Adolf III. (Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein)

Adolf III. von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein (drawing of the epitaph from 1632, which was destroyed except for a fragment )

Adolf III. (* November 10, 1443 ; † July 6, 1511 in Wiesbaden ) was Count of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein . He served Emperor Maximilian I , but has moved away from him at times.

family

He was the eldest son of Johann von Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein and his wife Maria von Nassau-Dillenburg . He himself married Margarethe von Hanau-Lichtenberg in 1479 after his first fiancée Adelheid von Mansfeld had died before the wedding. The heir Philip I emerged from the marriage. In addition, the marriage produced the daughters Maria Margareta, who married Ludwig von Nassau-Weilburg , and Anna, who Heinrich XXXI. von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen married.

Life

After the father's death in 1480, the rulership was divided. Adolf received Wiesbaden while his brother Philipp got Idstein . In 1509, after his brother's death, Adolf united both parts in his hand.

Friedrich III. Adolf had intended to travel with Maximilian I to the Netherlands, where he came to power. In 1481 he was the imperial governor of the county of Zütphen and from 1489 general governor in Geldern and Zütphen. He was also a chamberlain, marshal and steward. He was one of the closest circle around Maximilian. He earned merit when he was freed from captivity in Bruges in 1488. He also used his posts to increase his income. Years later, the Dutch were still demanding compensation from him.

After Adolf returned to the empire, he represented Maximilian at the royal court, for example in disputes between imperial estates or in feudal issues . When Maximilian's son Philip the Fair was declared of legal age, Maximilian called Adolf back to the Netherlands, among others. This should ensure a pro-Reich policy of Philip. But he soon encountered headwinds from pro-France councils.

At the Diet of Worms in 1495 he was present as royal council. On the one hand, he was Maximilian's spokesman for a time, on the other hand, as an imperial class, he tried to get a position between Maximilian and the classes. As a result, he incurred Maximilian's displeasure.

The fact that Adolf did not take part in the Swabian War in 1499 or against Geldern and the Palatinate in 1504 suggests that the relationship has cooled down . Not least because Adolf played an important role in the Reichstag, Maximilian avoided a break. During the Augsburg Diet of 1500, Adolf sided with Archbishop Berthold von Henneberg and even led an embassy of the imperial estates to France. In 1501 Adolf was made the highest chamber judge by the estates , but soon had to give up the office. The reason was the lack of payment.

Since it was not possible to improve his financial situation in the Reichsdienst, he withdrew into his own rule. In the following years, when the dispute between the emperor and the estates came to a head, he apparently steered a course between Maximilian and Archbishop Berthold. Also because the estates had more to offer him materially, he increasingly leaned towards this side. After the archbishop's death, he approached Maximilian again. In 1509 he again took over the post of chief judge. He fought doggedly to maintain the court. It also played a role that he was dependent on the 1000 guilders salary-

literature

• Hermann Wiesflecker: Kaiser Maximilian I. Vol. 5 Munich, 1986 p. 47f.
• The protocol and judgment books of the Royal Court of Justice from the years 1465 to 1480. Cologne, 2004 p. 1706f.
• Ernst Hermann Joseph Münch: History of the House of Nassau-Orange. Vol. 2 Aachen, 1832 pp. 245f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Adolf III. Count of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein 1511, Wiesbaden. Grave monuments in Hesse until 1650. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).