Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen (1437–1493) explained

Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen
Countess Consort of Katzenelnbogen Countess Consort of Tierstein
More:	no
Spouse:	Philip the Younger of Katzenelnbogen Oswald I of Tierstein
Issue:	Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen
Issue-Link:	Issue
Full Name:	Ottilie Countess of Nassau-Siegen
Native Name:	Ottilie Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen
Noble Family:	House of Nassau-Siegen
Father:	Henry II of Nassau-Siegen
Mother:	Genoveva of Virneburg
Birth Name:	Ottilie Gräfin zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez
Birth Date:	before or on 18 April 1437
Death Date:	July 1493

Countess Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen^[1] (before or on 18 April 1437 – July 1493), German: Ottilie Gräfin von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: Gräfin zu Nassau, Vianden und Diez, was a countess from the House of Nassau-Siegen, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau, and through marriage respectively Countess of Katzenelnbogen and Countess of Tierstein.

Biography

Ottilie was born before or on 18 April 1437,^[2] possibly in Breda,^[3] as the only daughter of Count Henry II of Nassau-Siegen and his first wife Countess Genoveva of Virneburg.^{[4] [5] [6]}

Ottilie married in 1449/1450^[7] to Count Philip the Younger of Katzenelnbogen (1427 – 27 February 1453^[8]), the eldest son of Count Philip the Elder of Katzenelnbogen and his first wife Countess Anne of Württemberg.

Following the death of her father in 1451, Ottilie claimed his part of the County of Diez as her inheritance.^{[9] [10]} This led to a conflict with her paternal uncle Count John IV of Nassau-Siegen, who had succeeded his brother in all his possessions^{[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]} and was granted the County of Diez as a fief by Archbishop of Trier on 4 November 1451.^[16] The conflict was complicated further due to the fact that another part of the County of Diez belonged to Ottilie's father-in-law Philip the Elder of Katzenelnbogen.^[17]

Ottilie remarried on 3 June 1475^[18] to Count Oswald I of Tierstein^[19] (^[20] – before 1488^[21]). Oswald was governor in the Alsace, the Sundgau and the Breisgau and councillor in Lorraine and the Electorate of Cologne.

In 1479 Count Philip the Elder of Katzenelnbogen died without male issue. He was succeeded by his daughter Anne and her husband Landgrave Henry III the Rich of Hesse-Marburg.^[22] Ottilie's daughter, Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen, however, also immediately laid claim to the County of Katzenelnbogen.^[23] On 6 May 1482 Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen renounced her claims to the counties Katzenelbogen and Diez and received a financial compensation.

In 1481 Ottilie's first cousin Count John V of Nassau-Siegen fully succeeded in enforcing the still unfinished settlement of Ottilie's claims to the County of Diez. In 1485 Ottilie's second husband, Oswald I of Tierstein, attempted to murder John V of Nassau-Siegen because of his dissatisfaction with the marriage grant and the settlement of the inheritance. The of Siegen, Heinrich Weiß, was able to prevent the attempt. The settlement was finally confirmed in 1510.

Ottilie died in July 1493.^[24]

Issue

First marriage

From Ottilie's first marriage to Count Philip the Younger of Katzenelnbogen only one daughter was born:

1. Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen (– 15 August 1517), married in Koblenz^[25] on 19 December 1468 to Margrave Christopher I of Baden (13 November 1453^[26] – Hohenbaden Castle, 19 April 1527^[27]).

The wedding of Ottilie and Christopher was a double wedding, as on the same day and location Christopher's sister married Count Engelbert II the Illustrious of Nassau-Breda, the eldest son of Count John IV of Nassau-Siegen.^{[28] [29] [30] [31]}

