Margrave Ernest I of Baden-Durlach (7 October 1482,

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the ...

– 6 February 1553,

Sulzburg Sulzburg () is a town in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the western slope of the Black Forest, 20 km southwest of Freiburg. Sulzburg had a long tradition of continuous Jewish settle ...

) 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 Margrave of Baden-Pforzheim from 1533 and resided in Pforzheim from 1537. In 1565, his son Charles II moved the capital to Durlach and thereby changed the name of his country to

Baden-Durlach The Margraviate of Baden-Durlach was an early modern territory of the Holy Roman Empire, in the upper Rhine valley, which existed from 1535 to 1771. It was formed when the Margraviate of Baden was split between the sons of Margrave Christopher I ...

. He had to deal with the upcoming

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

and the frequent

Ottoman wars in Europe A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

. In this turbulent time, he tried to maintain a neutral position between the Protestants and Catholics. He did not participate in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

Life

Ernest was the seventh son of the Margrave

Christopher I Christopher I may refer to: * Christopher I of Armenia, the Catholicos of Armenia 539 to 545 * Patriarch Christopher I of Alexandria, ruled in 817–841 * Christopher I of Denmark (1219–1259), King of Denmark from 1252 to 1259 * Christopher I, M ...

of Baden and

Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen (c. 1451 – 15 August 1517, Baden-Baden), was by marriage Margravine of Baden-Baden. Life She was the only child of Philipp II ''the Younger'' of Katzenelnbogen (1427 – 27 February 1453) and Ottilie of Nassau-Siege ...

. Ernest was at first – like most of his brothers – destined for the clergy and was ordained in 1496 in Graben-Neudorf by the

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of Diocese of Speyer. But he was not willing to renounce his inheritance and changed from a spiritual career to a military one. In 1509 he participated in the campaign of the Emperor Maximilian I against the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. His father, Margrave Christopher I, proposed to make his fifth son,

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) ( ...

his sole successor, since Philip was most qualified to govern the country and Christopher wanted to avoid a division of his territory. On 18 June 1511, Christopher demanded that the Estates of Rötteln, Sausenberg and Badenweiler salute Philip, but they refused. On subsequent meetings of the Estates in

Rötteln Rötteln (Old High German: ''Raudinleim''this expression refers to the red shimmering limestone of this place) is a hamlet beneath the ruins of Rötteln Castle, which was once home to the Lords of Rötteln. Today it is part of the quarter of Ha ...

and in 1512 in

Kandern Kandern () is a city in southwestern Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in the '' Kreis'' (district) of Lörrach. During the Battle of Schliengen, in which the French Revolutionary army fought the forces of Austria, the battle lines ...

, they refused to pay homage to Philip, because they would not be drawn into the internal struggles of the house of Baden. Ernest had threatened the Estates that he would respond with violence if they were to pay homage to his brother. Ernest administered parts of Baden on behalf of his father from 1515 onwards, as did his brothers

and Bernhard III. After Philip's death, Bernard III and Ernest divided the country into the Margraviates of Baden-Baden ("Bernhardine line") and Baden-Durlach ("Ernestine line"). The two parts were reunited in 1771 under Margrave and later Grand Duke Charles Frederick, a descendant of the Ernestine line, after the extinction of the other lines.

Marriages and issue

Ernest first married on 29 September 1510 with

Elisabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach Elizabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach (25 March 1494 in Ansbach – 31 May 1518 in Pforzheim) was a princess of Brandenburg-Ansbach by birth and by marriage Margravine of Baden. Life Elizabeth was a daughter of Margrave Frederick "the ...

(born: 25 March 1494; died: 31 May 1518), the daughter of Margrave Frederick I of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach. They had the following children: * Albert (born: July 1511; died: 12 December 1542), participated in the Austrian war against the Turks in 1541 in Hungary and died on the way back in

Wasserburg am Inn Wasserburg am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Wassabuag am Inn'') is a town in Rosenheim district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The historic centre is a peninsula formed by the meandering river Inn. Many Medieval structures remain intact, giving the city ...

