William I of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources he is called William I of Nassau(-Dillenburg) and in some sources of Nassau-Katzenelnbogen. He was born with the titles Count of Nassau, Vianden and Diez. Two years before his death, he obtained the right to hold the title Count of Katzenelnbogen, which meant that since then he held the official titles Count of Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden and Diez. It is incorrect to refer to him as the only reigning Count of Nassau, because the County of Nassau was divided into Nassau-Beilstein, Nassau-Siegen, Nassau-Weilburg and Nassau-Wiesbaden. Furthermore, there was the cadet branch of Nassau-Saarbrücken, which ruled the counties of Saarbrücken and Saarwerden. William ruled the County of Nassau-Siegen, which is erroneously called Nassau-Dillenburg in many sources. See note 2. (; 10 April 1487 – 6 October 1559), nicknamed the Elder () or the Rich (), was Count of Nassau-SiegenThe 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. Van Stipriaan (2021), p. 123 states that Siegen was the capital of the county. 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. and half of Diez from 1516 to 1559. He was a descendant of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau.
William's reign marked a notable period in the history of his house. During his reign, he introduced the Reformation in his territories,Becker (1983), pp. 59–61.Lück (1981), pp. 43–44.Kolb (1898), pp. 129–130. and the saw expansion of his county's territorial possessions. He promoted the Lutheran faith and played a key role in the political events of his time, including involvement in the Schmalkaldic League and negotiations leading to the Peace of Passau. William advanced the interests of his house through a policy of moderation, and contributed to its success.Kolb (1898), p. 129.
A major challenge throughout his reign was the succession dispute over the County of Katzenelnbogen, which was contested by the Landgraviate of Hesse. This dispute was known as the War of the Katzenelnbogen Succession.Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 249.Becker (1983), pp. 57–58, 64–66.Lück (1981), pp. 43–48, 58–59.
William was described as calm and persistent. He maintained firm religious convictions, and was resolute in asserting his rights in the Katzenelnbogische Erbfolgestreit.Becker (1983), p. 78. Through his diplomatic skills, he earned numerous mediation assignments within the Holy Roman Empire.Lück (1981), p. 44.
In Dutch history, he is primarily remembered as the father of Prince William the Silent.
Early years
William was born in Dillenburg on 10 April 1487 as the fourth and youngest son of Count John V of Nassau-Siegen and Landgravine Elisabeth of Hesse-Marburg.Menk (1994), p. 120.Schutte (1979), p. 43.Dek (1970), p. 72.Dek (1968), p. 228.Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 97.Dek (1970), p. 70.Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 95.Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 249, Dek (1970), p. 70 and Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 95 incorrectly shorten the name of his mother to Elisabeth of Hesse. At William's baptism, his mother's uncle, Archbishop Herman IV of Cologne, was present.Lück (1981), p. 41. William spent most of his youth in Siegen, where he trained himself in the use of weapons, and received a bow at the age of six and a pair of spurs two years later. He and his elder brother Henry often rode horses at the horse fairs and stallion farms of the County of Nassau. William frequently stayed with his parents in the County of Vianden, which was owned by the Nassaus, where he learnt both French and German.
At the age of ten, William he was sent zu hoff (to court) in Heidelberg, where he learned Latin and established lasting relations with the Electorate of the Palatinate.According to Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 249, William learned Latin in Heidelberg in 1493/94, i.e. when he was only 6/7 years old. In his early youth, he travelled extensively through the German lands, which included a visit to the court of Elector Frederick III the Wise in Saxony, where he formed importance relations for the future.Becker (1983), p. 55.
Since 1499, William's eldest brother Henry stayed at the court of their childless uncle Engelbert II of Nassau in Breda and Brussels, where he received further education.Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 95.Van Ditzhuyzen (2004), p. 120. Upon Engelbert's death in 1504, Henry inherited his possessions in the Netherlands.Van Stipriaan (2021), p. 23.Becker (1983), p. 13.Becker (1983), p. 54.Huberty, et al. (1981), p. 219.Lück (1981), p. 27.Jansen (1979), p. 37.Vorsterman van Oyen (1882), p. 95, 96, 98, states that John V inherited the possessions of his brother Engelbert II, as well as that John's sons divided those possessions after his death in 1516, Henry III acquiring the possessions in the Netherlands and William the possessions in Germany. The latter is also mentioned by Kolb (1898), p. 129. In the same year, William's older brother John died, leaving William as the sole heir of their father.
During the War of the Succession of Landshut (1504–1505), William earned his first military laurels as captain of a Nassau cavalry squadron. At the Imperial Diet in Cologne in 1505, he met Emperor Maximilian I and accompanied Elector Frederick III of Saxony to Arnhem, where he met Walburga of Egmont. In 1506, the marriage was arranged at Siegen with a messenger from Count John III of Egmont, and shortly afterwards the marriage was consummated at Koblenz.
