Marriage contract no. 219: Anhalt - Brandenburg

  • Date of contract conclusion: 15. Februar 1534
  • Place of contract conclusion: s. l.

Groom

  • Name: Johann IV. von Anhalt-Zerbst
  • GND: 104173734
  • Year of Birth: 1504
  • Year of Death: 1551
  • Dynasty: Askanier (Anhalt)
  • Confession: Lutherisch

Bride

  • Name: Margareta von Brandenburg
  • GND: 1025868862
  • Year of Birth: 1511
  • Year of Death: 1577
  • Dynasty: Hohenzollern (Brandenburg)
  • Confession: unklar

Actors of the Groom

  • Name: Johann IV. von Anhalt
  • GND: 104173734
  • Dynasty: Askanier (Anhalt)
  • Relationship: /

Actors of the Bride

  • Name: Philipp I. Herzog von Pommern
  • GND: 102324212
  • Dynasty: Greifen
  • Relationship: Stiefsohn

Contract content

Article 1 (fol. 126r-127r): Marriage agreed, letter regarding the redemption of the bride’s dower from her first marriage

Article 2 (fol. 126): Mention of the bride’s deceased first husband (George I of Pomerania)

Article 3 (fol. 126r-127r): Marital rights regulated, dowry of 20,000 guilders and 20,000 guilders of donatio propter nuptias stipulated, bride’s father, who had already died before the marriage, mentioned, 5,000 guilders awarded for annual use and dower, morning gift regulated

Article 5 (fol. 126v-127r): Regulation of the redemption of the dower from the bride’s first marriage

Article 6 (fol. 127r): Value of the dower property set at 20,000 guilders; 1,200 guilders in annual interest, prescription of a marriage gift of 2,000 guilders,

Article 7 (fol. 127v-128v): inheritance regulations in the event of the bride’s death: inheritance for the bride’s stepbrother and his heirs regulated, inheritance for the bride’s daughter from her first marriage and her heirs regulated (concerns the 20,000 guilders dowry); if there are biological heirs from the bride’s marriage, they also inherit from the 20,000 guilders of the dowry, the silverware, jewels, clothes, etc., distribution of the inheritance decided

Article 8 (fol. 128v-129r): Financial arrangements regarding the dowry, etc., of the bride’s daughter from her first marriage, in the event that Philip I of Pomerania, the bride’s stepson, and his heirs die before the marriage.

Article 9 (fol. 129r): Procedure with regard to the donatio propter nuptias if all heirs per die die

Article 10 (fol. 129r-129v): List of witnesses for the contract and final financial arrangements

Regulations on inheritance law

Article 7 (fol. 127v-128v): inheritance regulations in the event of the bride’s death: inheritance for the bride’s stepbrother and his heirs regulated, inheritance for the bride’s daughter from her first marriage and her heirs regulated (concerns the 20,000 guilders dowry); if there are heirs from the bride’s marriage, they also inherit from the 20,000 guilders dowry, the silverware, jewelry, clothes, etc., distribution of the inheritance decided

Article 9 (fol. 129r): Procedure with the donatio propter nuptias if all heirs die, regulated

External authorities involved

Article 10 (fol. 129r-129v): List of witnesses for the contract and financial arrangements

Text reference to past events

Article 2 (fol. 126): Deceased first husband of the bride mentioned (George I of Pomerania)

Commentary

The original contract does not have numbered articles.

The bride’s religious affiliation is unclear: her father was Catholic. Her mother, who was inclined toward Lutheran teachings, fled his court in 1528.

Literature

  • Jablonowski, Ulla: The accession of the Dessau princes Johann, Georg, and Joachim in 1525/1530, in: Mitteilungen des Vereins für Anhaltische Landeskunde 15 (2006), pp. 24-59, here: pp. 44-46

  • Wäschke, Hermann: Anhaltische Geschichte, vol. 2: Geschichte Anhalts im Zeitalter der Reformation, Cöthen 1913, pp. 378 & 384

References