Count Christian of Nassau-Siegen (16 July 1616 – 1/11 April 1644), german: Christian Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: ''Graf zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Beilstein'', was a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

from the

House of Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, founde ...

, a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, tit ...

of the Ottonian Line of the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count ...

. He served as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the Hessian Army and the Imperial Army successively.

Biography

Christian was born at Menk (2004), p. 192.The other sources that mention a place of birth, state Siegen as place of birth. on 16 July 1616 as the sixth son of Count John VII ‘the Middle’ of Nassau-Siegen and his second wife, Duchess

Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg Duchess Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (24 February 1583 – 10/20 April 1658), german: Margarethe Herzogin von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, official titles: ''Erbin zu Norwegen, Herzogin zu Schleswig, Holstein, Stormarn u ...

. The

will and testament A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person ( executor) is to manage the property until its final distributi ...

of Count John VII ‘the Middle’ of 1621 bequeathed John Maurice and his younger brothers from their father’s second marriage the district of Freudenberg, some villages in the Haingericht and a third part of the administration of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semest ...

.Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 251. After his older half-brother John ‘the Younger’ had accepted the homage of the city of Siegen for the entire county of

Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, found ...

on 12 January 1624 and had voluntarily ceded the

sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

over the Hilchenbach district with and some villages belonging to the and

Netphen Netphen () is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the river Sieg, roughly 7 km northeast of Siegen. Geography Location Netphen lies on the Rothaargebirge's southern slope and forms the ...

districts to his younger brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

on 13/23 January 1624, Christian and his brothers, with the exception of the oldest two brothers John Maurice and George Frederick, accepted only modest

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

s. Christian studied in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

in 1631. He attended the Siege of Maastricht in 1632. In 1633 he entered the Hessian service. He was wounded in the fight for Hanau in 1636.Dek (1970), p. 91.Dek (1968), p. 251. In 1642 he entered the

imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

service and became

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

of the

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adop ...

s. He was killed in action near Düren on 1/11 April 1644Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 235. and was buried in the in the in

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German- Dutch holiday road ...

on 4/14 June 1644. At a hitherto unknown time his body was transferred to Siegen to be interred in the there.Menk (1994), p. 125. Siegen in 1617.jpg, Siegen in 1617. From Braun & Hogenberg, ''Civitates orbis terrarum'' Band 6, Cologne, 1617. On the left Siegen Castle. Groepsportret van Willem van Nassau-Siegen, zijn broers en zijn zoon.jpg, Group portrait of Count William of Nassau-Siegen with his son Maurice Frederick and his halfbrothers William Otto and Christian. Evangelische Stadtkirche Dillenburg.jpg, The ''Evangelische Stadtkirche'' in Dillenburg, 2014. Siegen Fuerstengruft Eingang.jpg, The entrance to the ''Fürstengruft'' in Siegen. Photo: Bob Ionescu, 2009.

Marriage

Christian married around 1641 to Anna Barbara von Quadt-Landskron-Rheinbach (from the noble family ).The other sources do not mention the marriage. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 120 mentions that Christian was unmarried. The marriage remained childless.

Ancestors

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * (1994). "Die nassauischen Begräbnisstätten in der ev. Stadtkirche zu Dillenburg". In: (Hg.), ''650 Jahre Stadt Dillenburg. Ein Text- und Bildband zum Stadtrechtsjubiläum der Oranierstadt'' (in German). Dillenburg: Verlag E. Weidenbach GmbH + Co. KG. p. 119–125. * (2004). "Die Fürstengruft zu Siegen und die darin von 1669 bis 1781 erfolgten Beisetzungen". In: u.a. (Redaktion), ''Siegener Beiträge. Jahrbuch für regionale Geschichte'' (in German). Vol. 9. Siegen: Geschichtswerkstatt Siegen – Arbeitskreis für Regionalgeschichte e.V. p. 183–202. * (1994). "Beisetzungen in den 15 Grabstellen der Dillenburger Nassauergruft". In: (Hg.), ''650 Jahre Stadt Dillenburg. Ein Text- und Bildband zum Stadtrechtsjubiläum der Oranierstadt'' (in German). Dillenburg: Verlag E. Weidenbach GmbH + Co. KG. p. 115–118. * (1979). "Genealogische gegevens". In: (red.), ''Nassau en Oranje in de Nederlandse geschiedenis'' (in Dutch). Alphen aan den Rijn: A.W. Sijthoff. p. 40–44, 224–228. . * * * (1882). ''Het vorstenhuis Oranje-Nassau. Van de vroegste tijden tot heden'' (in Dutch). Leiden: A.W. Sijthoff/Utrecht: J.L. Beijers.

External links

Nassau
In

compiled by Charles Cawley.

In

by Paul Theroff. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nassau-Siegen, Christian 1616 births 1644 deaths German Calvinist and Reformed Christians German military officers German people of the Thirty Years' War Christian of Nassau-Siegen Military personnel of the Thirty Years' War Military personnel from Siegen 17th-century German people