Ernst Wilhelm zu Bentheim and Steinfurt
Ernst Wilhelm zu Bentheim and Steinfurt (* December 6, 1623 , † August 26, 1693 in Bentheim ) was Count of the County of Bentheim from 1643 until his death .
Life
He was the son of Count Arnold Jobst zu Bentheim and Steinfurt and his mother Anna Amalia (born von Isenburg-Büdingen ).
After the death of his father he took over the rule in Bentheim. His brother Philipp Conrad received Steinfurt . Ernst Wilhelm remained unmarried for a long time. To ensure the successor, he had designated his younger brother as heir. He then surprisingly married Gertrud van Zelst. She came from the Netherlands and had come to Bentheim with her sister, who had married a count's rent master. Her family was respected but not aristocratic. The marriage was secretly concluded in August 1661, because it was not befitting. The son Ernst soon emerged from the marriage. Without his wife's knowledge, Ernst Wilhelm had renewed the previous inheritance contract with his brother.
The brother questioned the legality of the marriage and referred to the succession agreements. He was supported by his father-in-law, Count Moritz von Bentheim-Tecklenburg . Gertrud van Zelst turned to the Bishop of Münster Christoph Bernhard von Galen and gave him the guardianship of the children. She promised her conversion and that of the count to Catholicism. This would enable the bishop to recatholize the county of Bentheim. This would also strengthen its position on the border with the Netherlands. Especially at his instigation, the wife was raised to the status of an imperial countess in 1667 in order to make the marriage befitting. However, the count couple did not convert. The marriage had four children.
The bishop decided to use force. Before his troops marched into the county, the count was apprehended and made to convert to Catholicism. Ernst Wilhelm had Catholic masses read in the castle church and dissolved the upper church council of the Reformed. When Gertrud van Zelst found out about the conversion, she sent her children to the Netherlands. The bishop unsuccessfully demanded the Catholic education of the children and their return to Bentheim. The bishop's troops then occupied Bentheim and temporarily took the countess prisoner until she was able to flee to the Netherlands. The bishop turned to the emperor and obtained a mandate from the Imperial Court Council to bring the children back. Since the States General refused to cooperate, this attempt failed.
Christoph Bernhard von Galen annulled the marriage at the request of Ernst Wilhelm with papal support. The count then married again, Anna Isabella van Limburg-Stirum . The marriage resulted in only one daughter. The count disinherited his descendants from his first marriage and appointed Count Arnold Moritz von Bentheim-Steinfurt in his will as his successor. This later also converted to Catholicism in order to secure the support of Munster. Gertrud van Zelst died soon after her husband's second marriage. Wilhelm von Orange represented the interests of the firstborn from her marriage to Ernst Wilhelm, named Ernst .
After the Count's death, a comparison was made: Bentheim inherited Arnold Moritz Wilhelm von Bentheim and Steinfurt went to Ernst von Bentheim and Steinfurt
literature
- Dagmar Feist: Faith - Love - Discord. Religious and denominational mixed marriages in the early modern period. Berlin, 2017, pp. 400–403.
- Georg Heuermann: History of the reformed Count Bentheimschen Gymnasium Illustre Arnoldinum zu Burgsteinfurt. Burgsteinfurt, 1878, pp. 107–110.
Web links
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Arnold Jost |
Head of the House of Bentheim and Steinfurt 1643–1693 |
serious |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ernst Wilhelm zu Bentheim and Steinfurt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Count of Bentheim and Steinfurt |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 6, 1623 |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 26, 1693 |
| Place of death | Bentheim |