The House of Helfenstein was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

noble family during the

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and

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. The family was named after the family castle, Castle Helfenstein, located above

Geislingen an der Steige Geislingen an der Steige () is surrounded by the heights of the Swabian Jura, Swabian Alb and embedded in 5 valleys. It is a town in the Göppingen (district), district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The name relates ...

in the

Swabian Alb The Swabian Jura ( , more rarely ), sometimes also named Swabian Alps in English, is a mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, extending from southwest to northeast and in width. It is named after the region of Swabia. It is part of th ...

region of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, Germany. The family held the rank of

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

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: ...

and was very significant in the 13th and 14th Centuries, but fell into financial difficulties and the family lost its estate in 1627. Later the main branch of the family emigrated to America and even today they are successor members of this German dynasty. Currently the German-Argentinean Ernst Heinrich von Helfenstein have the honorary title by inheritance of Baron and Count by subsequent to his Father.

Coat of arms

The House of Helfenstein used an elephant on their coat of arms. According to one source, the elephant is a type of ''Canting Arms'' (German:Redendes Wappen, Sprechendes Wappen), in this case Helfenstein became ''Elefanten'' or elephant because of similarity between the sounds. A more fanciful source claims that the elephant comes from the first ancestor of the family, Helfrich, a citizen of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 225 AD, a captain of the 5th Legion of Veterans based in Germany and the Lord of the Fils River. Helfrich acquired an elephant for his coat of arms. Their emblem depicted an elephant and was awarded in 46 BC for bravery against a charge of elephants in the Battle of Thapsus.

History

While the ancestral castle, Burg Helfenstein, was built around 1100 the family may originate about three centuries earlier. Ulric Helfenstein was appointed Second

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

at an earlier

Blaubeuren Abbey Blaubeuren Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation, located in Blaubeuren, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is now a Protestant seminary. History: Catholic The monastery was founded in 1085 by the Counts of Tübingen and thei ...

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

cited o
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in 800. His son Rudolf was born around 820. On 12 December 861 he founded the church at Wiesensteig. Later he also founded the Cyriasus Abbey in Wiesensteig. It is possible that the Counts from Vils ( Fils) were the ancestors of the House of Helfenstein,Oswald Gabelkover: ''Historia und Beschreibung des uralten Geschlechts der Grafen von Helfenstein von 860 bis 1604'', in: Württembergische Geschichte, Württ. Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, Cod. Donaueschingen 591, Bl. 109v, 1539–1616 because in 1060 the

Archbishop of Salzburg The Archdiocese of Salzburg (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin rite archdiocese of the Catholic Church centered in Salzburg, Austria. It is also the principal diocese of the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian ...

Gebhard of Salzburg Blessed Gebhard von Salzburg ( 101015 June 1088), also occasionally known as Gebhard of Sussex, was Archbishop of Salzburg from 1060 until his death. He was one of the fiercest opponents of King Henry IV of Germany during the Investiture Controv ...

(from the Counts of Vils) was also known as Gebhard von Helfenstein. This connection is debated. The first recorded member of the family was Eberhard the Elder, who built the ancestral castle known as Burg Helfenstein (English:

Helfenstein Castle Helfenstein Castle represents the remnants of the fortified castle (''burg'') Helfenstein of the counts of Helfenstein located above the city of Geislingen an der Steige, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was destroyed in 1552. See also *List of c ...

) around 1100. Helfenstein castle was located at a key point along the

imperial road In medieval times, imperial roads () were designated routes in the Holy Roman Empire that afforded protection to travellers in return for tolls collected for the emperor. The ''Reichsstraßen'' came under royal jurisdiction ('' Königsbann'') a ...

from Brabant 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 ...

. This allowed the Counts of Helfenstein to guard and tax travellers and merchants. The city of

grew up at the foot of the castle as a toll collection station and rest stop for travellers.Helfenstein history
Around 1200 Count Ludwig IV of Spitzenberg (near

Kuchen Kuchen (), the German word for cake, is used in other languages as the name for several different types of savory or sweet desserts, pastries, and gateaux. Most Kuchen have eggs, flour and sugar as common ingredients while also, but not alwa ...

