Marriage contract no. 254: Nassau-Dillenburg - Egmond

Contract content

Marriage is contracted in honour of Christianity and for the peace and tranquillity of the territories and subjects of both parties

The bride and groom shall take each other as spouses in accordance with divine order and Christian law

The dowry is set at 12,340 Rhenish gold guilders in Frankfurt currency; a deed shall be drawn up in this regard; in addition, the bride shall receive jewels, ornaments and silverware appropriate to her status

The bride’s renunciation of her paternal and maternal inheritance is stipulated in return for the dowry; exception: Johann III of Egmond and his sons should die without heirs; in this case: division of the paternal, maternal and fraternal inheritance between the bride and her older sister Josina or their respective heirs; The bride and Josina were to receive half of this inheritance each; the other daughters were to be provided with dowries appropriate to their status if they married, so that the towns and dominions remained with the daughters of John III and their heirs

The bride’s dower is set at the castles and dominions of Dietz and Hadamar; the annual widow’s pension after the death of the groom is set at 1,300 Rhenish guilders (one malter of corn for one guilder and two malters of oats for one guilder); The bride is entitled to collect this herself or have it collected; The bride receives all rights to her dower, which are specified in the widow’s deed, as is customary; she may exercise these rights for as long as she lives; in particular, the vineyard near Dietz also belongs to the widow’s estate; the officials at Dietz and Hadamar shall swear allegiance to her; the aforementioned castles shall be renovated before the widow’s estate is occupied so that they are suitable as residences befitting her status; the bride shall receive the letters of enfeoffment for the widow’s residences with the dower deed

If the groom dies, they have children together and the bride wishes to take up residence in another location at her own expense, she shall be permitted to do so; however, if they have no children or the children wish to rule themselves, the bride shall move into her dower

If the bride remarries after the death of the groom, she shall transfer the widow’s estate to their children or the groom’s next of kin; however, she shall retain any jewels, clothes, silverware and jewellery that were given to her as gifts

After the death of the groom, the bride shall receive 500 gold guilders, 400 malters of grain, and 10 cartloads of wine from the movable property; she shall have nothing to do with the groom’s debts, which shall fall to the groom’s next heirs; the widow’s residence in Dietz shall be furnished with sufficient household goods; the bride shall keep all livestock present at the time of moving into the widow’s residence; if the aforementioned amount of money, grain and wine is not available in Dietz and Hadamar at that time, it shall be provided by the groom’s heirs; anything exceeding the above-mentioned sum shall be paid to the groom’s heirs; in return for the above, the bride shall renounce the lordships and counties of Nassau, Vianden, Dietz, Breda, Diest and Grimbergen, as well as all associated pledges and inheritances that Johann V, Heinrich III of Nassau and the groom have or will have in the future

The groom’s father or the groom’s heirs shall protect the bride’s dower and other possessions as if they were their own property

If the bride dies before the groom and there are no children: The groom shall be permitted to use the dowry for his own benefit for the rest of his life; after the groom’s death, it shall be repaid within two years to the heirs of the bride’s father or the owners of the county of Egmond in three portions and invested in Cologne or Antwerp according to the wishes of the bride’s father’s heirs

To consolidate and secure this contract: the bride’s and groom’s fathers promise and swear by their count’s honour to faithfully comply with all points of the contract on behalf of themselves and the bride and groom; none of them shall use any present or future rights to act against the contract; neither the Pope, the Emperor nor anyone else shall have the right to do anything harmful against this contract

Both parties have affixed their seals to the two identical copies of the contract and, in order to confirm the contract, have requested that Frederick of Egmond, Henry III of Nassau and Floris of Egmond, as next of kin, affix their seals to the contract

Regulations on inheritance law

The bride’s renunciation of her paternal and maternal inheritance is stipulated in return for the dowry; exception: Johann III of Egmond and his sons should die without heirs; in this case: division of the paternal, maternal and fraternal inheritance between the bride and her older sister Josina or their respective heirs; The bride and Josina were to receive half of this inheritance each; the other daughters were to be provided with dowries appropriate to their status if they married, so that the towns and dominions remained with the daughters of John III and their heirs

If the bride remarries after the death of the groom, she shall transfer the widow’s estate to their children or the groom’s next of kin; however, she shall retain any jewels, clothes, silverware and jewellery that were given to her as gifts

After the death of the groom, the bride shall receive 500 gold guilders, 400 malters of grain, and 10 cartloads of wine from the movable property; she shall have nothing to do with the groom’s debts, which shall fall to the groom’s next heirs; the widow’s residence in Dietz shall be furnished with sufficient household goods; the bride shall keep all livestock present at the time of moving into the widow’s residence; if the aforementioned amount of money, grain and wine is not available in Dietz and Hadamar at that time, it shall be provided by the groom’s heirs; anything exceeding the above-mentioned sum shall be paid to the groom’s heirs; in return for the above, the bride shall renounce the lordships and counties of Nassau, Vianden, Dietz, Breda, Diest and Grimbergen, as well as all associated pledges and inheritances that Johann V, Heinrich III of Nassau and the groom have or will have in the future

If the bride dies before the groom and there are no children: The groom shall be permitted to use the dowry for his own benefit for the rest of his life; after the groom’s death, it shall be repaid within two years to the heirs of the bride’s father or the owners of the county of Egmond in three portions and invested in Cologne or Antwerp according to the wishes of the bride’s father’s heirs

External authorities involved

Frederick of Egmond (um 1440–1521), Floris of Egmond (1469-1539), Henry III of Nassau-Breda (1455-1516): Both parties have affixed their seals to the two identical copies of the contract and, in order to confirm the contract, have requested that Frederick of Egmond, Henry III of Nassau and Floris of Egmond, as next of kin, affix their seals to the contract

Ratifications, confirmations, approvals

To consolidate and secure this contract: the bride’s and groom’s fathers promise and swear by their count’s honour to faithfully comply with all points of the contract on behalf of themselves and the bride and groom; none of them shall use any present or future rights to act against the contract; neither the Pope, the Emperor nor anyone else shall have the right to do anything harmful against this contract

Both parties have affixed their seals to the two identical copies of the contract and, in order to confirm the contract, have requested that Frederick of Egmond, Henry III of Nassau and Floris of Egmond, as next of kin, affix their seals to the contract

Further contracts between contracting parties

Contract between Count Henry III of Nassau-Breda and the Count of Egmond concerning the governorship of Holland, Zeeland and West Friesland dated 24 June 1515 (HHStAW, 3036, KHA Inv. A 2 No. 606)

References

• Archive copy: HHStAW, 3036, KHA Inv. A 2 Nr. 670
• Contract language archive copy: German
• Digitized archive copy: https://arcinsys.hessen.de/arcinsys/digitalMediaViewer.action?archivalDescriptionId=4515349&selectId=8622369

Recommended citation

Dynastische Eheverträge der frühen Neuzeit. Contract No. 254. Philipps University of Marburg. Available online at https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/254.html.

@misc{ Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit, 
title = {Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit: Contract No. 254},
 url = {https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/254.html}
}