach. The inner ditch was secured by two wooden bastions and a wooden block house , which was manned with guns. A petty thief had to pay with his life for the sophistication of his lawyer, which the chronicler Froben Christoph regretted very much. In his defense, this lawyer had referred to the imperial ban and denied the rooms high jurisdiction. In order to enforce this right, the thief was hung.
Settlement of the feud
Finally Maximilian I invited the contending parties to the Reichstag in Augsburg. Johannes Werner the Elder J. and his relatives were promised safe conduct. After the father had been rehabilitated and the ban lifted on March 4, 1504, the contract to restore the rooms to their old rights was signed on March 9, 1504 under the following conditions:
- Messkirch and all associated places were returned to the rooms. For the costs that the Werdenbergers suffered with Oberndorf, the rooms were to pay 2000 guilders or 100 guilders annually to the Werdenbergers, whereby a full repayment should be possible at any time.
- The rooms were given high jurisdiction for Meßkirch, Rohrdorf, Heudorf, Schnerkingen, Wauggershoven, Ober- and Unter-Beuchtlingen. Outside this area, jurisdiction remained with the Werdenbergers.
- The hunting rights according to the document of 1463 were confirmed.
- Feudal rights that had been granted during the Werdenberg period were to be preserved. The proceeds from this should go to the rooms.
- Werdenberg received the right of first refusal on the Zimmerische possessions.
The Werdenberg feud was hereby settled.
literature
- Beat Rudolf Jenny: Count Froben Christoph von Zimmer. Historian, narrator, sovereign. A contribution to the history of d. Humanism in Swabia . Lindau, Konstanz: Thorbecke 1959.
- Erica Bastress-Duckehart: The Zimmer Chronicle. Nobility, Memory and Self-Representation in sixteenth-century Germany . Ashgate, Aldershot 2002, ISBN 0-7546-0342-3 .
- Zimmerische Chronicle . According to the edition by Karl August Barack , ed. by Paul Hermann. Meersburg and Leipzig: Hendel 1932 (4 vol.). Reprint of Barack's 2nd edition.
- The Chronicle of the Counts of Zimmer . Manuscripts 580 and 581 in the Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Hofbibliothek, now in the Baden-Württemberg State Library, Stuttgart.
- The Chronicle of the Counts of Zimmer. Manuscripts 580 and 581 from the Princely Fürstenberg Court Library . Edited by Hansmartin Decker-Hauff with the collaboration of Rudolf Seigel. Konstanz: Thorbecke 1964–1972 (3 vol.), Incomplete (not all published).
- Coat of arms, mug, love game. The Chronicle of the Counts of Zimmer 1288–1566 . Selected and ed. by Johannes Buehler. Frankfurt am Main: Societäts-Verlag 1940.