responsible for border and territorial issues, the noble knights the Amt of Harburg continued to participate in the Lüneburg estates assembly and enfeoffed by the duke in Celle. When Otto died in 1549, the Amt of Harburg should have reverted to the dukes of Celle, but Otto's son, Otto the Second, succeeded in 1560 in having a new regulation added to the severance agreement of 1527. Harburg was defined as an hereditary possession and its territory increased by the district of Moisburg. When the Harburg line became extinct in 1642, the territory reverted to the lordship of the ducal house in Celle. Gifhorn Personal disagreements between the brothers Ernest and Francis in 1539 led to the emergence of a domain at Gifhorn, the so-called Duchy of Gifhorn. In return for renunciating his participation in the government of the principality, Francis received Gifhorn Castle as compensation along with the Ämter of Fallersleben, Gifhorn and Isenhagen. Even though Francis tried to force through his full sovereignty over his domain, important sovereign rights were retained by the ducal house in Celle. For example, Celle was still responsible for foreign policy issues and the Gifhorn nobility remained part of the Lüneburg estates. When Duke Francis died childless in 1549, the territory of Gifhorn went back to Celle. Dannenberg When Duke Henry went against a gentleman's agreement with his brother William and married Ursula of Saxe-Lauenburg in 1569, he had forsake sharing the government of the principality and was compensated instead with the Amt of Dannenberg and the Klosteramt of Scharnebeck. The barony of Danneberg remained part of the Principality of Lüneburg, however, and important sovereign rights, such as foreign policy or tax policy, remained with the government in Celle. In 1592, after the death of Duke William, the territory was enlarged with the Ämter of Hitzacker, Lüchow and Warpke, but Henry's demands for a transfer of sovereignty were not met. After the Principality of Grubenhagen had returned to Celle in 1617, the Dannenberg line received the Amt of Wustrow as compensation. In 1671 the barony of Dannenberg went back to the Welf line in Celle. Politics and administration Central administration As well as the ducal counsellors, who at that time were noble (edelfrei) vassals, a number of medieval court offices, who had emerged in the 12th century, can still be found in the 13th. These are the offices of seneschal (Truchseß), butler (Schenk), chamberlain