With the term knight occurs to many the robbery knight. It gave up-merry or very controversy-ready gentlemen also under the Ledeburs. Stood also some, however or organizes, in feud with their national gentlemen, for that them at least allegedly not, which they meant stress to be able. Justice and staatsmacht were not always understandable evenly already at that time. e.g. the most important Dienstmannen in the Osnabruecker country, under it a cathedral gentleman Heinrich Ledebur, with the castle crew of Quakenbrueck and Osnabrueck, which also the Osnabruecker joined cathedral chapters, united 1422. The federation was directed against the bishop von Osnabrueck, who could implement the dissolution of the federation also not immediately. - I did not discover way-storing robbery knights, who lay in wait for to travelers - in particular around-pulling buyers - and money and goods took, if necessary also the life to them, however fortunately under the Ledeburs.
The Ledeburs proved to a large extent as faithful officials of its national gentlemen and worked satisfactorily. These national gentlemen were in oldest time in particular the bishops of Osnabrueck and cathedrals and the counts von Ravensberg and Tecklenburg, later also the archbishop of Cologne and the house Hohenzollern, which took over 1607 Kleve, Marks and Ravensberg, thus our Urheimat.
The Ledeburs grew up in such a way for the exit of the Middle Ages in nationalwonderful, usually civilian services to one of the important and influential sexes in Westphalia. If I stress the civilian positions here, then happens contrary to lifelong military careers. The first general our family brought only to at the beginning 18. Century out, which by the way stood in braunschweigisch wolfenbuetteler services. Before the sons of noble houses hit civilian careers, they had carried military service out however always first in recent years - and usually also studies.
I already addressed a lending of landed property as remuneration for that national gentlemen carried out services. As family estate of our family one must regard Mühlenburg in Spenge. It was possibly already given around 1300 at Heinrich I. to Lehen; 1468 are surely proven it with Heinrich IV.. The family has this possession since then up to the center 19. Century not only possessed, but also as constant domicile inhabits. Many other possessions were added and went again out of the family. It inhabited by parts of the branching out family, partly were partly it money only put on.
I still want to make
some remarks to the owners of the Mühlenburg: In the Middle Ages the Mühlenburg
as well as the who castle, which were lent to the Ledeburs also, and a third
castle had the task to protect in each case the widow seat of the counts von
Ravensberg in Spenge. Here thus the Ledeburs sat and served as body guard of the
nut/mother of the governing count.
Around 1690 a very modern seeming procedure there by the way occurred: The verwitwete Anna v. Ledebur, geb. v. Varendorf, from the late Wicheln older line specified of the family, did not have leiblichen inheriting. Thus it adopted a nephew from the recent line, Johann Albrecht from the house king-bridges. It inherited the master seat, which remained now with the recent line. Its foster nut/mother took up Johann Albrecht so completely to her house that it later at the inheritance in do not king-bridge no more one took part, although he was the oldest son of its leiblichen parents. In the possession of the recent line among other things also arene refuge was with Bohmte and long-bridges.
Among the older line among other things the possessions Wicheln, Dincklage and Crollage ranked and already early Perutz in Boehmen. House Duesse with Soest came 1741 by marriage to the family.
The houses on the ledeburschen possessions probably were in substantially functional, i.e.. they offered protection from the weather and from encroachments of bad fellow men. In addition they were factory, with which the ranges living and enterprise z.T themselves. under a common roof found. These houses were larger than those of the farmers and farmhands, but they were hardly prestige objects. Whether they impressed to an aggressor, I do not dare to judge. There was nevertheless firm of houses, at first from framework with a surrounding wall, later was also the houses from stone and everything - very unhealthily - surrounded by water ditches. Here rats and mosquitoes lived, but an obstacle during the approximation were the watercourses also.
From the old possessions, which remained over many generations in our family, falls actually only king-bridge from the framework. It is m.W. also the only Ledebursitz, which was called already early lock; Mill castle received this designation only in the last century, after it had become by around and development of the living section more splendidly, not necessarily more beautiful. In 18. Century to the graefliche line of the family of come houses on Krzemusch and Milleschau were locks.
I return again to the occupations, in which our ancestors responsibility transferred. The Ledeburs lived on its goods in Westphalia and Boehmen and stood with the different religious and lay national gentlemen as civil servants and soldiers in services. To their training regularly the attendance of universities belonged in Germany and in the neighboring countries, above all Italy, France, Sweden and Holland. The most frequently occurring title beside nationalwonderful advice was that of the Drosten, for instance the today's land advice comparable position, which was connected with the important additional task however to steer in war and peace the load of the country by the pulling through military fairly. In the garrison cities the soldiers were frequently kaserniert in the last century, but lived as quartering in the community centres. On the marches in war and peace the army from the country lived, i.e. after the daily stage the troop took accomodation with property goods and farmers and including its horses was boarded there and accommodated.
The Drost had to provide for it that the loads always, e.g. the farmers living at the durchgangsstrasse did not resemble met. Christian Heinrich Ernst was the last Drost from our family, it lived at present Friedrichs of the large one.
