Jacob I of Baden (15 March 1407, Hachberg – 13 October 1453,

Mühlburg Mühlburg, formerly a town on its own right, is a borough located in the west of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name ''Mühlburg'' could be translated as 'Mill Castle' and refers to a water mill and a water castle located at the site w ...

), was

Margrave of Baden-Baden The Margraviate of Baden-Baden was an early modern southwest German territory within the Holy Roman Empire. It was created in 1535 along with the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach as a result of the division of the Margraviate of Baden. Its territory ...

from 1431 to 1453. He was the elder son of

Bernard I, Margrave of Baden-Baden Bernard I of Baden (1364 – 5 April 1431, Baden) was Margrave of the Margraviate of Baden from 1391 to 1431. Life He was the elder son of Rudolf VI and Matilda of Sponheim. He and his brother Rudolf VII concluded an inheritance contract i ...

and his second wife Anna of Oettingen. Jacob I was a man of deep religious beliefs, well known as a founder of churches. He founded the monastery at

Fremersberg The Fremersberg is a hill, , on the western edge of the northern Black Forest in south Germany on the territory of the town of Baden-Baden and the municipality of Sinzheim. On the summit plateau, which is made of bunter sandstone there is the resi ...

and was a major benefactor of the

Stiftskirche In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

. According to his father's precepts, only two of his sons were to be considered heirs of the margravate. Therefore, only Charles and Bernard received a secular education; the other children had a strict religious upbringing.

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, after taking a religious profession in his youth, returned briefly to the world, but in 1454 reverted to holy orders and later became

Bishop of Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Es ...

. Jacob I was the opposite of his father; Enea Silvio de Piccolomini (Pope Pius II) characterized him as ''famous among the Germans for his justice and intelligence''. In his early years he was ruler of the family possessions in Hohenberg, until at the age of 24 he succeeded to the government of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

. He was described as a pugnacious

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

and a frugal father of the state and was popular among the princes as a mediator. Both

Emperor Sigismund Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

and Emperor Frederick III, under whom he served, thought highly of him. When as the result of a miscarriage his sister Agnes fled in the middle of a conflict about inheritance, the Margrave lost his claim to the

Duchy of Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig ( da, Hertugdømmet Slesvig; german: Herzogtum Schleswig; nds, Hartogdom Sleswig; frr, Härtochduum Slaswik) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km ( ...

. He was so angry that he confined Agnes for the rest of her life in Eberstein Castle in

Ebersteinburg Ebersteinburg is an Ortsteil of Baden-Baden, Germany. At 426m in elevation it lies between the valleys of the Murg and Oos rivers. The village has a population of 1,300 and since 1972 has been part of the city of Baden-Baden. By 1100CE the C ...

. (The incident is remembered as the "Double Disaster of

Gottorf Gottorf Castle (german: Schloss Gottorf, da, Gottorp Slot, Low German: ''Gottorp'') is a castle and estate in the city of Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is one of the most important secular buildings in Schleswig-Holstein, and ha ...

"). When in 1437 the Treaty of Sponheim came into force, Jacob and

Frederick III, Count of Veldenz Frederick III, Count of Veldenz (died 1444) was the last from the Hohengeroldseck family to rule the county - that male line died out with him, and the county passed to his son-in-law Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken, widower of Fre ...

jointly inherited the

County of Sponheim The County of Sponheim (german: Grafschaft Sponheim, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality ...

on the death of

John V, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg John V, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg (c. 1359 - 24 October 1437) was a German nobleman. He was the son of John IV, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg and Elisabeth of Sponheim. He ruled the paternal line of the county of Sponheim from 1414 and the ...

, thus gaining possessions on the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

. In 1442 he bought for 30,000

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

from the descendants of

Walter von Geroldseck Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

half the lordship of

Lahr Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) (); gsw, label=Low Alemannic, Lohr) is a town in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95&nbs ...

and

Mahlberg Mahlberg ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Mohlburg) is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km southwest of Lahr, near the Europa-Park Rust. It is about north of Freiburg im Breisgau and south of ...

Family and children

He married 25 July 1418

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, daughter of

Charles II, Duke of Lorraine Charles II (11 September 1364 – 25 January 1431), called the Bold (french: le Hardi) was the Duke of Lorraine from 1390 to his death and Constable of France from 1418 to 1425. Charles joined the Barbary Crusade, fought at Nicopolis, and aided ...

and

Margaret of the Palatinate Margaret of the Palatinate (German: ''Margarete von der Pfalz''; 1376 – 26 August 1434, Einville-au-Jard) was the daughter of Rupert of Germany and his wife Elisabeth of Nuremberg. She married Charles II, Duke of Lorraine on 6 February 1393 ...

. They had the following children: #

Charles I, Margrave of Baden-Baden Charles I of Baden (1427 – 24 February 1475, Pforzheim) was a Margrave of Baden-Baden during 1454–1475. Charles was the elder son of Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Charles II, Duke of Lorraine. In 1462 he ...

(1427 – 24 February 1475,

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a 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 nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

). #

Bernard II, Margrave of Baden-Baden Bernhard II of Baden (1428 or 1429 at Hohenbaden Castle in Baden-Baden – 15 July 1458 in Moncalieri, Turin), was the second son of Margrave Jacob of Baden and his wife, Catherine of Lorraine. He was born in the late 1420s at Hohenbaden ...

(later beatified) (1428 – 12 July 1458,

Moncalieri Moncalieri (; pms, Moncalé ) is a town and ''comune'' of 56,134 inhabitants (31 January 2022) about directly south of downtown Turin (to whose Metropolitan City of Turin, Metropolitan City it belongs), in Piedmont, Italy. It is the most populo ...

). #

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(1430 – 9 February 1503,

Ehrenbreitstein Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an ...

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Margarete Margarete is a German feminine given name. It is derived from Ancient Greek ''margarites'' (μαργαρίτης), meaning "the pearl". Via the Latin ''margarita'', it arrived in the German sprachraum. Related names in English include Daisy, Gr ...

(1431 – 24 October 1457,

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, a ...

), married 1446 to

Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg Albrecht III (9 November 141411 March 1486) was Elector of Brandenburg from 1471 until his death, the third from the House of Hohenzollern. A member of the Order of the Swan, he received the cognomen ''Achilles'' because of his knightly qualiti ...

. #

(1433 – 11 February 1484,

Moyen Moyen () is a village and commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle ''département'' of north-eastern France. Geography The river Mortagne forms most of the commune's south-western border. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The f ...

. # Markus (1434 – 1 September 1478), canon in Liége and Strassburg. # Matilde (1435/39 – 18 April 1485), Abbess in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

. He also had an illegitimate son, Rudolf of Baden.

References

* Arthur Kleinschmidt
''Jacob I., Markgraf von Baden und Hochberg''
n:''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB)'', vol 13, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 532–534. * Konrad Krimm
''Jakob I., Markgraf von Baden''
n:''Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB)'', vol. 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, p. 31
online