House of Waldburg

The House of Waldburg is a princely family of Upper Swabia, founded some time previous to the 12th century; some cadet lineages are comital families.

Eberhard von Tanne-Waldburg (? - 1234) was the steward, or seneschal, and adviser of the Staufen dukes of Swabia, and later the adviser of the Emperor Friedrich II. During the anti-Staufen uprising, he and his brother Friedrich von Tanne took opposing sides. Friedrich was killed in 1197 in Montefiascone and Eberhard became the guardian of his nephew, Heinrich, until 1220. Subsequently, he and his nephew administered Swabia during the absence of the emperors. He was entrusted with the imperial regalia that was kept at Waldburg from 1220–1225, hence the name "seneshal," or steward. Eberhard was the founding "father" of the Waldburg lines, and from him the medieval, early modern, and modern lines descend.