Twin fall from Gottorf
The twin fall of Gottorf in 1433 was a dispute over the legacy of Duke Gerhard VII of Schleswig , Count of Holstein .
On June 2, 1432, Gerhard VII married Agnes von Baden , the daughter of Margrave Bernhard I of Baden . Gerhard and his brother and co-regent Adolf VIII wanted to secure support in the war against Denmark in this way . Her brother Jakob I von Baden, on the other hand, was on the one hand very keen to gain influence in Schleswig through his sister's marriage, on the other hand he wanted to separate his sister from a petty noble gentleman in Baden and marry appropriately. The agreed dowry was never paid.
After the hasty marriage in Baden, Duke Gerhard VII quickly traveled back to secure the borders of his country without an official wedding night taking place. The marriage was officially consummated on October 5, 1432. The whole process seemed to be based on a strategic assistance pact between the Badeners and Duke Gerhard VII. On January 15, 1433, however, the pregnant Agnes von Baden fell on a staircase and went into labor . The following day she gave birth to healthy twins Heinrich and Katharina. This first led to astonishment and then to resentment. It was clear to anyone who could count that the consummation of the marriage and the date of birth were too close together to produce viable children.
Gerhard VII and his brother quickly tried to get rid of the embarrassment. In February 1433, in the courtyard of Gottorf Castle , Gerhard VII announced to his knights that he had had intercourse with Agnes before he married and that the children were therefore befitting and his. Otherwise, they are seven-month-olds. Gerhard testified that he had "heymelich puffed up his wife and was really Juncfrawe" . This was confirmed in front of the clergy and councilors in the Schleswig Cathedral and in the regional assembly and confirmed by court ladies, doctors and midwives. Ultimately, the situation was certified and settled by the bishops of Lübeck and Schleswig .
The whole anger did not leave Gerhard VII without a trace. In February 1433, an old lung disease broke out again and became visibly worse. When all the art of the doctors did not help, Agnes and her husband left for Baden (-Baden) against the advice of the doctors for a cure . Already near Cologne his condition deteriorated so much that the plans were overturned and the two made their way back. Finally, Gerhard VII died on the return journey in Emmerich am Rhein .
When Agnes came to Hamburg on her return journey, she had to find out that her brother-in-law Adolf VIII had refused her entry to Schleswig-Holstein, had kidnapped her children and that she and her children should have no further claims to the inheritance or the widow's part. because the children would not be married and they would have brought shame to the house of the Schauenburg . Agnes, who didn't know where to go, made her way to Baden. In doing so, however, she destroyed the plans of her brother, who was still hoping for the legacy of the Schauenburgers.
When Agnes thwarted her brother's further marriage plans by becoming engaged to Hans von Höwen , an admirer from earlier days, the margrave was so upset that he interned Agnes at Eberstein Castle for the rest of her life . The margrave had planned to marry Agnes to the Duke of Schlesien-Oels ; his sister in turn was to be married to Adolf VIII in order to save the claim to Schleswig-Holstein. The failure so annoyed the margrave that no pleading soothed him and he himself ordered another internment in his will. Agnes died blind in the first weeks of 1473 at Eberstein Castle.
As early as the summer of 1433 attempts were made to force the inheritance disputes through, and the matter occupied the Hanseatic cities , the Basel Council and the emperor for more than ten years.
Both children died very quickly. The daughter came to the convent as a nun as a year old and died that same year while the son drowned playing with the court jester . So it happened that the Schleswig Duchy finally fell to the Danish King Christian I of Oldenburg without descendants .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
literature
- Peter Hirschfeld : Margravine Agnes von Baden, wife of Duke Gerhard VII of Schleswig . Sources and research on the history of Schleswig-Holstein, Volume 34. Neumünster 1957