House of Homberg

The House of Homberg (also spelled Honberg, historically Hochinberc, Hochenberg; also Thierstein, Tierstein) was a noble family of medieval Switzerland; they had the title of count from late 11th to early 16th century. They ruled over much of what is now northwestern Switzerland, including parts of the cantons of Aargau, Berne, Solothurn and Basel-Country.

The Homberg coat of arms as shown in the Zürich armorial (c. 1340)
The Thierstein coat of arms as shown in the Zürich armorial

The first count of Thierstein (alternatively, of Homberg) was Rudolf de Dierstein, mentioned 1082. The two names are taken from two castles in Rudolf's possession, both located near Frick, Aargau. The Thierstein and Homberg lines separated in 1149. The Homberg line was extinct in 1223 with the death of Werner III and their territories were acquired by marriage Hermann IV of the House of Frohburg, whose line is also known as Frohburg-Homberg. Hermann's son Friedrich took the title of count of Homberg and built the castle Neu-Homberg in what is now part of the canton of Basel-Country. One of Friedrich's sons was Wernher von Homberg, one of the minnesingers featured in Codex Manesse.

The ancestral castles of Thierstein and Homberg were both destroyed in the earthquake of 1356, and the Thierstein branch of the family now renamed a castle of theirs near Büsserach (in what is now known as the Thierstein District of the canton of Solothurn) to Neu-Thierstein. In 1330, a branch of the Thierstein family, known as Thierstein-Farnsburg, built Farnsburg castle near Ormalingen. They were given Sisgau as a fief from the bishop of Basel. Count Oswald von Thierstein in 1479 received Hohkönigsburg in the Alsace as fief from emperor Frederick III. The Thierstein family was extinct in 1517, after which Hohkönigsburg fell back to the House of Habsburg.

Counts of Thierstein and Homberg

House of Thierstein
RulerBornReignDeathRuling partConsortNotes
Rudolf I? c. 1020-1048After 1 June 1048[1]County of ThiersteinUnknown
at least one child		First documented count of the family, in Sisgau.
Rudolf II[2]? c. 1048-1103c. 1103[2]County of ThiersteinUnknown
one or two children		Cited also as Advocatus in 1098.[2]
Rudolf III? c. 1103-1114aft. 7 March 1114[3]County of ThiersteinIta of Habsburg
three children		Cited as Count of Thierstein and Homberg. His sons divided his patrimony.
Werner I? c. 1114-1141/54[2]aft. 13 April 1141[4] or after 1154[2]Thierstein-HombergA lady Zollern
four children		Son of Rudolf III, inherited the county of Homberg.
Rudolf IV? c. 1114-1144/7[2]aft. 8 July 1144[5] or c. 1147[2]County of ThiersteinUnknown
at least one child		Son of Rudolf III, inherited the remaining Thierstein.
Rudolf V? c. 1144/7 – c. 1180?before 1180[6]County of ThiersteinBertha of Sogren
four children
Werner II? c. 1141/54-1185aft. 1185[2]Thierstein-HombergUnknown
two children
Rudolf VI? c. 1179?-1238[2] c. 1238[2] County of Thierstein Gepa[2]
three children
Werner III? c. 1185 - 25 May 122325 May 1223[7]Thierstein-HombergUnknown
no children		Last male member of the Homberg branch Through a sister or a daughter, who married Herman IV, Count of Frohburg. The land was inherited by the House of Frohburg.
Rudolf VII? c. 1238-1262[8]aft. 24 August 1262[2]County of ThiersteinSophia[2]
four children
Sigismund I? c. 1262 - 4 May 1326 4 May 1326[9]Thierstein-FarnsburgAgnes of Weissenburg
(d. after 1334)
three children		 Children of Rudolf VII, divided the land.
Rudolf VIII? c. 1262 - 27 August 131827 August 1318[10][11]Thierstein-PfeffingenBeatrix
one child

