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{{Short description|European dynasty of North Italian origin}}
{{Infobox family
| name = House of Este
| native_name = ''Casa d'Este''
| native_name_lang = it
| other_names = ''Estensi''
| type = [[Principate|Princely]] [[noble family]]
| coat_of_arms = Arms of the house of Este (1).svg
| coat_of_arms_size = 160px
| coat_of_arms_caption = Arms of the House of Este (1239{{ndash}}1431)
| parent_family = [[Obertenghi]]<ref name=Este>{{cite encyclopedia |language=it |last1=Simeoni |first1=Luigi |last2=Canevazzi |first2=Giovanni |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/este_res-a3abd526-8bae-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/ |title=Este |encyclopedia=Enciclopedia Italiana |editor-last=Treccani |date=1932 }}</ref><ref name=brit>{{cite web |title=House of Este |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Este |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>
| country = [[File:Ducado de Modena (antes de 1830).svg|23px]] [[Duchy of Ferrara]]<br/>[[File:State Flag of the Duchy of Modena and Reggio (1830-1859).svg|23px]] [[Duchy of Modena and Reggio]]<br/>{{flagicon|Republic of Venice}} [[Republic of Venice]]<br/>{{flagicon|Papal States|old}} [[Papal States]]
| etymology = From the town of [[Este, Veneto|Este]]
| founded = {{Start date and years ago|1097}}
| founder = [[Albert Azzo II]]{{efn|Although the first [[Marquis of Este]] was Fulco I's father [[Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan|Albert Azzo II]], Fulco is considered the progenitor of the Italian branch of the dynasty,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |language=it |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/folco_res-45f6995f-87ed-11dc-8e9d-0016357eee51_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |title=Folco |encyclopedia=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani |volume=XLVIII |editor-last=Treccani |date=1997 }}</ref> while his brother [[Welf I, Duke of Bavaria|Welf I]] the progenitor of the German line (See Younger [[House of Welf]]).<ref>{{cite web |language=it |url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/guelfi/ |title=Guèlfi |editor=Treccani |access-date=June 6, 2019 }}</ref>}}
| dissolution = {{End date|1829}}
| branches        = [[House of Welf|Welf]] (elder branch of Este)
| cadet branches  = [[House of Austria-Este|Austria-Este]] ([[cognatic]], through the female line)
| final_ruler = [[Ercole III d'Este, Duke of Modena|Ercole III]] (Modena & Reggio)<br/>[[Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa|Maria Beatrice]] (Massa & Carrara)
| titles = {{Collapsible list|[[Marquis of Este]]<br/>{{small|(1097{{ndash}}1463)}}|[[Ferrara#Antiquity and Middle Ages|Marquis of Ferrara]]<br/>{{small|(1208{{ndash}}1471)}}|[[Duchy of Ferrara|Duke of Ferrara]]<br/>{{small|(1471{{ndash}}1598)}}|[[Duke of Modena and Reggio]]<br/>{{small|(1452{{ndash}}1803)}}|[[Duchy of Massa and Carrara|Duke of Massa and Prince of Carrara]]<br/>{{small|(1790{{ndash}}1829)}}|[[Breisgau#History|Duke of Breisgau]]<br/>{{small|(1801{{ndash}}1805)}}}}
| other_families = {{unbulleted list|[[Malaspina family|Malaspina]]|[[Pallavicini family|Pallavicini]]|[[House of Borgia|Borgia]]|[[House of Farnese|Farnese]]|[[House of Bourbon-Parma|Bourbon-Parma]]}}
| motto = ''Ab Insomni Non Custodita Dracone''<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dictionnaire des Devises historiques et héraldiques |volume=II |page=385 |first=Henri |last=Tausin |location=Paris |publisher=B. Dumoulin |date=1878 | access-date= 6 April 2025 |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k61478g.texteImage }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |language=it |url=https://lanuovaferrara.gelocal.it/ferrara/cronaca/2011/11/06/news/una-delle-fatiche-di-ercole-eroe-preferito-in-casa-d-este-1.1651738 |title=Una delle fatiche di Ercole, eroe preferito in casa d'Este |newspaper=la Nuova Ferrara |date=November 7, 2011 }}</ref>
| motto_lang = la
| motto_trans = Unattended by the never-sleeping dragon
| heirlooms = [[Galleria Estense]]
| estate = [[Castello Estense]] (Ferrara)<br/>[[Ducal Palace of Modena|Ducal Palace]] (Modena)<br/>{{collapsible list|[[Palazzo dei Diamanti]] (Ferrara)|[[Palazzo Paradiso]] (Ferrara)|[[Palazzo Schifanoia]] (Ferrara)|[[Palazzina Marfisa d’Este]] (Ferrara)|[[Ducal Palace of Sassuolo|Ducal Palace]] (Sassuolo)|[[Rocca Estense, San Felice sul Panaro|Rocca Estense]] (St. Felice sul Panaro)|[[Delizia di Belriguardo]] (Voghiera)|[[Palazzo Estense]] (Varese)|[[Villa d'Este (Cernobbio)|Villa d'Este]] (Cernobbio)|[[Villa d'Este]] (Tivoli)| [[Castello del Catajo]] (Padua)|[[Palais Modena]] (Vienna)}}
}}
The '''House of Este''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|ɛ|s|t|i}} {{respell|EST|ee}},<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/este |title=Este |work=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |access-date=2 June 2019 }}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|ɛ|s|t|eɪ}} {{respell|EST|ay}},<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Este|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Este|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈɛste|lang}}) is a European [[dynasty]] of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries.

