CHARACTER AND AIMS

Traditionally, Eberhard Ludwig has been regarded as a somewhat superficial dilettante, who was more concerned with his own enjoyment than the day-to-day running of affairs. In particular, he is supposed to have been heavily influenced by those around him, leading to the rise of a court clique composed of the Grävenitz and Schütz families centred around the duke's mistress, Christiane Wilhelmine von Grävenitz (1686–1744). His policy is said to have lacked firm orientation until about 1708, when this group established its influence and became the determining factor behind his actions. Though his foreign adventures met with no success, his domestic policy is seen as the introduction of absolute rule in Württemberg. His agreement with the estates in 1724, which secured funding for the army, is regarded as the key stage in this process. This view has been put most strongly by Walter Grube, who sees the estates as virtually eclipsed by the time of Eberhard Ludwig's death in 1733. Taken up by Bernd Wunder, this has become something of an orthodoxy in Württemberg historiography and has now found its way into the English-language textbooks.

As will become apparent in the course of this chapter, my interpretation of Eberhard Ludwig differs in a number of respects from the previous assessments. These differences centre on the nature of his aims, policies and level of success. The duke will emerge as far more determined and consistent, but also less successful, than previously thought.