thumb , upright , John II was the first of the partitioned-off dukes. After his death his territory was divided into several partitioned off microstates
In the duchies of
Schleswig
The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...
and
Holstein
Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany.
Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...
, the term "partitioned-off duke" (''German'': Abgeteilte Herren) was used to denote a series of dukes whose territories were not recognized by the
estates of the realm
The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed a ...
.
Background
The background for this phenomenon was the
Treaty of Ribe of 1460, in which King
Christian I of Denmark, after his election as Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein, had laid down that Schleswig and Holstein should forever be ruled by a joint sovereign, in a
personal union
A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
with Denmark. The promise was broken in 1544, when King
Christian III of Denmark
Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established ...
divided the territories between himself and his half-brothers
John II the Elder and
Adolf. However, when Christian's son,
Frederick II of Denmark
Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark-Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1559 until his death in 1588.
A member of the House of Oldenburg, Fre ...
, tried to divide the territory with his brother,
John II the Younger, the Estates refused to pay John II
homage. John II was given the title and rank of a duke, as well as the income from his own lands, but ''de facto'' rule over Schleswig and Holstein remained with his brother and uncle. John thus founded the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg branch of the
House of Oldenburg
The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty whose members rule or have ruled in Danish Realm, Denmark, Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland, Kingdom of Greece, Greece, Norway, Russian Empire, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, King ...
.
His partitioned-off duchy was not allowed to mint coins, nor to maintain a standing army. After his death, it was further subdivided among his children, creating several collateral branches of the House of
Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.
See also
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Apanage
*
Secundogeniture
A secundogeniture (from 'following, second', and 'born') was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch.Luard, Evan. The Balance of Power: The System of International Relations, ...
References and sources
* Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen, Elke Imberger, Dieter Lohmeier, Ingwer Momsen, Frauke Witte, Marion Hartwig (eds.): ''Die Fürsten des Landes. Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg'', first edition, Wachholtz, 2008, .
External links
History of Schleswig-Holstein{dead link, date=March 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
*