
The County of Ferrette (or Pfirt) was a
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
jurisdiction in
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
and the
early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
. It roughly corresponds with the
Sundgau
Sundgau ( or ; ) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Territoire de Belfort, Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German ''Sunt-Gau (territory), gowe'' ("South shire"), den ...
and comprised the lordships of
Ferrette
Ferrette (; ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
It is situated close to the Swiss border. Its main attraction is the Château de Ferrette.
County of Ferrette
The County of Ferrette came into exist ...
(Pfirt),
Altkirch
Altkirch (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department in Alsace in north-eastern France.
The town is traditionally regarded as the capital of Sundgau.
Etymology
The name of the commune means ''old c ...
,
Thann,
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort.
Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...
,
Rougemont and others. These territories were not contiguous, but formed a patchwork of jurisdictions under the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.
[Richard Vaughan, ''Charles the Bold: The Last Valois Duke of Burgundy'' (Boydell, 1973), pp. 86–88.]
The County of Ferrette emerged in the twelfth century alongside the
County of Montbéliard
The Princely County of Montbéliard (; ), was a prince, princely Graf, county of the Holy Roman Empire seated in the city of Montbéliard in the present-day Franche-Comté region of France. From 1444 onwards it was held by the House of Württembe ...
as a division of the ''
pagus
In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geograp ...
'' of
Elsgau, traditionally regarded as the southernmost ''pagus'' of Alsace.
[Tom Scott, ''Regional Identity and Economic Change: The Upper Rhine, 1450–1600'' (Clarendon, 1999), p. 29.] This was a
Francophone
The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...
region.
[
In the late Middle Ages, the County of Ferrette was the most westerly ]Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
possession and a part of Further Austria
Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...
. It bordered the French Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
and all four dukes of the House of Valois
The Capetian House of Valois ( , also , ) was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. They succeeded the House of Capet (or "Direct Capetians") to the List of French monarchs, French throne, and were the royal house of France from 1328 to 1589. ...
who ruled from 1363 until 1477 made efforts to acquire it.[Richard Vaughan, ''Philip the Good: The Apogee of Burgundy'' (Boydell, 1970), p. 31.] It was the object of a complicated series of marriage negotiations under the first duke, Philip the Bold
Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg.
Philip was th ...
. In 1387, Duke Leopold IV of Austria married Catherine
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
, daughter of Philip the Bold, fulfilling an agreement first reached in 1378. For her dower
Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settlement (law), settled on the bride (being given into trust instrument, trust) by agreement at the time of t ...
she received some rents in the county and finally in 1403 the entire county, whose officers paid homage to her on 6 February 1404.[Richard Vaughan, ''Philip the Bold: The Formation of the Burgundian State'' (Boydell, 1962), pp. 83–85.]
When Leopold died childless in 1411, he was succeeded by his brother, Frederick IV, who seized the county of Ferrette, leaving Catherine only two castles, one of which was Belfort.[ Catherine, however, claimed the whole county belonged to her. Her brother, Duke ]John the Fearless
John I (; ; 28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his assassination in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during the early 15th century, part ...
, garrisoned the castles on her behalf. These garrisons were small. To Belfort he sent only a castellan
A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
, nine squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Boys served a knight as an attendant, doing simple but important tasks such as saddling a horse or caring for the knight's weapons and armour.
Terminology
''Squire'' ...
s, a cannoneer
"Cannoneer" as a term for an artilleryman dates from the 16th century. the United States Army uses as titles for such a soldier: "13B" (thirteen bravo) M.O.S. (military occupational specialty code), a "cannon crewmember" or "cannoneer" for short ...
and some valets.[Richard Vaughan, ''John the Fearless: The Growth of Burgundian Power'' (Boydell, 1973), p. 151.]
The dispute over Ferrette continued into the reign of John's son, Philip the Good
Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...
. In 1420, he made an agreement with Catherine whereby he gave her an annual pension of 3,000 franc
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...
s and promised to help recover the county in return for being named as her heir. Philip opened negotiations with Frederick, even threatening war in 1422–23, but made no progress. There were hostilities between Catherine's men and the Habsburgs' in those same years, but Frederick even managed to take back Belfort. Catherine died childless in 1425, but the Burgundian claim was not immediately or permanently dropped.[
In 1427, a conference was held at ]Montbéliard
Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.