The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the [[House of Welf]], included dukes of [[Bavaria]] and of [[Braunschweig|Brunswick]]. This branch produced Britain's [[House of Hanover|Hanoverian monarchs]], as well as one [[Emperor of All Russia|Emperor of Russia]] ([[Ivan VI of Russia|Ivan VI]]) and one [[Holy Roman Emperor]] ([[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto IV]]).

The original House of Este's younger branch, which is simply called the House of Este, included rulers of [[Ferrara]] (1240–1597), and of [[Modena]] (900–1859) and [[Reggio Emilia|Reggio]] (1288–1796).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gilmour |first=David |url=http://archive.org/details/pursuitofitalyhi0000gilm |title=The Pursuit of Italy: A History of a Land, its Regions and Their Peoples |publisher=Allen Lane |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84614-251-2 |location=London; New York |pages=175 |language=en}}</ref> This branch's male line became extinct with the death of [[Ercole III d'Este|Ercole III]] in 1803.

==Origins==
According to [[Edward Gibbon]], the family originated from the Roman [[Attii]] family, which migrated from [[Rome]] to [[Este, Veneto|Este]]<ref>The miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon Vol 3 page 172</ref> to defend Italy against the [[Ostrogoths]]. However, there is little evidence to support this hypothesis. The names of the early members of the family indicate that a Frankish origin is much more likely. The [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] regards this family as a branch of the [[Obertenghi]].<ref name=Este/><ref name=brit/>

The first known member of the house was Margrave Adalbert of [[Mainz]], known only as the 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, Italy|Este]], near [[Padua]], and named himself after the location. He had three 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 V, Count of Maine|Hugh]], issue of Azzo's second marriage to Garsend of Maine, inherited the French County of [[Maine (province of France)|Maine]], a legacy of his mother's dowry, but sold it one year later and died without heirs.
* [[Fulco I, Margrave of Milan]] (d. about 1128/35), the third son, is the ancestor of the younger Italian line of Este.

The two surviving branches, with Duke [[Henry the Lion]] of Saxony and Bavaria on the German (Welf dynasty) 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]].

==Elder branch – Younger House of Welf==
{{Main|House of Welf|House of Hanover}}
[[File:George I Oval.jpg|thumb|right|[[George I of Great Britain|George I]], by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, Prince-Elector of Hanover, Duke of Brunswick. Portrait c. 1714, the year of his accession, by [[Godfrey Kneller|Sir Godfrey Kneller]].]]
The elder branch of the original House of Este, known as the House of Welf (were also called Guelfs "Guelf" or "Guelph" which derives from the Italianized name for original “Welf”), produced dukes of [[Bavaria]] (1070–1139, 1156–1180), dukes of [[Duchy of Saxony|Saxony]] (1138–1139, 1142–1180), a Holy Roman Emperor, [[Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor| Otto IV]] (1198–1218), dukes of [[Brunswick and Lüneburg]] (1208–1806), later also dukes of [[Saxe-Lauenburg]] (1689–1803), styled the "[[Electorate of Hanover|Electors of Hanover]]" in 1705, and princes of [[Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]] (1269–1807). The House of Welf gave Great Britain and the [[United Kingdom]] the "[[House of Hanover|Hanoverian monarchs]]" (1714–1901) as well as gave Russia an emperor [[Ivan VI of Russia|Ivan VI]].

After the [[congress of Vienna|peace ending]] the [[Napoleonic Wars]] reshaped Europe, ushering in the [[modern history|modern era]], the [[Electorate of Hanover]] ([[Brunswick-Lüneburg|duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg]], held in [[personal union]] by the king of Great Britain, [[George III]]) was dissolved by treaty. Its lands were enlarged and the state was promoted to a [[Kingdom of Hanover|kingdom]]. The new kingdom existed from 1815 to 1866, but upon the accession of [[Queen Victoria]] (who could not inherit Hanover under [[Salic law]]) in 1837, it passed to her uncle, [[Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover]], and thus ceased to be in personal union with the British Crown.

The senior branch of the House of Welf continued to be ruled by the princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, as undisputed until the death of the ruling duke of Brunswick Prince [[William, Duke of Brunswick|William VIII]], in 1884. Prior to his death, his brother [[Charles II, Duke of Brunswick|Charles II]] from Geneva, as exiled de jure ruler of the house, had declared the [[Province of Hanover|Prussian annexation]] of the crown and the earlier Hanoverian usurpation absolutely illegal acts of usurpation inside of the German House. At his death, his grandson continued internationally recognized appeals. Hanover formed the Guelph Party (or German Party) to continue political appeals against the Prussian and German annexations of the crown.

<gallery>
Image:Royal Arms of Great Britain (1714-1801).svg|Arms of Great Britain (1714–1801)
Image:Coat of arms of Great Britain (1714–1801).svg|[[Heraldic achievement]]
Image:Coat of Arms of Great Britain in Scotland (1714-1801).svg|Version for Scotland
</gallery>

==Younger branch – Margraves of Este==
[[File:Modena Duchy COA.jpg|thumb|170px|Arms of the House of Este|link=Special:FilePath/File:Modena_Duchy_COA.jpg]]
All later generations of the Italian branch are descendants of Fulco d'Este. From 1171 on, his descendants were titled [[Margrave]]s of Este.

[[File:EsteModenaFerrara.png|thumb|400px|right|Genalogical Tree of the Este]]

Obizzo I (d. 1193), the first margrave, battled against Emperor [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick I Barbarossa]]. His nephew [[Azzo VI of Este|Azzo d'Este VI]] (1170–1212) became [[podestà]] of [[Mantua]] and [[Verona]]. As the [[dowry]] of his niece ''the Marchesella'', Ferrara passed to [[Azzo VI d'Este]] In 1146, with the last of the Adelardi. In 1242 Azzo VII ''Novello'' was nominated podestà for his lifetime.

The lordship of Ferrara was made hereditary by [[Obizzo II d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara|Obizzo II]] (d. 1293), who was proclaimed [[Lord of Ferrara]] in 1264, Lord of [[Modena]] in 1288, and Lord of [[Reggio Emilia|Reggio]] in 1289. Ferrara was a papal fief and the Este family were given the position of hereditary papal vicars in 1332.

[[Ferrara]] became a significant center of culture under [[Niccolò III d'Este|Niccolò d'Este III]] (1384–1441), who received several [[pope]]s with great magnificence, especially [[Pope Eugene IV|Eugene IV.]] He held a Council in Ferrara in 1438, later known as the [[Council of Florence]].

