Bombast von Hohenheim was a

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n noble family from the 12th century, named for their seat, Hohenheim Castle, which they held as a fief from the

Counts of Württemberg Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. Their coat of arms was blazoned ''Or on a bend azure three roundels argent''. The first mention of the family is in 1120, when one ''Egilolf von Hohenheim'' made a donation to

Hirsau Abbey Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most important Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It is located in the Hirsau borough of Calw on the northern slopes of the Black Forest mountain range, in the present-day state of B ...

. One ''Cunradus de Hohenheim miles cognomine Bambast'' ("Conrad von Hohenheim, knight, also called ''Bambast'') is mentioned in 1270 (donation to

Herrenalb Abbey Herrenalb Abbey (german: Kloster Herrenalb; la, Alba dominorum) is a former Cistercian monastery in the present Bad Herrenalb in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History The monastery was founded, probably in 1147 or 1148, by Count Berthold of Eber ...

). But the ''von Hohenheim'' did not regularly use the byname ''Bombast'' until the time of ''Hans Bombast von Hohenheim'' (attested between 1342 and 1404). ''Bambast'' (or ''bambest, bamst'') is recorded as a

Central German Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German di ...

field name (of a wooded area) but the name ''Bombast'' has in modern times also been associated with "cotton", etymologized as German ''Baumbast'' (properly "the fibrous layer of a tree's bark"). The castle was sold by Hans Bombast von Hohenheim in 1406, but the family continued to use the ''von Hohenheim'' name in the 15th and 16th centuries. One Georg Bombast von Hohenheim (1453–1499) is mentioned in 1462 as

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

in Rohrdorf. He accompanied Count Eberhard V on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This Georg Bombast von Hohenheim has been suggested as the possible biological father of Wilhelm Bombast von Hohenheim (d. 1534), the father of Paracelsus (Theophrastus von Hohenheim) (1493–1541). The name ''

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. He w ...

'' itself is most likely a latinization of "Hohenheim" (and not, as has frequently been alleged, a reference to

Aulus Cornelius Celsus Aulus Cornelius Celsus ( 25 BC 50 AD) was a Roman encyclopaedist, known for his extant medical work, ''De Medicina'', which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The ''De Medicina'' is a primary source on d ...

).Willem F. Daems: "Zu Helmut Gebelein: Alchemie. München: Eugen Diederichs 1991". In: ''Würzburger medizinhistorische Mitteilungen'' 11, 1993, p. 405. Georg Bombast von Hohenheim (d. 1566), a nephew of Georg (d. 1499), also had a career in the Order of Saint John, and became grand prior of Germany. With his death in 1566, the male line of the family was extinct. Georg was survived by his sister, Anna Bombastin von Hohenheim (d. 1574), the third wife of

Ernest, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Margrave Ernest I of Baden-Durlach (7 October 1482, Pforzheim – 6 February 1553, Sulzburg) was the founder of the so-called "Ernestine" line of the House of Baden, the line from which the later Grand Dukes descended. He was the ruling Mar ...

. The name and coat of arms was restored by

Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg Charles Eugene (German: ''Carl Eugen''; 11 February 1728 – 24 October 1793), Duke of Württemberg, was the eldest son, and successor, of Charles Alexander; his mother was Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis. Life Born in Brussels, he ...

for his mistress Franziska von Bernerdin in 1774 along with the title of imperial countess. The family name long antedates the modern use of the term "bombastic" with its negative connotations, which has a different etymological origin.

References

* Julius Kindler von Knobloch: ''Bombast von Hohenheim.'' In: ''Oberbadisches Geschlechterbuch.'' Heidelberg 1894, Band 1
141–142
* Julius Kindler von Knobloch: ''von Hohenheim gen. Bombast.'' In: ''Oberbadisches Geschlechterbuch.'' Heidelberg 1905, Band 2,
89–90
* W. Gonser: ''Zur Geschichte der Bombaste von Hohenheim.'' In: Württembergische Vierteljahrshefte für Landesgeschichte. Neue Folge 30, 1921, 177–192. * Ulrich Fellmeth: ''Die Bombaste von Hohenheim.'' In: Heinz Dopsch, Kurt Goldammer, Peter F. Kramml (eds.): Paracelsus 1493–1541, Salzburg 1993, 23–32. * Ulrich Thomas: ''Aus der Geschichte Hohenheims. Der Name „Bombast“.'' In: Mitteilungsblatt des Universitätsbundes Hohenheim e. V. – 9.1979, 10–12. {{Authority control Swabian noble families