Emmanuel Lebrecht of Anhalt-Köthen (20May 167130May 1704) was a German prince of the

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

and ruler of the principality of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, 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. T ...

. He was the only child of

Emmanuel, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Emmanuel of Anhalt-Köthen (6 October 1631, in Plötzkau – 8 November 1670, in Köthen), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Plötzkau. From 1665, he was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köt ...

, by his wife Anna Eleonore, daughter of

Henry Ernest, Count of Stolberg Henry Ernest, Count of Stolberg (20 July 1593 in Schwarza – 4 April 1672 in Ilsenburg) was a German nobleman. He was the founder of the older main line of the House of Stolberg. He was the eldest son of Count Christopher II of Stolberg. ...

Life

Emmanuel Lebrecht was born six months after the death of his father on 8 November 1670 and was declared ruler of Anhalt-Köthen under the regency of his mother immediately at birth. The Dowager Princess Anna Eleonore ruled over Köthen for almost twenty years, until her death in 1690, and then

John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau John George II (17 November 1627 – 7 August 1693) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Dessau from 1660 to 1693. A member of the Fruitbearing Society, he also served as a field marshal of Branden ...

, succeeded her in the regency for the next two years, until January 1692, when Emmanuel Lebrecht was formally proclaimed an adult and took over the government of his lands. When Emmanuel Lebrecht was still a young prince, he fell in love with

Gisela Agnes of Rath Gisela Agnes of Rath (9 October 1669, in Kleinwülknitz, now part of Köthen – 12 March 1740, in Nienburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Nienburg) was Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen by marriage from 1698. In 1694, she was created Countess of Nienburg. From 1704 to ...

(b. Klein-Wülknitz near Köthen, 9 October 1669 - d. Nienburg, 12 March 1740), of an old noble family of Anhalt. The Dowager Princess Anna Eleonore was totally against their liaison and tried to separated the couple by sending Gisela Agnes to

Stadthagen Stadthagen () is the capital of the district of Landkreis Schaumburg, Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen ...

with her sister. After the death of the Dowager Princess and formal assumption of the rule of his principality, Emmanuel Lebrecht sent for Gisela Agnes and they finally married in a secret ceremony in Nienburg on 22 May (30 September according to some sources) of 1692. The

morganatic 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 spous ...

marriage of a

Reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

prince with a

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

woman from the lesser nobility brought vehements protest from the Reform Church and the other agnates of the Anhalt principalities. Nonetheless, Gisela Agnes was created

Imperial Count Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During 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 a prince wh ...

ess of Nienburg (German: ''Reichsgräfin von Nienburg'') on 23 July 1694. The agnates refused to accept the marriage as dynastically valid and Emmanuel Lebrecht sued them before the

Reichshofrat The Aulic Council (; ; literally "Court Council of the Empire", sometimes abbreviated in academic writing as "RHR") was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the ''Reichskammergericht'' (Imperial Chamber Court). ...

for libel in 1696; finally, by means of a treaty of 28 June 1698, the Princes of

Anhalt-Bernburg Anhalt-Bernburg was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and a duchy of the German Confederation ruled by the House of Ascania with its residence at Bernburg in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. It emerged as a subd ...

, Anhalt-Harzgerode,

Anhalt-Zerbst Anhalt-Zerbst was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts Potsdam-Mittelmark (Brandenburg) and Wittenberg, the city of Dessau and the districts of Köthen, Schönebeck and Jerichower Lan ...

, and

Anhalt-Dessau Anhalt-Dessau was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire and later a duchy of the German Confederation. Ruled by the House of Ascania, it was created in 1396 following the partition of the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, and finally merged into th ...

all recognized the issue of the marriage as lawful heirs and all descendants as princes and princesses of Anhalt with all appertaining rights, without however creating any precedent against the prescriptions of the law of the House of Ascania. The Imperial confirmation of the treaty was granted on 12 March 1699. On August 3 of that year Emmanuel Lebrecht assigned his wife the castle, city, and

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

of Nienburg as dowager for life and made her "tutrix and regent" in case of the minority of his successor, with the full approval of the agnates. In 1702, he made a testament in which the principle of

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

was introduced in Köthen; later, there was a dispute between his two surviving sons, Leopold and Augustus Louis. Emmanuel Lebrecht died two years later leaving an infant successor, Leopold, who reigned until 1715 under the regency of his mother.

Issue

#Augustus Lebrecht (b. Köthen, 24 May 1693 - d. Köthen, 25 October 1693), who died before the recognition of the marriage of his parents as equal and lawful; for this reason, he was never recognized as Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Köthen. #

Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen (29 November 1694 – 19 November 1728) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. Today, he is best remembered for employing Johann Sebastian Bach as his Kapellmeister ...

(b. Köthen, 29 November 1694 - d. Köthen, 29 September 1728). # Eleonore Wilhelmine (b. Köthen, 7 May 1696 - d.

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

, 30 August 1726), married on 15 February 1714 to Frederick Erdmann of Saxe-Merseburg, and secondly on 24 January 1716 to

Ernest Augustus I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Ernst August I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (German: ''Ernst August I''; 19 April 1688 – 19 January 1748), was a duke of Saxe-Weimar and, from 1741, of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Biography He was the second but eldest surviving son of Johann Ernst III ...

. # Augustus Louis, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen (b. Köthen, 9 June 1697 - d. Köthen, 6 August 1755). #Gisela Auguste (b. Köthen, 24 July 1698 - d. Köthen, 3 September 1698). #Christiane Charlotte (b. Köthen, 12 January 1702 - d. Köthen, 27 January 1745).

References

Morganatic and Unequal Marriages in German Law
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Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmanuel Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Kothen 1671 births 1704 deaths People from Köthen (Anhalt) People from Anhalt-Köthen House of Ascania Princes of Anhalt-Köthen Princes of the Holy Roman Empire