Eberhard I of Württemberg also known as Eberhard im Bart (Eberhard the bearded) (11 December 144524 February 1496) was the first

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. After the death of his older brother in 1459 he became the

Count 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: ...

of Württemberg-Urach as Eberhard V. In 1482 he signed the Treaty of Münsingen with his cousin Eberhard VI of Württemberg-Stuttgart reuniting Württemberg-Urach with Württemberg-Stuttgart under his rule. In exchange his cousin was designated as his heir. He moved the capital to

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and in July 1495 he was elevated to

by Emperor Maximilian I. Eberhard was acquainted with a number of scholars and held education in high esteem. In 1477 he founded the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. Eberhard died in 1496 and was succeeded by his cousin Duke Eberhard II (formerly Eberhard VI of Württemberg-Stuttgart).

Early life

Born at Urach, he was the son of count Ludwig I and his wife Mechthild of the Palatinate, born as countess palatine by the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. Count Eberhard V officially took charge of the government of Württemberg-Urach when he was still underage; Württemberg had been divided since 1442. At first he had a legal guardian, a respected nobleman who had mentored his father as a youth, Rudolph von Ehingen of Kilchberg. However, in 1459, assisted by Frederick I, Elector Palatine, he threw off this restraint, and undertook the government of the district of Urach as Count Eberhard V. He neglected his duties as a ruler and lived a reckless life until 1468. During this time, a fencing manual was created for Eberhard in 1467 by Hans Talhoffer. The manuscript is currently held by the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

.
Fechtbuch von 1467
'. Manuscript published in Swabia, Germany. Via World Digital Library. In 1468, he traveled to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and became a knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. To commemorate this he chose the palm as his symbol. He visited

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and became acquainted with some famous scholars. Returning home, in Urach on 12 April (or 4 July) 1474, he married a prestigious bride, Barbara, daughter of Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. The only child from this marriage, Barbara, was born in Urach on 2 August 1475 and died on 15 October of that year. In 1477, Eberhard, whose motto was ''attempto'' ("I dare"), founded the

. He ordered the expulsion of all Jews living in Württemberg. He invited the Brethren of the Common Life and the community of devotio moderna to his country and founded collegiate churches in Urach, Dettingen an der Erms,

Herrenberg Herrenberg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Härrabärg'' or ''Haerebärg'') is a town in the middle of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 30 km south of Stuttgart and 20 km from Tübingen. After Sindelfingen, Böblingen, and Leonberg, it ...

, Einsiedel near Tübingen and Tachenhausen. He also took an interest in reforms of the church and monasteries. Despite not being able to speak Latin he held education in high esteem and had a great number of Latin texts translated into German.Mertens, Dieter: Eberhard im Bart und der Humanismus Parts of his large library have been preserved. Finally on 14 December 1482 Eberhard reunified the two halves of Württemberg, Württemberg-Urach and Württemberg-Stuttgart, in the Treaty of Münsingen, with his cousin Eberhard VI of Württemberg-Stuttgart, later the second duke. He moved the capital to

. In the same year,

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

awarded him the Golden Rose. Eberhard, although a lover of peace, was one of the founders of the

Swabian League The Swabian League () was a military alliance of Imperial State, imperial estates – Free imperial city, imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early Middle Ages, medieval stem duchy of S ...

in 1488, and assisted to release Maximilian I, from his imprisonment in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

in the same year. In 1492 he was awarded the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

, by Maximilian, then

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

. In the same year, the treaty was finally sanctioned by the nobility. Johannes Nauclerus, a humanist and historian, served at his court.

Elevation to Dukedom

On 21 July 1495, at the

Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 ( ) was an Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City o ...

, the

County of Württemberg The County of Württemberg was a historical territory with origins in the realm of the House of Württemberg, the heart of the old Duchy of Swabia. Its capital was Stuttgart. From the 12th century until 1495, it was a county within the Holy Roman ...

was elevated to a

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

. After Maximilian I's councilor, Veit von Wolkenstein, delivered a speech praising the

House of Württemberg The House of Württemberg is an uradel, ancient German nobility, German dynasty and former royal family of the Kingdom of Württemberg. History County The House probably originated in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty. Around 1080 the ancestors ...

, Eberhard was dressed as an ''

Herzog (; feminine ; masculine plural ; feminine plural ) is a German hereditary title held by one who rules a territorial duchy, exercises feudal authority over an estate called a duchy, or possesses a right by law or tradition to be referred to ...

'' and bestowed a sword by Maximilian, who confirmed the treaty.

Frederick III, Elector of Saxony Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise (German: ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Prince-elector of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the protection given to his su ...

and the Imperial Marshal, then led Eberhard I to Württemberg's seat in the Reichstag, between the Duke of Jülich and the

Landgrave of Hesse The Landgraviate of Hesse () was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. History In the early ...

. To confirm Württemberg's elevation to a Duchy, the Emperor hosted a banquet attended by his person, the electors, and the other princes of the Diet. In the hierarchy of the Holy Roman Empire, this put Württemberg's status above all the Margraves and Counts, but behind all the existing Duchies. Eberhard died at Tübingen in 1496, and the succession passed to his cousin, who became Duke Eberhard II. He was first buried in the

collegiate church 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, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

Saint Peter auf dem Einsiedel, and later in the collegiate church of Tübingen.

Legacy

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the patriotic

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

transfigured him. A bust of him was erected in Walhalla. In the Swabian

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

"Preisend mit viel schönen Reden" by Justinus Kerner, he is praised as: "Eberhard the one with the beard, Württemberg's beloved ruler." In this so-called song of the Württembergers, he is praised as the richest prince amongst the German princes, as he is able to rest his head on the lap of every one of his subjects without having fear for his life or property.

Citations

References

External links