Magdalene of Nassau-Siegen (1596–1662): Difference between revisions
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‘I am so saddened with all my heart; I don’t know what to do anymore. Today is the unfortunate day |
‘I am so saddened with all my heart; I don’t know what to do anymore. Today is the unfortunate day that I have entered the season of the miserable state of my depression and in which, if I am loved above all else in the world, am robbed of all my happiness and prosperity, and I can find no other consolation than faith and hope to live, dear God will bring us together again in eternal joy'.</blockquote>At the same time Magdalene also showed the best will towards her relatives to settle the disputes amicably and she sincerely regretted the death of Adam Arnd von Oeynhausen in April 1635. Shortly afterwards, on 20 June 1635, Grevenburg Manor was thoroughly ransacked by the [[Swedish Empire|Swedes]] and Magdalene and her niece Countess Louise of Waldeck-Wildungen<ref group="note">Countess Louise of Waldeck-Wildungen was the youngest daughter of Magdalene’s eldest sister Elisabeth.</ref> were robbed of all their possessions. For the following years there is no further information available about Magdalene.<ref name="oeynhausen401" /> Magdalene remarried on 25 August 1642<ref name="oeynhausen401" /><ref name="huberty234">Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 234.</ref><ref name="dek1970-89">Dek (1970), p. 89.</ref><ref name="dek1968-249">Dek (1968), p. 249.</ref> to {{Interlanguage link multi|Philipp Wilhelm von Innhausen und Knyphausen|de|3=Philipp Wilhelm von Innhausen und Knyphausen|lt=Philipp Wilhelm Freiherr von Innhausen und Knyphausen}} (20 March 1591<ref name="oeynhausen401" /> – [[Bremen]], 5 May 1652<ref name="dek1970-89" /><ref name="dek1968-249" />). About this marriage she wrote to the Nassau government in the same year: <blockquote>‘''Sie habe viel Jammer und Elend ausstehen müssen und wegen Nichteinbringung ihrer Ehegelder sei sie von den Angehörigen ihres ersten Ehemannes sehr übel gehalten und ihr gedroht, sie aus dem Witthum zu stoßen. Dies habe sie sich zu Herzen gezogen und weil es der Höchste so geschickt, daß der Wohlgeborene Philipp Wilhelm Freiherr zu Knyphausen sie zur Ehe begehrt, so habe sie ihren früher gefaßten Entschluß, ihr mühseliges Leben im Wittwenstande endigen zu wollen, soweit geändert und damit sie ein sicheres Bleibens habe, in die Heirath gewilligt. Sie wolle nun nach Hamburg wo ihr Gemahl jetßt seine Wohnung habe''’.<ref name="oeynhausen402">Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889), p. 402.</ref> |
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English Translation |
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'She had to endure great misery and distress and because her marriage money was not collected she was treated very badly by the relatives of her first husband and threatened with being thrown out of the dower house. She took this to heart and because the Almighty so willed it that the well-born Philipp Wilhelm Freiherr zu Knyphausen wanted her in marriage, she changed her earlier decision to die a widow and, in order to have a secure place to stay, consented to the marriage. She now wants to go to her husband's residence in Hamburg.'</blockquote>In 1651, Magdalene filed a claim against Johann Melchior von Oeynhausen for arrears in the usufruct of Grevenburg Manor. On 5 May 1652 her second husband also died and the financial problems started again. On 27 July of that year she wrote again to Johann Melchior about her claims and described her distressed situation, since the contract between her husband and Count [[Anthony Günther, Count of Oldenburg|Anton Günther of Oldenburg]] had not come to fruition and he therefore did not want to pay out any money. In 1656 she wrote to Nassau that the means of her second husband were not great and she had to make do with a small amount. She also complained a lot about the arrears that Orange-Nassau still had to pay her. In that same year she was given the hope that she would be paid if she would reduce her demands a little. At that time, she demanded a total of 45,496 guilders in capital, interest and [[debt]].<ref name="oeynhausen402" /> |
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Magdalene died on 6 December 1662,<ref name="huberty234" />{{refn|group=note|“The date of death given by ''[[Europäische Stammtafeln]]'' seems very plausible. On the other hand, we cannot accept the indication by Dek (1970) that the countess died in Bremen on 31-7-1661. We found a copy of the will with codicil in the State Archives Marburg (115, Waldeck 2, Nassau 343). The countess testified in Verden on 4-4-1658 and on ''29-11-1662''. There is therefore every reason to assume that she died in that town.”<ref name="huberty251" />}}<ref name="oeynhausen402" /> probably in [[Verden]], where she made her [[will and testament]] in 1658, bequeathing a capital of 600 thaler, which the town of [[Steinheim]] owed her, to the ''{{Interlanguage link multi|gasthuis|nl|3=gasthuis}}'' and [[orphanage]] in Bremen.<ref name="oeynhausen402" /> On 29 November 1662 she made a second will.<ref name="huberty251" /> |
Magdalene died on 6 December 1662,<ref name="huberty234" />{{refn|group=note|“The date of death given by ''[[Europäische Stammtafeln]]'' seems very plausible. On the other hand, we cannot accept the indication by Dek (1970) that the countess died in Bremen on 31-7-1661. We found a copy of the will with codicil in the State Archives Marburg (115, Waldeck 2, Nassau 343). The countess testified in Verden on 4-4-1658 and on ''29-11-1662''. There is therefore every reason to assume that she died in that town.”<ref name="huberty251" />}}<ref name="oeynhausen402" /> probably in [[Verden]], where she made her [[will and testament]] in 1658, bequeathing a capital of 600 thaler, which the town of [[Steinheim]] owed her, to the ''{{Interlanguage link multi|gasthuis|nl|3=gasthuis}}'' and [[orphanage]] in Bremen.<ref name="oeynhausen402" /> On 29 November 1662 she made a second will.<ref name="huberty251" /> |
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Revision as of 00:04, 24 April 2022
Magdalene of Nassau-Siegen | |
|---|---|
| Freifrau von Oeynhausen-Velmede, Freifrau von Innhausen und Knyphausen | |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Full name | Magdalene Countess of Nassau-Siegen |
| Native name | Magdalena Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen |
| Born | Magdalena Gräfin zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Frau zu Beilstein 23 February 1596 |
| Died | 6 December 1662 (aged 66) |
| Noble family | House of Nassau-Siegen |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Father | John VII of Nassau-Siegen |
| Mother | Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen |
Countess Magdalene of Nassau-Siegen (23 February 1596 – 6 December 1662), Template:Lang-de, official titles: Gräfin zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Frau zu Beilstein, was a countess from the House of Nassau-Siegen and through marriage successively member of the families von Oeynhausen, and von Innhausen und Knyphausen.
Biography
Magdalene was born on 23 February 1596[1] as the fifth and youngest daughter of Count John VII ‘the Middle’ of Nassau-Siegen and his first wife, Countess Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen.[2] From 1622 Magdalene spent most of her time in Herford Abbey, where she had held the office of deaconess since 1628.[3]
From the inheritance of her parents, Magdalena could claim 6875 guilders, on which Orange-Nassau paid 343 guilders in interest, as well as: 100 guilders of annual expenses until her marriage, and 200 guilders after her marriage. She claimed 4000 guilders in matrimonial money, 1000 guilders in dowry, and 1500 guilders for hat-strings, wedding ring, coach and horse. However, all these monies were paid out very slowly and Magdalena was forced to exhort the Nassau councilors almost constantly to get her money. In general, her life gives a sad picture of the internal relations of the small royal houses during the Thirty Years’ War – a picture of impoverishment and helplessness.[3]
