Grand Appanage (Merveilles des Morte)

The Banquet of Wittenberg, 1596

The Grand Appanage was an event in the history of Electorate of Saxony, regarding the succession of Engelbert III, Elector of Saxony. The Grand Appanage saw numerous suitors compete to marry the eight daughters of Engelbert, as he had no male heirs to succeed him, and as such promised to divide his territory instead to his daughters. The Grand Appanage became one of the largest examples of secundogeniture in European history, as the Electorate of Saxony became split eight ways into a series of smaller, dependent duchies, in addition to the series of already existing duchies that had been created in the Saxon region. The most prized division was the Electorate itself, which was promised to Engelbert's eldest daughter, Sibella.

The contest first took shape with the ascension of Engelbert III in 1595. At the time of his coronation Engelbert had no sons, his wife Ladia of Göttingen was passed childbearing age, and the new Elector seemingly had no intention of remarrying. Throughout his life Engelbert staved off attempts by his brothers and other relatives to be declared heir apparent, finding none of them suitable, and also feared for the future of his daughters should they be usurped. Instead Engelbert began a process of codifying Saxony's succession laws to cement the claim of his daughters over his brothers, a tradition that was not without precedent in Saxony since the ascension of Engelbert I in 1394. Additionally, Engelbert III hoped to enrich Saxony through the gifts and alliances that would be made through more enticing marriages, and envisioned light-hearted competition in a similar vein to the King of Switzerland competition.

Divisions of Saxony following the death of Engelbert III, 1618

The outbreak of the Forty Years' War sabotaged Engelbert's plans, as Saxony quickly became embroiled in the conflict. The conflict extended to Engelbert's daughters, as suitors from both sides of the conflict sought the promised dowries of Saxony. After Engelbert III's death, various members of the House of La Marck disobeyed his wishes and sought to claim Saxony territory in the chaos of the war. Ultimately Engelbert's vision prevailed through Maximillian Achilles, husband of Sibella, who succeeded in taking the Elector title of Saxony. Many of the other territories created in the Grand Appanage would be short lived, with many being recombined or traded for other territories in the later half of the 17th century.

Background

The Imperial Charter of 1357 established Saxony as an imperial elector, and as per the agreement the electoral principalities were declared indivisible, with their successions regulated to ensure the electoral distinction would never be divided. Prior to this, Saxony had a long tradition of dividing its lands among male heirs, such as when the sons of Albert I divided the Duchy of Saxony into the duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg. Both lines claimed the Saxon electoral dignity, leading to two rival votes from Saxony being cast in the Imperial Election of 1314. Under the House of La Marck, who ascended to the Duchy of Saxony in 1394, this tradition was lessened, with the Dukes of Saxony instead dividing the Marck territories outside Saxony. As such the Duchy remained territorially the same until the Lenzburg-Premsylid War, which saw the Duchy of Saxe-Belzig broken off from the rest of the Duchy.

Edmund Alwin, who reinvented the tradition of Saxon secundogeniture

After the death of Edmund Alwin in 1533 the Duchy of Saxony was divided among sons for the first time in centuries. This was largely because with the advent of the Rätian Union, in which all the territories of Saxony were indivisibly part of the "Province of Saxony", there was less of a risk of territory being lost through future inheritance. The four duchies created at the time of Edmund Alwin's death were Saxe-Wolfen, Saxe-Lobnitz, Saxe-Lochau, and Saxe-Jessen. The first duke created was Wenceslaus I of Saxe-Lobnitz, who was Edmund Alwin's nephew, the son of the deposed Engelbert II. The other three fell to three of Edmund Alwin's sons: Edmund of Saxe-Jessen, Louis of Saxe-Wolfen, and Alwin of Saxe-Lochau. After this precedent was set, subsequent Dukes of Saxony further divided the realm. In 1570 after the death of Wolfgang I three more duchies were created: Saxe-Wartenburg, Saxe-Gräfenhainichen, and Saxe-Zahna. An attempt was also made to reclaim Saxe-Belzig during the reign of Wolfgang I, although the duchy later passed to Charles II of the Přemyslid dynasty.

Overview

In 1595 Engelbert III ascended to the throne of Saxony, and later that year published a series of decrees regarding his succession. Much of his reign would subsequently be spent receiving sworn statements from his vassals and allies that his succession wishes would be respected, to varying results after his death. The eight daughters who were to receive a duchy after his death were as follows:

• Sibella (b. 1568), promised the Electorate and Saxe-Wittenberg
• Karoline (b. 1570)
• Matilda (b. 1572)
• Millania (b. 1574)
• Tosca (b. 1576), promised the Duchy of Saxe-Torgau
• Jacinda (b. 1578)
• Diana (b. 1580), promised the Duchy of Saxe-Gommern
• Ruth (b. 1582)

Almost immediately after Engelbert's declaration a number of suitors emerged. After taking part in the Imperial Elections of 1595-96, in which Engelbert narrowly escaped with his life, he organized a grand banquet and invited many of these suitors to Wittenberg. Secretly the intent of this meeting was also to shore up support for a Jungist alliance behind Joktan of Hesse in opposition to the Catholic-elected Frederick V. Notably Joktan himself was unable to attend, due to the outbreak of the Frankfurt War. The invitation attracted well over 100 suitors from various walks of life, both Jungist and Catholic.

The most prestigious and richest visitor to the Grand Appanage was George II, King of Denmark and England, although the latter title would be lost in the ongoing Anglo-Danish War. George II was a fellow La Marck, the great-grandson of the Saxon prince Henry I, and the prospect of continuing Saxony's close relationship with Denmark was promising. Engelbert hoped to negotiate for George II to enter the Forty Years' War on the side of the Jungists, but with his ongoing wars against England and the United Kingdom, George II declined this request. Aggravated, Engelbert refused an offer for George's son to marry Sibella, instead only later reluctantly agreeing to wed him to his daughter Matilda.

Several other close La Marck family members attended, despite Engelbert disliking such incest and disfavoring them. Most famous of which was the unscrupulous Henry of Naunhof, Engelbert's eldest brother. Regarded as an amoral opportunist, Henry was disliked by the various daughters and Saxony's nobility, but he nonetheless competed eagerly. He would make over a dozen offers to wed Sibella, which were all rejected readily, and when that failed tried unsuccessfully to seduce his niece Tosca. When that failed he attempted to amass a fortune and power on his own, often taking advantage of war torn regions of Germany affected by the Forty Years' War. Later he managed to negotiate for a marriage to his niece Tosca in exchange for much needed funds.

Footnotes