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3. The Noble Family

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The Survival of the Hessian Nobility, 1770-1870
This chapter is in the book The Survival of the Hessian Nobility, 1770-1870
·3· THE NOBLE FAMILY MARRIAGE The nobilities of early modern Europe faced a constant dilemma: how to ensure the continuation of noble lineages without endangering the preservation of their landholdings. Large numbers of children would eliminate the danger of families' becoming extinct, but too many chil-dren could prove a threat to the economic stability of noble families. Most European nobilities chose to emphasize the preservation of noble property and therefore adopted inheritance systems based on primogen-iture to keep holdings intact. The question then arose as to what was to be done with the younger sons and daughters, who were precluded from inheriting. The solution to this problem varied from country to country, but many nobilities attempted to reduce the severity of the problem by limiting both the number of marriages and the size of families.1 In French noble families the eldest son generally inherited the bulk of his father's holdings, but in return he had to pay substantial cash settle-ments to his brothers and sisters. To prevent too great a strain on the family fortune, many nobles placed some of their children in church po-sitions, thereby removing the need to provide them with settlements. A large proportion of the younger sons never married, and when they died, their portions frequently reverted to their families.2 A similar but even more rigid system of family control was practiced by the Catholic Stiftsadel (nobles belonging to a cathedral chapter that elected the ruler of an ecclesiastical state) of Westphalia. Generally only eldest sons could marry and inherit estates. To compensate younger sons for their celibacy and lack of inheritance rights, Westphalian fami-lies provided them with a good education and then a secure office in the cathedral chapter, army, or bureaucracy. The Westphalian nobility's control over the marriages of its children was not limited to the number of marriages; even more important was the kind of marriages contracted, 1 For a detailed survey of noble inheritance patterns see J. P. Cooper, "Patterns of In-heritance and Settlement bv Great Landowners from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Cen-turies," in Family and Inheritance: Rural Society in Western Europe, ed. Jack Goody, Joan Thirsk, and E. P. Thompson (Cambridge, 1976), 192-327. 2 Cooper, "Patterns of Inheritance," 268-76; Robert F'orster, The Nobility of Toulouse in the Eighteenth Century: A Social and Economic Study (Baltimore, 1960), 120-30; Jean Meyer, La noblesse bretonneau XVIIIeSteele, 2 vols. (Paris, 1966), 1: 121-27. 35

·3· THE NOBLE FAMILY MARRIAGE The nobilities of early modern Europe faced a constant dilemma: how to ensure the continuation of noble lineages without endangering the preservation of their landholdings. Large numbers of children would eliminate the danger of families' becoming extinct, but too many chil-dren could prove a threat to the economic stability of noble families. Most European nobilities chose to emphasize the preservation of noble property and therefore adopted inheritance systems based on primogen-iture to keep holdings intact. The question then arose as to what was to be done with the younger sons and daughters, who were precluded from inheriting. The solution to this problem varied from country to country, but many nobilities attempted to reduce the severity of the problem by limiting both the number of marriages and the size of families.1 In French noble families the eldest son generally inherited the bulk of his father's holdings, but in return he had to pay substantial cash settle-ments to his brothers and sisters. To prevent too great a strain on the family fortune, many nobles placed some of their children in church po-sitions, thereby removing the need to provide them with settlements. A large proportion of the younger sons never married, and when they died, their portions frequently reverted to their families.2 A similar but even more rigid system of family control was practiced by the Catholic Stiftsadel (nobles belonging to a cathedral chapter that elected the ruler of an ecclesiastical state) of Westphalia. Generally only eldest sons could marry and inherit estates. To compensate younger sons for their celibacy and lack of inheritance rights, Westphalian fami-lies provided them with a good education and then a secure office in the cathedral chapter, army, or bureaucracy. The Westphalian nobility's control over the marriages of its children was not limited to the number of marriages; even more important was the kind of marriages contracted, 1 For a detailed survey of noble inheritance patterns see J. P. Cooper, "Patterns of In-heritance and Settlement bv Great Landowners from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Cen-turies," in Family and Inheritance: Rural Society in Western Europe, ed. Jack Goody, Joan Thirsk, and E. P. Thompson (Cambridge, 1976), 192-327. 2 Cooper, "Patterns of Inheritance," 268-76; Robert F'orster, The Nobility of Toulouse in the Eighteenth Century: A Social and Economic Study (Baltimore, 1960), 120-30; Jean Meyer, La noblesse bretonneau XVIIIeSteele, 2 vols. (Paris, 1966), 1: 121-27. 35

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix
  4. LIST OF TABLES xi
  5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
  6. ABBREVIATIONS xv
  7. INTRODUCTION 1
  8. 1. Hesse-Kassel: Land and Politics 7
  9. 2. The Hessian Nobility 17
  10. 3. The Noble Family 35
  11. 4. Landowning 65
  12. 5. The Landed Estate 103
  13. 6. Careers of Nobles 144
  14. 7. The Politics of the Nobility 197
  15. Conclusion 251
  16. Appendix A. Families in the Hessian Ritterschaft during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 259
  17. Appendix B. Ennoblement of Hessians 261
  18. Appendix C. Tables of Ranks 264
  19. Appendix D. Fertility Statistics and Comparisons 266
  20. Appendix E. Hessian VVeights, Measures, and Money 269
  21. Sources and Bibliography 271
  22. Index 291
  23. Backmatter 302
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400859283.35

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. CONTENTS vii
  3. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix
  4. LIST OF TABLES xi
  5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
  6. ABBREVIATIONS xv
  7. INTRODUCTION 1
  8. 1. Hesse-Kassel: Land and Politics 7
  9. 2. The Hessian Nobility 17
  10. 3. The Noble Family 35
  11. 4. Landowning 65
  12. 5. The Landed Estate 103
  13. 6. Careers of Nobles 144
  14. 7. The Politics of the Nobility 197
  15. Conclusion 251
  16. Appendix A. Families in the Hessian Ritterschaft during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries 259
  17. Appendix B. Ennoblement of Hessians 261
  18. Appendix C. Tables of Ranks 264
  19. Appendix D. Fertility Statistics and Comparisons 266
  20. Appendix E. Hessian VVeights, Measures, and Money 269
  21. Sources and Bibliography 271
  22. Index 291
  23. Backmatter 302
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