) and

Sigmaringen Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district. Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...

married the heir of Eberhard II (known as the Younger) of Helfenstein, his daughter. Through the marriage to the heir of Helfenstein family, the fortunes of both families were intertwined. The Counts of Spitzenberg were closely allied with the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

and had served the Empire in a variety of positions. Ludwig's brother,

Gottfried Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century, and composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for "God" and "good", and possibly further conflated with ) and ("pe ...

, had marched with

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

on the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

and had died on the Crusade in 1190. The Spitzenberg male line died out completely a generation later in 1226. This meant that the Helfenstein lands and the Spitzenburg lands would be combined and Ludwig IV of Spitzenburg became Ludwing I of Helfenstein. He quickly expanded his county, adding numerous holdings in the upper and middle Fils River Valley, on the highlands of the

, in

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

, in

Heidenheim an der Brenz Heidenheim an der Brenz, or just Heidenheim (; Swabian language, Swabian: ''Hoidna'' or ''Hoirna''), is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located near the border with Bavaria, approximately 17 km south of Aalen and 33&n ...

as well as in the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

River Valley near

and

Schloss Sigmaringen Sigmaringen Castle () was the princely castle and seat of government for the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Situated in the Swabian ''Alb'' region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, this castle dominates the skyline of the town of Sigmar ...

. The next significant Helfenstein count was Ulrich V, who as a member of

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

's household in 14th century

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

served the Emperor in many ways. The Emperor rewarded him with a marriage, which raised his social status, to

Maria of Bosnia Maria of Bosnia (; ; 27 April 1403) was a member of the House of Kotromanić who married into the House of Helfenstein. Parentage Maria's parentage and connection to the House of Kotromanić is uncertain. King Louis I of Hungary, husband of Ba ...

. This marriage led to many problems and caused the financial downfall of the Helfenstein family. The collapse of the

House of Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

(

Kings of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empire in 1918: East Fra ...

from 1138 to 1254) threw southern Germany into chaos. For nearly two centuries, each noble fought against the others. The Helfenstein family joined the conflicts. In 1356 Ulrich V (known as Ulrich the Elder) and his cousin Ulrich VI (known as Ulrich the Younger), split the House of Helfenstein into two lines; the Wiesensteiger and Blaubeurer branches. The Wiesensteiger branch inherited the county of Geislingen with Burg Helfenstein, but pledged the entire holding to the Free Imperial City of

in 1382 for a loan. In 1396 the city called for repayment, but the House of Helfenstein owed at least 123,439 Gulden to the city. To repay the loan, most of the County of Geislingen including the ancestral castle and 27 villages or hamlets were given to Ulm. The Blaubeuren branch lost most of their property to 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 ...

in 1448 when Württemberg acquired Heidenheim. In 1450 Württemberg acquired the Wiesensteig holdings from Ulm, but lost those holdings seven years later in 1457. The Wiesensteig lands would later pass to

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

from 1642 until 1752. Bavaria had already owned the Blaubeuren lands including Heidenheim from 1450 until 1504, but in 1504 Bavaria gave the Blaubeuren lands to Württemberg. Following the loss of their lands, the House of Helfenstein lost all political power. The last male member of the family died in 1627 in Wiesensteig, which signified the end of this family name.

Rulers

House of Helfenstein

Partitions of Helfenstein under Helfenstein rule

Table of rulers

Members

Counts

* Eberhard I the Elder (fl.1100) * Eberhard II the Younger (fl.1200) * Ulrich II (d.17 V 1294), m. Agnes von Tübingen

Helfenstein-Wiesensteigen branch

* Ulrich V the Elder (d.7 IV 1372) m.

