#House of Welf

[royalty-nobility]

Queen Dowager Juliane Marie

Artist: Vigilius Eriksen (Danish, 1722–1782)

Date: 1772

Medium: Oil on canvas

Collection: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark

Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern (Danish: Juliane Marie; 4 September 1729 – 10 October 1796) was Queen of Denmark and Norway from 1752 to 1766 as the second consort of King Frederick V of Denmark and Norway. She was mother to the prince-regent, Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway, and was herself de facto regent from 1772 to 1784. King Christian VIII of Denmark and every subsequent Danish monarch excluding Christian IX descends from her.

[nanshe-of-nina]

Women’s History Meme || Scandals (big or small) (4/5) ↬ Sophie Dorothea von Braunschweig & the Königsmarck Affair

When Count Philip Christoph von Königsmarck wrote those lines to his lover, Sophia Dorothea, Electoral Princess of Hanover, they were just one stitch in a patchwork of romance, intrigue and, ultimately, catastrophe. From her spoiled girlhood in Celle to her lonely incarceration at Ahlden, her life truly ran the gamut from charmed to cursed. Confined to her genteel prison, Sophia Dorothea was supposed to vanish like a conjurer’s assistant. Yet she never quite disappeared and as the mother of George II, she played a vital role not only in the history of the United Kingdom, but of Europe. Without her the world would have been a different place and though she may have been locked away, her memory has persisted. Today Sophia Dorothea’s fate continues to fascinate as a grim fairy tale that was all too real. No matter how much her husband hoped that she would be forgotten, she lives on, as vibrant today as she was more than three centuries ago when she took up her pen and wrote, ‘My only pleasure is to make you remember me’. And to this day, we do. — The Imprisoned Princess: The Scandalous Life of Sophia Dorothea of Celle by Catherine Curzon

[dreamconsumer]

St. Adelaide of Italy (931-999).

[venicepearl]

Anna of Brunswick-Luneburg (d. 1432)

[wonder-worker]

The attraction of Eleanor of Aquitaine to post-medieval historians, novelists and artists is obvious. Heiress in her own right to Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest fiefs in Europe, she became in turn queen of France by marriage to Louis VII (1137–52) and of England by marriage to Henry II (1154–89). She was the mother of two of England’s most celebrated (or notorious) kings, Richard I and John, and played an important role in the politics of both their reigns. She was a powerful woman in an age assumed (not entirely correctly) to be dominated by men. She was associated with some of the great events and movements of her age: the crusades (she participated in the Second Crusade, and organized the ransom payments to free Richard I from the imprisonment that he suffered returning from the Third); the development of vernacular literature and the idea of courtly love (as granddaughter of the ‘first troubadour’ William IX of Aquitaine, she was also a patron of some of the earliest Arthurian literature in French, and featured in one of the foundational works on courtly love); and the Plantagenet–Capetian conflict that foreshadowed centuries of struggle between England and France (her divorce from Louis VII and marriage to Henry II took Aquitaine out of the Capetian orbit, and created the ‘Angevin Empire’). She enjoyed a long life (she was about eighty years old at the time of her death in 1204) and produced nine children who lived to adulthood. The marriages of her off spring linked her (and the Plantagenet and Capetian dynasties) to the royal houses of Castile, Sicily and Navarre, and to the great noble lines of Brittany and Blois-Champagne in France and the Welfs in Germany. A sense of both the geographical and temporal extent of Eleanor’s world can be appreciated when we consider an example from the crusades. Eleanor accompanied her husband Louis VII on the Second Crusade in 1147–9; when Louis IX went on crusade over a hundred years later, he left France in the care of Blanche of Castile, a Spanish princess and Eleanor’s granddaughter, whose marriage to Louis’s father had been arranged by Eleanor. Just this single example shows her direct influence spanning a century, two crusades and three kingdoms.

— Michael R. Evans, Inventing Eleanor: The Medieval and Post-Medieval Image of Eleanor of Aquitaine

[familiasworn]

|| Under the Willow

@whiteknighthedin

The day had come, at long last.

While there were so few people in Hestia Familia and the manor was meant to house over one hundred people, it still felt like the place was bustling, even before Hogni was out of bed. Standing in front of the mirror he'd bought for his room, he...wasn't too pleased with the signs of sleep deprivation under his eyes.

...When was the last time he had a good night's sleep? The day Hedin arrived? Gripping the sides of the mirror, he looked a little more closely--and startled when there was a knock on the door.

"Y...You may--The...door's open..." he called out, one hand letting go of the mirror as Welf walked in. Leaving behind his usual yukata-style outfit, the blacksmith was wearing black slacks and a button-up with a vest that matched his hair. The rest of the Familia was told they could wear whatever they wanted, so he expected the others to just wear what they normally did...this was a surprise.

