Nassau-Hadamar is the name of two side lines of the
Ottonian main 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 ...
. The older line of the counts of Nassau-Hadamar existed from 1303 to 1394; the younger line existed from 1607 to 1711 and received the hereditary title of
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. T ...
in 1652.
Nassau-Hadamar (Older Line)
Emergence
After the death of
Henry II the Rich of Nassau his sons,
Walram II and
Otto I shared the inheritance in 1255. The boundary between the two territories was formed approximately by the
River Lahn. Walram took over the southern part of the realm (''Walramic main line'') and Otto, the northern part (''Ottonian main line''). The marriage between Otto and Agnes of
Leiningen gave the Ottonian main line suzerainty over the March of Hadamar.
Otto's death in 1290 led to repeated inheritance disputes among his sons. In 1303, they shared his estate, under the mediation of
John I of Limburg. The eldest son
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
took over the sub-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 ...
with its estate in the
Siegerland and the
Barony of Westerwald, the second son
Emich/Emicho I inherited the sub-county of Nassau-Hadamar with
Driedorf
Driedorf is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Driedorf lies from 416 to 642 m above sea level on a tableland in the high Westerwald.
Mademühlen
Mademühlen has about 1,000 inhabitants and lies in the ...
and
Esterau, and the third son,
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 ...
the sub-county of
Nassau-Dillenburg
The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau.
Origins
Nassau, originally a county, developed ...
with its estates around
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 ...
,
Herborn,
Mengerskirchen, the
Calenberg Tithe and the jurisdiction (''Gericht'') of
Heimau.
Regents
*
John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar
John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar, ( Dillenburg, 6 August 1590 – Hadamar, 10 March 1653) and also known in German as Johann Ludwig, was a German nobleman and member of the House of Nassau who is best known for his role as an aide to the head of the ...
(1620–1653), became prince in 1650
*
Maurice Henry of Nassau-Hadamar (1653–1679)
*
Francis Alexander of Nassau-Hadamar (1679–1711)
** Wardship by
Francis Bernard of Nassau-Hadamar (1679–1694)
** Divided between other Ottonian-Nassau houses (1712–1742)
*
William Hyacinth of Nassau-Siegen (1742–1743)
** Nassau-Hadamar falls entirely to
Orange-Nassau.
Literature
*
* {{citation, surname1=Walter Rudersdorf, editor-surname1= Gemeinde Ellar/Westerwald, title=Im Schatten der Burg Ellar, publisher=Waldemar Kramer, location=Frankfurt am Main, date=1967, language=German
* Jacob Wagner: ''Die Regentenfamilie von Nassau-Hadamar: Geschichte des Fürstenthums Hadamar mit besonderer Rücksicht auf seine Kirchengeschichte, von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf unsere Tage, nach Urkunden bearbeitet'', Mechitharisten, 1863
Band 1: Google BooksBand 2: Google Books
References
!Nassauhadamar
Middle Hesse
NassauHadamar