John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg
Encyclopedia
John Ernest (10 May 1521 – 8 February 1553) was a Duke
of Saxe-Coburg
.
John Ernest was born in Coburg
as the third (but second surviving and the youngest) son of John, Elector of Saxony
, and his second wife Margaret of Anhalt-Köthen
. After the death of his father (1532), his half-brother, John Frederick I, assumed the title of Elector of Saxony; John Ernest took part with him in the rule over the Electorate of Saxony
.
In 1542 John Frederick I decided to rule alone, and ceded to John Ernest the Franconia
n areas of the Wettin family lands (Coburg
, Eisfeld
, etc.); but it was not until 1547 (after the Battle of Mühlberg
) when John Ernest could govern undisturbed in Coburg. After he died unmarried and childless in Coburg, the city fell for a few months to John Frederick — dismissed from the imperial detention — before his death, and then, to his three sons, which governed the Ernestine lands together from 1554 for some years.
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
of Saxe-Coburg
Saxe-Coburg
Saxe-Coburg was a duchy held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in today's Bavaria, Germany.After the Division of Erfurt in 1572, Coburg was part of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach, ruled by the Ernestine duke John Casimir jointly with his brother John Ernest. In 1596...
.
John Ernest was born in Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
as the third (but second surviving and the youngest) son of John, Elector of Saxony
John, Elector of Saxony
John of Saxony , known as John the Steadfast or John the Constant, was Elector of Saxony from 1525 until 1532...
, and his second wife Margaret of Anhalt-Köthen
Margaret of Anhalt-Köthen
Margaret of Anhalt was a member of the House of Ascania and was a princess of Anhalt by birth and by marriage Duchess of Saxony.- Life :...
. After the death of his father (1532), his half-brother, John Frederick I, assumed the title of Elector of Saxony; John Ernest took part with him in the rule over the Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
.
In 1542 John Frederick I decided to rule alone, and ceded to John Ernest the Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n areas of the Wettin family lands (Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
, Eisfeld
Eisfeld
Eisfeld is a municipality in the district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 12 km east of Hildburghausen, and 19 km north of Coburg....
, etc.); but it was not until 1547 (after the Battle of Mühlberg
Battle of Mühlberg
The Battle of Mühlberg was a large battle at Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony during the Protestant Reformation at which the Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League of...
) when John Ernest could govern undisturbed in Coburg. After he died unmarried and childless in Coburg, the city fell for a few months to John Frederick — dismissed from the imperial detention — before his death, and then, to his three sons, which governed the Ernestine lands together from 1554 for some years.