"Like it? I figured I had at least one nice thing I could wear for the big day." He walked over to the elf and looked into the mirror with him. "Hedin won't let anyone in his room, so I figured I'd come check on you. The Goddess has been in back since like three in the morning setting up the altar in back...How're you holding up? You look nervous."

Hogni took a slow breath and the exhale was a little shaky. "I-I should...be alright..." It'd been awhile since he'd had any need to dress nicely, but he went shopping over the last few days just to make sure he had the perfect outfit that Hedin would be pleased with. A dark suit with a very subtle purple undertone and a tailcoat. He wasn't planning to exchange his fingerless gloves for anything else, though.

"Alright...wanna head out? Everyone else should be done getting ready, too."

[thebloodrose1]

The Duchies, Republics and other Political Entities of TBR

The Empire (as it happens with feudal societies) is split in many different smaller entities. I'll begin with the outermost edges of the Empire and move my way closer inwards. I do not have a coherent map yet, unfortunately, even though I have tried many times.

In the North, there are Norse Duchies of Rabenyck, Yoorenhal and Weserick. The Lords of these Duchies style themselves as Jarls, however, and pay lip service to the Emperors. Their lands are somewhat desolate and forested, and I imagine them to be like early medieval Denmark/Poland. Culturally, they are a mix of Slavic/Nordic, though there is a land further up north, beyond the sea, where more of their kin live. Kinsmen which many times come to them in the form of mercenaries. So pretty much just early medieval Denmark.

To the west, beyond the Karlsmountains (Alps) there are the Republics and Duchies of Halia and Haringen. Halia is akin to northern Italy in the High Medieval period, and Haringen like Burgundy. Halia is a mix of Cultures, every city with its own traditions and accents (just like irl lol). Further west we have the Pontificate of the Aegriscol, a.k.a, the Papacy. With Pope/P.M. shenanigans, of course. Further west, we finally have the Kingdom of Sicily whose in univserse name I have not yet decided on. It might play a role in the second part, though that is still up to imagination.

Further south, we have the Kingdom of Angiria (France) though they won't play too big of a role in the first part (maybe part two). Somewhere there is an equivalent of England. Now England is historically important, and its quite interresting to see their effect on German history in the period I draw inspiration from.

Quick history note (I might be wrong here on many accounts): When Richard the Lionheart returned to Europe after the Third Crusade, he was captured somewhere near Aquilea or Austria (i think) and was then incarcerated by Emperor Heinrich VI Hohenstaufen. He was only released after a ransom which bankrupted England. The House Plantagenet had also married into the House of Welf (rivals of the Hohenstaufen), so they had support from England during the interregnum following Heinrich's death.

Somewhere FURTHER south, there will be the equivalent of the Eastern Roman Empire/Arabic Caliphate but they will not be relevant to the plot lmao. Even though Frederick II did go on crusade lol. I WOULD like to write about a crusade but it just wouldn't be coherent with the story I wish to tell, so thats unfortunately not too possible.

Anyway, lets get back to the Empire. The Duchy of the Karlsvale is pretty much just a mix of Bavaria and Austria, so the early Bavaria of the H.R.E. They are ruled (traditionally) by the Lords of Bergthum, the House Bercken. They are really important, and I will very likely write a post about them some other day. Their lands are pretty mountainous/broken. Something cool i think I did was calling their forests "smallwoods" or something, as the trees in the region seem to grow in small clusters. Basically, think of the Reach in Skyrim.

Going south, we have the Duchy of Johansgrab. The Duchy's name will probably change, as its main city has the same name. Its to the East of Haringen and South of the Karlsvale. It's pretty much just the Duchy of Swabia from the High medieval period. Its smaller than Swabia (im pretty sure). In my first draft it was a holy city, however now i dont think it would make sense. They are ruled by the House Danstern (our equivalent to the Hohenstaufen), the current Emperors. Its a rather hilly land, especially to its north, though there is also the river Vithe flowing through and down to the sea.

Following the river and going south again, we have the equivalent of the Lowlands (Benelux). There are a bunch of smaller Lordships and stuff here that I don't have the mood to cover now.

Going north again, we have another mostly flatlandish land which are ruled by the House Keren (equivalent House Welf, though that status may change). So the lands are pretty much the medieval Duchy of Saxony, or in the modern terms the German State of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony). They're a bit different than historically, though. The house of Keren is actually wealthy due to trade, having two large ports by the sea and not rivers like in Germany. (The names of these ports are Portzburg and Kerhafen) (Surprisingly enough, the inspiration for the name Portzburg didn't come from Port but rather from the district of Cologne "Porz".).

Going north, we have the Helver. This is the equivalent of the Rhine, and its not really a single Duchy. There are multiple cities and castles at the river's side, with not one Lord superior to others. However, the capital of the Empire (Königsgrab), lays by the river. The city is bound directly to the ruling House of the Empire, which makes the Emperor the defacto Duke of the Helver. Other than that I'd just like to remark that the Helver is much shorter than the Rhine. This means that there is a large plain between the river and the Karlsvale, which I'll get to now.

