House of Wettin

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House of Wettin
COA Wettin.svg
Country Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom
Founded10th century
Founder Theodoric I
Current head Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Titles
List
Branches

The House of Wettin (German : Haus Wettin) is a dynasty which included Saxon kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt. The Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of several medieval states, starting with the Saxon Eastern March in 1030. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, and Saxony in 1423. These areas cover large parts of Central Germany as a cultural area of Germany.

Contents

The family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the Treaty of Leipzig: the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation. Many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Albertine branch, while less prominent, ruled most of Saxony and played a part in Polish history.

Agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of the United Kingdom, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland-Lithuania, the Electorate of Saxony (later the Kingdom of Saxony), Mexico and Belgium. Only the Belgian line retains their throne today.

Origins: Wettin of Saxony

Wettin Castle in Saxony-Anhalt WettinCastleSaale-cropped880w600h.jpg
Wettin Castle in Saxony-Anhalt

The oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is Theodoric I of Wettin, also known as Dietrich, Thiedericus, and Thierry I of Liesgau (died c. 982). He was most probably based in the Liesgau (located at the western edge of the Harz). Around 1000, the family acquired Wettin Castle, which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes (see Sorbs), after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in Wettin in the Hassegau (or Hosgau) on the Saale River. Around 1030, the Wettin family received the Eastern March as a fief. [1]

The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March (or Ostmark) caused Emperor Henry IV to invest them with the March of Meissen as a fief in 1089. The family advanced over the course of the Middle Ages: in 1263, they inherited the landgraviate of Thuringia (although without Hesse) and in 1423, they were invested with the Duchy of Saxony, centred at Wittenberg, thus becoming one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire.

Ernestine and Albertine Wettins

The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly. The elder son Ernest, who had succeeded his father as Prince-elector, received the territories assigned to the Elector ( Electorate of Saxony ) and Thuringia, while his younger brother Albert obtained the March of Meissen, which he ruled from Dresden. As Albert ruled under the title of "Duke of Saxony", his possessions were also known as Ducal Saxony.

Ernestines

The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Frederick III (Friedrich der Weise) appointed Martin Luther (1512) and Philipp Melanchthon (1518) to the University of Wittenberg, which he had established in 1502. [2]

The Ernestine predominance ended in the Schmalkaldic War (1546/7), which pitted the Protestant Schmalkaldic League against the Emperor Charles V. Although itself Lutheran, the Albertine branch rallied to the Emperor's cause. Charles V had promised Moritz the rights to the electorship. After the Battle of Mühlberg, Johann Friedrich der Großmütige, had to cede territory (including Wittenberg) and the electorship to his cousin Moritz. Although imprisoned, Johann Friedrich was able to plan a new university. It was established by his three sons on 19 March 1548 as the Höhere Landesschule at Jena. On 15 August 1557, Emperor Ferdinand I awarded it the status of university. [2]

The Ernestine line was thereafter restricted to Thuringia and its dynastic unity swiftly crumbled, dividing into a number of smaller states, the Ernestine duchies. Nevertheless, with Ernst der Fromme, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675), the house gave rise to an important early-modern ruler who was ahead of his time in supporting the education of his people and in improving administration. In the 18th century, Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, established what was to become known as Weimar Classicism at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe there. [2]

It was only in the 19th century that one of the many Ernestine branches, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, regained importance through marriages as the "stud of Europe", by ascending the thrones of Belgium (in 1831), Portugal (1853–1910), Bulgaria (1908–1946) and the United Kingdom (1901-present, though the relevant marriage had taken place in 1840) and also providing a consort to the future Habsburg Emperor of Mexico (1857). [3]

Residences of Ernestine branches

Albertines

Albertine Wettins' royal coat of arms with the standard arms at the center (Kings of Saxony, 1806-1918) Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Saxony 1806-1918.svg
Albertine Wettins' royal coat of arms with the standard arms at the center (Kings of Saxony, 1806–1918)

The junior Albertine branch maintained most of the territorial integrity of Saxony, preserving it as a significant power in the region, and used small appanage fiefs for its cadet branches, few of which survived for significant lengths of time. The Ernestine Wettins, on the other hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory, creating an intricate patchwork of small duchies and counties in Thuringia.

The Albertine Wettins ruled as Electors (1547–1806) and Kings of Saxony (1806–1918), and also played a role in Polish history – two Wettins were Kings of Poland (between 1697 and 1763) and a third ruled the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1814) as a satellite of Napoleon I. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Albertine branch lost about 40% of its lands (the economically less-developed northern parts of the old Electorate of Saxony) to Prussia, restricting it to a territory coextensive with the modern Saxony (see Final Act of the Congress of Vienna Act IV: Treaty between Prussia and Saxony 18 May 1815). Frederick Augustus III lost his throne in the German Revolution of 1918.

