Margrave James III of Baden-Hachberg (26 May 1562 – 17 August 1590) was

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 ...

of Baden-Hachberg from 1584 to 1590 and resided at

Emmendingen Emmendingen (; ) is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the Emmendingen (district), district Emmendingen of Germany. It is located at the Elz (Rhine), Elz River, north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The town contains more than 26,000 residents, ...

. He converted, in 1590, from

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

to the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

confession, causing some political turmoil.

Life

James was the second son of Margrave Charles II of Baden-Durlach and Anna of Veldenz, daughter of the Count Palatine Rupert of Veldenz. From 1557, James and his brother Ernest Frederick were educated at the court of their guardian, the Lutheran Duke Louis III "the Pious" of Württemberg. James was very interested in recent developments in science and studied in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

and

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. He then made a Grand Tour to

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Regency, 1577-1584

When his father died in 1577, James was a minor when he inherited the Margraviate of Baden-Hachberg. Thus, the margraviate was taken up by a regency council, consisting of his mother, Anna of Veldenz, Elector Palatine Louis VI (until 1583), Count Palatine Philip Louis of Neuburg and Duke Louis III "the Pious" of Württemberg.

Division of the territory

James and his eldest brother Ernest Frederick wanted to be sovereign rulers of their own fragment of Baden. Their father's

last will and testament A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate (law), estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its fi ...

forbade a further division of the margraviate. However, the testament had not been properly signed and sealed. According to the three remaining regents, this invalidated the testament, so they allowed a division, thereby fragmenting Baden beyond the existing division into Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach. James received the Lordship of Hachberg, with its seat in Emmendingen. Ernest Frederick received Lower Baden, including the two largest cities,

Durlach Durlach is a district in Karlsruhe, Germany, with a population of roughly 30,000. The district is further divided into ''Alt-Durlach'', ''Dornwald-Untermühl'', ''Hanggebiet'', ''Bergwald'', ''Aue'', ''Lohn-Lissen'' and ''Killisfeld''. Histor ...

and

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 ...

. Their youngest brother George Frederick received Upper Baden, including the Lordships of

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

Badenweiler Badenweiler (High Alemannic: ''Badewiler'') is a health resort and spa in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, historically in the Markgräflerland. It is 28 kilometers by road and rail from Basel, 10 kilome ...

and the Margraviate of Baden-Sausenburg. When James's heir died in 1591, Baden-Hachberg fell to Ernest Frederick. When Ernest Frederick died without a male heir in 1604, his possessions also fell to George Frederick, thereby reuniting Baden-Durlach.

The conversion

The three brothers followed different paths in their religious development. All three were raised in the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

faith. George Frederick converted to

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

, while James adopted

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and Ernest Frederick remained a Lutheran. In 1582, the conversion of

Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg (10 November 1547 – 31 May 1601) was the archbishop-elector of Cologne from 1577 to 1588. After pursuing an ecclesiastical career, he won a close election in the cathedral chapter of Cologne over Ernst ...

, the Archbishop of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

to Lutheranism led to a war between Gebhard, who refused to give up his Archdiocese and Duke Ernest of Bavaria, who had been elected as his successor. Gebhard tried to convert the

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

to Lutheranism and allied himself with the beautiful Countess

Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben (1551–1637) was Countess of Mansfeld and the daughter of Johann (Hans) Georg I, of Mansfeld Eisleben. She converted Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, Gebhard, Seneschal of Waldburg, the Prince-Elector of Electorate of ...

. James fought in this war under the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

general

Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma Alexander Farnese (, ; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and military leader, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592, as well as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. Nephew to Kin ...

. He later served under the Catholic Duke

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

of Lorraine. In 1582, at the age of 22, Margrave James III of Baden married the 16-year-old Countess Elisabeth of Culemborg-Pallandt. She was the sole heiress to a very large fortune. Their marriage was a happy one and produced four children. However, it lasted only six years. In 1588, the couple moved from the Hochburg to the smaller Emendingen Castle. On 1 January 1590, James III gave city rights to the market town of

. During this period of deep religious division, the Margrave closely watched the three Christian camps: the Catholics, Lutherans and Calvinists. In 1589 and 1590, he commissioned two colloquia, the first in

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 ...

, the second in Emmendingen, between Lutheran theologicians from Württemberg and Catholics. In Emmendingen, the Lutheran side was led by Johannes Pappus from Strasbourg, and the Catholic side by James's court chaplain Johannes Zehender. Afterwards, James converted, like his lead councillor

Johann Pistorius Johann Pistorius (14 February 1546 – 19 June 1608), also anglicized as John Pistorius or distinguished as Johann Pistorius the Younger, was a German controversialist and historian. He is sometimes called Niddanus from the name of his birth ...

had done two years earlier, in the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery Tennenbach on 15 July 1590 to the Roman Catholic faith. This caused a huge stir in Germany, as he was the first reigning Protestant prince in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to convert after the 1555

Peace of Augsburg The Peace of Augsburg (), also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Schmalkaldic League, signed on 25 September 1555 in the German city of Augsburg. It officially ended the religious struggl ...

