Wolrad I, Count of Waldeck


Count Wolrad I of Waldeck was a son of Count Henry VII of Waldeck and his wife Margaret of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein. He was named after his maternal grandfather, and was to first Wolrad in the House of Waldeck. He succeeded his father as the reigning Count of Waldeck-Waldeck in 1442 – whether this was before or after his father's death is still unclear. The House Waldeck had been split since 1397 into the senior Waldeck-Landau line and the junior Waldeck-Waldeck line.

Life

Before he took office in Waldeck, Wolrad was appointed by Archbishop Conrad III of Mainz as magistrate and bailiff of the towns and castles of Amöneburg, Battenberg, Neustadt, Rosenthal, Hausen in Knüllwald, Fritzlar, Jesberg, Hofgeismar, Naumburg, Wetter and Rhoden near Diemelstadt, plus the associated villages and bailiwicks, in Electoral Mainz. In 1438, Count John II of Ziegenhain succeeded him on this post. John II was in turn succeeded in 1439 by Landgrave Louis I of Hesse.
Wolrad died in 1475 and was succeeded by his son Philip I. When Philip I died later that year, his younger brother Philip II became regent for Philip I's minor son Henry VIII. In 1486, Henry VIII and Philip II decided to split the county: Henry VIII received Waldeck-Wildungen, the southern part, and Philip II received the northern part, Waldeck-Eisenberg.

Marriage and issue

In March 1440 Wolrad married Barbara of Wertheim, a daughter of Count Michael I of Wertheim. Wolrad and Barbara joined the Kalands Brethren in Korbach.
They had three children: