John V, Count of Nassau-Siegen | |
---|---|
Count of Nassau-Siegen Count of Diez | |
Coat of arms | |
Reign | 1475–1516 |
Predecessor | John IV |
Successor | William I |
Full name
John V, Count of Nassau-Siegen | |
Native name | Johann V. Graf von Nassau-Siegen |
Born | Johann Graf zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Breda 9 November 1455 Breda |
Died | 30 July 1516 Dillenburg Castle | (aged 60)
Buried | St. John’s Church, Franciscan monastery, Siegen Reburied: St. Mary’s Church , Siegen 1836 |
Noble family | House of Nassau-Siegen |
Spouse(s) | Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg |
Issue Detail | |
Father | John IV of Nassau-Siegen |
Mother | Mary of Loon-Heinsberg |
Count John V of Nassau-Siegen[note 1] (9 November 1455 – 30 July 1516), German: Johann V. Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Graf zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu Breda, was since 1475 Count of Nassau-Siegen[note 2] (a part of the County of Nassau) and of half Diez. He descended from the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau. For a short time he was Stadtholder of Guelders and Zutphen. During his reign, the Katzenelnbogische Erbfolgestreit began with the Landgraves of Hesse, which did not end until 41 years after his death.
Biography
John was born Breda on 9 November 1455[1][2][3][4] as the second and youngest son of Count John IV of Nassau-Siegen and Lady Mary of Loon-Heinsberg.[1][2][3]
On 4 May 1472 John IV and his sons Engelbert and John signed an inheritance treaty in which it was decided to divide the possessions after John IV’s death. The eldest son, Engelbert, would get the possessions in the Netherlands, while the youngest son, John, would get the possessions right of the River Rhine (Nassau-Siegen and Diez).[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Count of Nassau-Siegen and Diez
John succeeded his father in 1475 in accordance with the succession treaty of 1472.[4][5][6][7] His possessions included Siegen and Dillenburg, parts of Löhnberg, Ellar and Hadamar, the districts Diez, Kirberg, Altweilnau , Wehrheim and Camberg, the Esterau , Nassau, the Einrich and Ems, furthermore the heerlijkheden Kerpen and Lommersum in the Duchy of Jülich, fiefs in Nideggen and Düren, toll rights in Ehrenfels Castle, Düsseldorf and Königsdorf and revenues in the County of Mark. To the many common possessions, which he administered together with the different dynasties, he added a new one, namely that over Seel- and Burbach with the Counts of Sayn. The complex jurisdictional relations in Seel- and Burbach led to frequent disputes. John did not live to see the end of the result of the many negotiations on these matters in 1542.[4]
The County of Nassau-Siegen was divided into districts (Ämter). In each district (Amt) the count appointed an Amtmann. These were members of the local nobility and deputised for the count. They had a number of servants to guard the public order. In times of war they formed the core of the army.[8]
For the administration of justice, the county had a Schultheiß in most of the districts. The oldest preserved ordinance for the Schultheiß of the Dillenburg district is from 10 April 1465, which contains only a part of his tasks and authority. In 1498 there followed the joint justice ordinance for the districts of Siegen and Dillenburg, which contained the complete law of the time. This ordinance had to be read out loud to all citizens every year. In the ordinances of 1465 and 1498 the provisions on matrimonial law are prominently present.[9] The Landgericht zum Oberhof zu Siegen was designated as the court of appeal. Until then the Reichshofgericht in Rottweil had been competent for appeals. In a decree of 8 June 1494, Roman King Maximilian I, released Johan from the obligation to go to Rottweil and to be subordinate to the Westphalian Landgerichter and Vehmic courts. Because of the increasing ‘Rauben, Morden, Brennen und andere Gewalttätigkeiten’ and in order to be able to execute justice more quickly and effectively, John established a Vehmic court on Ginsburg Castle. For the Blutgerichtsbarkeit (high jurisdiction) the Hochgericht was competent. The Ebersbach district had its own Hochgericht auf dem Stein. During the executions there, the count occasionally wielded the sword himself in order to behead the criminals. But mostly he left that to the executioners. Also the other punishments and fines, which the count himself imposed in special cases, to give an example, were not insignificant for the monetary value of the time.[10] John also installed an Oberhofgericht in Hadamar.[11]
The financial administration was still relatively simple; there was no distinction between the public and the private treasury of the count. All income flowed into the private treasury of the count. The count received the revenues from the farms in the villages in kind, which were supplied by the serfs working there.[8] With the increase in coinage, which resulted in payments in kind being increasingly replaced by payments in money, the office of Rentmeister became more and more important. The count’s fixed income included the Mai und Herbst Bede , which were levied on land tenure. There was also the Leibbede, a personal tax, which was levied when the serf died and had to be paid by his relatives. This originally consisted of the best piece of livestock, but was later replaced by a sum of money. Finally, there was a hearth tax, which had to be paid during Lent. The irregular revenues of the count included first of all the so-called Schatzungen, taxes for special expenses and emergencies. Then there was the income from tolls, which were often leased to subjects. This also applied to fishing rights, which the count owned. Taxes were also levied in the cities, on houses, gardens, fields and meadows.[12] A not inconsiderable source of income for the Counts of Nassau has always been the iron toll. A charter of 1 April 1470 concerning the tariffs in Siegen, Netphen and Wilnsdorf lists the individual taxes for pig iron, steel, cast iron pans, metal sheets, scythes, cauldrons, etc. in detail.[13] The expenses included the travels of the count and his family, celebrations at court, the remuneration of officials, court clothes, altar candles and communion wine, but especially the workmen and materials for construction work at the various castles.[14]
In 1481, John fully succeeded in enforcing the still unfinished settlement of his first cousin Ottilie’s claims to the County of Diez. This was confirmed in 1510.[4] In 1485, Count Oswald I of Tierstein, Ottilie’s second husband, attempted to murder John because of his dissatisfaction with the marriage grant and the settlement of the inheritance. The Rentmeister of Siegen, Heinrich Weiß, was able to prevent the attempt.[15]
In 1485, John renewed certain claims to the Duchy of Cleves and the County of Mark, for which he – in alliance with the Roman King Maximilian I, who was inclined to do so for other reasons – declared war on Duke John II of Cleves. However, it did not come to open hostilities, the disputes were settled, not without some benefits for John in hard cash.[11] Like Maximilian I, whose election in Frankfurt and coronation in Aachen in 1486 John attended personally, he was a lover of medieval chivalry. Like Maximilian, he liked to take part in tournaments.[16]
In his struggle with the von Bicken Family , John stood his ground, but this brought him the enmity of the powerful Landgraves of Hesse. By a treaty of 26 May 1486, he took off Wallenfels Castle and the Gericht Ebersbach from the von Bicken Family and left them only Hainchen Castle , subject to recognition of the territorial lord’s rights. Thereby, the last local noble family in the county became subject to the Counts of Nassau.[17][18]
At the Battle of Béthune in 1487, John’s brother Engelbert was taken prisoner of war.[7] John rushed to his brother’s aid with cavalry,[19] but had to liberate Engelbert with a ransom of 84,000 francs, for which the city of Siegen volunteered to pay a part. Engelbert then pledged the County of Vianden with St. Vith and Dasburg to John.[7] John had to repeat such a ‘reisiges gezüge’ the following year, when Engelbert was imprisoned in Bruges with Maximilian I.[19]
John managed to settle the Heinsbergische Erbfolgestreit with the Counts of Wied-Isenburg, which had already begun during his father’s reign, by means of an agreement in 1488. Also worth mentioning is the conclusion of the so-called Treaty of Bertram (1494), an arrangement between John and the Electorate of Trier, mediated by Bertram von Nesselrode, concerning the common borders of the County of Diez and the Trierian counties of Limburg and Molsberg.[11]
John protected and promoted mining by useful ordinances, among them the mining ordinance of 1489 and the justice ordinance of 1498. During his reign, the number of iron mines in Siegerland increased from 25 to 40 and in the Dillenburg district to 10. The county’s economic prospects were therefore positive.[17] John also promoted the revival of trade by issuing numerous guild certificates. The cities of Herborn and Siegen enjoyed special support from him.[11] He established scholarships for the intellectually gifted as early as 1499, long before other countries came up with the idea.[20]
Because John’s brother Engelbert had no legitimate children, he brought John’s eldest son Henry to his court in Breda and Brussels in 1499, provided for his further education and appointed him his heir. After the death of his uncle in 1504, Henry succeeded him in all his possessions.[5][6][7][21][22]
John had Siegen Castle rebuilt around 1500,[23] and was Stadtholder of Guelders and Zutphen in the period 1504–1505.[1] ‘Umb seiner vernunft und schicklichkeit willen’ Emperor Maximilian I appointed him an imperial councillor in 1505.[19] In the same year, John attended the Imperial Diet in Cologne. Nevertheless, John took little part in imperial politics. His relationship with Maximilian was more of a personal one, established by his brother Engelbert’s connection with Maximilian and John’s assistance during Maximilian’s imprisonment in Bruges. John concentrated mainly on the administration of his own counties.[11]
John proved his piety by fulfilling a vow he probably made earlier and going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land on 27 April 1484. On 31 January 1485 he returned safely to his county.[16] In 1481 he had already built a church in Hadamar and in 1488 he founded a Franciscan monastery in Siegen.[11]
Dillenburg did not have its own parish church; the city and castle were part of the parish church in Feldbach. However, there was a chapel in the valley. At John’s request, Archbishop John II of Trier, granted the inhabitants of the castle and the valley permission in a charter of 30 May 1477 to hold part of the services, such as masses and sermons, in this chapel. For the big celebrations, a visit to the parish church in Feldbach remained mandatory. The sacrament of baptism and burials could only take place there.[24] Again at John’s request, the archbishop moved the parish church with the right of baptism and the other sacraments from Feldbach to Dillenburg in a charter of 10 September 1490, where the count and the inhabitants were able to expand the chapel into a fully functioning church at their own expense.[25] Only the churchyard remained in Feldbach, where John and his successors only had to take care of the continued existence of the church and regular services. If John and his successors wished, they could be buried in or near the new church in Dillenburg. Although John and the inhabitants of Dillenburg had to bear the construction costs of the church together, the latter had to bear the further maintenance and repair costs alone. It is likely that John assumed the major part of the building costs. The rebuilding of the chapel progressed so fast that the new city church could be consecrated already on 3 June 1491. It took until 1500 before the construction was completed.[26] In 1511, John issued a church and school ordinance.[11]
Start of the Katzenelnbogische Erbfolgestreit
The County of Katzenelnbogen was situated between the Taunus and the Lahn and was very rich due to the possession of a large number of Rhine tolls between Mainz and the border of the Netherlands. John’s first cousin Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen was married to Philip ‘the Younger’ of Katzenelnbogen, who died already in 1453. His brother Eberhard died three years later.[17] The father of both, Count Philip ‘the Elder’ of Katzenelnbogen, remarried in 1474, at the age of 72, to Countess Anne of Nassau-Siegen, 32 years old and the eldest sister of John.[27] Since Philip ‘the Elder’ was related to both the Landgraves of Hesse and the Counts of Nassau, he was able to mediate between the two during the conflict over the von Bicken Family. In the year of the marriage, an attempt was made to poison Anne. The perpetrator, a clergyman called Johann von Börnich, confessed on the rack that he had given the countess poisoned wine at supper and that he had been induced to do so by a high Hessian official. Because John instituted criminal proceedings against von Börnich, Hesse’s reputation was dealt a heavy blow as an alleged instigator of murder.[15]
The marriage of Philip ‘the Elder’ and Anne of Nassau-Siegen remained childless so that, upon the death of Philip ‘the Elder’ in 1479, the County of Katzenelnbogen was inherited by his daughter Anne and her husband Landgrave Henry III ‘the Rich’ of Hesse-Marburg. They were succeeded by their son William III ‘the Younger’ in 1483.[15] The latter stipulated that his sisters Elisabeth, married to John since 1482, and Matilda should be compensated with 50,000 florins. John protested against this on behalf of his wife in 1488. At the time of the marriage John had renounced his claims to Elisabeth’s inheritance, but with the exception of her mother’s inheritance.[4] William III ‘the Younger’ died in 1500 without legitimate children.[4][15] His Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg was inherited by Landgrave William II ‘the Middle’ of Hesse-Kassel. Matilda renounced her inheritance, so that her elder sister Elisabeth remained the sole heir to Katzenelnbogen.[15] Indeed, Elisabeth laid claim to all her brother’s possessions and John immediately assumed the title Count of Katzenelnbogen. But when the negotiations with William II ‘the Middle’ of Hesse-Kassel began, he resigned that title.[4] For both Hesse and Nassau, the County of Katzenelnbogen was a desirable inheritance, not only because of its wealth, but also because of its geographical location.[15]
On 24 May 1500, Emperor Maximilian I forbade William II ‘the Middle’ to violate the counties of Katzenelnbogen and Nassau.[28] John also received some fiefs of Katzenelnbogen from the Duke of Jülich and the Abbey of Prüm.[11] Tensions between Hesse and Nassau increased when William II ‘the Middle’ took possession of Katzenelnbogen, disregarding the rights of Elisabeth.[19] All of John’s attempts to gain his rights were in vain, despite several amicable negotiations. To settle the matter by force against the powerful House of Hesse did not occur to him.[11] Therefore John filed a complaint with the Reichskammergericht. In 1507 the court ruled that half the county should be awarded to Elisabeth. William II ‘the Middle’ refused to accept this judgment. This led to a half-century-long, difficult and costly legal battle between Hesse and Nassau, known as the Katzenelnbogische Erbfolgestreit.[19]
Last years, death, funeral and succession
In John’s last years, the first reports came about the large peasant revolts which, by the way, never overwhelmed the County of Nassau-Siegen, apparently because the local peasants had no complaints about their territorial lords.[29]
John died at Dillenburg Castle[3][note 3] on 30 July 1516[1][2][3][11] and was buried in the crypt of St. John’s Church in the Franciscan monastery in Siegen, which he had founded.[23] Both secular and ecclesiastical, John was still a true representative of the Middle Ages, and he had himself interred as a monk in grey habit.[30] In 1836, he was reburied in St. Mary’s Church in Siegen.[31] John was succeeded by his son William I.[5][11][31]
Marriage and issue
John married in Marburg on 11 February 1482[1][2] to Landgravine Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg (Marburg, May 1466[1][2] – Cologne, 17 January 1523[2][3][note 4]), daughter of Landgrave Henry III ‘the Rich’ of Hesse-Marburg and Countess Anne of Katzenelnbogen.[2][4][32]
From the marriage of John and Elisabeth the following children were born:[1][2][33]
- Count Henry III (Siegen, 12 January 1483 – Breda Castle, 14 September 1538), succeeded his uncle Engelbert II in 1504. Married:
- on 3 August 1503 to Countess Françoise Louise of Savoy-Vaud (1485 – 17 September 1511);
- in La-Fère-sur-Oise on 24 April 1515 to Claudia of Chalon (1498 – Diest, 31 May 1521);
- in Burgos on 30 June 1524 to Mencía de Mendoza y Fonseca (Jadraque (?), 1 December 1508 – 4 January 1554), 2nd Marchioness of Cenete since 3 June 1523.
- John (Tringenstein Castle , 3 November 1484 – 15 August 1504?).
- Ernest (Dillenburg, 9 April 1486 – 12 October 1486).
- Count William I ‘the Rich’ (Dillenburg, 10 April 1487 – Dillenburg Castle, 6 October 1559), succeeded his father in 1516. Married:
- in Koblenz on 29 May 1506 to Countess Walburga of Egmont (ca. 1489 – 7 March 1529);
- in Siegen on 20 September 1531 to Countess Juliane of Stolberg-Wernigerode (Stolberg, 15 February 1506 – Dillenburg, 18 June 1580).
- Elisabeth (1488 – Dillenburg, 3 June 1559), married in Siegen in February 1506 to Count John of Wied-Runkel (1485 – 18 May 1533).
- Mary (Vianden, February 1491 – Siegen, 1547), married in Siegen in February 1506 to Count Jobst I of Holstein-Schauenburg-Pinneberg (1483 – 5 June 1531).
