Henry IV of Sayn (), Lord of Homburg, Montclair and Meinsberg (1539 – 17 January 1606) was the last Count of Sayn-Sayn and the last male heir of the Sayn-Sponheim family. Henry was born in 1539, the middle one of the three sons of Count John V of Sayn and Elisabeth of Holstein-Schauenburg, and became a

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

at the request of his father. Initially a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

(''Domherr''), from 1565 he became

cathedral dean A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

(''Domdechant'') of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

under

Archbishops In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

Frederick IV of Wied Friedrich IV of Wied () (1518–1568) was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1562 to 1567. Biography Friedrich IV of Wied was born in 1518, the son of Graf Johann II of Wied and his wife Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg. Friedrich's parent ...

and Salentin of Isenburg. After the death of his uncle, Count Sebastian II who had ruled the County of Sayn together with Henry's brother, Hermann of Sayn, he inherited the county, which was located north of the River

Sieg Sieg may refer to: People * Carl Sieg (1784–1845), German painter and lithographer * Victor Sieg (1837–1899), French composer and organist * Lee Paul Sieg (1879–1963), a former president of the University of Washington * Paul Eugen Si ...

, with the castle of

Freusburg The Freusburg is a castle high above the Sieg Valley, which also gives its name to a village (Freusburg Siedlung). It lies between Mudersbach and Kirchen and has belonged since 1969 to the town of Kirchen. Before that, Freusburg was a self-govern ...

as his residence in 1573. This was also connected with his conversion to Protestantism under the Wittenberg

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, which Sebastian and Hermann had introduced to their lands after a long delay in 1561. Soon afterwards, in February 1574, Henry married Jutta of Mallinkrodt, a former nun whom he had already met when he was the dean of Cologne Cathedral at the monastery of St. Querinus in

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

. Whether Jutta of Mallinkrodt led the life of a

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remains uncertain at this time. But the marriage remained childless and eventually failed. Jutta of Mallinkrodt died on 28 February 1608 in Schloss

Friedewald Friedewald is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North ...

, which Henry had built in Renaissance style. Meanwhile Henry had a liaison with a maid. Two sons (Wilhelm and Karl I Sayn) emerged from this relationship and although they retained the right to use old family crest (the white castle on the black shield), they were not entitled to inherit because of their illegitimate descent. When Count Hermann died on 17 March 1588, Henry united the county again under his lordship. On 22 December 1589, he decreed the first Sayn church constitution, printed the following year in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. This gave instructions to "superintendents, parish lords and other church and school servants on how to behave in the teaching of the divine word, the administration of the holy sacraments, the rituals and other elements of a church service. In this way he contributed further to the renewal of church life in the land of Sayn. He was assisted by Superintendent Magister Leopold Optichtyus, who had studied at

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

and

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

. Henry also ensured that there was a proper school system in the County of Sayn. For example, he determined in the church constitution of 1589 that "at every parish church a school is to be established in which children are to be taught to read, write and especially learn their catechism." Henry knew that, after his death, the county would fall to Hermann's only daughter, Anna Elisabeth, who was in a relationship with Count William of

Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia. History Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg (1314-1392), a member of the House of Sponheim, married ...

. William, however, was a member of the

Reformed Church Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

by confession. Henry therefore feared for the survival of the Lutheran denomination in his lands. As he was becoming increasingly frail, Henry handed over the rule of the county on 12 September 1605 to the husband of his niece, who henceforth called himself William III, Count of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was a county of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, comprising the lands of the region of Sayn. It was created as a partition of Sayn-Wittgenstein in 1607, although it was not until the next year that it obtained fully the C ...

, believing he had guaranteed the survival of the Lutheran denomination in Sayn. But William expelled all Lutheran pastors from the country after a year and appointed Reformed

prelates A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

instead. Henry died on 17 January 1606 at

Sayn Castle The ruins of Sayn Castle (), the 12th century family castle of the counts of Sayn and Sayn-Wittgenstein, are in Sayn, part of the borough of Bendorf on the Rhine, between Koblenz and Neuwied in the county of Mayen-Koblenz in the German state of ...

, the seat of the Counts of Sayn and was interred on 17 March 1606 in the family crypt below the presbytery of the Lutheran church in

Hachenburg Hachenburg is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The town lies in the Westerwald between Koblenz and Siegen, roughly 10 km west of Bad Marienberg on the river Nister. Hachenburg is the administrative s ...

. One of his positive legacies was that he gave Freusburg Castle its present appearance; he was the architect of the south wing with its oriel borne on fabulous stone animals. The Count was also the architect of Schloss Altenkirchen, which has since been demolished. French chateaux, which he saw on a trip to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, inspired him to design the castle in Friedewald that today is considered a ''"pearl among the princely castles of the German

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

"''.

Literature

* Matthias Dahlhoff: ''Geschichte der Grafschaft Sayn''. Dillenburg, 1874. * Hans Fritzsche: ''Graf Heinrich IV. von Sayn'', in: ''Lebensbilder aus dem Kreis Altenkirchen''. Altenkirchen, 1975. * Friedrich Hennes: ''Zur Geschichte der Reformation in der Grafschaft Sayn''. in:''Festschrift zum 400jährigen Jubiläum der Reformation in der Grafschaft Sayn''. Düsseldorf, 1961. {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 04 of Sayn

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Counts of Sayn Cathedral deans of Cologne 1539 births 1606 deaths