Ancestors

Ancestors of Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen^[32] ^[33] ^[34] ^[35] ^[36] ^[37] ^[38]
Great-great-grandparents	Otto II of Nassau-Siegen (–1350/51) ⚭ 1331 Adelaide of Vianden	Adolf II of the Mark ⚭ 1332 Margaret of Cleves	John II of Polanen ⚭ 1348 Oda of Horne	John II of Salm ⚭ after 1355 Philippa of Valkenburg (?–?)	Rupert III of Virneburg ⚭ Agnes (?–?)	? (?–?) ⚭ ? (?–?)	Bernhard of Solms ⚭ ? (?–?)	Philip VI of Falkenstein ⚭ before 1363 Agnes of Falkenstein
Great-grandparents	John I of Nassau-Siegen (–1416) ⚭ 1357		John III of Polanen ⚭ 1390		Adolf of Virneburg ⚭ Jutta of Randerath		Otto I of Solms ⚭ Agnes of Falkenstein (–1409)
Grandparents	Engelbert I of Nassau-Siegen (–1442) ⚭ 1403 Joanne of Polanen (1392–1445)				Rupert IV of Virneburg ⚭ Agnes of Solms-Braunfels
Parents	Henry II of Nassau-Siegen (1414–1451) ⚭ 1440 Genoveva of Virneburg

Literature

• Book: Demand, Karl E. . 1955 . Die letzten Katzenelnbogener Grafen und der Kampf um ihr Erbe . http://www.graf-von-katzenelnbogen.de/kampfumserbedemandt.html . Nassauische Annalen . de . Band 66 . . Verein für Nassauische Altertumskunde und Geschichtsforschung . 93–132 .

Sources

• Book: Becker, E. . 1983 . 1950 . Schloss und Stadt Dillenburg. Ein Gang durch ihre Geschichte in Mittelalter und Neuzeit. Zur Gedenkfeier aus Anlaß der Verleihung der Stadtrechte am 20. September 1344 herausgegeben . de . Neuauflage . . Der Magistrat der Stadt Dillenburg .
• Book: Dek, A.W.E. . 1970 . Genealogie van het Vorstenhuis Nassau . nl . . Europese Bibliotheek .
• Book: Van Ditzhuyzen, Reinildis . 2004 . 1992 . Oranje-Nassau. Een biografisch woordenboek . nl . 3rd . . Becht . 90-230-1124-4 .
• Book: Huberty . Michel . Giraud . Alain . Magdelaine . F. & B. . & . 1981 . l'Allemagne Dynastique . fr . Tome III: Brunswick-Nassau-Schwarzbourg . . Alain Giraud . 2-901138-03-9 .
• Book: Jansen, H.P.H. . Tamse . C.A. . 1979 . De Bredase Nassaus . Nassau en Oranje in de Nederlandse geschiedenis . nl . . A.W. Sijthoff . 11–40 . 90-218-2447-7 .
• Book: Lück, Alfred . 1981 . 1967 . Siegerland und Nederland . de . 2nd . . Siegerländer Heimatverein e.V. .
• Book: Schutte, O. . Tamse . C.A. . 1979 . Genealogische gegevens . Nassau en Oranje in de Nederlandse geschiedenis . nl . . A.W. Sijthoff . 40–44 . 90-218-2447-7 .
• Book: Vorsterman van Oyen . A.A. . 1882 . Het vorstenhuis Oranje-Nassau. Van de vroegste tijden tot heden . nl . . A.W. Sijthoff & J.L. Beijers .

