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Primary sourceDocument1 March 1809

Agreement between Beethoven and Archduke Rudolph, Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz

1 March 1809

A 1809 annuity contract in which three aristocratic patrons agreed to pay Beethoven 4000 florins a year to keep him in Vienna.

Beethoven is the composer this annuity contract was made for, securing his income and his place in Vienna.

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Photograph of a handwritten German document on aged paper, with signatures and seals at left and a column of text at right listing sums of 1500, 700 and 1800 florins totaling 4000 florins, referencing Ludwig van Beethoven.
Agreement between Beethoven, Archduke Rudolph, Prince Kinsky and Prince Lobkowitz, Vienna, 1 March 1809.

About this source

What it is

This handwritten German document, dated 1 March 1809 in Vienna, is a contract between Beethoven and three noblemen: Archduke Rudolph, Prince Ferdinand Kinsky, and Prince Franz Joseph Lobkowitz. It lists the sums each would pay him, totalling 4000 florins a year, and carries their signatures and seals.

Why it matters

The agreement shows how a composer without a fixed court position could still be supported by aristocratic patrons who recognised his talent. For Beethoven it meant financial security to remain in Vienna rather than seek work elsewhere, and it reveals the continuing importance of noble patronage even for an increasingly independent artist in the early 19th century.

Look closer

  • Why would three different noblemen agree to share the cost of supporting one composer?
  • What does the exact listing of sums tell you about how formal and legally binding this arrangement was?
  • What might Beethoven have had to give up, if anything, in exchange for this support?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ludwig van Beethoven on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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