. Under the rule in that treaty, Catholicism was made the state religion of the Margraviate of Baden-Hachberg on 10 August 1590.

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

had high hopes for the Margrave.

Death

However, only a week later, the healthy, 28-year-old Margrave James III died unexpectedly. His body was dissected by two professors of the Medical Faculty of Freiburg — a very rare procedure in the 16th Century. The precise Latin language of the autopsy report states that the cause of death was poisoning by

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

(As₂O₃). James's

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

stated that he wished to be buried in Baden-Baden, which was Catholic at the time. He was, however, buried in the St. Michael church in

. The inscription on his grave does not mention his conversion to Catholicism.Double epitaph of the Margraves James III and Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach in the castle church in Pforzheim; James III's epitaph is on the right
/ref> A week after James's death, his widow, Elisabeth of Culemborg-Pallandt, gave birth to a posthumous son and heir Ernest James. Ernest Frederick illegally took the baby in his care. The baby died after less than nine months, on 29 May 1591. Baden-Hachberg fell to Ernest Frederick, who converted it back to Lutheranism. Elisabeth of Culemborg-Pallandt converted to Catholicism after her husband died. Ernest Frederick then refused to give her the widow seat in Emmendingen, to which she was entitled under James's testament. The events surrounding James III's death illustrate the increasing polarization in religious matters. The tensions between the faiths had risen very high, and the hunger for power of the German rulers and princelings was very strong. In less than 30 years, these tensions would be discharged in a terrible manner during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Marriage and issue

James married on 6 September 1584 with Elisabeth of Culemborg-Pallandt (born: 1567; died: 8 May 1620), the daughter of Count Floris I of Pallandt-Culemborg (1537–1598 ). They had four children: * Anna (born: 13 June 1585; died: 11 March 1649), married in 1607 with Count Wolrad IV of Waldeck-Eisenberg (born: 7 July 1588; died: 6 October 1640) * Charles Ernest (born: 21 June 1588; died: 19 September 1588) * Jakobea (born; 2 June 1589; died: 29 September 1625) * Ernest James (born: 24 August 1590; died: 29 May 1591)

References

* Hans-Jürgen Günther: ''Jacob III., ein vergessener Emmendinger? Reformation und Gegenreformation in unserer Heimat'', in: ''Emmendinger Heimatkalender 1990'', p. 50–59 * Hans-Jürgen Günther: ''Markgraf Jacob III. von Baden und Hachberg (1562–1590). Das Lebensbild des Stadtbegründers von Emmendingen im Wandel der Jahrhunderte'', special edition from Badische Heimat 4/1990, Karlsruhe * Hans-Jürgen Günther: ''Die Sektion des badischen Markgrafen Jacob III. - Der früheste rechtsmedizinische Fall der Universität Freiburg aus dem Jahr 1590'', in: ''Beiträge zur gerichtlichen Medizin'', vol. IL, p. 297–305, Vienna, 1991 * Hans-Jürgen Günther: ''Die Reformation und ihre Kinder – Vater und Sohn Johannes Pistorius Niddanus - eine Doppelbiographie'', in: ''Niddaer Geschichtsblätter'', issue 2, Nidda, 1994 * Hans-Jürgen Günther: ''Johannes Pistorius Niddanus d.J. - Humanist, Arzt, Historiker, Politiker und Theologe (1546–1608)'', in: ''Lebensbilder aus Baden-Württemberg'', vol. 19, Stuttgart, 1998, p. 109–145 * Hans-Jürgen Günther: ''Markgraf Jacob III. von Baden (1562-1590) - Ein konfessioneller Konflikt und sein Opfer'', in: ''Freiburger Diözesanarchiv'', third series, vol. 126, 2006 * Hans-Jörg Jenne and Gerhard A. Auer (eds.): ''Geschichte der Stadt Emmendingen'', vol. I: ''Von den Anfängen bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts'', Emmendingen, 2006, p. 185-278 * * * Werner Baumann: ''Ernst Friedrich von Baden-Durlach.'' Stuttgart 1962, S. 33–63 *

(1590): *

: ''Warhaffte kurtze Beschreibung (von der letzten Krankheit ... des Jacobs Margrafens zu Baden)'', Mainz, 1590
(online)

Footnotes

External links

* ttp://www.latein-pagina.de/iexplorer/pistoriusvita.htm Johann Pistorius the Younger* {{DEFAULTSORT:James 03 Baden Hachberg Margraves of Baden-Hachberg Margraves of Baden-Durlach 1562 births 1590 deaths 16th-century German nobility Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism