Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen
Encyclopedia
Elisabeth of Brandenburg (born: 24 August 1510 probably in Cölln
; died: 25 May 1558 in Ilmenau
) was a princess of the House of Hohenzollern and a Margravine of Brandenburg
by birth and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg and later and was Countess Consort of Henneberg. She is considered a "reformation Princess", who, together with the Hessian reformer Anton Corvinus, helped the Reformation
prevail in today's South Lower Saxony
.
and his wife Elisabeth, daughter of King John I of Denmark
. She was educated in a strictly religious and humanist
fashion.
At the age of not quite 15, she married on 7 July 1525 in Stettin with the forty years old widower Duke Eric I "the Elder"
of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg.
She first came into contact with the Reformation
in 1527 at her parental court in Brandenburg
when her mother celebrated communion under both kinds
and thus openly accepted the teachings of Martin Luther
, Her father reacted violently, fearing her mother would convert to "Protestantism
", and removed the reformers from Wittenberg, who tried to intervene on behalf of the Electress, from his court. This event may well have impressed the seventeen year old princess deeply, and reinforced her sympathy for the new faith.
and Calenberg Castle
, while Elisabeth resided at her wittum
Münden
.
Nevertheless, the marriage was not without blemish. For example, in 1528, Elisabeth accused Anna von Rumschottel, a member of the landed gentry
and for many years her husband's mistress
, of being responsible for complications during her second pregnancy. She accused Anna of witchcraft
and urged her husband to have Anna burned at the stake
. Elisabeht also sent her own spies and soldiers into the neighboring Diocese of Minden, in order to arrest Anna in her hideout in Minden
. However, Anna escaped. During Inquisition proceedings against Anna's alleged helpers, some of the accused women died after torture at the stake. Elisabeth managed to force Eric into giving her a more profitable wittum than their marriage contract required: instead of the district of Calenberg
in the Unterwald region, which contained Calenberg Castle
, Neustadt and Hanover
and provided little revenue, she received Oberwald, with the towns of Münden
, Northeim
and Göttingen
, which provided more revenue and greated political weight. Her pregnancy ended with the birth of a healthy male baby, who grew up to be Eric's successor Eric II of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg. After his birth, this dark chapter was soon forgotten.
When Elisabeth visited her mother at Lichtenburg Castle in 1534, she met Martin Luther
personally for the first time. She began to regularly correspond with him in1538. She sent him cheese and wine and he sent her mulberries and fig tree seedlings and his German Bible
translation with a personal dedication.
On 7 April, Elisabeth publicly accepted communion under both kinds
and thereby expressed her conversion to the Lutheran faith. On October 6, she informed Landgrave Philip I
of Hesse of her conversion and with his assistance, invited the reformer Anton Corvinus to move from nearby Witzenhausen
to Münden. Eric I tolerated the conversion. Although Lutheranism was inconsistent with his Catholic upbringing and his loyalty to the Emperor, he admired the reformer's courage.
Anton Corvinus was appointed Superintendent
of the principality, with an office in Pattensen
. The lawyer Justus von Waldhausen, who had studied at Wittenberg, was appointed to princely Councillor and later to chancellor, on the recommendation of Martin Luther. The physician Burckard Mithoff, the court judge Justin Gobler and Heinrich Campe MJ completed the team with which the princess wanted to implement her reforms.
In 1542, a Church Order
for all of Calenberg-Göttingen was issued. This was followed up by a thorough visitation
from 17 November 1542 to 30 April 1543, which Elisabeth personally participated in. A monastic order issued 4 November 1542 regulated the conversion of the monasteries to Protestantism. A Court Procedures Order was enacted in 1544, to regulate legal relations in the country. The princess also wrote many spiritual songs and an "open letter" to her subjects to strengthen their faith.
She had arranged long before that her son Eric II would marry Philip's daughter Anna of Hesse
in 1554. Eric, however, fell in love with Sidonie
the sister of Duke and later Elector Maurice
of Saxony, who was also Lutheran. At the urging of her son, Elisabeth cancelled the agreement with the court of Hesse and Eric married the ten years older Sidonie on 17 May 1545.
Elisabeth also wrote a "government manual" for Eric II, with important advice that should serve him as a guide for when he ruled on his own.
Münden.
With great concern she watched her son revert to Catholicism
, hoping for opportunities at the imperial court. In 1548, he accepted the Augsburg Interim
. He went as far as arresting the reformers Anton Corvinus and Walter Hoiker, who, together with 140 other pastors, had vehemently objected to the Interim at the 1549 synod
in Münden. Corvinus and Hoiker were held prisoner at Calenberg Castle
from 1549 to 1522.