History
Montbéliard is ...
(Moempelgard) whereat Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy
Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was a claimant to the papacy from 1439 to 1449 as Felix VWhen numbering of the popes began t ...
, mediated the dispute. A treaty between the Archduke of Austria and the Duke of Burgundy seems to have been signed in mid-1428. Nevertheless, Ferrette, because it lay on the common border between the two houses, was as at the centre of the fighting in the brief Austro-Burgundian War of 1431. During the war, Philip's men successfully captured Belfort in a night attack. A truce was signed in October 1431 and a peace treaty in May 1432. In 1434, Philip bought up the claim of Catherine's sister, Margaret
Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
, to the county of Ferrette.[Vaughan, ''Philip the Good'', p. 53.]
On 9 May 1469, by the Treaty of Saint-Omer, Archduke Sigismund of Austria
Sigismund (26 October 1427 – 4 March 1496), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1439 (elevated to Archduke in 1477) until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian line, he ruled over Further Austria and the ...
mortgaged the County of Ferrette along with the Landgraviate of Upper Alsace to Duke Charles of Burgundy to secure a loan of 50,000 florins
The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time.
It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
. By the terms of the loan, the principal as well as Charles's administrative expenses had to be repaid in a single lump sum, making it unlikely that the Habsburgs would ever discharge it. Charles's own power, however, was limited by the fact that many of the rights of the counts had been pawned by the Habsburgs. Ferrette itself, for example, was in pawn for 7,000 florins.[
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]
List of counts
House of Scarponnois
:1105–1160 Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I ...
:1160–1191 Louis
Louis may refer to:
People
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
Other uses
* Louis (coin), a French coin
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
...
:1191–1233 Frederick II
:1233–1275 Ulrich II
:1275–1311/16 Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans.
The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Ty ...
:1311/16–1324 Ulrich III
:1324–1351/52 Joanna
Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne.
The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...
House of Habsburg
The numbering of the Habsburgs is their family numbering.
:1324–1358 Albert II
:1358–1365 Rudolf IV Rudolph IV or Rudolf IV may refer to:
* Rudolph IV, Count of Neuchâtel (1274–1343)
*Rudolf IV, Margrave of Baden-Pforzheim (died 1348)
*Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339–1365)
* (1350–1403)
* Rudolf IV, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg (1426/7 ...
:1365–1386 Leopold III
:1386–1395 Albert III
:1395–1406 Leopold IV
:1406–1439 Frederick IV
:1439–1469 Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
House of Valois
:1469–1477 Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
:1477–1482 Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
House of Habsburg
:1477–1519 Maximilian I
:1519–1558 Charles V Charles V may refer to:
Kings and Emperors
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
Others
* Charles V, Duke ...
:1558–1564 Ferdinand I
:1564–1595 Ferdinand II
:1595–1619 Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew.
Notable people
Notable people named Matthias include the following:
Religion
* Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Isca ...
:1619–1623 Ferdinand II
:1623–1632 Leopold V
:1632–1648 Ferdinand Charles
Notes
Further reading
*Goutzwiller, Charles
''Le comté de Ferrette: esquisses historiques''.
Altkirch: J. Boehrer, 1868.
*Heider, Christine. "Thann, ville domaniale et chef-lieu de bailliage sous les Ferrette et les Habsbourg". ''Revue d'Alsace'', 128 (2002), pp. 101–122.
*Köbler, Gerhard. ''Historisches Lexikon der Deutschen Länder: die deutschen Territorien vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart''. Munich: C. H. Beck, 2007.
*Quiquerez, Auguste
''Histoire des comtes de Ferrette''.
Montbéliard: Henri Barbier, 1863.
*Wilsdorf, Christian
''Histoire des comtes de Ferrette (1105–1324)''.
Altkirch: Société d'histoire Sundgauvienne, 1991.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrette, County of
History of Haut-Rhin
Counties of the Holy Roman Empire
History of the Territoire de Belfort
Further Austria
Territories of the Valois dukes of Burgundy