Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg
Encyclopedia
Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg, the Older (b. ca. 1315, d. 30 December 1398), reigned over the County of Sponheim
for 67 years. He also received many epithets such as "the Noble" and, because of his declining vision, "the Blind".
. He had two brothers, Heinrich and Gottfried. In 1331 he married Mechthild of the Palatinate, a niece of Ludwig der Bayer. During his reign, several important events occurred, such as the construction of the Heilig-Geist-Hospital in Enkirch
and a war with the Archbishop of Trier, Boemund II of Saarbrücken, which caused high death tolls on both sides. Johann III of Sponheim had, along with his mother, disputes with the Trier church. In 1338 he ceded Sponheim possessions as fiefdom
s to Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg.
Johann waged a feud
against Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg, which was settled through atonement on 13 April 1347. On 4 January 1351 Archbishop Baldwin named Johann the main Amtmann
of the Trier lands on the right bank of the Moselle river. In 1356, Baldwin's successor, Boemund, entered a conflict with Johann and his brother-in-law Rupert I, Elector Palatine, about the toll near Enkirch. This feud was troublesome for many Trier locations because of the associated robbery and fire, but Boemund destroyed Starkenburg
, Kirchberg
, and cornered Sponheim in such a way that Johann had to sue for peace in 1360. The ensuing feud between Johann and his cousin Walram was not of great importance, since it was rapidly settled.
In 9 May 1368, he bestowed the Sponheim Erbmarschall office, which had been vacated by the death of Simon of Waldeck
, and the village of Sevenich associated with this fiefdom upon Lord Friedrich of Ehrenburg. For Winterburg
, Koppenstein, and Birkenfeld
, he received city rights from Kaiser Ludwig in 1330. He built a church in Trarbach, but the year is not known. He sent an abbot from Himmerod Abbey
in Traben, who had to read the Mass in Trarbach daily, and three times a week in the absence of the Count. It is unknown whether he took part on the offensive organized by Count Kuno II of Falkenstein and Count Walram of Sponheim in 1362 against the Englishmen who were ravaging the left bank of the Rhine. Johann III was the builder of the Grevenburg
(Grafenburg) over Trarbach, which was first mentioned on 3 October 1357. He was buried in the Abbey of Himmerod.
and Mechthild of Nassau
. Paternally, she was great-granddaughter of King Rudolf of Habsburg
, and maternally granddaughter of King Adolf of Nassau. Emperor Louis the Bavarian
, who had reigned since 1314, was her uncle. With the extinction of both Sponheim lines in 1437, their two daughters Mechthild and Loretta posthumously inherited the whole County of Sponheim between the Baden
and the Veldenz. Children:
County of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
for 67 years. He also received many epithets such as "the Noble" and, because of his declining vision, "the Blind".
Life and work
Johann III of Sponheim was the first son of Count Heinrich II of Sponheim and Loretta of SalmHouse of Salm
The House of Salm was a noble family originating in the Belgian Ardennes and ruling Salm. It is above all known for the experiences of the branch which came to be located in the Vosges Mountains and over time came to rule over a principality whose capital was Badonviller then Senones.Its notable...
. He had two brothers, Heinrich and Gottfried. In 1331 he married Mechthild of the Palatinate, a niece of Ludwig der Bayer. During his reign, several important events occurred, such as the construction of the Heilig-Geist-Hospital in Enkirch
Enkirch
Enkirch is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
and a war with the Archbishop of Trier, Boemund II of Saarbrücken, which caused high death tolls on both sides. Johann III of Sponheim had, along with his mother, disputes with the Trier church. In 1338 he ceded Sponheim possessions as fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
s to Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg.
Johann waged a feud
Feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight between parties—often groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one party perceives itself to have been attacked, insulted or wronged by another...
against Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg, which was settled through atonement on 13 April 1347. On 4 January 1351 Archbishop Baldwin named Johann the main Amtmann
Amtmann
Amtmann can be :*a feudal, administrative and/or gubernatorial title, such as Bezirksamtmann . Amtmann, ammann and amman were a kind of bailiff in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in Brussels....
of the Trier lands on the right bank of the Moselle river. In 1356, Baldwin's successor, Boemund, entered a conflict with Johann and his brother-in-law Rupert I, Elector Palatine, about the toll near Enkirch. This feud was troublesome for many Trier locations because of the associated robbery and fire, but Boemund destroyed Starkenburg
Starkenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate
Starkenburg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Kirchberg
Kirchberg
-Austria:*Kirchberg am Wagram, a town in Lower Austria*Kirchberg am Wechsel, a town in Lower Austria*Kirchberg an der Raab, a town in Styria*Kirchberg bei Mattighofen, a town in the district of Braunau, Upper Austria...
