
On August 8, 1341, the scandal erupted: people got into a fierce argument and resorted to dagger and sword. In light of the dead and injured, Balduin of Trier called for an immediate peace among the co-heirs, but it wasn't until October 19, 1342, that this was signed and sealed by 24 Schönburg knights—two of whom, including the “Randecker,” did not survive the conflict. On May 10, 1348, Diedrich von Milwalt had to atone for his actions as a member of a brawling noble family based in Wesel: for the manslaughter of Anton von Schönburg and ecclesiastical offenses. The matter was settled with five years of voluntary service to the archbishop. Additionally, there was a letter of atonement from the year 1349 concerning the killing of knight Heinrich von Schönburg and the provost of St. Martin, Otto von Schönburg. It wasn’t until 1386—after several revisions of contracts—that the disputes seemed to have come to an end. Far from it!
Variety of coats of arms: Much was led in the shield -
Just before the end of the 14th century, among the Schönburgs with red shields in silver, Friedrich, known as the old knight, and the lords with six golden shields in the red coat, Humbracht from the Argenthal lineage set the tone. The oldest line, the Lamprecht line (descendants of Otto von Schönburg, 1159-1166 ministerialis regis) with six silver shields on a red background dominated the scene with 16 knights, while among the lords with the scepter wheel, Friedrich the Young (1391-97 knight) and his son Eberhard held sway.
Johann the Young played a dominant role among the Schönburgs with a red central shield (without adornment) in gold. It is also worth mentioning the coat of arms with a black central shield in silver, which Merbodo I. (1229-56) and his descendants carried. Occasional cross-connections among the Schönburgs through marriage proved to be tactically wise. They prevented worse family feuds.
The Schönburgs with the silver shields and those with the black central shield were connected through Else (1345-72) and Johann (1342-97). Previously, Lamprecht (1316 knight, 1325 castle man at Schmidburg) married the daughter of Johannes von Schönburg with the shield adornment. Eberhard von Schönburg, married to a beautiful young lady from the house of Fleckenstein and later to Elisabeth von Cronberg, might have been better off with a Falkenstein instead, as this house had just taken over the archbishopric.
- Drawings and text: Jochen von Osterroth
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