Wilhelm II of Castell

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Wilhelm II. Count and Lord zu Castell (* 1415 ; † August 7, 1479 ) was ruler of the county of Castell from 1426 until his death .

The county before Wilhelm II.

After many rights and goods of the county of Castell had been lost in the 13th century, the counts ensured that the remaining possessions were re-established and acquired more rights in the 14th century. Count Friedrich II organized himself in the Franconian Landfriedensbund and was able to receive the inheritance from the Bishop of Würzburg. His sons Hermann and Friedrich III. accepted offices in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg .

Count Wilhelm I , the grandfather of Wilhelm II, then moved together with the Bishop of Würzburg against the Free Imperial City of Windsheim. King Wenceslaus gave him the right to mint in the county, and Volkach was designated as the mint . Wilhelm II's father, Count Leonhard, then tried to counterbalance Volkach by raising the market in Großlangheim , which was more and more dominated by the Würzburgers in the previous centuries.

Life

Wilhelm II was born at the beginning of the 15th century. He was the son of Count Leonhard zu Castell and Mrs. Anna von Hohenlohe-Speckfeld . The sources are silent about the count's siblings, youth and education. Wilhelm II was mentioned for the first time in 1415. After the death of his father, Wilhelm took control of the county in 1426. The first official acts are not recorded.

It was not until 1435 that the count's government began in the sources. At this point in time, he began selling many goods and rights to the Duchy of Würzburg , which was becoming more and more self-confident in the region towards the smaller rulers. By 1457 he received a total of 40,000 guilders for these sales. Among other things, half of the city of Volkach came to the Counts of Weinsberg , Henneberg and Limpurg in 1447 , and Großlangheim was also sold.

The peak of the county's decline was reached on October 24th, 1457: At this time Count Wilhelm allowed the Würzburg bishop Johann III. von Grumbach to take the entire county as a man 's fief. The count received an annuity of 500 guilders for this. For this act, Wilhelm was described by his successors as frivolous. He died on August 7, 1479 and was buried in the monastery church in Birklingen.

Marriage and offspring

Before 1435, Count Wilhelm married Countess Anna von Helfenstein. The connection resulted in a total of four children, of which only the heir to the throne, Friedrich, was mentioned in detail in the sources.

  • Leonhard
  • Friedrich († around 1498)
  • Veronica
  • Amelie

literature

  • Wilhelm Engel: House u. Reign of Castell in Franconian history . In: Society for Franconian History (ed.): Castell. Contributions to the culture and history of home and dominion. New Year's Sheets XXIV . Würzburg 1952. pp. 1-19.
  • Otto Meyer: The Castell house. State and class rule over the centuries . In: Otto Meyer, Hellmut Kunstmann (ed.): Castell. State rule - castles - status lordship . Castell 1979. pp. 9-53.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Meyer, Otto: The Castell house . P. 20.
  2. ↑ Engel, Wilhelm: Haus u. Reign of Castell . P. 7.
  3. ↑ Worldroots.com: Web Archive, Family Tree ( August 7, 2007 memento on Internet Archive ), accessed April 24, 2015.
predecessor Office successor
Leonhard Count of Castell
1426–1479 		Friedrich IV.
personal data
SURNAME Castell, Wilhelm II. To
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Castell, Wilhelm II. Count and Herr zu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sovereign
DATE OF BIRTH 1415
DATE OF DEATH August 7, 1479