User Contributed Dictionary
Etymology
From the verb estää.Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: es·te
- /ˈesteʔ/|lang=fi
Derived terms
- adjectives: esteellinen, esteetön
Compounds
Hungarian
Etymology
From the word esikPronunciation
- /ˈɛʃtɛ/|lang=hu
Noun
Adverb
Portuguese
Noun
estePronoun
esteRomanian
Alternative spellings
- есте (Moldavian cyrillic spelling)
Pronunciation
- (following /)
Synonyms
Spanish
Etymology
Latin isteNoun
esteAntonyms
Related terms
Extensive Definition
- For the city, see Este, Italy. For Tolkien's fictional character, see Estë.
The elder branch of the House of Este, the House
of Welf, produced dukes of Bavaria (1070–1139, 1156–1180), dukes of
Saxony
(1138–1139, 1142–1180), a German king
(1198–1218), and most
impactful upon history, the dukes of
Brunswick and Lüneburg (1208–1918)—who
were later styled the "Electors of Hanover", a more prestigious
Holy Roman Empire title than Arch-duke or duke, when two branches
of the family recombined in 1705.
After the peace
ending the Napoleonic
wars reshaped Europe ushering in the Modern era,
the Electorate
of Hanover (duchy
of Brunswick and Lüneburg — held in a personal
union by the king of Great Britain, George III)
was dissolved by treaty acknowledged by all signitories and its
lands were enlarged with the state promoted to the Hanover.
The new kingdom existed from 1815–1866, but passed from
being a personal union of the male British rulers in 1837 to an
uncle under salic laws of
inheritance (female rulers were anathema and forbidden) with the
ascension of Victoria to the British throne). The House of Este
hence gave England the "Hanovarian
monarchs" of the United
Kingdom (1714–1901; via George
I—George IV, including Queen
Victoria). In the strictest genetic (not the heraldic or salic
law) sense, it also gave us the current House of
Windsor as her successor,
Edward VII of the United Kingdom of the House
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was genetically of the House of Este as
well through the previous generations.
The younger branch of the House of Este included
rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597), and Modena and Reggio
(1288–1796).
Origins
The origins of the family, probably of Frankish nobility, date back to the time of Charlemagne in the early 9th century when they settled in Lombardy. The first known member of the house was Margrave Adalbert of Mainz, known only as father of Oberto I, Count palatine of Italy, who died around 975. Oberto's grandson Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan, (996–1097) built a castle at Este, near Padua, and named himself after it. He had 3 sons from two marriages, two of whom became the ancestors of the two branches of the family:- Welf IV, the eldest (d. 1101), was the son of Kunigunde (d. 1056), the last of the Elder Welfs. He inherited the property of his maternal uncle, Welf, Duke of Carinthia, became duke of Bavaria in 1070, and is the ancestor of the elder branch, the House of Welf.
- Hugh, issue of Azzo's second marriage to Garsend of Maine, inherited the County of Maine, his mother's dowry, but sold it one year later and died without heirs.
- Fulco I (d. about 1128/35), the third son, is the ancestor of the younger Italian line of Fulc-Este.
The two surviving branches, with Duke Henry the
Lion of Saxony and Bavaria on the German side, concluded an
agreement in 1154 which allocated
the family's Italian possessions to the younger line, the
Fulc-Este, who in the course of time acquired Ferrara, Modena and
Reggio. Este itself was taken over in 1275 by Padua and in 1405
(together with Padua) by Venice.
Younger branch, the Margraves of Este
All later generations of the Italian branch are descendants of Fulco d'Este. From 1171 on, his descendants were titled Margraves of Este.Obizzo I (d. 1193), the first margrave, battled
against Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa. His nephew Azzo
d'Este VI (1170–1212) became podestà of
Mantua and
Verona. In
1146 with the
last of the Adelardi Ferrara passed as the dowry of his niece the
Marchesella, to Azzo VI
d'Este. Azzo VII Novello was nominated podestà for his lifetime
in 1242.
The lordship of Ferrara was made hereditary by
Obizzo II (d. 1293) who was proclaimed Lord of Ferrara in 1264,
Lord of Modena 1288 and Lord
of Reggio
1289. Ferrara being a papal fief, the Este family were given the
position of hereditary papal vicars in 1332.
Ferrara became a
significant center of culture under Niccolò
d'Este III (1384–1441), who received several popes with great magnificence,
especially Eugene
IV, who held a Council here in 1438, later known as the
Council of Florence.
His successors were Leonello
(1407–1450) and Borso
(1413–1471), who was elevated to Duke of Modena and Reggio by
Emperor
Frederick III in 1452 and in return received these duchies as
imperial fiefs. In 1471 he received the duchy of Ferrara as papal
fief from Pope Paul
II, for which occasion splendid frescoes were executed at
Palazzo
Schifanoia.
Under Ercole(1431–1505),
one of the most significant patrons of the arts in late 15th and
early 16th century Italy, Ferrara grew into a cultural center,
renowned especially for music; Josquin
Des Prez worked for Duke Ercole, Jacob
Obrecht came to Ferrara twice, and Antoine
Brumel served as principal musician from 1505. Ercole's
daughter Beatrice
(1475–1497) married Ludovico
Sforza, Duke of
Milan, while his daughter Isabella
(1474–1539) married Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua.