, and cornered Sponheim in such a way that Johann had to sue for peace in 1360. The ensuing feud between Johann and his cousin Walram was not of great importance, since it was rapidly settled.
In 9 May 1368, he bestowed the Sponheim Erbmarschall office, which had been vacated by the death of Simon of Waldeck
Waldeck Castle
Castle Waldeck within the limits of the village of Dorweiler in Dommershausen in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate was the main seat of the Hunsrück Family Boos.The ruin lies high above the Baybach valley...
, and the village of Sevenich associated with this fiefdom upon Lord Friedrich of Ehrenburg. For Winterburg
Winterburg
Winterburg is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
, Koppenstein, and Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde.-Location:...
, he received city rights from Kaiser Ludwig in 1330. He built a church in Trarbach, but the year is not known. He sent an abbot from Himmerod Abbey
Himmerod Abbey
Himmerod Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in the community of Großlittgen in the Verbandsgemeinde of Manderscheid in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located in the Eifel, in the valley of the Salm.-First foundation:Himmerod Abbey was founded in 1134 by Saint...
in Traben, who had to read the Mass in Trarbach daily, and three times a week in the absence of the Count. It is unknown whether he took part on the offensive organized by Count Kuno II of Falkenstein and Count Walram of Sponheim in 1362 against the Englishmen who were ravaging the left bank of the Rhine. Johann III was the builder of the Grevenburg
Grevenburg
Grevenburg was a castle in Traben-Trarbach in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. The castle was formerly the residence of the Rear County of Sponheim and today is a ruin following its destruction by the French in 1734.- History :...
(Grafenburg) over Trarbach, which was first mentioned on 3 October 1357. He was buried in the Abbey of Himmerod.
Family
In 1331, Johann III married Mechthild of the Palatinate (d. 1375). She was a daughter of the Count Palatine of the Rhine Rudolf IRudolf I, Duke of Bavaria
Rudolf I of Bavaria , a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine...
and Mechthild of Nassau
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled Count of Nassau, then elevated to the princely class as...
. Paternally, she was great-granddaughter of King Rudolf of Habsburg
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
, and maternally granddaughter of King Adolf of Nassau. Emperor Louis the Bavarian
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
, who had reigned since 1314, was her uncle. With the extinction of both Sponheim lines in 1437, their two daughters Mechthild and Loretta posthumously inherited the whole County of Sponheim between the Baden
Margraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden were a historical territory in the Holy Roman Empire. It was already named so in 1112 and existed until the division in 1535 and lived with the reunion back in 1771, until the Electorate of Baden came up in 1803...
and the Veldenz. Children:
- Johann IV, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg (b. bef. 1338; d. 1413/14), m. 1346 Elisabeth of Sponheim-Kreuznach (d. after 1394)
- Mechthild (b. ca. 1345; d. 1407/10), m. 1356 Rudolf VI, Margrave of Baden (d. 1372)
- Loretta (b. ca. 1347; d. after 1364), m. ca. 1374 Heinrich III, Count of Veldenz (d. 1389)
Literature
/ Günther, Wilhelm Arnold. Codex diplomaticus rheno-mosellanus: Urkunden-Sammlung zur Geschichte der Rhein- und Mosellande, der Nahe- und Ahrgegend, und des Hundsrückens, des Meinfeldes und der Eifel. H. J. Hölscher, Koblenz 1824. (digitalized) Damitz, Karl von. Die Mosel mit ihren Ufern und Umgebungen von Koblenz aufwärts bis Trier: in [30] Stahlstichen [nebst Karte des Mosellaufs] : mit dem begleitenden Texte nebst einigen Episoden aus der modernen Welt. Schumacher, Cöln 1838. (digitalized) Dotzauer, Winfried. Geschichte des Nahe-Hunsrück-Raumes von den Anfängen bis zur Französischen Revolution. Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2001. (digitalized) Immich-Spier, Hans. Anchiriacum - Enkirch 733 - 1983. Herausgegeben von der Gemeinde Enkirch, Enkirch 1983. Dr. Upmann. Beiträge zur Geschichte des Fürstenthums Birkenfeld. Jahresbericht der Gesellschaft für nützliche Forschungen zu Trier über die Jahre 1861 und 1862, herausgegeben von dem Secretair Schneemann, Trier 1864. (digitalized)External links
History of the construction of the Heilig-Geist-Hospital at the Kulturdatenbank Region Trier Düring, Reinhard. Zollturm an der Mosel (www.zollturm.de)- Family tree of the Counts of Sponheim from Gottfried III. at genealogy.euweb.cz Table of contents of Hermann, Christofer, Wohntürme des späten Mittelalters auf Burgen im Rhein-Mosel-Gebiet, Verlag Marie Leidorf