Otto II of Nassau
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Count Otto II of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources he is called Otto II of Nassau(-Dillenburg). His official title was Count of Nassau, but it is incorrect to refer to him as the only reigning Count of Nassau, because the County of Nassau was divided into Nassau-Beilstein, Nassau-Hadamar, Nassau-Siegen, Nassau-Weilburg and Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein. Otto ruled the County of Nassau-Siegen, which is erroneously called Nassau-Dillenburg in many sources. See note 2. ( – between 6 December 1350 and 25 January 1351), german: Otto II. Graf von Nassau-Siegen, was since 1343
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: ...
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 ...
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 at that time, 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. (a part of the
County of Nassau 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 ...
). He descended from 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 ...
.


Biography

Otto was born Dek (1970), p. 65.Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 89.Lück (1981), p. 22 and De Roo van Alderwerelt (1960) state that he was born . Given the wedding date of his parents (before 1302), a birth is the most likely. as the eldest son of Count Henry I of Nassau-Siegen and Lady . In 1336, Otto and his younger brother
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, ...
concluded a provisional division treaty for their father’s county. However, Henry's marriage in 1339 led to conflict between the two brothers. Otto even forged an alliance with
Landgrave 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"), ...
against Henry in 1340.Ausfeld (1887), p. 708. A new division treaty followed on 18 June 1341, which assigned to Otto the Siegerland, the Mark Herborn with
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 ...
and the district of
Haiger Haiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger. Geography Location Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern ...
, as well as Löhnberg. Otto succeeded his father in July or August 1343. The following year, Otto sold castle and lordship of Löhnberg to
Count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...
Rupert I and Count Gerlach I of Nassau. On 20 September of that same year, Otto was granted city privileges for Dillenburg by Holy Roman Emperor Louis ‘the Bavarian’. Otto is not considered to have been a good regent. His short reign was a succession of feuds during which the country was devastated and the sources of prosperity were blocked. To control his expenses, he was forced to pledge possessions frequently and as a result the development of a powerful activity inwardly as well as outwardly was hampered.von Stramberg (1865), p. 711. He was forced to sell the Nassau half of the
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
of
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 ...
to the Electorate of Cologne and lost all parts of the that Nassau had acquired to the County of Sayn. And in 1349, he had to pledge the parish of Haiger and half of Ginsburg Castle to the lords of and the Electorate of Cologne.Lück (1981), p. 22. Otto played no part in imperial politics, he only was a few times at the imperial court, where he obtained 320
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 annually for himself from the taxes of the city of
Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...
in 1347. In his last feud, against the brothers Gottfried and Wilderich III , Otto was killedBecker (1983), p. 12. in a
battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, that, according to charters, must have taken place between 6 December 1350 and 25 January 1351.Dek (1970), p. 65 and Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 89 state that Otto was killed in December 1350 or January 1351. Becker (1983), p. 12 states that Otto probably was killed in the Westerwald towards the end of 1350. De Roo van Alderwerelt (1960) states that Otto died near Beilstein at the end of 1350. And Ausfeld (1887), p. 708 states that Otto was killed at the end of 1350. As participants on Otto’s side in the feud are named the counts Henry I of Nassau-Beilstein (Otto’s younger brother), and (Otto’s first cousins), Gerlach I,
Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...
and John of Nassau ( Walramian Line), Thierry III of Looz, Walram of Sponheim and . Otto was succeeded by his son John I, who stood under
regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of his mother until 1362. Siegen Schloss - 20.3.2011 - panoramio (1).jpg, Siegen Castle, 2011. SI Ginsburg Totale 3.jpg, Ginsburg Castle. Photo: Frank Behnsen, 2010.


Marriage and issue

Otto married (
marriage contract ''Marriage Contract'' () is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Lee Seo-jin and Uee. It aired on MBC from March 5 to April 24, 2016 on Saturdays and Sundays at 22:00 for 16 episodes. Plot Kang Hye-soo (Uee) is a single mother who ...
23 December 1331Dek (1970), p. 66.De Roo van Alderwerelt (1960).Lück (1981), p. 22, Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 89 and von Stramberg (1865), p. 712 state that the marriage took place in 1331.) to Countess Adelaide of Vianden (d. 30 September 1376Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 89 and von Stramberg (1865), p. 712 state that she was still alive on 30 November 1376.), daughter of Count Philip II of Vianden and Countess Adelaide of Arnsberg.Dek (1970), p. 66 states that the name of the mother was ‘Lucia v.d. Neuerburg’
Medieval Lands – Philipp II von Vianden
on the other hand states that the name of her mother was ‘Adelheid von Arnsberg’. Considering the charter dated 2 January 1312, quoted by the latter source, in which ‘''Philippus comes Vyennensis dominus de Grimbergh necnon et Aleydis comitissa eiusdem loci''’ donated property to Vianden Holy Trinity, it is more likely that Count Philip II of Vianden was married to Countess Adelaide of Arnsberg

states that this is supported by
Otto and Adelaide were related. Otto’s great-grandmother, Countess Matilda of Guelders and Zutphen, was a younger sister of Count Gerard III of Guelders and Zutphen, a great-great-grandfather of Adelaide.''
Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for thos ...
''.
From the marriage of Otto and Adelaide the following children were born:Medieval Lands – Otto II von Nassau
states that the first child was a daughter named Adelheid, nun at Keppel 1376, abbess 1378/1381. This daughter is not mentioned in any other genealogy of the House of Nassau.
# Count John I ( – Herborn Castle, 4 September 1416), succeeded his father as Count of Nassau-Siegen. He married on 30 November 1357 to Countess Her name is incorrectly written as ‘of the Marck’ in several sources. That spelling of the name is only correct for the cadet branch of her family that bought the Lordship of Sedan in France in 1424, and named themselves ‘de la Marck’ ever since. (d. 29 September 1409). # Henry ‘the Swashbuckler’ (d. Kassel, 5 September 1402), was
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...
at the
Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...
since 1356. # Otto (d. 1384), was canon and provost of Saint Maurice Church 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 ...
since 1357 and canon of the Cologne Cathedral and the
Mainz Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , iso regi ...
since 1380. Otto and Adelaide signed a marriage contract with Count Adolf II of the Mark and Countess Margaret of Cleves, for a son of Nassau to marry a daughter of the Mark, on 14 August 1343. The second son, Henry ‘the Swashbuckler’, although being a
clergyman 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 ...
, was nevertheless a brutal fighter of his time, as the disconcerting epithet that his comrades gave him reveals. He even sometimes attacked his eldest brother John.


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. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 02, Count of Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen, Otto 02 Nassau-Siegen, Otto 02 Counts of Nassau House of Nassau-Siegen 14th-century German nobility Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain