Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen
[In many sources she is called Elisabeth 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.] (1488 – 3 June 1559), german: Elisabeth Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: ''Gräfin zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez'', 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: ...
ess 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 ...
, and through marriage
Countess of Wied.
Biography
Elisabeth was born in 1488
[Schutte (1979), p. 42.][Dek (1970), p. 71.][Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 97.] as the eldest daughter and fifth child of
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: ...
John V of Nassau-Siegen and his wife
Landgravine
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), ...
Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg.
Elisabeth married in February 1506
to Count (1485
[The date of birth 1485 is mentioned by Schutte (1979), p. 42, Dek (1970), p. 71, an]
Medieval Lands
However, his mother’s date of death is stated as 12 March 1478 b
an
Stammtafel des mediatisierten Hauses Wied
Which of these two dates is incorrect is unclear. – 18 May 1533
). It was a double wedding, on the same day Elisabeth’s younger sister
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
married to Count
Jobst I of Holstein-Schauenburg-Pinneberg.
[Assman & Menk (1996).] The double wedding of Elisabeth and Mary was held at . A
banquet was also held in the
city hall in
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 ...
at which both
bride
A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed.
When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the '' bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, bri ...
s and
grooms were present. The feast with the city
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
s was paid for by the brides’ father and the
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
donated 16
oxen and 19
pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
s for the feast.
On 16 February 1506, the ʻ''Beilager''ʼ of the two sisters was celebrated 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 ...
with the greatest of festivities. The purchase of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...
for 747
guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' " gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...
s and
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...
fabric for 396 guilders at the
trade fair
A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and ...
in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
for these celebrations and the wedding of their 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 ...
in
Koblenz in May 1506, as well as the unusually high total expenditure of 13,505 guilders in the accounts of 1505/1506, show that these weddings must have been splendid events.
[Becker (1983), p. 55.]
Elisabeth’s husband was the son of Count
Frederick IV and Countess
Agnes of Virneburg.
John succeeded his father together with his brother
William III, who relinquished all his rights to the
County of Wied
The County of Wied () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire located on the river Wied where it meets the Rhine. Wied emerged as a County earlier than many other German states. From 1243–1462, Wied was united with an Isenburgian County as I ...
to John in 1505. The year later John’s brothers, who were
clergymen
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, also renounced their rights to him.
Elisabeth’s mother-in-law was a niece of Countess
Genoveva of Virneburg
''Genoveva'', Op. 81, is an opera in four acts by Robert Schumann in the genre of German Romanticism with a libretto by Robert Reinick and the composer. The only opera Schumann ever wrote, it received its first performance on 25 June 1850 ...
,
who was married to Count
Henry II of Nassau-Siegen, Elisabeth’s great uncle.
[Schutte (1979), p. 41.][Dek (1970), p. 67.][Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92.] Elisabeth’s husband died in 1533 and was succeeded by their son
John IV.
Elisabeth’s brother-in-law
archbishop Herman V of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
tried in vain to bring the
Archbishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
of Cologne to the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
,
[Becker (1983), p. 60.][Lück (1981), p. 44.] but had then been deposed by
papal bull. He then went to Siegen to seek the advice of Elisabeth’s brother Count
William I ‘the Rich’ of Nassau-Siegen, and asked him to put in a good word for him with
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Charles V. With the
Wied Family, the archbishop spent several weeks in Siegen.
Elisabeth died in Dillenburg on 3 June 1559,
where she no doubt was to attend the triple wedding of her nephew
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 ...
and nieces
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
and
Elisabeth.
[Becker (1983), p. 56.]
Issue
From the marriage of Elisabeth and John the following children were born:
# Philip (? – 1535).
# Count
John IV (? – 15 June 1581), succeeded his father as Count of Wied in 1533. He married in February 1543 to Countess (26 March 1525 – after 15 June 1581
).
#
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
(? – 23 December 1568), was elected archbishop Frederick IV of Cologne on 19 November 1562, resigned in 1567.
# (? – 23 May 1572),
Abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...
of .
# (? – 5 August 1571). She married:
## on 29 September 1523 to Count
Bernhard of Bentheim-Steinfurt (? – 1528).
## in 1534 to Count
Arnold of Manderscheid-Blankenheim (14 November 1500 – 6 May 1548).
# Walpurga (? – 3 October 1578), married in 1528 to Count
Louis of Stolberg-Königstein (
Stolberg, 13 January 1505 –
Wertheim, 24 August 1574).
# Agnes (? – Sonnewalde, 24 March 1588). She married:
## in Siegen, 28 August 1539 to Count
Caspar of Mansfeld-Hinterort (? – in Hungary, 26 October 1542).
## in
Dierdorf
Dierdorf is a town in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Westerwald, approx. 20 km northeast of Neuwied, and 20 km north of Koblenz.
Dierdorf is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde
A Verb ...
on 11 July 1545 to Count
Frederick Magnus of Solms-Laubach (1 October 1521 –
Laubach
Laubach is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and ...
, 13 January 1561).
# Genoveva (? – 26 June 1556), married in 1546 to Count (Stolberg, 1 October 1501 –
Allstedt
Allstedt () is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximatively 10 km southeast of Sangerhausen.
History
Allstedt is mentioned as the tithable place ''Altstedi'' in Friesenfeld in the H ...
, 8 March 1552).
# Mary (? – 15 March 1563), married on 1 September 1554 to Christoph Reichserbschenk, Semperfrei und Herr zu Limpurg-Gaildorf (12 July 1541 –
Obersontheim, 3 September 1574).
# Elisabeth (? – 24 July 1542), married in 1522 to Count (1501 – 1560).
Ancestors
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* (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
by Charles Cawley.
In
by Paul Theroff.
In
by Paul Theroff.
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassau-Siegen, Elisabeth
1488 births
1559 deaths
Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
∞, Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen
15th-century German women
16th-century German women