Marriage contract no. 403: Pommern-Stettin - Braunschweig-Lüneburg

Contract content

Article 1: Marriage decided; consent of the bride’s mother mentioned; councillors mentioned; visit of the bride’s father to the groom mentioned; report on whether the bride and groom agree to the marriage mentioned; councillors from Pomerania named; Otto and Ernst, Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg and brothers of the bride, mentioned

Article 2: The dowry amounts to 12,000 guilders; payment to be made within one year of the consummation of the marriage

Article 3: Trousseau (clothes, jewellery, silverware, etc.) appropriate to the bride’s status, to be provided at the time of the consummation of the marriage

Article 4: Usual renunciation of inheritance; sealing by bride and groom mentioned; the bride shall only inherit if there are no more male heirs of her house

Article 5: The donatio propter nuptias amounts to 12,000 guilders

Article 6: The bride shall receive 1,700 guilders annually; Interest, game, usufruct, corvée labour, jurisdiction, fines, etc. regulated; dower regulated in the usual manner.

Article 7: If the bride dies before the groom: prescription and transfer of the dower to the groom regulated?

Article 8: House, town and office of Stolp mentioned as widow’s estate; if the widow’s estate does not yield the specified sum: reimbursement of the shortfall from other estates regulated; ?

Article 9: Knightly services regulated?; awarding of ecclesiastical fiefs reserved?; life estate and customary law mentioned; land tax and knightly fiefs, etc. reserved?

Article 10: Morning gift from Georg von Pommern regulated

Article 11: If the bride dies before the groom and there are no heirs?: The groom receives the lifelong right of use of the dowry and trousseau; after the death of the groom, the dowry and trousseau revert to the bride’s father or his heirs.

Article 12: ?; bond on marriage money, widow’s pension, dower and morning gift regulated?; sealed letters necessary; both sides to receive the letters.

Article 13: The councillors of Pomerania, Brunswick-Lüneburg and Saxony are sent to Lüneburg; consummation of the marriage is mentioned

Article 14: Bond on the marriage money is mentioned

Article 15: Talks with the estates of Lüneburg are regulated; according to the decision: sealed letters are regulated?

Article 16: The councillors of Lüneburg are responsible for the dowry and maintenance provisions, the councillors of Pomerania for the promissory note; surety regulated; payment of outstanding sums regulated?

Article 17: Instead of the groom’s brothers, representatives of the knighthood may also be sent to Lüneburg?; Representatives of the knighthood, prelates and provosts named; surety mentioned; bond mentioned; time regulations mentioned.

Article 18: Time regulations regarding the components of the contract, such as the dowry, mentioned?

Article 19: Marriage in the presence of the bride and groom regulated.

Article 20: Compliance with the contract promised; Witnesses mentioned? Seals attached.

Regulations on inheritance law

Article 4: Ordinary renunciation of inheritance regulated; sealing by bride and groom mentioned; inheritance for the bride only occurs if there are no more male heirs of her house.

Article 7: If the bride dies before the groom: prescription and transfer of the dower to the groom regulated?

Article 11: If the bride dies before the groom and there are no heirs?: The groom receives the lifelong right of use of the dowry and trousseau; after the death of the groom, the dowry and trousseau revert to the bride’s father or his heirs.

Estates involved

Article 15: Discussion with the estates of Lüneburg regulated; after the decision: sealed letters regulated?

External authorities involved

Article 1: Marriage decided; consent of the bride’s mother mentioned; councillors mentioned; visit of the bride’s representative to the groom mentioned; report on whether the bride and groom agree to the marriage mentioned; councillors of Pomerania named; Otto and Ernst, Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg and brothers of the bride, mentioned

Article 10: Morning gift from Georg of Pomerania regulated

Article 13: The councillors of Pomerania, Brunswick-Lüneburg and Saxony are sent to Lüneburg; consummation of the marriage mentioned

Article 16: The Lüneburg councillors are responsible for the dowry and maintenance provisions, the Pomeranian councillors for the bond; Guarantee regulated; payment of outstanding sums regulated?

Article 17: Instead of the groom’s brothers, representatives of the knighthood can also be sent to Lüneburg?; Representatives of the knighthood, prelates and provosts mentioned; guarantee mentioned; bond mentioned; time regulations mentioned

Commentary

For the period before 1555, confessional affiliations of individuals to Lutheranism are based on the current state of research (here, for example: Scheil, Ursula: ‘Barnim IX.’ in: NDB 1 (1953), pp. 595-596). From a legal perspective, Lutheranism only existed from the time of the Peace of Augsburg onwards.

The original contract is not divided into articles.

The lower part of the contract is illegible due to the folding of the original.

References

• Archive copy: NLA Ha Celle Or. 1 No. 74
• Contract language archive copy: German

Recommended citation

Dynastische Eheverträge der frühen Neuzeit. Contract No. 403. Philipps University of Marburg. Available online at https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/403.html.

@misc{ Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit, 
title = {Dynastische Ehevertr{“a}ge der fr{”u}hen Neuzeit: Contract No. 403},
 url = {https://dynastische-ehevertraege.online.uni-marburg.de/en/vertraege/403.html}
}