Philipp Erwein von Schönborn

Philipp Erwein, Freiherr von Schönborn zu Freienfels-Eschbach (1607 – 4 November 1668), was a German nobleman who is considered the founder of the economic success of the Counts of Schönborn.

Early life

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Philipp Erwein was born in Eschbach, Südliche Weinstraße, in 1607.[1] He was a son of Maria Barbara von der Leyen and Georg von Schönborn (d. 1613), who served as Bailiff (Viscount) of the Protestant County of Wied-Runkel in 1605. The family lived in a manor house at Laubuseschbach (present-day Hesse).[2] Among his siblings were elder brother, Johann Philipp von Schönborn, a mediator during the Peace of Westphalia negotiations (that ended the Thirty Years' War) which led to his election as the Archbishop of Mainz,[3] and sister, Agatha Maria von Schönborn, wife of Georg Anton Waldbott von Bassenheim.[4]

The Schönborn family had knightly rank and was first mentioned in 1275. However, by the time Philipp Erwein and his brother Johann Philipp grew up, most branches of the family had extinguished.[5] In 1640, the brothers were bequeathed a sizeable fortune by their cousin, Friedrich Georg von Schönborn, a money lender to the Archbishop of Mainz and "Senior of the diocese of Mainz".[6]

Career

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Schönborn Castle in Heusenstamm

His brother, Johann Philipp, appointed him as the Electorate of Mainz's chief magistrate at Steinheim, as the Hereditary Cupbearer of the Archbishopric of Mainz and as the Hereditary Cupbearer of the Bishopric of Würzburg. Emperor Leopold I granted him, and all his descendants, the title of noble standard-bearer (German: Bannerherr) and made him a Freiherr (Baron) of the Empire. At the same time, he was granted the great palatine title and extensive privileges. He also bore the titles of Imperial Court Councillor and Privy Councillor of the Electorate of Mainz.[1]

In 1650, he acquired the town of Gaibach, including Gaibach Castle and the right of patronage over the local parish church. In 1657, he was recorded as the owner of the House of Stone (German: Haus zum Stein), the oldest preserved and inhabited building in Mainz.[7]

He was Burgrave of Frauenstein Castle until 1662. On 30 August 1661, Philipp Erwein received the feudal charter for the Court of Blood Justice in Heusenstamm from Emperor Leopold. Between 1663 and 1668, he built Heusenstamm Castle in front of the moated castle of the former Lords of Heusenstamm. Through inheritance, purchase and fiefdom, he also acquired land and property on both sides of the Rhine, on the Main, in the Taunus and the Wetterau.[7]

Personal life

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In 1635, he was married to Baroness Maria Ursula von Greiffenclau-Vollraths [de] (d. 1682), a daughter of Baron Heinrich von Greiffenclau-Volrads and Anna Maria von und zu Eltz. Together, they were the parents of twelve children, including:[6]

Philipp Erwein died in Geisenheim on 4 November 1668.[1] His tomb in the parish church of Geisenheim was reportedly created by Matthias Rauchmiller.[7] He was succeeded by his son, Johann Erwein, who was only 14 years old at the time of his death. When Johann Erwein died in 1705, he was succeeded by his elder brother, Melchior Friedrich.[10]

Descendants

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Through his son Melchior Friedrich, he was a grandfather of seven grandsons, among whom were "four reigning Bishops, including one who became Vice-Chancellor of the Empire, and one who was a Cardinal, an Imperial general, a Count of Wiesentheid, and a pluralist who held prebends in four cathedral chapters."[17] They were: Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn, the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg;[18] Friedrich Karl von Schönborn-Buchheim, the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg and Prince-Bishop of Bamberg who served as Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire under Joseph I;[19] Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn-Buchheim, the Prince-Bishop of Speyer and Bishop of Konstanz;[20] Rudolf Franz Erwein von Schönborn, a diplomat and composer;[21] and Franz Georg von Schönborn, the Elector and Archbishop of Trier who was also Prince-Bishop of Worms and Prince-Provost of Ellwangen.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Philipp Erwein von Schönborn". sammlung.staedelmuseum.de. Staedel Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  2. ^ Franck Lafage, Les comtes Schönborn, 1642–1756, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2008, vol. 1, p. 27.
  3. ^ "Portrait of Johann Philipp Schönborn, Elector of Mainz (1605-1673)". www.mfab.hu. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  4. ^ Deutsche Adelsproben aus dem Deutschen Ordens-Central-Archive: 2 (in German). 1868. pp. 468–469. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  5. ^ Brink, Sonja (1989). Die Grafen von Schönborn: Kirchenfürsten, Sammler, Mäzene : Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg, 18. Februar bis 23. April 1989 (in German). Germanisches Nationalmuseum. p. 53. ISBN 978-3-926982-08-7. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e Thompson, R. H. (14 November 2014). Lothar Franz von Schönborn and the Diplomacy of the Electorate of Mainz: From the Treaty of Ryswick to the Outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession. Springer. pp. xiii, 2–5. ISBN 978-94-010-2389-4. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Schönborn, Philipp Erwein von / 1607-1668". rppd.lobid.org. Rheinland-Pfälzische Personendatenbank. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b Ahnen-Tafeln (in German). Sauerländer. 1846. pp. 11, 90. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  9. ^ Schröcker, Alfred (1981). Die Patronage des Lothar Franz von Schönborn (1655-1729): sozialgeschichtliche Studie zum Beziehungsnetz in der Germania sacra (in German). Steiner. p. 66. ISBN 978-3-515-03287-2. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  10. ^ a b Archiv des Historischen Vereins von Unterfranken und Aschaffenburg (in German). 1890. p. 45. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  11. ^ Schönfeld, Ignaz von (1825). Adelsschematismus des österreichischen Kaiserstaates (in German). Schaumburg. p. 225. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  12. ^ Heinrich, Rolf-Torsten (27 November 2014). Erfurter Wappenbuch (in German). BoD – Books on Demand. p. 81. ISBN 978-3-7347-3242-3. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  13. ^ Friedrich I. von Sachsen-Gotha und Altenburg: Tagebücher 1667 bis 1686. Kommentar und Register (in German). Springer-Verlag. 7 January 2017. p. 405. ISBN 978-3-476-02970-6. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  14. ^ Neues genealogisch-schematisches Reichs- und Staats-Handbuch: vor d. Jahr .... 1762 (in German). Varrentrapp. 1762. p. 130. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  15. ^ Neue Residenz Bamberg (1955). Kurfürst Lothar Franz von Schönborn, 1655-1729. pp. 17, 38. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  16. ^ Friedhelm Jürgensmeier (1987), "Lothar Franz von Schönborn", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 15, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 227–228; (full text online)
  17. ^ Abert, Josef Friedrich (1950). Vom Mäzenatentum der Schönborn (in German). Freunde mainfr. Kunst u. Gesch. p. 32. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Biografie Johann Philipp Franz Graf von Schönborn (German)". Bayerische Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  19. ^ "Biografie Friedrich Carl, Graf von Schönborn (German)". Bayerische Nationalbibliothek. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  20. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Schönborn" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  21. ^ "Schönborn, Rudolf Franz Erwein Graf - Deutsche Biographie". www.deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Deutsche Biographie. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  22. ^ Schmid, Wolfgang. "Franz Georg von Schönborn". Internetportal Rheinische Geschichte (in German). Retrieved 13 February 2024.