Eberhard III, Count of Württemberg
Eberhard III and his Council, c.1400
Born1364
Died16 May 1417(1417-05-16) (aged 52–53)
Göppingen
Noble familyWürttemberg
Spouse(s)Antonia Visconti
Elisabeth of Nuremberg
IssueEberhard IV
Elisabeth
FatherCount Ulrich of Württemberg
MotherElisabeth of Bavaria

Eberhard III of Württemberg, called der Milde ('the Clement') (1364 – 16 May 1417, in Göppingen), ruled from 1392 to 1417 as the Count of Württemberg, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire.[1]

Life

Coat of arms of the Counts of Württemberg

He was a son of Count Ulrich of Württemberg and Elisabeth of Bavaria (who was the daughter of the emperor Louis IV), and the grandson and successor of Eberhard II. His reign was noted by a peace-preserving policy of alliances with the neighboring principalities and imperial towns. Examples are an alliances with 14 Upper-Swabian towns, concluded 27 August 1395 and the Marbachs alliance in 1405. An important military success was the victory against the Schlegel-Gesellschaft in 1395 near Heimsheim. Eberhard's most significant territorial acquisition was the county of Mömpelgard (now Montbéliard), which he secured through the engagement of his son, the later count Eberhard IV with Henriette, Countess of Montbéliard. Henriette was the granddaughter and heiress of Stephen of Montfaucon, count of Mömpelgard. Eberhard III governed the county of Mömpelgard till 1409, when he handed it over to his son Eberhard IV.

Family and children

He was married twice. Firstly, in Urach on 27 October 1380 with Antonia Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti.[2] They had had 3 sons: Eberhard IV and two others, who died young.

Secondly, he married Elisabeth of Nuremberg (1391–1429), the daughter of John III, Burgrave of Nuremberg. The marriage agreement was dated 27 March 1406, and the marriage itself on 22 November 1412. In this marriage he had one daughter, Elisabeth (d. after 29 April 1476), who, though engaged to Albert III, Duke of Bavaria, eloped and married Count John IV of Werdenberg (before 2 August 1429 ) who had served as a page at her father's court.

See also

References

  1. Andreas Thiele, Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte, Volume I, Part 2, Deutsche Kaiser-, Königs-, Herzogs- und Grafenhäuser II; Third Edition, R. G. Fischer Verlag (1997), pp. 342–346
  2. de Mesquita 2011, p. 411.

Sources

  • de Mesquita, D. M. Bueno (2011). Giangaleazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan (1351-1402): A Study in the Political Career of an Italian Despot. Cambridge University Press.
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