Anne of Veldenz ( – 18 November 1439 in

Wachenheim Wachenheim an der Weinstraße (formerly called ''Wachenheim im Speyergau'') is a small town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, roughly 1 km south of Bad Dürkheim and 20 km west of Ludwigshafen. It is known ...

) was a Countess ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' of

Veldenz Veldenz is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the former main seat of the County of Veldenz, ...

. She was a member of the

Hohengeroldseck Hohengeroldseck was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was founded by the House of Geroldseck, a German noble family which arrived in the Ortenau region of Swabia reputedly in 948, though the first mention of the family is documented in the 1080 ...

family, the second family to rule Veldenz.

Life

Anna was the heiress of

Frederick III, Count of Veldenz Frederick III, Count of Veldenz (died 1444) was the last from the Hohengeroldseck family to rule the county - that male line died out with him, and the county passed to his son-in-law Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken, widower of Fre ...

, the last from the

family to rule the county, and his wife Margaret of Nassau-Saarbrücken. In 1409, she married to

Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken Stephen of Simmern-Zweibrücken (german: link=no, Stefan Pfalzgraf von Simmern-Zweibrücken) (23 June 1385 – 14 February 1459, Simmern) was Count Palatine of Simmern and Zweibrücken from 1410 until his death in 1459.Ludwig Molitor: Vollständi ...

, thereby bringing the County of Veldenz into the possession of the Dukes of Palatinate-Zweibrücken. She also brought a 50% share in the County of Sponheim into the marriage. The Counts of Veldenz had acquired this share in 1425, as had been predicted by Count John V of Sponheim-Starkenburg in the 1425 Treaty of Sponheim. Anna's eldest son

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

would inherit her share in the County of Sponheim, her son

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ...

would inherit the County of Veldenz proper. In the 19th century, a descendant of Anna became King of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, which is why the Veldenz lion is now part of the Bavarian coat of arms.

Issue

From her marriage with Stephen, Anna had the following children: # Anne (1413 – 12 March 1455) # Margaret (1416 – 23 November 1426) #

(24 April 1417 – 29 November 1480) # Rupert (1420 – 17 October 1478) #

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

(1421 – 4 September 1485) #

(1424 – 19 July 1489) #

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

(1429–1475)

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

German countesses

1390 births 1439 deaths 14th-century German nobility 14th-century German women 15th-century German nobility 15th-century German women {{Germany-countess-stub