William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken
Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1627-1640)
William Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken (18 December 1590, Ottweiler – 22 August 1640, Metz), was a Count of Saarbrücken.
Life
His parents were Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg (died: 8 November 1627 in Saarbrücken) and Landgravine Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel (1567–1626). His father had in 1605 re-united all the possessions of the Walram line of the House of Nassau.
After his education at Metz from 1609 to 1614 he made a Grand Tour of France, the Netherlands and England.
In 1616 William Louis became co-regent with his father. His father died in 1627 and he became guardian of his two youngest brothers, Otto and Ernest Casimir. On 29 January 1629 in Ottweiler, the inheritance was split and William Louis received the County of Saarbrücken, the herrschaft of Ottweiler, the Bailiwick of Herbitzheim, and the Community of Saarwellingen. His brother John received Idstein, Wiesbaden and Sonnenberg. William Louis remained Regent of Wehen and the district of Burgschwalbach, the territories of his two youngest brothers, as they were still minors.
Shortly thereafter, on 2 March 1629, Emperor Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution, by which church property that had been confiscated after 1552 under the Peace of Passau, was returned to its previous owner.
The public source identifies “William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken” as count of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1627-1640). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around William, Louis and Count.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken”, the useful work is to connect “count of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1627-1640)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q475980. VIAF identifies the subject as 27984307. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1590, 1640, 1627 and 1567.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken primary sources, William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken archive and William research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.