Ercole I's successor was his son Alfonso I
(1476–1534), third husband of the notorious Lucrezia
Borgia and the patron of Ariosto. The age
was rife with disease and sanitation measures all but unknown, so
this next result can be seen throughout Europe in the period:
Alfonso and Lucrezia Borgia's son Ercole
d'Este II (1508–1559) married Renée
of France, daughter of Louis
XII of France. His son Alfonso
II first married Lucrezia, daughter of grand-duke Cosimo
I of Tuscany, then after becoming a widower, Barbara, the
sister of
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (1527–1576) and finally a
third wife, Margherita
Gonzaga, daughter of the duke of
Mantua.
Though he raised the glory of Ferrara to its
highest point, and was the patron of Torquato
Tasso and Giovanni
Battista Guarini, favouring the arts and sciences, as the
princes of his house had always done, the legitimate line ended in
1597 with him. Emperor Rudolph II
recognized as heir his first cousin Cesare
d'Este (1533-1628), member of a cadet branch born out of wedlock,
who continued to rule in the imperial duchies and carried on the
family name. Ferrara, on the other hand, was annexed by force of
arms in 1598 by Pope Clement
VIII, on grounds of the heir's illegitimacy, and incorporated
into the Papal
States.
The last duke, Ercole
III, was deposed in 1796 by the French and
his two duchies became the Cispadane
Republic which one year later was merged into the Cisalpine
Republic and then into the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. Ercole
was compensated in 1801 with the small principality of Breisgau in
southwestern Germany, whose previous rulers, the Habsburgs, ceded
it to him in anticipation of its eventual return to the Habsburgs,
since Ercole's daughter
Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este was married to a cadet
Habsburg,
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este. Ercole died in 1803 and Breisgau
passed to his daughter and her husband, who then (1806) lost it
during the Napoleonic reorganization of the western territories of
the defunct Holy
Roman Empire to the enlarged and elevated Grand
Duchy of Baden.
Austria-Este
In 1814, when French rule in Italy ended (but
after the death of Duke Ercole), Modena was returned to his
daughter Mary Beatrice and her son, Archduke
Francis of Austria-Este. The family thus ruled the duchy of
Modena and Reggio again from 1814 to 1859, using the names
Asburgo-Este (Habsburg-Este) and Austria-Este.
In 1859 the duchy lost its independence to the new united Italy,
and
Francis V, Duke of Modena, was deposed. The family of
Austria-Este became extinct in the male line with the death of
Francis V in 1875. His blood-heiress was his niece, Archduchess
Maria Theresia of Austria-Este (d. 1919); she and her husband,
Prince Louis of Bavaria, later became Queen and King of Bavaria. The
present head of this branch of the family is Franz,
Duke of Bavaria.
However, Francis V had decided to retain the Este
name in the Habsburg family
and willed his inheritance to the line of Archduke Charles Louis,
younger brother of Emperor Francis
Joseph, on condition that the heir use the name Austria-Este.
The first "adoptee" was
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (b. 1863, not descended
from Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este), who took the name Austria-Este
and in 1896 became the heir
presumptive of the Habsburg Empire, but was murdered on 28 June
1914 in Sarajevo.
Since his own children were born in morganatic
marriage (Sophie,
Duchess of Hohenberg), the Habsburgs designated his soon-to-be
born great-nephew
Robert (b. 8 February 1915), second son of the future emperor
Charles,
as the next "adopted Austria-Este". Through his mother Zita
of Bourbon-Parma (a great-granddaughter of Teresa of Savoy,
Duchess of Lucca and Parma, who was a daughter of
Maria Teresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Sardinia, who in turn
was a daughter of
Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este and
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este, Duchess and Duke of
Breisgau
and Modena), Robert was a descendant of Ercole
III d'Este, and the blood of last Este dukes thus joined again
with the name Austria-Este.
Today, the bearer of this tradition is the eldest
son of Archduke Robert of Austria-Este (d. 1996),
Lorenz Otto Charles of Austria-Este (b. 1955), who is married
to Princess Astrid of
Belgium, the only daughter of King Albert
II. In 1995, Lorenz received the additional title of Prince of
Belgium. Since 1991 the couple's children are titled Archduke
(Archduchess) of Austria-Este, Princes(ss) of Belgium, Prince(ss)
Imperial of Austria, Prince(ss) Royal of Hungary and Bohemia.
Eldest of these is
Prince Amedeo, Archduke of Austria-Este (b. 1986).
See also
Further reading
- Trevor Dean, Land and Power in Late Medieval Ferrara: The Rule of the Este, 1350-1450.(Cambridge University Press) 1987.
External links
- Il Castello Estense: genealogical tree
image:Blason Nicolas III d'Este (1383 -
1441).svg|Coat of Arms of Este in 1431
este in German: Este (Familie)
este in Estonian: Este dünastia
este in Spanish: Casa de Este
este in French: Maison d'Este
este in Italian: Este
este in Japanese: エステ家
este in Georgian: დ'ესტე (დინასტია)
este in Polish: D'Este