Marriage contract no. 182: Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel - Braunschweig-Lüneburg

Contract content

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

1 – Marriage proposal by the groom’s father on his behalf; acceptance of the proposal: the bride is promised to the groom in marriage as soon as she is old enough; appropriate treatment by the groom guaranteed

2 – Dowry of 100,000 Reichstalers; payment arranged; Bride’s trousseau regulated

3 – Morning gift of 6,000 Reichstalers; with the consent of Rudolf August of Brunswick and Lüneburg; investment in the Schöningen office; morning gift to generate 300 Reichstalers in annual interest

4 – Groom dies before the bride, without having acceded to the throne: Instead of a donation propter nuptias, the bride receives the office of Schöningen and Schöningen Castle as a dower; bride’s rights to the dower regulated

5 – Life estate of 3000 Reichstalers; payment regulated; replacement from nearby offices if the dower is not sufficient to generate the life estate; surpluses from the dower benefit the widow

6 – Groom dies before bride while he was the ruling sovereign: Leibgedinge is increased to 10,000 Reichstaler; bride may decide whether she wishes to keep Schöningen Castle as her widow’s residence or replace it with another castle outside the residence

7 – Regulations regarding the dower: homage of the subjects, reservations of the groom, furnishing of the widow’s residence and inventory thereof, redemption of dower property.

8 – Bride dies before groom without children born to them: groom retains the use of the entire dowry for the rest of his life. after the death of the groom, half of the dowry and the other property of the bride reverts to the bride’s family

9 – Bride dies before the groom with children born to them: inheritance shares of any sons are regulated

10 – Remarriage of the bride is regulated:

– if there are no children born to the couple: waiver of the life estate; return of the bride’s property; one quarter of the dowry remains with the groom’s heirs

– if there are children born to the couple: the children from the first marriage receive one quarter of the assets brought into the second marriage in advance. The remainder is to be divided equally between all children from both marriages.

11 – Bride dies before consummation of the marriage: Georg Wilhelm of Brunswick-Lüneburg voluntarily grants the groom a gift; the friendship between the dukes shall nevertheless continue

12 – Should a case arise that is not covered by the contract, it shall be decided according to common law, imperial law, and the customs of the house;

13 – Promise to abide by the above

14 – Two copies of the contract; consent of Rudolf August of Brunswick and Lüneburg; date; signatures

Regulations on inheritance law

8 – Bride dies before groom without children born to them: groom retains the use of the entire dowry for the rest of his life. after the death of the groom, half of the dowry and the other property of the bride reverts to the bride’s family

9 – Bride dies before the groom with children born to them: inheritance shares of any sons are regulated

10 – Remarriage of the bride is regulated:

– if there are no children born to the couple: waiver of the life estate; return of the bride’s property; one quarter of the dowry remains with the groom’s heirs

– if there are children born to the couple: the children from the first marriage receive one quarter of the assets brought into the second marriage in advance. The remainder is to be divided equally between all children from both marriages.

External authorities involved

3 – Morgengabe in Höhe von 6000 Reichstalern; mit Konsens von Rudolf August von Braunschweig und Lüneburg; Anlage auf dem Amt Schöningen; Morgengabe soll 300 Reichstaler jährlichen Zins erwirtschaften

14 – Ausfertigung des Vertrags in zwei Exemplaren; Konsens von Rudolf August von Braunschweig und Lüneburg; Datum; Unterschriften

Ratifications, confirmations, approvals

14 – Two copies of the contract; consent of Rudolf August of Brunswick and Lüneburg; date; signatures

Commentary

The original contract is not divided into articles.

References

• Archive copy: NLA HA Dep. 84 A Nr. 257
• Contract language archive copy: German

Recommended citation

Dynastische Eheverträge der frühen Neuzeit. Contract No. 182. Philipps University of Marburg. Available online at https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/182.html.

@misc{ Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit, 
title = {Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit: Contract No. 182},
 url = {https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/182.html}
}