Anna of Katzenelnbogen (1443–1494)

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;^[1] † 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).

Anna married Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse in 1458. Henry 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 four sons. and two daughters. They were:

• Friedrich (died as a child)
• Louis III (November 1461 - July 2, 1478)
• William III (Wilhelm III, Landgraf von Hessen-Marburg) (1471–1500).,^[2] their only son to reach adulthood succeeded as In 1498, William ΙΙΙ married Elisabeth, the daughter of Philip, Elector Palatine. William ΙΙΙ 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 grandparents to William the Silent.^[2]
• Mathilde (1473–1505), would go on to marry in 1489 to John II, Duke of Cleves, and would become grandparents to Queen Anne of Cleves.^[2]

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. ^[3][4]

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. ^[5]

The inscription says the following^[6]:

“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.

The inscription refers to William and his new position, but has yet to identify the woman beside him. The Anna identification only comes from Kolbe's interpretation of the relief itself. This identification also carries dynastic context. Anna was the only surviving child of Count Philipp I of Katzenelnbogen. When her father died in 1479, she was the sole heiress to the Katzenelnbogen inheritance, which was then passed it to the Hessian landgraves through her marriage to Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse. This came with subsequent inheritance arrangements, competing claims and later settlements. Their son William III later implemented the Katzenelnbogen arms into his own heraldic representation. In 1491, his seal included Katzenelnbogen in his quartered princely arms, with the Hessian arms in the middle of the shield. ^[7] This heraldic arrangement does not necessarily establish that the relief represents a married couple. A marital coat of arms usually combines the arms of two spouses, but the Reallexikon zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte notes that an apparent alliance coat of arms can also represent ancestral arms. Katzenelnbogen was already added into William’s quartered princely arms and cannot by itself signify the woman beside him is his wife. ^[8]

Anna was also living and involved within the affairs of her estates before the relief was even created. In 1492, she had an agreement with William concerning her Wittum, demonstrating that she was involved in the administration of her property and financial rights. ^[9] She was also associated with the building activity at Marburg Castle. Her involvement in those affairs also show that she was an active member of the house of Hesse. A source describes that Anna was connected with the Frauenbau and states that the Wilhelmsbau relief is depicting “Mutter und Sohn Wilhelm III.” (“mother and son William III”). ^[10] It is plausible that the female figure is Anna. It wouldn't be unusual that she was placed beside William, since it could've carried a dynastic meaning beyond that of a simple mother and son depiction. Katzenelnbogen was an important inheritance and Anna represented that lineage of the Hessian dynasty. In 1493, Anna was still living. That makes it possible that the figure was a contemporary representation of herself. However, the inscription does not mention the female figure at all, therefore it cannot be identified with certainty by itself. Other sources identify the relief differently.

There are also claims that the woman depicts Elisabeth of the Palatinate, which is chronologically possible. A marriage agreement was made for William III and Elisabeth on 25 November 1492, one year before the relief’s date. The agreement describes that the marriage was planned in order to strengthen the two principalities and benefit their territories and its subjects. Meaning that Elisabeth was already William’s formally agreed future bride when the relief was made. ^[11] However, the figure represented an adult woman. In 1493, Elisabeth was around nine to ten years old. Although this does not rule her out since medieval representations could idealize the appearance of its subjects. The Bildindex der Kunst und Architektur identifies the woman as Elisabeth of the Palatinate, while Kolbe’s 1884 description and some modern Marburg publications identify her as Anna of Katzenelnbogen. The identification remains uncertain until further documentary or art-historical evidence establishes the basis for the identity of the woman in the relief. ^[12]

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.