Frederick Erdmann of Anhalt-Pless ( Köthen, 27 October 1731 – Pless, 12 December 1797) was a German

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

from the

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. The first creation lasted until 1562 ...

branch of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss ...

, and the first

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines. Variants Rulers have long ...

of the Principality of Anhalt-Pless.

Life

As the youngest surviving son of

Augustus Louis, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Augustus Louis of Anhalt-Köthen (9 June 1697 in Köthen – 6 August 1755 in Köthen), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. He was the third (second surviving) son of Emmanuel Lebr ...

, by his second wife, Christine Johanna Emilie, daughter of Count Erdmann II of Promnitz-Pless, Frederick Erdmann's prospects of inheriting or ruling jointly over Köthen were dim at birth. His situation changed in 1765, after the death of his infant cousin Count William of Promnitz,

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

of Pless, left his uncle Johann Erdmann, Count of Promnitz-Pless, without any

heirs male In inheritance, a hereditary successor is a person who inherits an indivisible title or office after the death of the previous title holder. The hereditary line of succession may be limited to heirs of the body, or may pass also to collateral l ...

; the child's uncle then decided to give Frederick Erdmann the county as an anticipated inheritance. The lordships of Jannowitz, Peterswaldau and Kreppelhof, however, Johann Erdmann gave to his great-nephew

Christian Frederick of Stolberg-Wernigerode Count Christian Frederick of Stolberg-Wernigerode (german: Christian Friedrich (Graf) zu Stolberg-Wernigerode; 8 January 1746, Wernigerode Castle – 26 May 1824, Peterwaldau) was the only son of Count Henry Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode, w ...

(nephew and, later, brother-in-law of Frederick Erdmann). After receiving this inheritance, Frederick Erdmann moved to Pless and assumed the title "Prince of Anhalt-Pless" (sometimes "of Anhalt-''Köthen''-Pless").

Marriage and issue

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

on 13 June 1766, Frederick Erdmann was married to his niece, Countess Louise Ferdinande zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (

, 30 September 1744 – Pless, 3 February 1784), daughter of Count Heinrich Ernst zu Stolberg-Wernigerode and his wife, Princess Christiane Anna Agnes of

, Frederick Erdmann's older sister. They had nine children: #Emmanuel Ernest Erdmann, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Pless (Schloss Pless, 9 January 1768 – Schloss Pless, 4 June 1808). Mentally retarded, he was excluded from the succession. # Frederick Ferdinand, Prince of Anhalt-Pless and from 1818 Duke of Anhalt-Köthen (Pless, 25 June 1769 – Köthen, 23 August 1830). #Anna Emilie (Pless, 20 May 1770 –

Fürstenstein Fürstenstein is a municipality in the district of Passau in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

, 1 February 1830), married on 21 May 1791 Hans Henry VI,

Imperial Count Imperial Count (german: Reichsgraf) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. In the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly ( immediately) from the emperor, rather than from ...

of Hochberg and

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

(near Waldenburg in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( pl, Dolny Śląsk; cz, Dolní Slezsko; german: Niederschlesien; szl, Dolny Ślōnsk; hsb, Delnja Šleska; dsb, Dolna Šlazyńska; Silesian German: ''Niederschläsing''; la, Silesia Inferior) is the northwestern part of the ...

). She was the only one of Frederick Erdmann's six surviving children to have children, and her descendants eventually inherited Pless. #Benedikte (Büdingen, 14 July 1771 – Büdingen, 4 February 1773). #Christiane (Pless, 8 February 1774 – Pless, 1 August 1783). #George (Pless, 29 May 1776 – Pless, 29 July 1777). #

Henry, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen Henry of Anhalt-Köthen (30 July 1778, Pszczyna Castle, Schloss Pszczyna, Pless23 November 1847, Köthen) was a German prince of the House of Ascania, ruler of the non-sovereign principality of Duchy of Pless, Anhalt-Pless and the last ruler of th ...

(Schloss Pless, 30 July 1778 – Köthen, 23 November 1847). #Christian Frederick (Schloss Pless, 14 November 1780 – Kulm (killed in action), 30 August 1813). #

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

(Pless, 16 July 1783 – Pless, 5 November 1841).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick Erdmann, Prince of Anhalt-Pless 1731 births 1797 deaths 18th-century German people House of Ascania People from Köthen (Anhalt) Princes of Anhalt-Köthen Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)