(1333–1403) * Ulrich VIII (d.1375) * Friedrich I d. 20 VIII 1438) m. Agnes von Weisberg * Friedrich II (1408–1483) m. Agnes von Eberstein (d.1456) and Irmgard von Helfenstein-Blaubeuren * Ludwig (21 XI 1447 – 27 XII 1493) m. Elisabeth von Limpurg-Speckfeld (1466–1538) * Friedrich III (III 1479–1502) m. Barbara von Rechberg (d.15 IV 1522) * Ludwig I Helfrich (1480-17 IV 1525) m. Margarethe von Eddelsheim (1480-VI 1537) * Ulrich XI (1490-26 V 1548), m. Katharina von Waldburg-Sonnenberg (21 X 1495-14 X 1563) * Ulrich XIII (8 II 1524 – 17 I 1570) m. Katharina von Monfort (d.26 XII 1594)

Helfenstein-Blaubeuren branch

* Ulrich VI the Younger (d.13 V 1361) m. Beatrix von Schlüsselberg (d. 24 I 1355) ** Ulrich VII (d. 1375) m. Anna of Oettingen (d.1360) ***Johann II (d. 27 II 1444) m. Irmgard von Kirchberg (d.3 III 1444) ****Ulrich X ****Anna (1430-6 XI 1472) m. Wilhelm II von Castell (1425-7 VIII 1479) ****Konrad II (d. 14 XII 1474) m. Anna von Seckendorf (d. 23 XI 1474) *****Georg I (d.1517) m. Cecilia of Truchtelfingen (1) and Elisabeth von Limpurg-Speckfeld (2) (1466–1538) ******Ursula (1496–1576) ******Magdalena (b.1497) ******Wilhelm (b.1498) ******Agatha (b.1502) ******Dorothea (b.1503) ******Wilhelm (b.1506) ******Anna *****Irmgard m. Friedrich II von Helfenstein-Wiesensteigen (1408–1483)(view above) *****Hans IV (d.1483) *****Ursula *****Bernhard (d.1501) *****Ernst (d.XI 1483) *****Wolfgang *****Cecilia *****Magdalena *****Friedrich *****Sibylla (d. 11 V 1487) *****Christoph *****Anna ***Anna ***Agnes m. Heinrich von Rechberg ** Wulfhild * Georg II von Helfenstein (7 XI 1518-17 XI 1573) m. Maria de Bowart (d.1565) and Apollonia von Zimmern-Mösskirch (1547 – 31 VII 1604) * Schweikhard von Helfenstein (26 VI 1539–1599) m. Maria von Hohenzollern (28 VIII 1544 – 13 XII 1611)

Other

* Adelheid von Helfenstein (fl.1356) * Irmel von Helfenstein (fl.1444) * Barbara von Helfenstein (1552–1605) * Magdalena von Helfenstein (1562–1622) * Katharina von Helfenstein (1563–1627)

References

* Altertumsverein Geislingen (Steige): ''Helfenstein. Geschichtliche Mitteilungen von Geislingen und Umgebung'', 12. Heft, Geislingen (Steige), 1949 * Heinz Bühler: ''Richinza von Spitzenberg und ihr Verwandtenkreis. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Grafen von Helfenstein'', in: ''Württembergisch Franken'', Heft 58, 1974 * Hugo Glökler: ''Rund um den Helfenstein. Eine Heimatkunde von Stadt und Bezirk Geislingen-Steige'', Geislingen (Steige), 1954 * Heinrich Friedrich Kerler: ''Geschichte der Grafen von Helfenstein – nach den Quellen dargestellt'', Ulm, 1840 * Karl Putz: ''Unsere Heimat rund um Geislingen-Steige'', Geislingen (Steige), 1935 * Wilhelm Karl Prinz zu Isenburg, Frank Baron Freytag von Loringhoven, Detlev Schwennicke (Hrsg.): ''

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for t ...

. Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der europäischen Staaten – Schwaben'', Band 12, Marburg, 1992 * Philippa Gregory: ''The Virgin's Lover''.

External links

Grafen von Helfenstein

{{DEFAULTSORT:House Of Helfenstein Helfenstein, House of