Elisabeth [Adelheid] of Hohenklingen
(d. 16 January 1316/23)
two children
Ulrich I? 27 August 1318 - c. 1330before 29 June 1330[12]Thierstein-PfeffingenUnknown
two children
Otto I? 4 May 1326 - {{circa|13501350[13]Thierstein-FarnsburgClementina of Usenberg
(d. after 1352)
one child
Walram I? 1330-1345/562 October 1345/56[14]Thierstein-PfeffingenAgnes of Neuchâtel-Arberg
October 1320[15]
two children
Sigismund II? 1347/52 - October 1383October 1383Thierstein-FarnsburgVerena of Neuchâtel-Nidau
(d. after 1384)
four children
Walram IIbefore 1339 1345/56 - 22 May 140322 May 1403Thierstein-PfeffingenAnna of Fürstenberg[16] or Adelheid of Hohenlohe
four children

Gisela Malterer
(morganatic?)
no children
Walram IIIbefore 1375 c. 1375 - 9 July 13869 July 1386
Battle of Sempach		Thierstein-PfeffingenAdelaide of Baden
(d. 19 July 1370 or 31 December 1373)
before 4 April 1369
four children		Possibly co-ruled with his father, as he predeceased him.
Otto IIbefore 1375 1383-14181418Thierstein-FarnsburgUnmarried Sons of Sigismund II, probably ruled jointly. After their deaths with no male descendants, this line became extinct.
Herman I before 1375 1383 - 17 June 1405 17 June 1405 Thierstein-Farnsburg Agnes of Mätsch
(d. 1421)
before 28 April 1393[17]
one child
Sigismund IIIbefore 1375 1383-13881388Thierstein-FarnsburgUnmarried
Bernard I? 22 May 1403 - 13 December 143713 December 1437Thierstein-PfeffingenIta of Toggenburg
(d. before 20 June 1414)
two children

Henriette of Salm-Blâmont
c. 1417
one child
John I ? 22 May 1403 or 13 December 1437 - 14551455Thierstein-PfeffingenUnknown
three children		Co-ruled with or succeeded his brother.
Oswald I before 1339 1455 - March/September 148826 March or 6 September 1488Thierstein-PfeffingenOttilie of Nassau-Dillenburg
before 13 January 1471
two children
Henry before 1339 March/September 1488 - 30 November 1519 30 November 1519 Thierstein-Pfeffingen Margaret of Neufchâtel-Bourgogne
(d. after 5 December 1533)
two children		 Sons of Oswald I, probably ruled jointly.
Oswald IIbefore 1339 March/September 1488 - 27 August 151227 August 1512Thierstein-PfeffingenElisabeth of Löwenstein
(d. after 1510)
two children

See also

References
  1. Trouillat (1852), Tome I, 117, p. 178.
  2. Birmann 1879, p. 133.
  3. Urkundenbuch Zürich, Band I (1888), 259, p. 143.
  4. Trouillat (1852), Tome I, 186, p. 282.
  5. Herrgott (1737), Vol. II, Pars 1, CCXXIII, p. 170.
  6. Neugart (1795), Tome II, DCCCLXXIX, p. 108.
  7. Manuel généalogique Suisse (1908), Tome I, p. 34.
  8. Fontes rerum Bernensium, Band II, 163
  9. Kalendarium Necrologicum Basiliense, p. 146.
  10. Boehmer, J. F. (1868), Fontes Rerum Germanicarum, Band IV (Stuttgart)
  11. Kalendarium Necrologicum Basiliense, p. 147.
  12. Manuel généalogique Suisse (1908), Tome I, p. 135
  13. Trouillat (1858), Tome III, 163, p. 278.
  14. Trouillat (1858), Tome III, 249
  15. Manuel généalogique Suisse (1908), Tome I, p. 138,
  16. Manuel généalogique Suisse (1908), Tome I, p. 139, citing “Sol. W. 1814, 93”.
  17. Thommen, R. (1900), Urkunden zur Schweizer Geschichte aus österreichischen archiven, Vol. 2 (Basel), 309

Bibliography
  • * Birmann, Martin (1879). Die Genealogie der Grafen von Thierstein und Honberg. Basel. pp. 102–136.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Hälg-Steffen, Franziska: Homberg, von in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
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