Marriage contract no. 154: Mecklenburg - Schweden

Contract content

Preamble: Names of the parties involved; purpose of the marriage

1 – Courtship by the groom attested; marriage with the knowledge of the bride’s brother Karl; acceptance of the courtship by the bride’s brother; consent and approval of the groom’s brothers Ulrich and Karl zu Mecklenburg and their guardians August von Sachsen and Johann Georg von Brandenburg with regard to the life estate and morning gift

2 – Setting of the wedding date for the next Exaudi Sunday at Stockholm Castle

3 – Dowry of 100,000 talers; payment arranged; bride’s trousseau arranged; trousseau as for her sisters

4 – Transfer of the bride arranged

5 – Affirmation of friendship by the groom; renunciation of the bride’s inheritance

6 – Treatment and care of the bride in accordance with her status guaranteed by the groom

7 – Investment of the dowry in Hamburg, Stralsund, Rostock, another city on the Baltic Sea, or in government offices; annual life estate amounting to 5% or 6% of the dowry or whatever it may yield

8 – Groom and bride die without producing any heirs together: dowry goes to the bride’s heirs

9 – Morning gift of 8,000 talers, which is to yield an annual pension of 400 talers; possibility of payment if the bride should outlive the groom

10 – Life estate of 5,000 talers; the life estate is guaranteed to the bride for her entire life, whether she remains a widow or not; the offices of Gadebusch and Tempzin (Temptzin) are designated as widow’s estates; the widow’s rights to the estates are specified; improvement of the life estate and morning gift if the groom’s domain expands; for the payment of the life estate and morning gift, it is irrelevant whether the widow remarries or where her widow’s residence is located; appointment of officials regulated; letter of consent dated April 11, 1580, from the brothers and their guardians mentioned; appropriate trousseau for the widow’s residence guaranteed; Jurisdiction in the dower regulated; Reservata of the groom determined; Homage of subjects regulated;

11 – Groom dies before bride: Accession to the dower without encumbrances; Preparation of the widow’s residence in Gadebusch; Heritability of gifts from the groom to the bride regulated

12 – Lutheran upbringing of the children stipulated; free practice of religion guaranteed for the bride; the bride must leave the church and ecclesiastical court regulations on her estates untouched

13 – Bride dies before groom without common children: groom’s lifelong right of use of the dowry; thereafter, reversion of the dowry and the bride’s personal property to her family

14 – Bride dies before groom with children together: groom has lifelong right of use to half of the dowry; thereafter, both halves of the dowry and the bride’s remaining inheritance go to the children; groom remarries: relatives of the bride must be involved in the administration of the dead bride’s property

15 – Contract is void if one of the spouses dies before consummation of the marriage

16 – Contract executed in two copies; signatures witnessed; place; date; signatures; seal

Confessional regulations

12 – Lutheran upbringing of the children stipulated; free practice of religion guaranteed for the bride; the bride must leave the church and ecclesiastical court regulations on her estates untouched

Regulations on inheritance law

5 – Affirmation of friendship by the groom; renunciation of the bride’s inheritance

8 – Groom and bride die without producing any heirs together: dowry goes to the bride’s heirs

11 – Groom dies before bride: Accession to the dower without encumbrances; Preparation of the widow’s residence in Gadebusch; Heritability of gifts from the groom to the bride regulated

13 – Bride dies before groom without common children: groom’s lifelong right of use of the dowry; thereafter, reversion of the dowry and the bride’s personal property to her family

14 – Bride dies before groom with children together: groom has lifelong right of use to half of the dowry; thereafter, both halves of the dowry and the bride’s remaining inheritance go to the children; groom remarries: relatives of the bride must be involved in the administration of the dead bride’s property

Ratifications, confirmations, approvals

16 – Contract executed in two copies; signatures witnessed; place; date; signatures; seal

Commentary

The original contract is not divided into articles

References

• Archive copy: SE/RA/25.1/12/C (1581)
• Contract language archive copy: German
• Digitized archive copy: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/R0001251_00002#?xywh=-1382%2C469%2C12207%2C9456&cv=1

Recommended citation

Dynastische Eheverträge der frühen Neuzeit. Contract No. 154. Philipps University of Marburg. Available online at https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/154.html.

@misc{ Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit, 
title = {Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit: Contract No. 154},
 url = {https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/154.html}
}