Between the Helver and the Karlsvale lie two separate Duchies (or just enntities since the term Duchy doesn't fit to one). The Duchy of Ilrichsburg (name might change due to same reason as Johansgrab), and the (something) of Schoetten. Now, Ilrichsburg is pretty much as close to the territory of Franken as one can get, however Schoetten is where I took a bit more liberty from. The Schoetten are like the Cumans/Hungarians. They control far less territory than their irl counterparts, but their cultures are similar. Horse riding, horse archery, you get it. They kinda came over at some point (like the foederati in the late Roman Empire) and just settled in accordance to some Emperor. They chill.

To the north of Ilrichsburg and Schoetten and south of Yoorenhal andd Rabenyck, we have the Margriavate of the Ingram. The Ingram is this pretty big river (the Oder irl) and the Margriavate just kinda traditionally protects the realm. Proud border guards. They have a bunch of smaller Lordships nearby loyal to them, and they themselves are loyal to the Emperor.

Finally, we come to the final stretch of Land. North of the Helver and Southeast of the Ingram we have the Duchy of the Akin (Peninsula), ruled by the House Kahren. Its a very hilly peninsula, though they also have an area of flatland to the west, right next to the Margriavate. Yeah so the Kahren are pretty rich too, they got Iron and Gold mines, a port right where the Flatland begins called Kirtzen. You could compare them to the Lannisters of ASOIAF but they aren't as open as they are. No, the Kahren are REALLY discreet about their meddling. Anywho, they married into the royal line and shenanigans will ensue.

Those are all the big areas things. I don't have the energy to go further today. I'm just a bit drunk rn, and i need mcdonalds. If anyones reading this, thank you kindly.

[long-kwang]

Memmingen(Germany)梅明根(德國)美麗的老城.Beautiful Ancent city- Q. Overview  它於 1128 年首次被提及，並於 1160 年由韋爾夫六世公爵建立為城鎮；First mentioned in 1128, it was founded as a town by Duke Welf VI in 1160; 市區有許多老房子，本影片收錄有4個古蹟城門。There are many old houses in the urban area, and this video includes 4 historic city gates.搭火車或開車從慕尼黑到此，約需1個多小時。It takes about an hour to get here from Munich by train or car. 

[tiny-librarian]

A portrait of  Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, wife of Charles VI and longest serving Holy Roman Empress.

Source

[salvadorbonaparte]

I hope one day there's going to be a George V of Hannover biopic because that man might not even have been the best King (but honestly is any king a good king?) but he was certainly the most interesting

Blind since childhood but lost his eyesight on two separate occasions

Super big daddy issues probably from the fact everyone except for his father, Ernst August of Hannover, thought he shouldn't be next in line for the throne

He was a skilled composer which would have probably been a better job for him

Ridiculously against modernity and democracy to the point where Hannover went from "respectable kingdom still remembered for ruling England" to "totally insignificant backwards kingdom lucky to be taken over by Prussia" within his rule

Died in exile

[germanaustriannoblesandroyals]

House of Hohenzollern & Welf: Princess Elisabeth of Brandenburg

Elisabeth was born as the third child and second daughter to Elector Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg and his wife Princess Elisabeth of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Her siblings were Elector Joachim II Hektor of Brandenburg, Duchess Anna of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. Margrave of Brunswick-Küstrin and Margareta who was Duchess of Pomerania by her first marriage and Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst by her second one.

Elisabeth was educated in a humanist but also strictly religious fashion and had come into contact with Protestantism when her mother celebrated a mass in the protestant fashion. Elisabeth’s father was enraged that his wife might convert to the Protestant faith which got to no one less than Martin Luther himself who spoke in favour of the Electress. Some scholars think this might have impressed the young Elisabeth.

At the age of 14, Elisabeth was married to Erich I of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen who was already 54 at the time. They mostly lived apart but did provide heirs for the duchy. In 1528 Elisabeth was pregnant again and there were complications. The young duchess blamed her husband’s mistress of witchcraft and demanded she shall be burned. Despite Elisabeth’s best efforts to capture the mistress she escaped. Only by the promise of a greater dower than had been promised to her in her marriage contract, Erich was able to calm his wife down. In the end, the birth of the heir Erich II went down as smoothly as it could for the time. The marriage resulted in a total of four children. Next to Erich, there were his older sister Countess Elisabeth of Henneberg and his two younger sisters Duchess Anna Maria of Prussia and High Burgravine Katharina of Bohemia.