The double wedding of Elisabeth and Mary was held at Siegen Castle. A banquet was also held in the city hall in Siegen at which both brides and grooms were present. The feast with the city magistrates was paid for by the brides’ father and the city council donated 16 oxen and 19 pigs for the feast.[23]
Ancestors
Notes
- ^ In many sources he is called John V 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 Dillenburg, which did not even have a church until 1491, 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 name John. One John without 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.
- ^ Schutte (1979), p. 42 and Dek (1970), p. 70 mention Dillenburg as place of death. Assman & Menk (1996), however, mention Siegen Castle as place of death and Joachim (1881), p. 253 mentions Siegen.
- ^ Schutte (1979), p. 42 mentions the date 7 or 17 January 1523
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Schutte (1979), p. 42.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dek (1970), p. 70.
- ^ a b c d e f Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 95.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Joachim (1881), p. 252.
- ^ a b c d Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 219.
- ^ a b c Becker (1983), p. 13.
- ^ a b c d e Lück (1981), p. 27.
- ^ a b Becker (1983), p. 28.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 26.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Joachim (1881), p. 253.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 29.
- ^ Lück (1981), p. 61.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 30.
- ^ a b c d e f Lück (1981), p. 33.
- ^ a b Becker (1983), p. 31.
- ^ a b c Lück (1981), p. 32.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 14.
- ^ a b c d e Lück (1981), p. 34.
- ^ Lück (1981), p. 60.
- ^ Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 95, 120.
- ^ Jansen (1979), p. 37.
- ^ a b c Assman & Menk (1996).
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 48.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 48–49.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 49.
- ^ Lück (1981), p. 32–33.
- ^ Joachim (1881), p. 252–253.
- ^ Lück (1981), p. 34–35.
- ^ Becker (1983), p. 54.
- ^ a b Lück (1981), p. 35.
- ^ Morby, John (1989). Dynasties of the World: a chronological and genealogical handbook. Oxford, Oxfordshire, U.K.: Oxford University Press. p. 135.
- ^ Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 95–97.
Sources
- Aßmann, Helmut; Menk, Friedhelm (1996). Auf den Spuren von Nassau und Oranien in Siegen (in German). Siegen: Gesellschaft für Stadtmarketing Siegen e.V.
- Becker, E. (1983) [1950]. Schloss und Stadt Dillenburg. Ein Gang durch ihre Geschichte in Mittelalter und Neuzeit. Zur Gedenkfeier aus Anlaß der Verleihung der Stadtrechte am 20. September 1344 herausgegeben (in German) (Neuauflage ed.). Dillenburg: Der Magistrat der Stadt Dillenburg.
- Dek, A.W.E. (1970). Genealogie van het Vorstenhuis Nassau (in Dutch). Zaltbommel: Europese Bibliotheek.
- Ditzhuyzen, Reinildis van (2004) [1992]. Oranje-Nassau. Een biografisch woordenboek (in Dutch) (3rd ed.). Haarlem: Becht. ISBN 90-230-1124-4.
- Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F. & B. (1981). l’Allemagne Dynastique (in French). Vol. Tome III: Brunswick-Nassau-Schwarzbourg. Le Perreux: Alain Giraud.
- Jansen, H.P.H. (1979). "De Bredase Nassaus". In: Tamse, C.A. (red.), Nassau en Oranje in de Nederlandse geschiedenis (in Dutch). Alphen aan den Rijn: A.W. Sijthoff. p. 11–40. ISBN 90-218-2447-7.
- Joachim, Ernst (1881). "Johann V. (Graf von Nassau-Dillenburg)". Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. Band 14. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 252–254.
- Lück, Alfred (1981) [1967]. Siegerland und Nederland (in German) (2nd ed.). Siegen: Siegerländer Heimatverein e.V.
- Schutte, O. (1979). "Genealogische gegevens". In: Tamse, C.A. (red.), Nassau en Oranje in de Nederlandse geschiedenis (in Dutch). Alphen aan den Rijn: A.W. Sijthoff. p. 40–44. ISBN 90-218-2447-7.
- Vorsterman van Oyen, A.A. (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: Medieval Lands. A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families, compiled by Charles Cawley.
- Nassau Part 4. In: An Online Gotha, by Paul Theroff.
- Nassau-Dillenburg, Johann V. Graf von (in German). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS) (in German).