Magdalene married in August 1631[4] to Bernhard Moritz Freiherr von Oeynhausen-Velmede[note 1] (1602[6] – Leipzig, 20 November 1632[3]). After the death of her husband, Magdalene went to the dower Grevenburg Manor, where in March 1633 Count Simon Louis of Lippe-Detmold obtained a sauvegarde for her from Landgrave William V of Hesse-Kassel, requesting the landgrave not to use her husband’s services on the imperial side against her.[7]
In the summer of 1634 her brother-in-law Rab Arnd von Oeyhausen died, at whose deathbed she stood, thus depriving Magdalene of her last male patron. At the same time, the most fierce disputes arose over the acquired part of Grevenburg Manor, which was taken into possession both by the Countess and her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, supported by their patroness, the Countess of Schaumburg, nee Countess of Lippe-Varenholz, as well as Adam Arnd von Oeynhausen as the next and rightful heir to the fief. Both parties now turned to Count Simon Louis of Lippe-Detmold, who was closely related to Magdalene through his mother,[note 2] but who was also the feudal lord of Grevenburg Manor. Also Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt appealed to him in May 1635 in favour of the heirs of the now deceased Adam Arnd von Oeynhausen.[8]
Magdalene’s letters express everywhere her deep love for her deceased husband, ‘mit dem sie nur sechs Monate zu Grevenburg gewohnt habe’ (‘with whom she only lived six months in Grevenburg’) and in a confidential letter to Count Simon Louis of Lippe-Detmold, probably dated 20 November 1635, she wrote:
‘Ich bin so von ganzem Herzen betrübt, ich weiß mir keinen Rath mehr. Heute ist der unglückselige Tag der Jahrzeit, daß ich in den elenden Stand meiner Trübseligkeit getreten bin und mit dem, so ich in der Welt über Alles geliebet, alles meines Glückes und Wohlfahrt beraubet bin, und keinen andern Trost weiß ich zu finden, als in Glauben und Hoffnung zu leben, der liebe Gott werde uns in ewiger Freude wieder zusammenbringen’.
English Translation:
‘I am so saddened with all my heart; I don’t know what to do anymore. Today is the unfortunate day that I have entered the season of the miserable state of my depression and in which, if I am loved above all else in the world, am robbed of all my happiness and prosperity, and I can find no other consolation than faith and hope to live, dear God will bring us together again in eternal joy'.
At the same time Magdalene also showed the best will towards her relatives to settle the disputes amicably and she sincerely regretted the death of Adam Arnd von Oeynhausen in April 1635. Shortly afterwards, on 20 June 1635, Grevenburg Manor was thoroughly ransacked by the Swedes and Magdalene and her niece Countess Louise of Waldeck-Wildungen[note 3] were robbed of all their possessions. For the following years there is no further information available about Magdalene.[8] Magdalene remarried on 25 August 1642[8][9][10][11] to Philipp Wilhelm Freiherr von Innhausen und Knyphausen (20 March 1591[8] – Bremen, 5 May 1652[10][11]). About this marriage she wrote to the Nassau government in the same year:
‘Sie habe viel Jammer und Elend ausstehen müssen und wegen Nichteinbringung ihrer Ehegelder sei sie von den Angehörigen ihres ersten Ehemannes sehr übel gehalten und ihr gedroht, sie aus dem Witthum zu stoßen. Dies habe sie sich zu Herzen gezogen und weil es der Höchste so geschickt, daß der Wohlgeborene Philipp Wilhelm Freiherr zu Knyphausen sie zur Ehe begehrt, so habe sie ihren früher gefaßten Entschluß, ihr mühseliges Leben im Wittwenstande endigen zu wollen, soweit geändert und damit sie ein sicheres Bleibens habe, in die Heirath gewilligt. Sie wolle nun nach Hamburg wo ihr Gemahl jetßt seine Wohnung habe’.[12]
English Translation
'She had to endure great misery and distress and because her marriage money was not collected she was treated very badly by the relatives of her first husband and threatened with being thrown out of the dower house. She took this to heart and because the Almighty so willed it that the well-born Philipp Wilhelm Freiherr zu Knyphausen wanted her in marriage, she changed her earlier decision to die a widow and, in order to have a secure place to stay, consented to the marriage. She now wants to go to her husband's residence in Hamburg.'