The role of current head of the Albertine "House of Saxony" is claimed by his great-grandson Prince Rüdiger of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (born 23 December 1953). However, the headship of Prince Rüdiger is contested by his second cousin, Alexander (born 1954), son of Roberto Afif (later by change of name Mr Gessaphe) and Princess Maria Anna of Saxony, a sister of the childless former head of the Albertines, Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen (died 2012), who had adopted his nephew and granted him the name Prince of Saxony, contrary to the rules of male descent under the Salic Law. However, neither are recognized by the Nobility Archive in Marburg, nor by the Conference of the Formerly Ruling Houses in Germany – Prince Rüdiger because his father Timo was expelled from the House of Wettin, and Prince Alexander because he is not of agnatic noble descent (his father was Roberto Afif from Lebanon). Consequently, the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin is officially treated by the German nobility as extinct in its legal succession-line.

Residences of the Albertine branch (Electors, later Kings of Saxony)

The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Coat of Arms of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.svg
House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

The senior (Ernestine) branch of the House of Wettin lost the electorship to the Albertine line in 1547, but retained its holdings in Thuringia, dividing the area into a number of smaller states. One of the resulting Ernestine houses, known as Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld until 1826 and as Saxe-Coburg and Gotha after that, went on to contribute kings of Belgium (from 1831) and Bulgaria (1908–1946), as well as furnishing consorts to queens regnant of Portugal (Prince Ferdinand) and the United Kingdom (Prince Albert), and the Emperor of Mexico (Carlota of Mexico) [3] Thus, the British and Portuguese thrones became possessions of persons who belonged to the House of Wettin for a time.

From King George I to Queen Victoria, the British Royal family was called the House of Hanover, being a junior branch of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg and thus part of the dynasty of the Guelphs. In the late 19th century, Queen Victoria charged the College of Arms in England to determine the correct personal surname of her late husband, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha—and, thus, the proper surname of the royal family upon the accession of her son. After extensive research, they concluded that it was Wettin, but this name was never used, either by the Queen or by her son (King Edward VII) or by her grandson (King George V); they were simply Kings of the House of "Saxe-Coburg-Gotha".

Severe anti-German sentiment during World War I (1914-1918) led some influential members of the British public (especially radical Republicans such as H. G. Wells [4] ) to question the loyalty of the royal family. Advisors to King George V searched for an acceptable surname for the British royal family, but Wettin was rejected as "unsuitably comic". [5] [6] [7] An Order in Council legally changed the name of the British royal family to "Windsor" (originally suggested by Lord Stamfordham) in 1917.

Residences of the Dukes of Coburg and Gotha

Rulers

Partitions of the territories under House of Wettin rule
      
March of Lusatia
(1st creation) [8]
(1034-1123)		County of Wettin
(950-1288)
      
      County of Brehna
(1st creation)
(1156-1217)		March of Lusatia
(2nd creation)
(1156-1210)		March of Meissen
(1156-1195)
      Meissen briefly under immediacy (direct control of the Holy Roman Empire)
(1195-1198)
            
      March of Meissen
(1198-1423)
      
(Brehna line since 1217)County of Brehna
(2nd creation)
(1267-1290)		March of Lusatia
(3rd creation)
(1288-1303)		      
Sold to the
March of Brandenburg (1303-1347)		      
Annexed to the
Archbishopric of Magdeburg 		Annexed to the
Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg
(1290-1423)		      
      March of Landsberg
(1349-1407)		Landgraviate of Thuringia
(1349-1482)
Raised to:
Electorate of Saxony
(1423-1806)
      
Electorate of Saxony
(1423-1806)
(Ernestine Line until 1547;
Albertine Line since 1547) [9] 		Duchy of Saxony
(1464-1554)
(Albertine Line until 1547;
Ernestine Line since 1547) [9]
      
Duchy of Coburg and Eisenach
(1st creation)
(1554-1566)		Duchy of Gotha
(1554-1565)		Duchy of Weimar
(1554-1741)
      
Duchy of Coburg and Eisenach
(2nd creation)
(1572-1638)		      
      Duchy of Altenburg
(1603-1672)
      Duchy of Gotha
(1605-1672)
      
      Duchy of Zeitz
(1656-1718)		Duchy of Merseburg
(1656-1738)		Duchy of Weissenfels
(1656-1746)		      
      Duchy of Eisenach
(1662-1741)		      Duchy of Jena
(1662-1690)		      
            Renamed
Duchy of Gotha and Altenburg
(1672-1826)
                  Duchy of Hildburghausen
(1675-1826)		Duchy of Meiningen
(1675-1918)		Duchy of Coburg and Saalfeld
(1675-1826) [10]

Renamed
Duchy of Coburg and Gotha
(1826-1918)
            Duchy of Barby
(1680-1739)		            
            Duchy of Weimar
(1554-1741)		      
                        
