Anna of Katzenelnbogen (5 September 1443 in Katzenelnbogen – 16 February 1494 in Marburg) was the daughter of Philipp I, Count of Katzenelnbogen (1402–1479), and his first wife Anna of Württemberg (1408–1471). She is notable for being the great-grandmother of Anne of Cleves, the fourth wife of King Henry VIII.
Contents
Early life and family
Anna was born on 5 September 1443 into the Katzenelnbogen noble family, was the only daughter of Philipp I, Count of Katzenelnbogen, and his first wife Anna of Württemberg. daughter of Eberhard IV "the Younger" of Württemberg, and his wife Henriette, Countess of Montbéliard. Anna had two elder brothers. They were:
Philipp the Younger (* 1427; † 27 February 1453), married in 1450 Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen, daughter of Henry II, Count of Nassau-Siegen. In 1453 they had a daughter Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen.
Eberhard (* 1437; † 1456), canon of Cologne, was stabbed in Bruges (Flanders).
Marriage and issue
Anna married Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse, in 1458. He would earn the nickname "the Rich" due to the territorial gains associated with the marriage, which also came with considerable financial gain, including the lucrative revenues from Rhine customs. Her husband inherited the possessions of the Katzenelnbogen family when the Katzenelnbogen male line died out after the death of her father Philipp in 1479. The County of Katzenelnbogen fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse, which was ruled at the time by her husband Henry III of Hesse in Marburg, after he had bought off the inheritance rights of Philipp's granddaughter Ottilie.
The couple had six children:
Friedrich (died as a child)
Louis III (November 1461 - July 2, 1478)
William III (Wilhelm III, Landgraf von Hessen-Marburg) (1471–1500), their only son to reach adulthood. In 1498, William ΙΙΙ married Elisabeth, the daughter of Philip, Elector Palatine. He left no legitimate heir and the title passed to his cousin, William II, Landgrave of Hesse, son of Louis II, Landgrave of Lower Hesse.
Heinrich (born July 1474, died young)
Elisabeth (1466–1523), who would marry in 1482 to John V, Count of Nassau-Siegen, and would become the grandparents of William the Silent.
Mathilde (1473–1505), would go on to marry in 1489 to John II, Duke of Cleves, and would become the paternal grandparents of Queen Anne of Cleves.
Wilhelmsbau relief and possible depiction
A relief at Marburg Castle located at the top of the entrance to the Wilhelmsbau, which is associated with the work of Ludwig Juppe has been dated to 1493, features two figures on top of the Hessian arms, one of whom is suspected to be a contemporary depiction of Anna. Meanwhile the second figure is identified as her son William III of Hesse. William's statuette has since been destroyed. However, despite being in good condition, the identity of the supposed half-figure of Anna has been disputed, as some sources claim that it is not Anna, but rather her daughter in-law, Elisabeth of the Palatinate, Landgravine of Hesse. Though several sources agree that the figure does indeed represent William's mother, and not his betrothed.
In 1884, Wilhelm Kolbe describes in full detail that the figures depict William III and his mother. He also mentions the Latin inscription at the bottom of the relief, carved in Gothic script on a scroll held by one angel on both sides. Kolbe interpreted the inscription as a reference to William and the construction of the Wilhelmsbau in 1493. He understood the writings as Anna congratulating her son for the completion of the building and his succession as his father's heir.
The inscription says the following:
“Milleno quadringenteno nonaque geno
Ast terno Wilhelme reni here Hassie princeps
Fers humo sic cautem qui prior opes habet
Tener sub annis titulos domina(tus) scandis.”
Translation;
“In the year fourteen hundred and ninety-three,
O Wilhelm, Lord of the Rhine, Prince of Hesse:
you commit the stone to the earth…
tender in years, you attain the titles of sovereignty.”
Death and burial
Anna died on 16 February 1494 from unspecified causes aged 50 in Marburg. She was laid to rest in St. Elizabeth's Church where her husband had been buried at his own death.