Eric was the son of Count
John II and his wife Helen, a daughter of Duke
Eric I of Saxe-Lauenburg. His brother,
John was Bishop of
Paderborn from 1394 to 1399 and Bishop of
Hildesheim from 1399 to 1424. His brother
Otto was Bishop of
Münster from 1392 to 1424, and from 1410 to 1424 also
administrator of
Osnabrück Eric inherited Upper Hoya in 1377. He expanded the county to the south, at the expense of the
Bishopric of Minden. In 1383, he built a castle at
Diepenau. Bishop
Wittekind II of Minden destroyed this castle a short time later. He also destroyed the village of
Uchte and its castle. Eric retaliated by destroying Fischer, a suburb of Minden. He reconquered Diepenau and Uchte and rebuilt the castles. He expanded the county further by purchasing manors. == Marriage and issue ==