EB'ERHARD, IM BART (Ger., with the beard), Count, and afterwards first duke of Wurtemberg; 1445-96; the second son of count Ludwig I. He succeeded his elder brother, Ludwig II., at the age of 12, and before he was 14 wrested the government from his uncle Ulrich, who had been appointed his guardian. His tutor was the learned John Nauclerus, but Eberhard profited little by his learning, indulged his passions, and led a dissipated life. In 1468, he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, after which he abandoned his reckless mode of living, and became one of the most popular princes of Germany. He married Barbara, daughter of Lodovico di Gonzaga, whose influence over him contributed largely to the elevation of his character. He began to study, gathering around him men of learning; and at the solicitation of his wife founded in 1477 the university of Tubingen. In 1482, Eberhard, by the treaty of Minzingen, put an end to the evils which had arisen from a division of the county made in 1437 between his father and his uncle Ulrich, as representatives of the two lines of Urach and Stuttgart. By this treaty he secured the future indivisibility of Wt1rtemberg and
the right of primogeniture in his own family; he became at the same time the founder of the representative constitution of Wurtemberg. He made Stuttgart his place of resi dence, and improved the laws and condition of the convents in his country. Though a lover of peace, he knew how to bear the sword when war was necessary; and by his courage and fidelity to his engagements secured the esteem and friendship of the emperors Frederick III. and Maximilian I. In recognition of his services, the emperor at his first diet, held at Worms in 1495, raised Eberhard to the dignity of duke, con firming at the same time all the possessions and prerogatives of his house; but Eber hard did not long enjoy his new dignity. His two children died in infancy, and with his death the line of Urach became extinct.