Elisabeth met Martin Luther in 1534 when she visited her mother. Four years later a regular letter exchange began and she sent him chesse and wine regularly. He thanked her by sending mulberries, fig tree seedlings and his translation of the bible into German with a dedication to her. Elisabeth officially converted to Protestantism on April 7th, 1538. She informed Landgrave Philip I of Hesse, the husband of Christina of Saxony, in October about her conversion. Philip who was a champion of the reformation helped her to bring reformator Antonius Corvinus to her court in Münden. Elisabeth’s husband tolerated his wife’s conversion. While it was against his political alignment with the catholic Emperor, he admired the reformators boldness.

Erich died in 1540. Elisabeth, who found an ally in Elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony, a distant cousin of Christina of Saxony (they shared a great-grandfather), was able to cease the regency together with Philip of Hesse for her son. Heinrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, her late husband’s nephew, protested without success. Elisabeth’s regency lasted for five years in which is implemented the reformation in the principality. During this time, she wrote a book for a son in which she gave him guidance on how to rule in the future.

Elisabeth’s son Erich had originally been promised to Princess Anna of Hesse since they were children. But Erich fell in love with the protestant Princess Sidonie of Saxony, the sister of the future Electors Maurice and Augustus of Saxony. A year later, Elisabeth agreed to anull the engagement to Anna and allow her son to marry Sidonie, who was ten years his senior. The same year, Erich’s rule began and Elisabeth’s regency ended.

In 1546, Elisabeth married Count Poppo XII of Henneberg who was her son-in-law’s younger brother. In the following years, Elisabeth’s son turned his favor away from Protestantism and towards Catholicism again what worried her. The last ten years of her life were dominated by her fight for Protestantism. She succeeded in marrying her daughter Anna Maria to the 40 years older but protestant Duke Albrecht of Prussia. But her son married his youngest sister Katharina to the catholic Wilhelm of Rosenberg, High Burgrave of Bohemia. He gave his mother the wrong date so she arrived to late. Later Elisabeth got to know that Katharina was allowed to keep her faith and to bring a protestant priest with her. After the Battle of Sievershausen four years earlier, Heinrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel had chased Elisabeth out of Münden to Hanover. In the end, she settled in her husband’s county and wrote one last book. This time it was for widows to help them deal with their grief.

Elisabeth died on May 25th, 1558, in Illmenau. It is said that she died of a broken heart. Her children honored her by ordering an epitaph to be created which was erected in 1566 in the St. Giles Chapel of the St. John's Church in Schleusingen. 

// Emma Hamilton in The Tudors (2007-10)

[nanshe-of-nina]

Matilda was the Duchess of Saxony, not Savoy.

The Children of Eleanor of Acquatine 

[dreamconsumer]

St Adelaide of Burgundy (931-999). Unknown artist.

[venicepearl]

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (28 August 1691 – 21 December 1750) was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress Maria Theresa. She was the longest serving Holy Roman Empress.

[tototavros]

“so the staufers (hohenstaufens) were called ghibellines after “ghibbilino” from “wibellingen” (now waiblingen)"

[familiasworn]

|| Without Permission

With Hedin asleep and the others in the Manor tucked away for the night, one lone figure slowly and quietly wandered the halls. Not to the bath this time. It would only take a minute to wander outside, to head out to the Blacksmith's workshop...and pick the lock.

Inside carefully and securely placed on a shelf were his and Hedin's equipment. He was only here for one...

"...There," he felt a little more secure. Ready for what came next. Holding it heavy blade at his side, he left.

Left back in the direction he and Bell traversed, up to those familiar walls...Walls that housed an entire army of a Familia.

Before long, he was inside. Unnoticed, for the time being...though he of course hoped it stayed that way. Walking through the halls pulled on his heart, made him yearn for the Goddess' warm embrace once again. But no...he made the right choice. He knew he did. Though this was supposed to be a quick in-and-out trip, he found himself...turned around. Where had he seen them last?

Who was caring for them?

Was it...?

It wasn't until the sun started rising over Hearthstone Manor, and the inhabitants started waking up, that Hogni would be seen approaching the gates. He'd hoped his little mission would be completed all in one night cycle. But, he already saw activity through a few windows. He'd be caught with his sword.

Ah, he'd be in trouble.

It was the girl with long black hair, the other Far East girl, that first saw him and came running outside. "D--do you have an explanation to why you have your equipment??" She demanded to know. Hogni stopped in his tracks and stabbed his unbloodied sword into the grass.

"...It was a retrieval...for Bell. No soul was harmed." How he wasn't discovered--was a miracle. He left the sword sticking out of the ground and passed by Mikoto to head to Bell's room while she quickly followed after, still demanding answers, however flustered. He knocked on the door and peeked in after a moment.

"...I hope...you like surprises," he said quietly, holding up one hand from under his cloak. Situated between his fingers was not just the Hestia Knife, but also Hakugen, the knife Welf made him from Unicorn Horn. "Your blacksmith...can remake your armor..."