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86 GERMANY. [Nailäu.
•wdlJe in particular affords a rich pafturage, whence graziery and its appur-*
tenances are there very eflential articles.
§. 2. The defcent of the houfe of Naß'au from Otho lord of hamenberg
(mentioned before) who lived in the loth century, has been placed in a
new light hy yohn yiunes Reinhard, in his concife treatifes, vol. ii. p. loo.
The counts oi Naßhu were particularly polTefled of confiderable places and
lands about Nmitberg, and in the year 1360, Count yoī fold the town
of Altorf\ with eighteen villages and other eftates to Albert, Burgrave of
Nürnberg. They have alfo very early acquired great eftates in the Wetterau^
and were likewiie hereditary governors of the Rhine., and cup-bearers to the
archbifliop of Mentz. The founder of the prefent Princes of Naffau was
Count Henry I. furnamed the Wealthy, who equally left to his two fons
JValram and Otho I. the whole county of Naß'au, with its feudal, patrimonial,
and hereditary lands. In a compadl of partition made in the year
1255 they held the patrimonial houfe and prefedlurate of Naß'au, with
other family privileges, in an indivifable community ; but the other part of
the county they divided. Weilburg, Wisbaden and läßein, became Walrain's,
part, and Otho I. had Siegen, Dillenburg, Herborn, Beilßein, Ha-"
darnar and Knn.
Walram, fon to AJolplnn became King of the Romans, and his fon Gcr~
lach acquired Burg and the town of Weilnau, together with a part of this
lordfliip, leaving two fons behind him, namely, Adolphus and John I. the
former of whom fucceeded to Wiibaden and Idjlein, but his line came to
a period in 1605, in the perfon of John Le'-^is. yohn I. by his firft wife
had Mchrenberg, Gleiberg, and Huttenberg ; and by his fecond, the county
of Saarbruck, exclufive of the prefedurate o£ Kirberg, which he alfo added
to his houfe. His fon Philip augmented 'it w'lth Kirchheim, Stauß', Polanden,
and Reichelßeim. He likewife had two fons, namely, Philip II. and John II.
the former of whom fucceeded to Mahrenbcrg and Gleiberg, and the latter
had the county of Saarbruck for his pofleflion, whilft Kirchheim, Stauß,
and Polanden, together with other places, were held in common. John
Lewis, fon to John II. by marriage acquired the county of Saariverden and
the lordfhip oi Lahr, but his line failed in his fon John IV. Philip I. continued
the Weilburg branch, and his great-grandfon Philip III. had for his
two fons Elbert and Philip IV. who in the year 1574, on the deceafe of
the above-mentioned John IV. inherited Najj'au, Saarbruck and Saaricerden,
together with half the lordlliip of Kirchheim. This Philip IV. died without
iffue, but Lewis II. Son to Albert, fucceeded the before-mentioned John
Lewis of the Wisbaden line, leaving three fons behind him, namely, JVilliam
Lewis, JrJm and Erneß Cafimir, the firft of whom obtained Ottipeiler^
Saarbruck, and Vfingen ; the fecond Idflein, Wisbaden, and Lahr, which
lands, on the death of his (on George Augußus, in 1721, fell to the defcendants
of his eldeft brother. The portion of the third was Weilburg, the
4 Naßaii