Frederick Erdmann of Anhalt-Pless (27 October 1731 – 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. The ...

from the

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 ...

branch 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 the first

ruler A ruler, sometimes called a rule, scale, line gauge, or metre/meter stick, is an instrument used to make length measurements, whereby a length is read from a series of markings called "rules" along an edge of the device. Usually, the instr ...

of the Principality of Anhalt-Pless.

Life

As the youngest surviving son of Augustus Louis, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, 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 is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

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

heirs male A male heir (sometimes heirs male)—usually describing the first-born son (primogeniture) or oldest surviving son of a family—has traditionally been the recipient of the residue of the estate, titles, wealth and responsibilities of his father in ...

; 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 (; 8 January 1746, Wernigerode Castle – 26 May 1824, Pieszyce, Peterwaldau) was the only son of Count Henry Ernest of Stolberg-Wernigerode, whom he succeeded as ruler of the Stolberg-Wernige ...

(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 Harz (district), district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the Wernigerode (district), district of Wernigerode. Its population was 32,181 in 2020. Wernigerode is located southwes ...

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). Due to having a mental disability, 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, 1 February 1830), married on 21 May 1791 Hans Henry VI,

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 ...

of Hochberg and

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

of Fürstenstein (near Waldenburg in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

). 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 (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: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

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

References

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