                        
            Renamed
Duchy of Weimar and Eisenach
(1741-1815)

Raised to:
Grand Duchy of Weimar and Eisenach
(1815-1918)		      
            
Raised to:
Kingdom of Saxony
(1806-1918)		      
      
Renamed
Duchy of Altenburg
(1826-1918)

Branches and titles of the House of Wettin and its agnatic descent

Early Wettins

Ernestines

Existing Ernestine branches

Branch of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

  • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, extant lines all shared last common ancestor in the person of William Ernest, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. However, there are only two members of this line left, Michael, Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Prince Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Both were born in 1946. Since Prince Michael has no sons, and Prince Wilhelm Ernst; whose only son Prince Georg-Constantin (13 April 1977 – 9 June 2018), a banker who was married but without issue, was killed in a horse riding accident on 9 June 2018 while riding with Jean Christophe Iseux von Pfetten. Therefore, the Grand Ducal House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach will most likely become extinct in the male line. These two represent the last non-morganatic descendants of William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar

Branch of Saxe-Meiningen

In the very likely event of the extinction of these two senior branches, the sole representation of the Ernestine Wettins will pass to the descendants of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, who are the present Saxe-Coburg-Gothas led by Hubertus, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 16 September 1975), the House of Windsor, the Royal Family of Belgium and the Royal Family of Bulgaria. Francis and his nephew Ludwig Frederick Emil von Coburg are also ancestors to morganatic lines.

Extinct Ernestine branches

Castle of Altenburg Schloss Altenburg 02.JPG
Castle of Altenburg

Albertines

Catholic members of the Royal Albertine branch of the House of Wettin buried in the crypt chapel of the Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden Dresden-Hofkirche-Gruft.jpg
Catholic members of the Royal Albertine branch of the House of Wettin buried in the crypt chapel of the Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden

Existing Albertine branch

Extinct Albertine branches

Family tree of the House of Wettin

Family tree of the House of Wettin, the royal & ducal house of Saxony, and later Great Britain, Belgium, Portugal, and Bulgaria Saxe Wettin Dynasty Family Tree.PNG
Family tree of the House of Wettin, the royal & ducal house of Saxony, and later Great Britain, Belgium, Portugal, and Bulgaria

Coats of arms

For an extensive treatment of the coats of arms, see: Coat of arms of Saxony

or in French: Armorial de la maison de Wettin

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lexikon des Mittelalters, vol. IX, col. 50, Munich 1969–1999
  2. 1 2 3 Kellner, Stefanie (February 2016). "Die freiheitliche Geisteshaltung der Ernestiner prägte Europa". Monumente (in German). pp. 9–16. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Carlota | archduchess of Austria | Britannica". 3 June 2023.
  4. ↑ Anne Edwards, Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor (2014), p. 300.
  5. ↑ "We can hazard a guess that Wettin and Wipper, if given an English pronunciation, sounded quite as unsuitably comic in the ears of this sailor King in 1917 as they do to us today." Elizabeth Longford, The Royal House of Windsor (1984), p. 21.
  6. ↑ "British courtiers thought it sounded 'unsuitably comic' and the cumbersome 'Saxe-Coburg-Gotha' was invariably used." Barry Jones, Dictionary of World Biography 4th ed. (2017), p. 892.
  7. ↑ "Since the Saxe-Coburg family belonged to the House of Wettin in the District of Wipper, Wettin or Wipper might be more appropriate. Either one could have passed for an English name, but both were considered 'unsuitably comic.'" Anne Edwards, Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor (2014), p. 302.
  8. ↑ Please note that the March of Lusatia existed consistently from the 11th to the 14th century. Here, the concept of creation indicates the family's grip on the territory.
  9. 1 2 During the Schmalkaldic War, the Albertine Duke allied with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the Ernestine Elector opposed him. After the Emperor's victory, he exchanged the dignities (and territories) of both lines, promoting his ally and depromoting his opponent.
  10. ↑ Divided inCoburg and Saalfeld until reunion of both territories in 1699.
  11. ↑ Sometimes numbered II after Otto I, Margrave of Meissen.
  12. ↑ Given that Agnes was known as of Rochlitz, it is likely that she became the heiress of that seat, that passed to her descendants but eventually returned to the family, as it is shown between the Wettin's possessions in the 16th-century.
  13. ↑ Counted Theodoric II in Lusatia.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Nickname given to him by the Fruitbearing Society.
  15. ↑ Known in the Fruitbearing Society as the Accumulator.
  16. ↑ Known in the Fruitbearing Society as the Tasty.
  17. ↑ Known in the Fruitbearing Society as the Bittersweet.
  18. ↑ Known in the Fruitbearing Society as the Crowning One.
  19. ↑ "Information in English language - Saxony during the Weimar Republic 1918-1933". www.sachsen.de. Archived from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
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