Wilhelm (Nassau)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Count Wilhelm the Rich

Wilhelm called the Rich (born April 10, 1487 in Dillenburg ; † October 6, 1559 ibid) was the ruling Count of Nassau-Dillenburg , Siegen, Vianden and Diez from 1516 to 1559 .

Life

ancestry

Wilhelm was a son of Count Johann V von Nassau-Diez and Landgravine Elisabeth von Hessen (* 1466; † 1523), the eldest daughter of Landgrave Heinrich III. of Hessen . Wilhelm became Count of Nassau-Dillenburg after the death of his father in 1516.

Wilhelm's older brother Heinrich III. had inherited the Nassau property in the Netherlands from Johann V's brother Engelbert II as early as 1504 , so that the German hereditary lands of this Nassau line became free for Wilhelm.

government

Wilhelm became a moderate Lutheran and introduced the Reformation in Nassau-Dillenburg in 1533 . He had been a member of the Schmalkaldic League since 1535 , but remained loyal to Emperor Charles V.

With little ambition, Wilhelm refused the governorship of Luxembourg in 1528. He promoted agriculture and founded schools.

On November 14, 1537, Wilhelm the Rich introduced complete freedom of trade in the countryside after the city of Siegen refused to pay taxes. "The proud Siegener bowed their head before Wilhelm the Rich" on January 29, 1538, which means that they recognized the tax sovereignty of their sovereign in a special treaty.

Wilhelm had his eldest son Wilhelm “the silent one” , who was originally a Lutheran , raised a Roman Catholic from the age of 11 , for which the emperor assured in return that he was allowed to inherit the inheritance in the Netherlands along with the Principality of Orange in southern France Renatus , a nephew of Wilhelm the Rich, had ruled since 1530. Renatus died in 1544, so that Wilhelm the Silent became the sovereign Prince of Orange and was sent to the Netherlands for further training.

Wilhelm's successor as Count of Nassau-Dillenburg was his second oldest son, Johann.

progeny

Wilhelm the Rich was married twice. His first wife was Walburga (* October 29, 1490; † March 7, 1529; second daughter of Johann III. Von Egmond ), whom he married in Koblenz in 1506 . They had two daughters:

  • Elisabeth (1515–1523)
  • Magdalena (1522-1567)
⚭ 1538 Count Hermann von Neuenahr and Moers (1520–1578)

In his second marriage, on September 20, 1531, he married Countess Juliana zu Stolberg , the 25-year-old widow of Count Philip II of Hanau-Münzenberg . The wedding took place at the Upper Castle in Siegen. They had twelve children:

⚭ 1556 Count Wilhelm IV. Von Bergh 's-Heerenberg (1537–1586)
⚭ 1559 Albrecht von Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler (1537–1593)
  • Elisabeth (1542–1603)
⚭ 1559 Count Konrad von Solms-Braunfels (1542–1592)
  • Catherine (1542–1624)
⚭ 1560 Count Günther XLI. von Schwarzburg-Arnstadt (1529–1583)
  • Juliane (1546–1588)
⚭ 1575 Count Albrecht VII of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1537–1605)
  • Magdalena (1547-1633)
⚭ 1567 Count Wolfgang von Hohenlohe-Weikersheim (1546–1610)

Wilhelm the Rich also left a son Gottfried, whom he fathered with a mistress and who received the noble family name of Nassau and who also had the Nassau lion in the coat of arms. Count Wilhelm and his sons provided Gottfried with a fiefdom of the line of the old noble family from Nassau zu Löhnberg, which started around 1547 in the male line, and a fiefdom at Camberg . The family died out in 1636 with his grandson Hans Wilhelm von Nassau.

Trivia

Wilhelm ran into high debts, so he was anything but rich. His nickname is probably due to his large number of children.

Wilhelm is said to have turned to the theologian Philipp Melanchthon to create a horoscope for his eldest son Wilhelm. He prophesied the inheritance of power and wealth, a turbulent life and a violent end, whatever happened.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Adolf Müller: Milestones from the Siegerland past. In: Siegerland home calendar. Vol. 41, 1966, ZDB -ID 529717-5 , p. 96.
  2. ↑ Jakob Wagner: The regent family of Nassau-Hadamar. History of the Principality of Hadamar with special regard to its church history, from the oldest times to our days, based on documents. Volume 1. 2nd edition. Verlag der Mechitharisten-Congregations-Buchhandlung, Vienna 1863, p. 154 ( Google Books ).
personal data
SURNAME Wilhelm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilhelm of Nassau; William the Rich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Nassau-Dillenburg
DATE OF BIRTH April 10, 1487
PLACE OF BIRTH Dillenburg
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 1559
Place of death Dillenburg