In 1550, Elisabeth managed to marry her daughter Anna Marie
to the 40 years older Duke Albert of Prussia, with whom she had conducted a friendly correspondence for many years. In the marriage book, she wrote some important advice for Anna Marie on her upcoming married state.
After the Battle of Sievershausen
, in 1533, Elisabeth was expelled from Münden by Duke Henry the Younger
of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the nephew of her late husband. She fled to Hannover. In 1555, she moved to Ilmenau
in the County of Henneberg, in the modern-day Thuringia
, where she took up the pen once more and wrote a book of consolation for widows that they should help them in their grief.
She had to watch with horror when her son Eric II in 1557 married her youngest daughter, the Lutheran Catherine to the Catholic High Burgrave William of Rosenberg, to provide for her economically. When Elisabeth completed the difficult journey to Münden to attend the wedding, she found that Eric had purposefully given her the wrong date and that the marriage had taken place some time earlier. After the announcement of the marriage contract, Elisabeth was surprised to learn that Catherine would retain her Lutheran faith and would employ her own Lutheran pastor at court.
Elisabeth died a year later, in 1558, in Ilmenau, apparently completely exhausted and with a "broken heart." Her children commissioned an epitaph with her portrait by the sculptor Sigmund Linger from Innsbruck, which was erected in 1566 in the St. Giles Chapel of the St. John's Church in Schleusingen
.
, Elisabeth had a son and three daughters:
Cölln
In the 13th century Cölln was the sister town of Old Berlin , located on the southern Spree Island in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Today the island is located in the historic core of the central Mitte locality of modern Berlin...
; died: 25 May 1558 in Ilmenau
Ilmenau
Ilmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...
) was a princess of the House of Hohenzollern and a Margravine of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
by birth and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg and later and was Countess Consort of Henneberg. She is considered a "reformation Princess", who, together with the Hessian reformer Anton Corvinus, helped the Reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
prevail in today's South Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
.
Early years (1510-1525)
Elisabeth was the third child and second daughter of the Elector Joachim I of BrandenburgJoachim I, Elector of Brandenburg
Joachim I Nestor was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . A member of the House of Hohenzollern, his nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology.- Biography :...
and his wife Elisabeth, daughter of King John I of Denmark
John I of Denmark
John, also known as Hans; né Johannes was King of Denmark , Norway and as John II of Sweden in the Kalmar Union, and also Duke of Schleswig and Holstein...
. She was educated in a strictly religious and humanist
Humanist
Humanist may refer to:* A proponent or practitioner of humanism, which has several distinct senses, which are listed at Humanism and at Humanism * Humanist sans-serif, a classification of the sans-serif typeface...
fashion.
At the age of not quite 15, she married on 7 July 1525 in Stettin with the forty years old widower Duke Eric I "the Elder"
Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Eric I, the Elder was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1495 and the reigning prince of Calenberg-Göttingen.- Ancestry :Eric I was born on 16 February 1470 in Neustadt am Rübenberge at the castle of Rovenburg....
of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg.
She first came into contact with the Reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
in 1527 at her parental court in Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
when her mother celebrated communion under both kinds
Communion under both kinds
Communion under both kinds in Roman Catholicism is the reception under both "species" of the Eucharist.-Doctrine:...
and thus openly accepted the teachings of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, Her father reacted violently, fearing her mother would convert to "Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
", and removed the reformers from Wittenberg, who tried to intervene on behalf of the Electress, from his court. This event may well have impressed the seventeen year old princess deeply, and reinforced her sympathy for the new faith.
Marriage to Eric I (1525-1540)
Despite the age difference, it was obviously a marriage without insurmountable conflicts, perhaps because Eric mostly stayed on his ErichsburgErichsburg
The Ericsburg in the village of the same name in the borough of Dassel in Lower Saxony, Germany, is a castle that was built in the 16th century within the Principality of Calenberg. It is currently in a poor state of repair.- Location :...
and Calenberg Castle
Calenberg Castle
Calenberg Castle was a medieval lowland castle in central Germany, near Schulenburg in the borough of Pattensen, 13 km west of the city of Hildesheim. It was built as a water castle in 1292 by the Welf duke, Otto the Strict, in der Leine river meadows between 2 branches of the Leine river on...
, while Elisabeth resided 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 :...
Münden
Hann. Münden
Hann. Münden is the German official name of a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is located in the district of Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the river Weser. It has 28,000 inhabitants...
