Eleonore Charlotte of Saxe-Lauenburg-Franzhagen (german: Eleonore Charlotte von Sachsen-Lauenburg; born: 8 August 1646 in Marienfließ in Pomerania; died: 26 January 1709 in

Franzhagen Castle The Franzhagen Castle - also known as ''Franzgarten'' or ''Franzhof'' was a castle near the present-day Schulendorf in southern Schleswig-Holstein. Before its destruction in 1716 it was owned by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. The c ...

, Schulendorf) was a duchess of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

by birth and, by marriage, Duchess of

Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen The Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen line was a short-lived name of the main line of the ducal house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, after its bankruptcy in 1667. The name is derived from the Franzhagen Castle in Schulendorf in the du ...

, whose line and territorial legacy she co-founded.

Life

Eleanor Charlotte was the younger of two daughters of Duke Francis Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg (1604–1658), who held Franzhagen as an

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 ...

, from his marriage to Marie Juliane (1612–1665), daughter of

John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen Count John VII ‘the Middle’ of Nassau-Siegen (7 June 1561 – 27 September 1623), german: Johann VII. ‘der Mittlere’ Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: ''Graf zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu ...

. She married on 1 November 1676 Duke Christian Adolph of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (1641–1702). After the death of her older sister Erdmuthe Sophie in 1689, Eleonore Charlotte became the heiress of Franzhagen with the corresponding Castle. In 1667 Christian Adolph and his hereditary estates went bankrupt, and King Frederick III of Denmark as the liege lord retracted the

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

. Eleanor Charlotte traveled to Copenhagen, and negotiated personally but unsuccessfully with the king for the return of the territories. Her spouse received an annual stipend, which helped the couple to fund a princely lifestyle. After the death of her cousin Julius Francis, the last Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, Eleanor Charlotte - like his daughters Anna Maria Franziska and

Sibylle Sibylle is a given name. It may refer to: *Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1542–1580), eldest surviving daughter of Count Philipp IV and Countess Eleonore of Fürstenberg *Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (1586–1659), Electress of Saxony ...

- unsuccessfully argued that she should inherit. After George William, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Prince of Celle, had successfully conquered and annexed Saxe-Lauenburg proper, Eleonore Charlotte continued to pursue her succession in the Saxe-Lauenburgian exclave of the

Land of Hadeln Land Hadeln is a historic landscape and former administrative district in Northern Germany with its seat in Otterndorf on the Lower Elbe, the lower reaches of the River Elbe, in the Elbe-Weser Triangle between the estuaries of the Elbe and Wes ...

, which, however, came under imperial stewardship. However, under Salic law, women were not allowed to inherit.W. Prisac: ''Geschichte des deutschen Reichs u. des deutschen Volks von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart'', Manz, Regensburg, 1857, p. 672 The couple moved to Franzhagen Castle in the Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg, which Eleonore Charlotte had inherited, thereby founding the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen line. After the death of her husband, Eleanor Charlotte kept the castle as

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

, because both her sons had married

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

Descendants

From her marriage, Eleanor Charlotte had the following children: * Christian Leopold (1678–1707), Duke of

: married

Anna Sophia Segelke (born: 1684); children not allowed to inherit Franzhagen * Unnamed child (1679–1679) *

Louis Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen Louis Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Franzhagen (4 June 1684 – 11 October 1707) was a German nobleman and ruler from the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg, cadet line of the House of Oldenburg. Early life He was the sec ...

(1684–1708) : married

in 1705 Anna Barbara Dorothea

von Winterfeld The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de Go ...

(1670-1739), daughter of Barthold Dietrich

and Sophie Margarete von Warnstedt. Although she belonged to lower nobility, their marriage was recognized as equal and their children thus had succession rights and were able to inherit the Duchy. :: * Christian II Adolph (1708-1709) was dynasticized, allowing him to become a Duke after the death of his father and able to inherit Franzhagen line. * John Francis (1685–1687)

References and sources

* Verein für Mecklenburgische Geschichte und Alterthumskunde, Schwerin: ''Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher'', vol. 31–32, 1866 * Johann Samuel Ersch: ''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste in alphabetischer Folge'', vol 48, J. f. Gleditsch, 1848, p. 129 ff
Digitized

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleonore Charlotte of Saxe-Lauenburg-Franzhagen House of Ascania 1646 births 1709 deaths German duchesses 17th-century German people 18th-century German people Duchesses of Saxe-Lauenburg