Anne Of Nassau-Siegen (d. 1514)

Countess Anne of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources she is called Anne of Nassau-Dillenburg. The County of Nassau-Siegen is erroneously called Nassau-Dillenburg in many sources. The county was not named after the small, unimportant city of Dillenburg, which did not even have a church until 1491, but after the, for that time, large city of Siegen, the economic centre of the county and the counts’ main residence. See Lück (1981), ''passim''. It is also evident from the numbering of the reigning counts with the given name John. One John without regal number who ruled the County of Nassau-Dillenburg in the period 1303–1328, and eight counts by the name of John who ruled the County of Nassau-Siegen in the period 1362–1638. (1440 or 1441 – 5 or 8 April 1514), german: Anne Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: ''Gräfin zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez, Frau zu Breda'', was a countess from the House of Nassau-Siegen, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau, and through marriage successively Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Countess of Katzenelnbogen. She acted as regent of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg for her son in the period 1479–1486.

Biography

It is not known where and when Anne was born, some reasons suggest that she was born at the end of 1440 or 1441.Streich.Schutte (1979), p. 41 an
Katzenelnbogen, Anna Gräfin von
state that she was born in 1440 or 1441
Katzenelnbogen, Anna Gräfin von
also states that she was born in Dillenburg. The latter is very unlikely as her parents resided in Breda at that time according to Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 152. She was the eldest daughter of Count John IV of Nassau-Siegen and his wife Lady Mary of Looz-Heinsberg.Schutte (1979), p. 41.Dek (1970), p. 69.Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 94.

Anne married on 28 October 1467 to Duke Otto II ‘the Victorious’ of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1439 – January 1471The date of death 8 or 19 January 1471 in Schutte (1979), p. 41, 8 January 1471 in Dek (1970), p. 69, 19 January 1471 in Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 94, and 17 January 1471 in Spehr (1880), p. 492.), who had succeeded his brother Duke Bernard II in 1464. As her dower she received the . Anne already became a widow in January 1471. Her son Henry succeeded his father. As Henry was still a minor, he was under the custody and regency of his paternal grandfather Duke Frederick II ‘the Pious’, who had been in a monastery since 1457.Spehr (1880), p. 492. Anne had her dower rebuild between 1471 and 1473.

Anne remarried on 24 January 1474 to Count Philip ‘the Elder’ of Katzenelnbogen (1402 – 28 July 1479The date of death 27 or 28 July 1479 in Schutte (1979), p. 41, and 27 June 1479 in Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 94.). Philip had previously married on 24 February 1422 to Countess Anne of Württemberg (d. 16 April 1471). From his first marriage Philip had three children. The eldest son, Philip ‘the Younger’, had married Anne’s first cousin Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen, but died already in 1453. The second son Eberhard died three years later. Finally there was a daughter, Anne, who was married to Landgrave Henry III ‘the Rich’ of Hesse-Marburg.Lück (1981), p. 33.

Anne’s second marriage was arranged by Anne’s parents with the cooperation of the estates of the realm of the County of Katzenelnbogen. If a son had been born from the marriage between the 72 years old Philip and the 32 years old Anne, the later seizure of the County of Katzenelnbogen by the Landgraviate of Hesse, which had its legal basis in the marriage of Philip’s daughter Anne to Henry III of Hesse-Marburg, could have been avoided. This would have been entirely in the interest of the Counts of Nassau. The marriage contract stipulated that Anne should receive an annual income of 1600 guilders in interest and in kind as a dower. Philip assigned Burgschwalbach to his bride as her dower residence, together with the associated lordship and all rights of use; income derived from these lordship rights, for example from court fines and other fees, was not to be deducted from her other income. As a morning gift, Philip obligated himself to allocate her 200 guilders annually, which Anne was allowed to use as she saw fit after his death, for example for the salvation of her soul. In return, Anne was to bring an annual dowry of 400 guilders into the marriage. This dowry consisted of the income from her dower in the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the District of Lüchow, which she leased for a sum of 666 guilders annually. For the first time, a firm will on the part of Anne becomes perceptible: as her father-in-law Duke Frederick ‘the Pious’ and his councillors objected to the lessee she had chosen because they were at feud with him, Anne did not bow to the duke’s wishes, but prevailed with regard to the lease agreement. When she left Celle and the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg at the end of 1473, Anne left her five-year-old son in the care of her father-in-law and sister-in-law Magaret as the only female relative. This was customary and even legally binding for the children of a princely widow from her first marriage. After all, Henry was the sole heir to the duchy. What feelings moved Anne in this is unknown, and how the young duke experienced the departure of his mother, is also unknown.

Soon after her marriage to Philip, Anne became the pawn in her father’s political intrigue. An attempt was made to poison her. A priest accused of multiple murders, Johann von Börnich, confessed that, at the instigation of close confidants of the Landgrave of Hesse, he had given her a goblet of poisoned wine at a service he celebrated in the chapel of Rheinfels Castle in Katzenelnbogen in January 1474, allegedly before the marriage. After she had drunk some of the wine, Anne fell ill; apparently she had been poisoned. All that is certain, however, is that she suffered from a fever and recovered quickly. The attending physician did not find any signs of poisoning. During the interrogation on the rack, Johann von Börnich accused Hans von Dörnberg, the ''Hofmeister'' of the Landgrave of Hesse, in particular. The Landgraviate of Hesse would inherit the County of Katzenelnbogen, and thus would benefit from Philip’s heirless death and an untimely death of Anne. Because Anne’s father instituted criminal proceedings against von Börnich, Hesse’s reputation was dealt a heavy blow as an alleged instigator of murder.

After Philip’s death in 1479, Anne moved to her dower in Burgschwalbach and in the same year to Lüneburg and Celle. As her father-in-law Duke Frederick ‘the Pious’ had died in 1478, Anne took over custody and regency for her son Henry, with the participation of secular and ecclesiastical