Henry VIII (1465–1513) was a count of
Waldeck and the founder of the older line of Waldeck-Wildungen. He was also temporarily governor of the
County of Vianden, a possession 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 ...
.
Life
He was the son of
Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to:
* Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC)
* Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC)
* Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor
* Philip I of France (1052–1108)
* Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) (1 ...
of Waldeck and his wife
Joanne of Nassau-Siegen
Countess Joanne of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources she is called Joanne 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 Dillenb ...
, a daughter of
John IV of Nassau-Siegen. After the early death of his parents, his uncle
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
acted as his guardian.
In 1486, Henry VIII came of age. He and his former guardian Philip II decided to divide the family possessions. They would continue to share the City of
Waldeck and
Waldeck Castle. Henry VIII received the southern part, known as Waldeck-Wildungen and Philip II received the northern part, Waldeck-Eisenberg. In 1487, they jointly founded a
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
monastery at
Korbach
Korbach (pronunciation: ˈkoːɐˌbax), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located on the German Tim ...
.
In 1492, Henry married Anastasia, the heiress of William of Runkel (d. 1489). Via this marriage, 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 ...
and part of
Isenburg came into his possession. He began calling himself ''Count of Waldeck and Lord of Isenburg''. After his wife died in 1503, he sold the possessions to Count John III of Wied, a cousin of his wife. He had two sons with Anastasia,
Philip IV and William.
In 1493, Count
Engelbert II of Nassau-Dillenburg
Engelbert II of Nassau, ''Engelbrecht'' in Dutch (17 May 1451 – 31 May 1504), was count of Nassau and Vianden and lord of Breda, Lek, Diest, Roosendaal, Nispen and Wouw. He was a soldier and courtier, for some time leader of the Privy co ...
, an uncle from his mother's side, appointed him as governor of the
County of Vianden, an area that is now part of
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
.
When
Otto IV
Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218.
Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 119 ...
died in 1495, the Waldeck-Landau line died out and its land reverted to Waldeck. Henry VIII and Philip II disputed the Waldeck-Landau inheritance from 1496. Despite the
Eternal Landfrieden, which Emperor
Maximilian I had declared in 1495, this dispute was initially fought at gunpoint. It was not until 1498 that the two counts agreed to stop fighting and present their case to the newly created
Reichskammergericht
The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...
. In 1507, they settled out of court. The towns of Korbach,
Niederwildungen, Sachsenhausen, Sachsenberg and Freienhagen remained shared property, as did the castle, city and districts of Waldeck and Rhoden and the Lordship of Itter. Henry received the city, castle and district of
Altwildungen. In all, Henry owned about a third of the family possessions.
in 1504, Henry VIII and Philip II with their armies joined Landgrave
William II of Hesse in a campaign to implement the
imperial ban
The imperial ban (german: Reichsacht) was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or t ...
against the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
. In 1505, they were present at the Diet of Cologne, as part of the Landgrave's entourage. In 1509 some noblemen attacked Henry and his asked the Landgrave in vain for support. In 1512, the Counts of Waldeck joined a newly founded association of counts.
Henry died in 1513 and was buried in the Marienthal monastery in Netze (today part of
Waldeck).
References
* Adolph Theodor Ludwig Varnhagen: ''Grundlage der Waldeckischen Landes- und Regentengeschichte',' vol. 2, Arolsen, 1853, p. 42-48
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 08 of Waldeck
Counts of Waldeck
People from Bad Wildungen
1465 births
1513 deaths
15th-century German people
16th-century German people