Count Wilhelm IV of Eberstein (3 May 1497 – 1 July 1562) was a member of the Swabian noble Eberstein family. His father, Bernhard III (1459–1526) was president of the

Reichskammergericht The ; ; ) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal proceedings in the Holy Roman Empire could be ...

from 1510 to 1520. His mother was Countess Kunigunde of

Sonnenberg Sonnenberg is a municipality in the Oberhavel district, in Brandenburg, 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 Alp ...

(1472–1538). Like his father, Wilhelm IV served as president of the Reichskammergericht; he presided from 1546 to 1555. He and his wife are mentioned several times in the ''

Zimmern Chronicle The Zimmern Chronicle (German: ''Zimmerische Chronik'' or ''Chronik der Grafen von Zimmern'') is a family chronicle describing the lineage and history of the noble family of Zimmern, based in Meßkirch, Germany. It was written in a Swabian variety ...

'', which was written by their son-in-law, Count

Froben Christoph of Zimmern Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern (19 February 1519 – 27 November 1566) was the author of the ''Zimmern Chronicle'' and a member of the von Zimmern family of Swabian nobility. This article is based primarily on Beat Rudolf Jenny's biography ...

. In 1561, Wilhelm officially converted the County of Eberstein to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. He had been unofficially promoting the Evangelical faith for some time. He expanded his Neu-Eberstein Castle significantly. A

tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

depicting Wilhelm and his wife, has been preserved in the St. Jakob church in

Gernsbach Gernsbach () is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, east of Baden-Baden in the Black Forest. Twin towns are Baccarat in France and Pergola, Marche in Italy. The town is the histo ...

Marriage and issue

On 6 November 1522, he married Countess Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1507–1572), the eldest daughter of

Philipp III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg Philipp III of Hanau-Lichtenberg (18 October 1482 – 15 May 1538, Bouxwiller ()) was the third Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Childhood and youth Philipp III was the eldest son of Count Philipp II of Hanau-Lichtenberg and his wife Anna of ...

(1482–1538) and Margravine

Sibylle of Baden Sibylle of Baden (26 April 1485 – 10 July 1518 in Willstätt) was a Margravine of Baden by birth and by marriage, Countess of Hanau-Lichtenberg. She was a daughter of Margrave Christoph I of Baden and his wife, Countess Ottilie von Katzen ...

(1485–1518). They had the following children: # Philipp I (1523 – 11 September 1589 in Remlingen), member of the Imperial Council, Supreme Captain and Reeve in Upper

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

, married to Johanna of Bailleul, Dame of Douxlieu (d. 12 April 1565). In 1577, Philipp was put under guardianship because of mental problems. # Anna (1524–1546) # Elisabeth (1526–1555) # Felicity (1527–1565),

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of Gerresheim Abbey # Kunigunde (1528 – 13 July 1575), married to Count

(1519–1566) # Wilhelm (1529 – 3 June 1561), a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

in the

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', ), also known as Strasbourg Minster (church), Minster (), is a Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of ...

(where he later also served as choirmaster and dean) and in

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (, , officially , English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia belonging to the Catholic Church. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archd ...

# Sibylla (1531–1589), married to Count

Markus Fugger Markus Fugger (born Marx Fugger; 14 February 1529 – 18 June 1597) was a German politician and businessman of the Fugger family. He was the eldest son of Anton Fugger. He achieved several high offices - chamberlain to Archduke Ernest of Austria, ...

(1529 – 18 April 1597)Lötzsch, p. 7 ff # Bruno (b. 1532) # Otto (1533 – 4 December 1576, drowned in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

), he was initially a canon in Strasbourg and later returned to the lay state and became an imperial councilor and later colonel. He was killed while trying to stop the

Spanish Fury The Spanish Fury (or the Spanish Terror) was a number of violent sackings of cities (lootings) in the Low Countries or Benelux, mostly by Spanish Habsburg armies, that happened in the years 1572–1579 during the Dutch Revolt. In some cases, the ...

in Antwerp. # Anna (1536–1537)

References

* Klaus Lötzsch: ''Historische Beziehungen der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg nach Schwaben im 16. Jahrhundert. Dynastische Verbindung zum Hause Fugger – Graf Philipp IV. auf dem Reichstag zu Augsburg 1566'', in: ''Babenhäuser Mosaik'', in the series ''Babenhausen einst und jetzt'', vol. 20, Babenhausen, 1990. p. 7–19 * Detlev Schwennicke: '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', new series, vol. 12, 1992, table 29 * Reinhard Suchier: ''Genealogie des Hanauer Grafenhauses'', in: ''Festschrift des Hanauer Geschichtsvereins zu seiner fünfzigjährigen Jubelfeier am 27. August 1894'', Hanau, 1894

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm 04 Eberstein Württembergian noble families People from Gernsbach Counts of the Holy Roman Empire 1497 births 1562 deaths 16th-century German judges

Marriage and issue

See also

References

Footnotes