* Anna (born: April 1512; died after 1579), married on 11 February 1537 to Count Charles I of Hohenzollern (born: 1516; died: 8 March 1576) * Amalie (born: February 1513; died 1594), married in 1561 Count Frederick II of

Löwenstein Löwenstein () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was first mentioned in 1123. The castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nob ...

(born: 22 August 1528; died: 5 June 1569) * Marie Jacqueline (born: October 1514; died: 1592), married in February 1577 to Count Wolfgang II of Barby (born: 11 December 1531; died: 23 March 1615) * Marie Cleopha (born: September 1515; died: 28 April 1580), married in 1548 Count William of Schultz (died circa 1566) * Elizabeth (born: 20 May 1516; died: 9 May 1568), married firstly in 1533 Count Gabriel von Salamanca-Ortenburg (died: December 1539), married secondly on 30 July 1543 Count Conrad II of

Castell A ''castell'' (: literally, ''castle'') is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in a part of Catalonia (Spain), now also found in the rest of Catalonia, in the Balearic islands and in the Valencian Community. At these festivals, s ...

(born: 10 July 1519; died: 8 July 1577) *

Bernhard Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 1946 ...

(born: February 1517; died: 20 January 1553), ruling Margrave

First morganatic marriage: Ursula of Rosenfeld

Ernest's second marriage was in 1518 with Ursula of Rosenfeld (died: 26 February 1538), the daughter of Wolf of Rosenfeld (d. 1518),

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a '' Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county ( ...

of the town of Rosenfeld. This was a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

. During Ernests's lifetime, it was controversial whether his son Charles could inherit the Margraviate. In the end, Charles could only inherit the margraviate from his half-brother because the guardians of his cousins in the Bernhardine line did not object. In 1594, this morganatic marriage was cited in the imperial court as an argument when Margrave Ernest Frederick — a grandson of Ernest – contested the right to inherit of the children of Margrave

Edward Fortunatus Edward Fortunatus (or in German Eduard Fortunat) of Baden (17 September 1565 – 8 June 1600) was Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern and Baden-Baden. Life and work Born in London, Edward was the son of Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemacher ...

and Marie of Eicken. They had:see Sachs, p. 76 * Margaret (1519–1571) : married on 12 November 1538 to Count Wolfgang II of Oettingen (1511–1572) * Salome (d. 1559) : married in 1540 Count Ladislas of Fraunberg-Haag (born: 1495, died: 31 August 1566) * Charles II (born: 24 July 1529; died: 23 March 1577), ruling

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Second morganatic marriage: Anna Bombast von Hohenheim

Ernest married his third wife on 1 March 1544. She was Anna Bombast of Hohenheim (died: 6 June 1574), cousin of his second wife. This marriage produced no children.

Ancestors

References

Sources

* * * * * * Pütter: ''Ueber Mißheirathen Teutscher Fürsten und Grafen'', Göttingen, 1796, pp. 83–91 * Christoph Meiners, Ludwig Timotheus Spittler (eds.): ''Mark-Graf Ernst von Baden und Ursula von Rosenfeld, die Stamm-Eltern des noch blühenden Badischen Hauses'', in: ''Göttingisches Historisches Magazin'', vol. 4, Hanover, 1789, pp. 737–77
online
* Casimir Bumiller: ''Ursula von Rosenfeld und die Tragödie des Hauses Baden'', Gernsbach, 2010, * Karl Seith: ''Das Markgräflerland und die Markgräfler im Bauernkrieg des Jahres 1525'', Karlsruhe, 1926 * Johann David Köhler: ''Die sehr seltene Fürstl. Badenische Brüderliche Eintrachts-Medaille von A. 1533'', in: ''Im Jahr 1729 wöchentlich herausgegegeber Historischer Münz-Belustigung'', part 1, Nuremberg, 1729, pp. 361–368

External links

Image of the Margrave Ernest Fountain in Pforzheim
from: Bildarchiv Foto Marburg – Image Index of Art and Architecture {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Margraves of Baden Margraves of Baden-Durlach People from Pforzheim 1482 births 1553 deaths 16th-century German nobility Military personnel from Pforzheim