Ernst was an illegitimate son of Count Peter Ernst von Mansfeld-Vorderort, Governor of Luxembourg on behalf of the Spanish Crown, Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1546 (he is wearing the distinctive chain and pennant in the engraving above), a veteran general whose bravery in the battle of Moncontour (1569) had left him with a shattered right arm, ‘gefürstet‘ (elevated to the rank of Fürst or non-dynastic Prince of the realm) since 1594 and a pillar of the Habsburg dynasty.
Walter Krüssmann, Ernst von Mansfeld (1580-1626), Grafensohn, Söldnerführer, Kriegsunternehmer gegen Habsburg im Dreißigjährigen Krieg, 742 pp (paperback), Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, 2010 Walter Krüssmann is an honorary official of the German Red Cross and an historian.