Family and Marriage Policy among Princes in the Late Middle Ages – Margrave Albrecht Achilles of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Kulmbach (1414–1486) and his eight Daughters (Familien- und Heiratspolitik unter Fürsten im späten Mittelalter – Markgraf Albrecht Achilles von Brandenburg-Ansbach und Kulmbach (1414–1486) und seine acht Töchter)
Author : Wolfgang Wüst
Abstract :
From a communications history perspective, it concerns the “dense” correspondence between a margrave from the House of Hohenzollern and his daughters and sons-in-law. Politics and family matters were closely intertwined in 15th-century Franconia and beyond. Specifically, the following family members (daughters, sons-in-law, parents-in-law) were involved in disputes over dowries, education, inheritance, celebrations, joys, and everyday concerns at the court in Ansbach:
- Daughter: Ursula (1450–1508) ~ Son-in-law: Heinrich I of Münsterberg (1448–1498);
- Daughter: Elisabeth (1451–1524) ~ Son-in-law: Eberhard II of Württemberg (1447–1504);
- Daughter: Amalie (1461–1481) ~ Son-in-law: Kaspar of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (1458–1527);
- Daughter: Barbara (1464–1515) ~ Sons-in-law: Henry XI of Glogau († 1476) and Wladislaus, King of Bohemia (1456–1516);
- Daughter: Sibylle (1467–1524) ~ Son-in-law: William IV of Jülich-Berg (1455–1511);
- Daughter: Elizabeth (1474–1507) ~ Son-in-law: Hermann VIII of Henneberg-Römhild (1470–1535);
- Daughter: Anastasia (1478–1534) ~ Son-in-law: William VII of Henneberg-Schleusingen (1478–1551) and last but not least
- The daughters Margarete (1453–1509) and Dorothea (1471–1520) became abbesses in Hof (St. Clara) and Bamberg.
With the multitude of family relationships organized for – or rather, above – his daughters, Margrave and Elector Albrecht Achilles had brought a whole host of sons-in-law into the House of Hohenzollern, whose dynastic and political position and orientation were far more important than their individual and personal appearance. The Ansbach correspondence confirms the fact of a calculated marriage policy. Family and politics are inextricably linked. Marriages for love were never intended at any time.
Keywords :
Marriages, princes, margraves, Albrecht III. Achilles of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Kulmbach, Ansbach, Bayreuth, Franconia, sons-in-law, daughters, family matters, late Middle Ages.