His successors were his illegitimate sons [[Leonello d'Este|Leonello]] (1407–1450) and [[Borso d'Este|Borso]] (1413–1471), who was elevated to Duke of Modena and Reggio by Emperor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]] in 1452, receiving these duchies as imperial fiefs. In 1471, he received the duchy of Ferrara as papal fief from [[Pope Paul II]], for which occasion splendid [[Francesco del Cossa|frescoes]] were executed at [[Palazzo Schifanoia]].

Borso was succeeded by a half-brother, [[Ercole d'Este I|Ercole]] (1431–1505), who was 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 d'Este|Beatrice]] (1475–1497) married [[Ludovico Sforza]], [[Duke of Milan]]; another daughter, [[Isabella d'Este|Isabella]] (1474–1539), married Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of [[Mantua]].

<gallery>
File:Borso d'Este.jpg|[[Borso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara|Borso d'Este]], the first Duke of [[Ferrara]], [[Modena]] and [[Reggio Emilia|Reggio]]
Image:Pisanello 015.jpg|[[Leonello d'Este]], by [[Pisanello]]
Image:ercole I d'Este.jpg|[[Ercole d'Este I|Ercole I d'Este]]
Image:Tizian 056.jpg|[[Isabella d'Este]], by [[Titian]]
</gallery>

Ercole I's successor was his son [[Alfonso I d'Este|Alfonso I]] (1476–1534), third husband of [[Lucrezia Borgia]], daughter of [[Pope Alexander VI]], sister to [[Cesare Borgia]]. Alfonso I was a patron of [[Ariosto]].

The son of Alfonso and [[Lucrezia Borgia]], [[Ercole d'Este II]] (1508–1559), married [[Renée of France]], daughter of [[Louis XII of France]]. His son [[Alfonso II d'Este|Alfonso II]] first married Lucrezia, daughter of grand-duke [[Cosimo I of Tuscany]]. After she died, he married Barbara, the sister of [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor]] (1527–1576). His third wife, [[Margherita Gonzaga d'Este|Margherita Gonzaga]], was daughter of the [[Duchy of Mantua|duke of Mantua]].

Alfonso II raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point, continuing the patron of [[Torquato Tasso]] and [[Giovanni Battista Guarini]] and in general favoring the arts and sciences, as the princes of his house had always done. The legitimate line ended in 1597 with him; as his heir, Emperor [[Rudolph II]] recognized 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]].

During the 18th century, the unhappy marriage between the last male heir of the Este family, the future Duke [[Ercole III d'Este|Ercole III]], and the sovereign [[Duchy of Massa and Carrara|Duchess of Massa and Carrara]], [[Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina]], produced only one surviving child, [[Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa|Maria Beatrice]]. However, the [[Salic law]] excluded her, as a woman, from the succession to her father, while she was entitled to succeed her mother since the Salic law was derogated in the Duchy of Massa and Carrara by virtue of a 1529 decree of the Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]].

When it became obvious that the princely couple would not produce a large offspring, the reigning Duke, [[Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena|Francesco III]], set out to prevent Modena from suffering the same fate as Ferrara almost two centuries earlier. Thus, in 1753, two simultaneous treaties (one public and one secret) were concluded between the House of Este and the [[House of Habsburg|House of Austria]], by which the [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor|Archduke Leopold]], Empress [[Maria Theresa]]'s ninth-born child and third son, and Maria Beatrice were engaged, and the former was designated by Francesco III as heir for the imperial investiture as Duke of Modena and Reggio in the event of extinction of the Este male line. In the meantime, Francesco would cover the office of governor of Milan ad interim, which was destined for the archduke.

In 1761, however, following the death of an [[Archduke Charles Joseph of Austria (born 1745)|older brother]], Leopold became heir to the throne of the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]] as provided for the second male heir of the imperial couple, and the treaties had to be revised. In 1763, in spite of the harsh opposition of Maria Beatrice's father, the two families agreed to simply replace the name of Leopold with that of Maria Theresa's fourteenth child, [[Ferdinand Karl, Archduke of Austria-Este|Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria]], who was four years younger than his betrothed. In January 1771 the [[Perpetual Diet of Regensburg]] ratified Ferdinand's future investiture and, in October, Maria Beatrice and he finally got married in Milan, thus giving rise to the new [[Austria-Este|House of Austria-Este]].

