Marriage contract no. 100: Österreich - Spanien

Contract content

Preamble (p. 554): Pope grants dispensation for marriage, appointment of negotiators

Article 1 (p. 554): Groom is appointed future successor to his father, Emperor Ferdinand II, as King of Bohemia and Hungary

Article 2 (p. 555): Groom and bride are appointed kings of Bohemia and Hungary, but do not exercise any power while Emperor Ferdinand II is alive

Article 3 (p. 555): King of Spain guarantees compliance with Article 2 by the groom

Article 4 (p. 555): The Emperor provides the groom with the means to maintain a court

Article 4 (p. 555): The bride receives a dowry worth 500,000 gold escudos, payment regulated; dowry in the form of annuities from Spanish and Italian possessions of the Spanish Crown

Article 5 (p. 555): income generated from the dowry shall be permanently available to the bride, even if the marriage is dissolved, regardless of whether children are born from the marriage or not; if the marriage ends (presumably referring to the death of the groom), the bride is entitled to the return of the dowry

Article 6 (p. 555): if the bride survives the groom, she receives the dowry and all movable property, except for items (jewels, etc.) in the possession of the House of Austria; widow’s pension regulated: annual imperial payment of 24,000 escudos or 36,000 florins guaranteed

Article 7 (p. 555): if the marriage ends, the bride is entitled to a fixed widow’s pension, even if she remarries

Article 8 (p. 555): the widow is free to return to Spain; if she remains in Austria or the Holy Roman Empire, she is entitled to a residence befitting her status

Article 9 (p. 555): Imperial gift of bridal jewellery guaranteed; Imperial contribution to the bride’s household guaranteed: 30,000 florins annually; Bride’s right of ownership and disposal of dowry confirmed; Bride may bequeath dowry in her will; if there are children from the marriage to Ferdinand, they are entitled to half of the dowry and the jewels given by the Emperor; in return for receiving the dowry, the bride, groom and their descendants waive their rights, claims to property and succession in the lands of the Spanish Crown; if the Spanish king and all his descendants die out, the bride regains her rights and claims

Article 10 (p. 555): The bride must confirm the payment of the dowry and the waiver of rights in writing and by oath after the wedding, with the express consent of the groom.

Article 11 (p. 556): as in the marriage contract between Anne of Austria and Louis XIII of France (1612), the bride and all her descendants are excluded from succession in Spain, with exceptions regulated

Article 12 (p. 556): mutual compliance assured

Article 13 (p. 556): witnesses named

Regulations on succession to the throne

Article 9 (p. 555): […] The bride may bequeath her dowry in her will; if there are children from her marriage to Ferdinand, they are entitled to half of the dowry and the jewels gifted by the Emperor; in return for receiving the dowry, the bride, groom and their descendants waive their rights, property and succession claims in the lands of the Spanish Crown; if the Spanish king and all his descendants die out, the bride regains her rights and claims.

External authorities involved

Preamble (p. 544): Pope grants dispensation for marriage

Further contracts between contracting parties

Article 11: Reference to the France-Spain Marriage Treaty of 1612

Commentary

Articles 5 and 7 contain provisions regarding the end (dissolution) of marriage; this presumably refers to the end of marriage through the death of the groom, not through divorce.

No numbering of articles in the original.

References

• Archive copy: AT-OeStA/HHStA, UR FUK 1620/1,2
• Print reference: Dumont 1726-1739, Bd. V:2, S. 554-556
• Contract language print: spanish
• Digitized print: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1263086r/f552

Recommended citation

Dynastische Eheverträge der frühen Neuzeit. Contract No. 100. Philipps University of Marburg. Available online at https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/100.html.

@misc{ Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit, 
title = {Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit: Contract No. 100},
 url = {https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/100.html}
}