.
Nevertheless, the marriage was not without blemish. For example, in 1528, Elisabeth accused Anna von Rumschottel, a member of the landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
and for many years her husband's mistress
Mistress
Mistress may refer to:* Mistress , a woman, other than the spouse, with whom a married individual has a continuing sexual relationship* Schoolmistress, or female school teacher...
, of being responsible for complications during her second pregnancy. She accused Anna of witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
and urged her husband to have Anna burned at the stake
Burned at the Stake
Burned at the Stake is a 1981 film directed by Bert I. Gordon. It stars Susan Swift and Albert Salmi.-Cast:*Susan Swift as Loreen Graham / Ann Putnam*Albert Salmi as Captaiin Billingham*Guy Stockwell as Dr. Grossinger*Tisha Sterling as Karen Graham...
. Elisabeht also sent her own spies and soldiers into the neighboring Diocese of Minden, in order to arrest Anna in her hideout in Minden
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...
. However, Anna escaped. During Inquisition proceedings against Anna's alleged helpers, some of the accused women died after torture at the stake. Elisabeth managed to force Eric into giving her a more profitable wittum than their marriage contract required: instead of the district of Calenberg
Calenberg
The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the Welf duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1494 until 1705, when Elector George I Louis, Prince of Calenberg, inherited the Principality of Lüneburg to form the state of Hanover....
in the Unterwald region, which contained Calenberg Castle
Calenberg Castle
Calenberg Castle was a medieval lowland castle in central Germany, near Schulenburg in the borough of Pattensen, 13 km west of the city of Hildesheim. It was built as a water castle in 1292 by the Welf duke, Otto the Strict, in der Leine river meadows between 2 branches of the Leine river on...
, Neustadt and Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and provided little revenue, she received Oberwald, with the towns of Münden
Hann. Münden
Hann. Münden is the German official name of a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. The city is located in the district of Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the river Weser. It has 28,000 inhabitants...
, Northeim
Northeim
Northeim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the district of Northeim, with, as of 2002, a population of 31 000. It's located on the German Half-Timbered House Road.-History:...
and Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, which provided more revenue and greated political weight. Her pregnancy ended with the birth of a healthy male baby, who grew up to be Eric's successor Eric II of Brunswick-Göttingen-Calenberg. After his birth, this dark chapter was soon forgotten.
When Elisabeth visited her mother at Lichtenburg Castle in 1534, she met Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
personally for the first time. She began to regularly correspond with him in1538. She sent him cheese and wine and he sent her mulberries and fig tree seedlings and his German Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
translation with a personal dedication.
On 7 April, Elisabeth publicly accepted communion under both kinds
Communion under both kinds
Communion under both kinds in Roman Catholicism is the reception under both "species" of the Eucharist.-Doctrine:...
and thereby expressed her conversion to the Lutheran faith. On October 6, she informed Landgrave 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....
of Hesse of her conversion and with his assistance, invited the reformer Anton Corvinus to move from nearby Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.It was granted town rights in 1225, and until 1974, it was a district seat....
to Münden. Eric I tolerated the conversion. Although Lutheranism was inconsistent with his Catholic upbringing and his loyalty to the Emperor, he admired the reformer's courage.
Implementation of the Reformation (1540-1545)
Elisabeth had a strong ally in Elector John Frederick I of Saxony. When Eric I died on 30 July 1540, he helped her become co-regent of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen, together with Philip I of Hesse, despite fierce resistance from Duke Henry II of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. She and Philip were regents for five years; she used this opportunity to implement the Reformation in the principality and to reorganize the princely household.Anton Corvinus was appointed Superintendent
Superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:*Superintendent , Superintendent of Police, SP, Senior Superintendent of Police or SSP - a police rank*Superintendent or Superintendent of Prison, Superintendent of Jail, Senior Superintendent of Jail - a rank in prisons - head of a district, central or special prison...
of the principality, with an office in Pattensen
Pattensen
Pattensen is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 12 km south of Hanover.-History:It was the capital of the Principality of Calenberg until 1636, when the capital moved to the town of Hanover, from which the state of Hanover was...
. The lawyer Justus von Waldhausen, who had studied at Wittenberg, was appointed to princely Councillor and later to chancellor, on the recommendation of Martin Luther. The physician Burckard Mithoff, the court judge Justin Gobler and Heinrich Campe MJ completed the team with which the princess wanted to implement her reforms.
