Marriage contract no. 296: Toskana - Österreich

  • Date of contract conclusion: 1. Januar 1608
  • Place of contract conclusion: s. l.

Groom

  • Name: Cosimo II. de’ Medici
  • GND: 124843778
  • Year of Birth: 1590
  • Year of Death: 1621
  • Dynasty: Medici
  • Confession: Katholisch

Bride

  • Name: Maria Magdalena von Österreich
  • GND: 136431070
  • Year of Birth: 1589
  • Year of Death: 1631
  • Dynasty: Habsburg (Österreich)
  • Confession: Katholisch

Actors of the Groom

  • Name: Ferdinando I. de’ Medici
  • GND: 118876368
  • Dynasty: Medici
  • Relationship: Vater

Actors of the Bride

  • Name: Kaiser Ferdinand II. HRR (z. Zt. Erzherzog von Innerösterreich)
  • GND: 118532510
  • Dynasty: Habsburg (Österreich)
  • Relationship: Bruder
  • Name: Philipp III. von Spanien
  • GND: 118593846
  • Dynasty: Habsburg (Spanien)
  • Relationship: Cousin zweiten Grades / Schwager

Contract content

1 – Archduke Ferdinand grants his sister the same dowry that his other sisters received upon their marriage, in particular the Queen of Poland

2 – The dowry is increased by a further 200,000 escudos from King Philip III of Spain in the form of a capital investment in the Kingdom of Naples, to be handled in the same way as the dowries for Empress Maria and Dona Catalina

3 – The Spanish King shall pay a further 300,000 escudos to the groom’s family within a specified time frame to cover debts

4 – Provision regarding the 300,000 escudos in the event of dissolution of the marriage or death of the groom without children: The bride shall receive the proceeds from the 300,000 escudos; after her death, these shall fall to the Medici or, if there are children, to them; Latin note to delete ‘without children’

5 – Latin note to insert an article here promising a mornig gift, as is customary in German territory

6 – Provisions regarding the dowry in the event of dissolution of the marriage or death of the groom without children: lifelong right of disposal for the bride; dowry reverts to the Spanish Crown upon the death of the bride without children; renewed Latin note to delete ‘without children’

7 – Possibility for the groom to redeem precious items given to the bride by the Medici family after the dissolution of the marriage

8 – The bride may freely dispose of everything she receives in addition to the above-mentioned items, and these items will be inherited by her next of kin in the absence of a will

9 – The bride’s itinerary to the groom in Spain is specified; the Latin note revokes the itinerary because the bride’s mother is seasick and had envisaged a different route

10 – Ratification of the contract before the marriage, signature of the Spanish court official Endres de Prada

Commentary

It is a register based on a draft contract in Spanish, which has been annotated in Latin.

References

  • Archive copy: AT-OeStA/HHStA UR FUK 1516
  • Contract language archive copy: Spanish, latin
  • Digitized archive copy: https://www.archivinformationssystem.at/detail.aspx?ID=178159 (very poor quality)
  • Print reference: Betz, Susanne, Von Innerösterreich in die Toskana. Erzherzogin Magdalena und ihre Heirat mit Cosimo de‘ Medici, Frankfurt a. M. 2008, pp. 271-275.
  • Contract language print: Latin, spanish, german