Ercole III finally ascended the throne in 1780 upon the death of Francesco III, but was [[Italian campaign of 1796–1797|deposed in 1796]] by the French. His States were transformed into the [[Cispadane Republic]], which one year later was merged into the [[Cisalpine Republic]] and then into the [[Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy]]. Ercole was compensated with the small principality of [[Breisgau]] in southwestern Germany, and when he died in 1803, it passed to his son-in-law, who in 1806 lost it to the enlarged and elevated [[Grand Duchy of Baden]] during the [[Confederation of the Rhine|Napoleonic reorganization]] of the western territories of the defunct [[Holy Roman Empire]]. In December of that same year, Ferdinand died without ever having had the opportunity to exercise his prerogatives as heir to the Este States.

Maria Beatrice had succeeded her mother as Duchess of Massa and Carrara in 1790, but she too had been deposed by the French invasion in 1796.

<gallery>
File:201FerraraCastello.JPG|[[Castello Estense]] in Ferrara
File:P. Ducale visto dalla Ghirlandina.jpg|Ducal Palace in [[Modena]], built in 1634 by Francesco I d’Este
File:La Villa estense di Rivalta.jpg|[[Ducal Palace of Rivalta]]
File:ErcoleIIId'Este.jpg|[[Ercole III d'Este|Ercole III]] was the last Este [[duke of Modena and Reggio]]
</gallery>

===House of Habsburg-Este===
{{Main|Austria-Este}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:House of Este.jpg|The House of Este held the city Este until 1240, when they moved their capital to Ferrara
File:Arms of the house of Este (1).svg|Original Coat of Arms of Este 1239–1431
File:Arms of the house of Este (2).svg|Coat of Arms of Este 1431–1452
File:Arms of the house of Este (3).svg|Coat of arms of Este 1452–1471
File:Arms of the house of Este (4).svg|Coat of Arms of Este in 1471
File:Arms of the house of Este (5).svg|Coat of Arms of Este 1471–1535
File:Arms of the house of Este (6).svg|Coat of Arms of Este 1535–1741
File:Arms of the house of Este (8).svg|Coat of Arms of Este in 1741
File:Armoiries Autriche-Este 1914.svg|Coat of Arms of [[Austria-Este]]
File:Coat of Arms of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.svg|Arms of Austria-Este as borne by [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Bradamante]] and [[Ruggiero (character)|Ruggiero]], legendary ancestors of the House of Este
* [[Duchy of Ferrara]]
* [[Duchy of Reggio]]
* [[Duchy of Modena and Reggio]]
* [[Duchy of Massa and Carrara]]
* [[Galleria Estense]] 
* [[Ivan VI of Russia]]
* [[Duke of Ferrara and of Modena]]
* [[:Category:House of Este|List of members of the House of Este]]
* [[Ottobon Terzi]]

==References==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

*Alessandro Cont, ''"Sono nato principe libero, tale voglio conservarmi”: Francesco II d’Este (1660-1694)'', “Memorie Scientifiche, Giuridiche, Letterarie”, Accademia Nazionale di Scienze Lettere e Arti di Modena, ser. 8, 12 (2009), 2, pp.&nbsp;407–459, https://www.academia.edu/6412388/_Sono_nato_principe_libero_tale_voglio_conservarmi_Francesco_II_dEste_1660-1694_

==Further reading==
* Trevor Dean, ''Land and Power in Late Medieval Ferrara: The Rule of the Este, 1350–1450.''(Cambridge University Press) 1987.

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|House of Este}}
* [http://www.castelloestense.it/eng/castello/storia/personaggi.html Il Castello Estense:] genealogical tree

{{Princes of Modena}}
{{Princesses of Modena}}
{{Princesses of Modena by marriage}}
{{Royal houses of Italy}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Este, House Of}}
[[Category:House of Este| ]]
[[Category:Italian noble families]]
[[Category:German noble families]]
[[Category:History of Ferrara]]
[[Category:History of Modena]]
[[Category:Papal families]]
[[Category:Venetian noble families]]
[[Category:Germany–Italy relations]]