Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Encyclopedia
Anna, Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (14 September 1485, Plau am See
Plau am See
Plau am See is a town in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 28 km east of Parchim, and 29 km west of Waren....

 – 12 May 1525, Rödelheim) was by marriage Landgravine of Hesse.

She was a daughter of Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg (1441–1503), and Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin (about 1460 -1504). She was a member of the 13th Generation of the Princely House of Mecklenburg.

Life

"The historian has to give the landgravine a prominent place in the Hessian history", historian Hans Glagau wrote in 1899. Landgravine Anna of Hesse, born Duchess of Mecklenburg, would be worthy of a historical-critical biography. So far, however, an adequate representation of personality and life of the landgravine has not emerged.

In 1500, Anna married William II of Hesse
William II, Landgrave of Hesse
William II was Landgrave of Lower Hesse from 1493 and Landgrave of Upper Hesse after the death of his cousin, William III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse in 1500....

 (1469–1509). She was his second wife. Due to the early death of the ruler of Upper Hesse, William III
William III, Landgrave of Hesse
William III "the Younger", Landgrave of Hesse ruled on the part of the county known as Upper Hesse, with residence in Marburg....

 (1471–1500), and the insanity of the Regent of Lower Hesse
Lower Hesse
Lower Hesse a historic designation for an area in northern Hesse, Germany.The term Lower Hesse originated in the Middle Ages for the so-called "lower principality" of Hesse, which was separated until 1450 from the so-called "upper principality" by the area Ziegenhain...

, William I (1466–1515), all of Hesse, including the county of Katzenelnbogen
County of Katzenelnbogen
The County of Katzenelnbogen was an immediate state of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed between 1095 and 1479, when it was inherited by the Landgraves of Hesse.The estate comprised two separate territories...

, was reunited in 1500 under William II. But Wilhelm II fell ill in 1504 - probably syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...

 - and was incapable of governing in the following years.

In his first will (dated 1506), he appointed a Council of five guardians for his children Elisabeth
Elisabeth of Hesse (1502-1557)
Elizabeth of Hesse was a Hessian princess and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Saxony. After the death of her husband, Crown Prince John of Saxony, she managed her Wittum, the Saxon districts of Rochlitz and Kriebstein and other possessions, independently...

 (1502–1557) and Philip I
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....

 (1504–1567) as well as his brother William I, his brother's wife Anna of Brunswick, and for his own wife.

In his second testament (dated 1508), he determined, however, that Anna would be guardian (next to his uncle, Hermann of Cologne, who died in September 1508) and appointed two counselors to assist her. However, Anna's claim to the regency was not recognized by the Estates of the Landgraviate of Hesse, nor by Saxony. In July 1509 there was a debate between Anna and the Hessian Estates, who were supported by the Saxon dukes. The second will was not recognized. During this period Anna lived at her Wittum
Wittum
Wittum , Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law.- Provide for a widow at the wedding :...

 in Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...

 with her daughter Elisabeth, while her son Philip remained in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

 under the supervision of Ludwig von Boyneburg to Lengsfeld. She was financially dependent on the Council and did not receive much money. This is evident among other things, an incident in 1512. In that year, Anna's sister Catherine
Catherine of Mecklenburg
Catherine of Mecklenburg , Duchess of Saxony, was the daughter of the Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg and Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin. She married on 6 July 1512 in Freiberg Duke Henry the Pious of Saxony...

 married Duke Henry IV of Saxony
Henry IV, Duke of Saxony
Henry IV the Pious, Duke of Saxony was a Duke of Saxony from the House of Wettin.-Biography:Heinrich was the second son of Albert, Duke of Saxony and his wife Sidonie Podiebrad, princess of Bohemia...

. On this occasion, Anna wanted to introduce her daughter Elisabeth at the Saxon court, as she had been promised at a very early age to John, the eldest son of George the Bearded
George, Duke of Saxony
George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony , was duke of Saxony from 1500 to 1539.Duke George was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece.-Early life:...

. Anna requested some Damask
Damask
Damask is a reversible figured fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin weave and the ground in weft-faced or sateen weave...

 for a proper dress from the council, but the request was denied. Anna then decided not to take her daughter to Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

, because of her "shabby clothes".

Things changed in 1514: Anna came to power with the support of many nobles and cities. She was never officially recognized as a regent, but she ruled even past 1519, the year her son Philip was declared of age by Emperor Maximilian I
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...

.

We know very little about the last years of her life. In 1519 she married a second time, with the 23 year old Count Otto of Solms-Laubach, who died three years later.

Offspring

Anna first married on 20 October 1500 in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

 the Landgrave William II of Hesse
William II, Landgrave of Hesse
William II was Landgrave of Lower Hesse from 1493 and Landgrave of Upper Hesse after the death of his cousin, William III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse in 1500....

 (1469–1509) with whom she had the following children:
  • William (1500-1500)
  • Elisabeth
    Elisabeth of Hesse (1502-1557)
    Elizabeth of Hesse was a Hessian princess and by marriage Hereditary Princess of Saxony. After the death of her husband, Crown Prince John of Saxony, she managed her Wittum, the Saxon districts of Rochlitz and Kriebstein and other possessions, independently...

     (1502–1557)
  • Magdalena (1503–1504)
  • Philip I
    Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
    Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....

     (1504–1567)


On 7 September 1519 she married with Count Otto of Solms-Laubach (1496–1522), a second marriage:
  • Maria (1520–1522)
  • Frederick Magnus (1521–1561)
  • Anna (1522–1594)

Importance

Anna of Hesse's life is interesting from the point of view of theological history, because she directly influenced the time before the introduction of the Reformation in Hesse by Philip I in 1527. Her husband had ordered reforms in all monasteries in Hesse in his will. Anna tried to implement these reforms in some places, but the reforms only succeeded during Philip's rule, albeit he implemented them in his own way. It would seem very important for church historians to investigate Anna's influence on church policies and the church in Hesse in the Reformation in Hesse and elsewhere. She herself has worked tirelessly for the monasteries and Catholicism, causing a discord with her son.

The topic is important in a broader perspective, because it is about a period in the history of Hesse that hasn't been studied much in the past: the late Middle Ages, just before the Reformation, from the persoective of a prominent female regent. The chaotic conditions in Hesse during the years 1509-1518 were caused by the fact that no legitimate ruler was available, and power had ot be exercised by a woman.

Also interesting in this context is the political delicacy of the conflicts between different interest groups: the Estates, Anna and Philip, the advisors appointed by Willaim's will, the emperor and the princes of Saxony.

Links

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