The wedding was attended by Archbishop Herman IV of Cologne, John II of Trier and other guests from the nobility. Henry, the groom's brother, had come over from the Netherlands. Shortly before, on 16 February 1506, the Beilager of William's sisters Elisabeth and Mary, who married the counts and Jobst I of Holstein-Schauenburg-Pinneberg respectively, was celebrated in Dillenburg with the greatest of festivities. The purchase of gold fabric for 747 guilders and silk fabric for 396 guilders at the trade fair in Mainz for these celebrations, as well as the unusually high total expenditure of 13,505 guilders in the accounts of 1505/1506, show that these weddings had been extravagant events. Soon after the wedding, William set up his own court at Dillenburg Castle. There, he laid the foundation stone for the tower facing the valley of Dillenburg on 23 March.Becker (1983), p. 36. In August 1506, he had body armours made for himself and five of his servants in Frankfurt.Becker (1983), p. 31.
Count of Nassau-Siegen and Diez When his father died in 1516, William inherited his properties, including the county. The county covered about 1,600 square kilometres, with about 37,500 inhabitants that lived in 15 cities and 550 villages. The regular income at that time is estimated at less than 50,000 guilders, derived from taxes, service fees, tolls, etc.Lück (1981), p. 58. The county was primarily agricultural. Pigs were raised on the Kalteiche, which benefited from the large oak forests. The county was known for its good horse and cattle breeding in Westerwald, and wool weaving in Herborn. However, the main source of income came from the mountains; from the iron ore of the Sieg and Dill regions. The Counts of Nassau regularly received the iron ore tithes from the mines and smelting rents from the smelters. The latter was levied in various ways, partly as compensation for the fief of the land on which the smelter stood, partly as a tax on the use of the watercourse, which was on loan from the territorial lord. As some of the most important citizens of the state, the hammer smiths of Siegen were granted exemption from feudal duties, and from about 1539, paid 24 raderguilders a year for this instead of the hitherto usual reisigen Pferdes. Until 1555, the count himself owned many iron smelters, and in the Dillenburg district he retained his influence even after 1555. Naturally, the counts cared about the welfare of the iron industry, which was the country's main source of income. They discussed with the iron workers price regulations, wages and working times as well as trying out new technical processes.Lück (1981), p. 61.
In 1520, the counts united in associations or Korrespondenzen, and divided into two large districts of the Netherlands and of the Wetterau. William was put in charge of the Wetterau district. The economic, political and spiritual consequences of this alliance were significant, although not fully understood. The leading position in these Grafenkorrespondenz was majorly held by members of the House of Nassau. Of particular importance were certain toll agreements by this Wetterauer Grafenverein, which almost foreshadowed a Western toll union. This toll union had already been established in the Wetterau by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and had withstood political and territorial changes. Although in 1354 only half of the County of Nassau belonged to the Wetterau (the Siegerland had been allocated to the district of Westphalia), the entire county benefited from the toll agreements because the count was a member of the Wetterauer Grafenverein. Within this toll union, a simple declaration was enough to transport provisions, fruit, grain, oat, meat, wine, butter, cheese and iron freely. The designation of iron as the only non-agricultural product showed this toll union was important to Nassau, and especially to the iron trade from the Siegerland. The expansion of the toll area in 1515 led to the abolition of several Rhine tolls and opened the way for iron from the Siegerland to reach Antwerp and other markets where the people of the Siegerland, as subjects of Nassau, could take advantage of the more favourable market conditions. The expansion of the toll area brought benefits for production, as the import duties for charcoal from the County of Wittgenstein and the Freier Grund, which partly belonged to the County of Sayn, were abolished.Lück (1981), p. 59.
The justice system continued in the forms adopted in the 16th century. Periodically, the Schützen (town watchers) were responsible for apprehending offenders, confining them either in the tower or, for less severe offences, in the Hundskrapf. The most common method of execution was hanging, with the gallows situated near Dillenburg on the Galgenberg. The executions were exclusively conducted in Dillenburg. In 1546, one occurred in Ebersbach, as was common in the past, with the participation of Schultheißen from Dillenburg. Conversely, Schultheißen from Herborn were often involved in the executions in Dillenburg, and were subsequently entertained by the city.
In 1518, William became Rat und Diener (counsellor and servant) of the Emperor. In this capacity, he attended Charles V's election as Roman King in Frankfurt. William quickly gained prestige and influence. In Charles V's war against King Francis I of France in 1521–1522, William served in the Imperial Army. In the summer of 1521, he participated with a cavalry squadron at the Siege of Mézières, led by his brother Henry. When William's baby daughter Magdalene was baptised in November 1522, guests at included his friend Count Philip II of Hanau-Münzenberg and his young bride Countess Juliane of Stolberg-Wernigerode.