View source for Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg

{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Eberhard I
| image        = 900-101 Eberhard im Bart.jpg
| caption      = Eberhard im Bart, 1492
| succession   = Count of Württemberg
| reign        = 1459 - 21 July 1495
| predecessor  = [[Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg-Urach|Ludwig I]]
| successor    = Himself as Duke
| birth_date   = 11 December 1445
| death_date   = 24 February 1496
| death_place  = Tübingen
| spouse       = [[Barbara Gonzaga (1455–1503)|Barbara Gonzaga]]
| issue        = Barbara
| house        = [[House of Württemberg|Württemberg]]
| father       = [[Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg-Urach|Ludwig I]]
| mother       = [[Mechthild of the Palatinate]]
| succession1  = Duke of Württemberg
| reign1       = 21 July 1495 - 24 February 1496
| predecessor1 = Himself as count
| successor1   = [[Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg|Duke Eberhard II]]
}}

[[Image:Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart, Altes Schloss NIK 1458.JPG|thumb|Monument of Eberhard I in the Altes Schloss in Stuttgart]]
[[File:Andrea Mantegna 055 detail.jpg|thumb|right|Barbara Gonzaga]]
[[Image:Arms of the house of Württemberg (1495-1707).svg|thumb|Coat of arms adopted by Eberhard I in 1495 on the occasion of the elevation of Württemberg to a duchy]]
[[File:Yeshiva_trent.jpg|thumb|Coat of arms of  Eberhard I and his wife Barbara Gonzaga]]
'''Eberhard I of Württemberg''' also known as '''Eberhard im Bart''' (Eberhard the bearded) (11 December 1445{{snd}}24 February 1496) was the first [[Herzog|Duke]] of [[Württemberg]]. After the death of his older brother in 1459 he became the [[Graf|Count]] of Württemberg-Urach as Eberhard V. In 1482 he signed the [[Treaty of Münsingen]] with his cousin [[Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg|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]] and in July 1495 he was elevated to [[Herzog|Duke]] of [[Württemberg]] by Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman 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]].

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

== Early life ==
Born at [[Bad Urach|Urach]], he was the son of count [[Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg-Urach|Ludwig I]] and his wife [[Mechthild of the Palatinate]], born as [[count palatine|countess palatine]] by the [[Rhine]].

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 (Tübingen)|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.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Eberhard im Bart|volume=8|page=841}}</ref> During this time, a [[German school of fencing|fencing manual]] was created for Eberhard in 1467 by [[Hans Talhoffer]].<ref>Internally dated on [http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/bsb00020451/image_34 folio 16v].</ref> The manuscript is currently held by the [[Bavarian State Library]].<ref name = "wdl394a">''[http://www.wdl.org/en/item/8970 Fechtbuch von 1467 ]''. Manuscript published in Swabia, Germany. Via World Digital Library.</ref>

In 1468, he traveled to [[Jerusalem]] and became a knight of the [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic)|Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]. To commemorate this he chose the palm as his symbol. He visited [[Italy]] and became acquainted with some famous scholars.<ref name="EB1911"/> Returning home, in Urach on 12 April<ref>{{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/gonzaga/gonzaga2.html#BL3 |title= gonzaga/gonzaga2.html#BL3 |publisher= Genealogy.EU}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2012}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=August 2012}} (or 4 July<ref>{{cite web |last=Marek |first=Miroslav |url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/wurttemb/wurtt2.html |title= wurttemb/wurtt2.html |publisher= Genealogy.EU}}{{Self-published source|date=August 2012}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=August 2012}}) 1474, he married a prestigious bride, [[Barbara Gonzaga (1455–1503)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://wwperson.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/cgi-bin/l3/LANG=engl/F=Eberhard@I./N=v.W%C3%BCrttemberg/Q=D:(24/25).2.1496 |title=Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan |access-date=2012-11-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112210255/http://wwperson.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/cgi-bin/l3/LANG%3Dengl/F%3DEberhard%40I./N%3Dv.W%C3%BCrttemberg/Q%3DD%3A%2824/25%29.2.1496 |archive-date=2013-11-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1477, Eberhard, whose motto was ''attempto'' ("I dare"), founded the [[University of Tübingen]]. 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]], 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.<ref>Mertens, Dieter: Eberhard im Bart und der Humanismus</ref> 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 II, Duke of Württemberg|Eberhard VI of Württemberg-Stuttgart]], later the second duke.<ref name="EB1911"/> He moved the capital to [[Stuttgart]]. In the same year, [[Pope Sixtus IV]] awarded him the [[Golden Rose]]. Eberhard, although a lover of peace, was one of the founders of the [[Swabian League]] in 1488, and assisted to release [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]], from his imprisonment in [[Bruges]] in the same year.<ref name="EB1911"/> In 1492 he was awarded the [[Order of the Golden Fleece]], by Maximilian, then [[King of Germany]]. In the same year, the treaty was finally sanctioned by the nobility.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

[[Johannes Nauclerus]], a humanist and historian, served at his court.