In 1542, a Church Order
Church Order (Lutheran)
The Church Order or Church Ordinance means the general ecclesiastical constitution of a State.The early Evangelical Church attached less importance to ecclesiastical ritual than the pre-Reformation Church had done...
for all of Calenberg-Göttingen was issued. This was followed up by a thorough visitation
Visitor
A Visitor, in United Kingdom law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution , who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution...
from 17 November 1542 to 30 April 1543, which Elisabeth personally participated in. A monastic order issued 4 November 1542 regulated the conversion of the monasteries to Protestantism. A Court Procedures Order was enacted in 1544, to regulate legal relations in the country. The princess also wrote many spiritual songs and an "open letter" to her subjects to strengthen their faith.
She had arranged long before that her son Eric II would marry Philip's daughter Anna of Hesse
Anna of Hesse
Anna of Hesse was a princess of Hesse by birth and marriage Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken.- Life :...
in 1554. Eric, however, fell in love with Sidonie
Sidonie of Saxony
Sidonie of Saxony was a princess of the House of Wettin and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Calenberg-Göttingen.- Family :...
the sister of Duke and later Elector Maurice
Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Maurice was Duke and later Elector of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity....
of Saxony, who was also Lutheran. At the urging of her son, Elisabeth cancelled the agreement with the court of Hesse and Eric married the ten years older Sidonie on 17 May 1545.
Elisabeth also wrote a "government manual" for Eric II, with important advice that should serve him as a guide for when he ruled on his own.
Disappointed hopes and lonely last years (1545-1558)
In 1546, one year after the accession of her son Eric II, Elisabeth married Count Poppo XII of Henneberg (1513–1574), a younger brother of the husband of her eldest daughter. She retained the regency over her wittumWittum
Wittum , Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law.- Provide for a widow at the wedding :...
Münden.
With great concern she watched her son revert to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
, hoping for opportunities at the imperial court. In 1548, he accepted the Augsburg Interim
Augsburg Interim
The Augsburg Interim is the general term given to an imperial decree ordered on May 15, 1548, at the 1548 Diet of Augsburg, after Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, had defeated the forces of the Schmalkaldic League in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47...
. He went as far as arresting the reformers Anton Corvinus and Walter Hoiker, who, together with 140 other pastors, had vehemently objected to the Interim at the 1549 synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
in Münden. Corvinus and Hoiker were held prisoner at Calenberg Castle
Calenberg Castle
Calenberg Castle was a medieval lowland castle in central Germany, near Schulenburg in the borough of Pattensen, 13 km west of the city of Hildesheim. It was built as a water castle in 1292 by the Welf duke, Otto the Strict, in der Leine river meadows between 2 branches of the Leine river on...
from 1549 to 1522.
In 1550, Elisabeth managed to marry her daughter Anna Marie
Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg wasa Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneberg by birth and by marriage Duchess of Prussia....
to the 40 years older Duke Albert of Prussia, with whom she had conducted a friendly correspondence for many years. In the marriage book, she wrote some important advice for Anna Marie on her upcoming married state.
After the Battle of Sievershausen
Battle of Sievershausen
The Battle of Sievershausen occurred on 9 July 1553 in Sievershausen , between the Catholic Imperial troops and those of the Protestant Schmalkaldic League. 4,000 soldiers were killed, including Maurice, Elector of Saxony, the Protestant commander of the Catholic side...
, in 1533, Elisabeth was expelled from Münden by Duke Henry the Younger
Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Henry , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called the Younger, was Prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1514 until his death...
of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the nephew of her late husband. She fled to Hannover. In 1555, she moved to Ilmenau
Ilmenau
Ilmenau is a town located in the district of Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany.Ilmenau is situated in the valley of the Ilm river, at an altitude of 431 metres above sea level, and is the biggest town in Ilm-Kreis district, with 6,200 students studying at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The...
in the County of Henneberg, in the modern-day Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, where she took up the pen once more and wrote a book of consolation for widows that they should help them in their grief.
She had to watch with horror when her son Eric II in 1557 married her youngest daughter, the Lutheran Catherine to the Catholic High Burgrave William of Rosenberg, to provide for her economically. When Elisabeth completed the difficult journey to Münden to attend the wedding, she found that Eric had purposefully given her the wrong date and that the marriage had taken place some time earlier. After the announcement of the marriage contract, Elisabeth was surprised to learn that Catherine would retain her Lutheran faith and would employ her own Lutheran pastor at court.
