John III of Sponheim

Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg, the Older (b. ca. 1315 – d. 30 December 1398), reigned over the County of Sponheim for 67 years. He also received many epithets such as "the Noble" and, because of his declining vision, "the Blind".

Johann III of Sponheim was the first son of Count Heinrich II of Sponheim and Loretta of Salm. He had two brothers, Heinrich and Gottfried. In 1331 he married Mechthild of the Electorate of the Palatinate, a niece of Ludwig der Bayer. During his reign, several important events occurred, such as the construction of the Heilig-Geist-Hospital in Enkirch and a war with the Archbishop of Trier, Boemund II of Saarbrücken, which caused high death tolls on both sides. Johann III of Sponheim had, along with his mother, disputes with the Trier church. In 1338 he ceded Sponheim possessions as fiefdoms to Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg.

Johann waged a feud against Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg, which was settled through atonement on 13 April 1347. On 4 January 1351 Archbishop Baldwin named Johann the chief Amtmann of the Trier lands on the right bank of the Moselle river. In 1356, Baldwin's successor, Boemund, entered a conflict with Johann and his brother-in-law Rupert I, Elector Palatine, about the toll near Enkirch. This feud was troublesome for many Trier locations because of the associated robbery and fire, but Boemund destroyed Starkenburg, Kirchberg, and cornered Sponheim in such a way that Johann had to sue for peace in 1360. The ensuing feud between Johann and his cousin Walram was not of great importance, since it was rapidly settled.

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