==Elevation to Dukedom==
On 21 July 1495, at the [[Diet of Worms (1495)|Diet of Worms]], the [[County of Württemberg]] was elevated to a [[Duchy of Württemberg|Duchy]]. After Maximilian I's councilor, [[Veit von Wolkenstein]], delivered a speech praising the [[House of Württemberg]], Eberhard was dressed as an ''[[Herzog]]'' and bestowed a sword by Maximilian, who confirmed the treaty. [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony]] and the Imperial Marshal, then led Eberhard I to Württemberg's seat in the [[Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)|Reichstag]], between the [[Duke of Jülich]] and the [[Landgrave of Hesse]]. 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.{{sfn|Stollberg-Rilinger|2015|pp=52–53}}

Eberhard died at Tübingen in 1496, and the succession passed to his cousin, who became Duke Eberhard II.<ref name="EB1911"/> He was first buried in the [[collegiate church]] Saint Peter auf dem Einsiedel, and later in the [[St. George's Collegiate Church, Tübingen|collegiate church of Tübingen]].

==Legacy==
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the patriotic [[historiography]] transfigured him. A bust of him was erected in [[Walhalla (memorial)|Walhalla]].
In the Swabian [[anthem]] "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==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Stollberg-Rilinger|first=Barbara|title=The Emperor's Old Clothes: Constitutional History and the Symbolic Language of the Holy Roman Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TXKBwAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=9781782388067}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Ernst, Fritz. ''Eberhard im Bart: Die Politik eines deutschen Landesherrn am Ende des Mittelalters''. Stuttgart, 1933.
* Maurer, Hans-Martin, ed. ''Eberhard und Mechthild: Untersuchungen zu Politik und Kultur im ausgehenden Mittelalter. Untersuchungen zu Politik und Kultur im ausgehenden Mittelalter'' (Lebendige Vergangenheit: Zeugnisse und Erinnerungen. Schriftenreihe des Württembergischen Geschichts- und Altertumsvereins, Band 17). Stuttgart, 1994.
* Mertens, Dieter. ''Eberhard V./I. im Bart.'' In ''Das Haus Württemberg: Ein biographisches Lexikon.'' ed. Sönke Lorenz, Dieter Mertens, & [[Volker Press]]. Stuttgart, 1997. pp.&nbsp;92–95.
* Mertens, Dieter. ''Eberhard im Bart als Stifter der Universität Tübingen''. In Sönke Lorenz, et al. eds. ''Attempto - oder wie stiftet man eine Universität: Die Universitätsgründungen der sogenannten zweiten Gründungswelle im Vergleich'' (Contubernium Band 50). Stuttgart, 1999. pp.&nbsp;157–173.
* Mertens, Dieter: ''Eberhard im Bart und der Humanismus.'' In: Hans-Martin Maurer (ed.), Eberhard und Mechthild. Unterschungen zu Politik und Kultur im ausgehenden Mittelalter. Stuttgart, 1994, pp.&nbsp;35–81.
* Württembergische Landesmuseum Stuttgart, ed. ''Eberhard im Bart, der erste Herzog von Württemberg''. Stuttgart, 1990.
* ''The Diary of Jörg von Ehingen'' / translated and edited by Malcolm Letts, F. S. A., Oxford, 1929

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070312085112/http://www.sfb541.uni-freiburg.de/B5/Eberhard/ Materialien zur zeitgenössischen Wahrnehmung Eberhards]
* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Eberhard im Bart |short=x}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Rulers of Württemberg|House of Württemberg]]|11 December|1445|24 February|1496|}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ludwig II, Count of Württemberg-Urach|Ludwig II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Rulers of Württemberg|Count of Württemberg]]|years=1459–1495}}
{{s-non|reason=Raised to Duchy}}
{{s-new|title}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Württemberg]]|years=1495–1496}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg|Eberhard II]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Dukes of Württemberg}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberhard 01, Duke of Wurttemberg}}
[[Category:1445 births]]
[[Category:1496 deaths]]
[[Category:15th-century dukes of Württemberg]]
[[Category:People from Bad Urach]]
[[Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece]]
[[Category:Medieval Knights of the Holy Sepulchre]]