In 1651, Magdalene filed a claim against Johann Melchior von Oeynhausen for arrears in the usufruct of Grevenburg Manor. On 5 May 1652 her second husband also died and the financial problems started again. On 27 July of that year she wrote again to Johann Melchior about her claims and described her distressed situation, since the contract between her husband and Count Anton Günther of Oldenburg had not come to fruition and he therefore did not want to pay out any money. In 1656 she wrote to Nassau that the means of her second husband were not great and she had to make do with a small amount. She also complained a lot about the arrears that Orange-Nassau still had to pay her. In that same year she was given the hope that she would be paid if she would reduce her demands a little. At that time, she demanded a total of 45,496 guilders in capital, interest and debt.[12]
Magdalene died on 6 December 1662,[9][note 4][12] probably in Verden, where she made her will and testament in 1658, bequeathing a capital of 600 thaler, which the town of Steinheim owed her, to the gasthuis and orphanage in Bremen.[12] On 29 November 1662 she made a second will.[5]
Issue
The biography of Magdalene in Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889) does not show that children were born from her marriage to Bernhard Moritz von Oeynhausen-Velmede. After all, after the death of her brother-in-law, there is talk of an heir from another branch of the family. Dek (1968), p. 277, however, mentions that Magdalene had two children in the 15 months that the marriage lasted:
- Bernhard Simon, married to Katharina von Steinberg.
- Rab Arnd, married to Gertruda von Steinberg.
The marriage of Magdalene and Philipp Wilhelm von Innhausen und Knyphausen remained childless.[11]
Ancestors
Notes
- ^ “It seems that Dek (1970) wrongly attributed the title of count to him. In Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889) he is called baron of the empire.”[5]
- ^ Countess Anne Catherine of Nassau-Idstein, the mother of Count Simon Louis of Lippe-Detmold was a first cousin of Magdalene. Besides that Simon Louis was married to Countess Catherine of Waldeck-Wildungen, daughter of Magdalene’s eldest sister Elisabeth.
- ^ Countess Louise of Waldeck-Wildungen was the youngest daughter of Magdalene’s eldest sister Elisabeth.
- ^ “The date of death given by Europäische Stammtafeln seems very plausible. On the other hand, we cannot accept the indication by Dek (1970) that the countess died in Bremen on 31-7-1661. We found a copy of the will with codicil in the State Archives Marburg (115, Waldeck 2, Nassau 343). The countess testified in Verden on 4-4-1658 and on 29-11-1662. There is therefore every reason to assume that she died in that town.”[5]
References
- ^ All sources that mention a full date of birth, state this date.
- ^ All sources that mention both parents, name these parents.
- ^ a b c Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889), p. 400.
- ^ All sources mention this incomplete date of marriage only.
- ^ a b c Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 251.
- ^ Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889), p. 399.
- ^ Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889), p. 400-401.
- ^ a b c d Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889), p. 401.
- ^ a b Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 234.
- ^ a b Dek (1970), p. 89.
- ^ a b c Dek (1968), p. 249.
- ^ a b c d Von Oeynhausen & Grotefend (1889), p. 402.
Sources
- Dek, A.W.E. (1962). Graf Johann der Mittlere von Nassau-Siegen und seine 25 Kinder (in German). Rijswijk: Krips Repro.
- Dek, A.W.E. (1968). "De afstammelingen van Juliana van Stolberg tot aan het jaar van de Vrede van Münster". Spiegel der Historie. Maandblad voor de geschiedenis der Nederlanden (in Dutch). 1968 (7/8): 288–303.
- Dek, A.W.E. (1970). Genealogie van het Vorstenhuis Nassau (in Dutch). Zaltbommel: Europese Bibliotheek.
- Huberty, Michel; Giraud, Alain; Magdelaine, F. & B. (1981). l’Allemagne Dynastique (in French). Vol. Tome III: Brunswick-Nassau-Schwarzbourg. Le Perreux: Alain Giraud.
- Lück, Alfred (1981) [1967]. Siegerland und Nederland (in German) (2nd ed.). Siegen: Siegerländer Heimatverein e.V.
- Menk, Friedhelm (1971). Quellen zur Geschichte des Siegerlandes im niederländischen königlichen Hausarchiv (in German). Siegen: Stadt Siegen/Forschungsstelle Siegerland.
- Oeynhausen, Julius Graf von; Grotefend, H. (1889). Geschichte des Geslechts von Oeynhausen. Aus gedruckten und ungedruckten Quellen (in German). Vol. Dritter Theil: Biographische Bearbeitung. Frankfurt am Main: Wilhelm Rommel.
- Textor von Haiger, Johann (1617). Nassauische Chronik (in German). Herborn: Christoph Raab.
- 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 5. In: An Online Gotha, by Paul Theroff.