Imperial ban
The actual town of Hirschhorn southwest of Ersheim on the right bank of the Neckar derives its name from its founders, the Lords of Hirschhorn, whose coat of arms shows a stag's antler. The first Lord of Hirschhorn was probably a son of a knight of Steinach. Hirschhorn Castle ("Burg Hirschhorn") was built about 1250/60 on land given as a fief by Lorsch Abbey, which since 1232 was in the possession of the Archbishop of Mainz. Engelhard I (1329–61) increased his influence and his dominions considerably through Imperial fiefdoms and land mortgaged to him in return for loans. His son, Engelhard II, waged various feuds and was placed under the Imperial ban; Engelhard II's sons, however, managed to enlarge the family's estates again.