Notes and References

1. In many sources she is called Ottilie of Nassau-Dillenburg. The County of Nassau-Siegen is erroneously called Nassau-Dillenburg in many sources. The county was not named after the small, unimportant city of Dillenburg, which did not even have a church until 1491, but after the, for that time, large city of Siegen, the economic centre of the county and the counts' main residence. See Lück (1981), passim. It is also evident from the numbering of the reigning counts with the given name John. One John without regal number who ruled the County of Nassau-Dillenburg in the period 1303–1328, and eight counts by the name of John who ruled the County of Nassau-Siegen in the period 1362–1638.
2. Schutte (1979), p. 41, Dek (1970), p. 67 and Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92 all state born in April 1437. Since her mother died on 18 April 1437, Ottilie must have been born before or no later than on 18 April 1437.
3. Since her mother died in Breda (in childbirth?), Ottilie was probably born in that city.
4. Schutte (1979), p. 41.
5. Dek (1970), p. 67.
6. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92.
7. Dek (1970), p. 67 states the year 1450. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92 states the year 1449.
8. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92 states the date of death 30 January 1454.
9. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 93.
10. The sources do not mention whether Ottilie also claimed her father's part of the County of Vianden.
11. Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 152.
12. Becker (1983), p. 12.
13. Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 219.
14. Jansen (1979), p. 30.
15. Book: Blok, P.J. . Molhuysen . P.C. . Blok . P.J. . & . 1911 . Johan (Johann) IV, graaf van Nassau-Dillenburg . https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/molh003nieu01_01/molh003nieu01_01_1900.php . Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek . nl . Eerste deel . . A.W. Sijthoff . 1218 .
16. Web site: RI XIII H. 5 n. 92 . Regesta Imperii Online . Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur . . de . 2 January 2023 .
17. Book: Joachim, Ernst . 1881 . Johann V. von Nassau-Dillenburg . https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Johann_V._(Graf_von_Nassau-Dillenburg) . . de . Band 14 . . Duncker & Humblot . 252 .
18. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92 states the year 1471. Dek (1970), p. 67 does not mention a wedding date.
19. In older sources one can also find the spelling Thierstein.
20. Dek (1970), p. 67 states the year 1423 without the circa. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92 does not mention a date of birth.
21. Dek (1970), p. 67 states the year . Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 92 states the year .
22. Lück (1981), p. 33.
23. Book: Kleinschmidt, Arthur . 1876 . Christoph I., Markgraf von Baden und Hochberg . https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Christoph_I. . . de . Band 4 . . Duncker & Humblot . 228 .
24. Dek (1970), p. 67 mentions only the year of death. Schutte (1979), p. 41 states died July (?) 1495. The year 1495 is probably an error because her first cousin of the same name died in that year.
25. Book: Wielandt, Friedrich . 1957 . Christoph I. . https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/gnd118520695.html#ndbcontent . . de . Band 3 . . Duncker & Humblot . 243 .
26. Book: Kleinschmidt, Arthur . 1876 . Christoph I., Markgraf von Baden und Hochberg . https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Christoph_I. . . de . Band 4 . . Duncker & Humblot . 227 .
27. The date of death 29 April 1527 in Book: Kleinschmidt, Arthur . 1876 . Christoph I., Markgraf von Baden und Hochberg . https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Christoph_I. . . de . Band 4 . . Duncker & Humblot . 232 .
28. Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 94.
29. Schutte (1979), p. 42.
30. Dek (1970), p. 69.
31. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 95.
32. Schutte (1979), pp. 40–42.
33. Book: Schwennicke, Detlev . 1978–1995 . Europäische Stammtafeln. Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten. Neue Folge . de . . J.A. Stargardt .
34. Dek (1970), pp. 65–67.
35. Book: von Ehrenkrook . Hans Friedrich . Förster . Karl . Marchtaler . Kurt Erhard . & . 1928 . Ahnenreihen aus allen deutschen Gauen. Beilage zum Archiv für Sippenforschung und allen verwandten Gebieten . de . . Verlag für Sippenforschung und Wappenkunde C.A. Starke .
36. Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), pp. 89–92.
37. Book: von Behr, Kamill . 1870 . 1854 . Genealogie der in Europa regierenden Fürstenhäuser . de . Zweite verbesserte und ergänzte Auflage . . Verlag von Bernhard Tauchnitz .
38. Book: Textor von Haiger, Johann . 1617 . Nassauische Chronik. In welcher des vralt, hochlöblich, vnd weitberühmten Stamms vom Hause Naßaw, Printzen vnd Graven Genealogi oder Stammbaum: deren geburt, leben, heurath, kinder, zu Friden- vnd Kriegszeiten verzichtete sachen und thaten, absterben, und sonst denckwürdige Geschichten. Sampt einer kurtzen general Nassoviae und special Beschreibung der Graf- und Herschaften Naßaw-Catzenelnbogen, etc. . de . . Christoph Raab . 93 .