Elisabeth died a year later, in 1558, in Ilmenau, apparently completely exhausted and with a "broken heart." Her children commissioned an epitaph with her portrait by the sculptor Sigmund Linger from Innsbruck, which was erected in 1566 in the St. Giles Chapel of the St. John's Church in Schleusingen
Schleusingen
Schleusingen is a town in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 10 km north of Hildburghausen, and 12 km southeast of Suhl....
.
Issue
From her first marriage, to Eric I of Brunswick-Göttingen-CalenbergEric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Eric I, the Elder was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1495 and the reigning prince of Calenberg-Göttingen.- Ancestry :Eric I was born on 16 February 1470 in Neustadt am Rübenberge at the castle of Rovenburg....
, Elisabeth had a son and three daughters:
- Elisabeth (born: 8 April 1526; died: 19 August 1566), married in 1543 to Count George Ernest of Henneberg (1511–1583)
- Eric II, Duke of Brunswick-Calenberg (born: 10 August 1528; died: 17 November 1584)
- married firstly, in 1545, Sidonie of SaxonySidonie of SaxonySidonie of Saxony was a princess of the House of Wettin and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Calenberg-Göttingen.- Family :...
(born: 8 March 1518; died: 4 January 1575), daughter of Duke Henry IV of SaxonyHenry IV, Duke of SaxonyHenry 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...
and Catherine of MecklenburgCatherine of MecklenburgCatherine 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 secondly, in 1576 Dorothea of Lorraine (born: 24 August 1545; died: 2 June 1621), daughter of Francis I of LorraineFrancis I, Duke of LorraineFrancis I was a member of the French nobility. He was briefly Duke of Lorraine from 1544–1545.-History:...
and Christina of DenmarkChristina of DenmarkChristina of Denmark was a Danish princess who became Duchess-consort of Milan, then Duchess-consort of Lorraine...
- Anna MariaAnna Marie of Brunswick-LüneburgAnna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg wasa Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneberg by birth and by marriage Duchess of Prussia....
(born: 23 April 1532; died: 20 March 1568)
- Anna Maria
- married in 1550 with Duke Albert the Elder of Prussia (1490-1568)
- Catherine (born: 1534; died: 10 May 1559)
- married in 1557 with William of Rosenberg, High Burgrave of Bohemia (1535-1592)
Footnotes
Archives
- City Aerchiv Göttingen: Acta religionis et reformationis
- Main State Archive Hannover: Sign. Cal. Br. Archiv
- City Archive Langenhagen: Sammlung Herzogin Elisabeth von Calenberg
Works by Elisabeth of Brandenburg
- Ein Sendbrief an ihre Untertanen, printed: Hannover, 1544
- Regierungshandbuch für ihren Sohn Erich II, 1545
- Mütterlicher Unterricht (Ehestandsbuch) für Anna Maria. 1550
- Trostbuch für Witwen, 1555, printed: 1556 Second edition, Leipzig, 1598
- Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Lüneburg und Albrecht von Preußen. Ein Fürstenbriefwechsel der Reformationszeit, ed. von Ingeborg Mengel, Göttingen, 1954; second unchanged edition: Göttingen, 2001, ISBN 3-89744-062-8
Collected by other authors
Elisabeth also wrote numerous hymns and prayers, some of which are included in:- Iwan Franz: Elisabeth von Kalenberg-Göttingen als Liederdichterin, in: Zeitschrift des Verein für niedersächsische Geschichte, 1872, pp. 183–195.
- Eduard Freiherr von der Goltz: Lieder der Herzogin Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Lüneburg, in: Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für niedersächsische Kirchengeschichte, issue 19 1914, p. 147–208.
- Katharina Schridde CCR Sr. and Katharina Talkne,: Mit Lust und Liebe. Das Elisabeth-Brevier, Lutherisches Verlagshaus, 2009, ISBN 978-3-7859-0993-5
External links
- Literature by or about Elizabeth of Brandenburg in the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
- diglib.hab.de Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Lüneburg: Der Widwen Handbüchlein / Durch eine Hocherleuchte Fürstliche Widwe/ vor vielen Jahren selbst beschrieben und verfasset […], Leipzig, 1598. Well-preserved copy of the printed booklet Witwentrostbüchleins owned by the Herzog August Library Wolfenbüttel.
- Presentation of Eisabeth's biography by Sigrid Maier-Knapp-Herbst (PDF; 58 kB)
- herzogin-elisabeth.de Information about the Duchess and about activities related to the anniversary years of 2008 and 2010 in her residence Münden
- The inventory of books by Elizabeth Calenberg: Edition and notes, Herzog August Library, Wolfenbüttel, 2011, edited by Eva Schlotheuber and Gabriele Haug-Moritz