Maria Aurora of Königsmarck
Encyclopedia
Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmarck (sv: Aurora Königsmarck) (28 August 1662 – 16 February 1728) was a Swedish noblewoman of Brandenburg extraction and mistress
of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony
and King of Poland
.
, the second child and eldest daughter of Maria Christina von Wrangel and her husband Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck, son of Hans Christoff von Königsmarck
. Her elder brother, Karl Johann, was a Knight of Malta
and a famous adventurer; her two younger siblings were the dilettante artist Amalia Wilhelmina
-von Lewenhaupt by marriage- and Philip Christoph
, who was the lover of the princess Sophia of Celle
, wife of the later King George I of Great Britain
.
She spent her childhood in the Agathenburg Castle. When her father died on 1673, her mother Maria Christina took the place of head of the family. From 1677, she began to travel with her family and visit the family properties in Sweden
and Germany
.
In Sweden, she and her sister Amalia were among the most known participants in the amateur theatre
of the royal court, which had the patronage of the queen, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark. In 1684, Aurora participated in Iphigenie
by Jean Racine
, which was performed only by women; she played the male part of Agamemnon
. This is the first known all female theatre performance in Sweden. She also belonged to the intellectual circle around the Salonist
and poet Sophia Elisabet Brenner
.
When her mother died (1691), Aurora left Sweden. She and her sister passed some years at Hamburg
, where she attracted attention both through her beauty and her talents. In 1694 she went to Dresden
, to make inquiries about her brother Philip Christoph of Königsmarck
, who had mysteriously disappeared from Hanover
. She solicited the help of the Elector Frederick Augustus I to find Philip and, in case he was dead, to resolve any potential inheritance issues.
Shortly after, the Elector made her his first official mistress. On 28 October 1696, in the city of Goslar
, she gave birth to a son, Maurice, who later became the famous marshal de Saxe
.
However, the Elector quickly tired of Aurora, who then spent her time trying to secure the position of princess-abbess of the Quedlinburg Abbey
, an office which carried with it princely dignity as imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire
, and to recover the lost inheritance of her family in Sweden. In January 1698 she was made coadjutor abbess and two years later (1700) provostess
of the Abbey, but lived mainly in Berlin
, Dresden and Hamburg. She was replaced as mistress by her own companion, Maria Aurora of Spiegel
.
In 1702 she went on a diplomatic errand to Charles XII of Sweden
in his winter camp in Courland
on behalf of Augustus, but her adventurous journey ended in failure. The countess, who was described by Voltaire
as "the most famous woman of two centuries", died at Quedlinburg
, aged sixty-five. Her namesake and great-great-granddaughter, Aurore Dupin, became the French novelist George Sand
.
Mistress (lover)
A mistress is a long-term female lover and companion who is not married to her partner; the term is used especially when her partner is married. The relationship generally is stable and at least semi-permanent; however, the couple does not live together openly. Also the relationship is usually,...
of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and King of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Biography
Aurora was born at StadeStade
Stade is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany and part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region . It is the seat of the district named after it...
, the second child and eldest daughter of Maria Christina von Wrangel and her husband Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck, son of Hans Christoff von Königsmarck
Hans Christoff von Königsmarck
Count Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, of Tjust , son of Conrad von Königsmarck and Beatrix von Blumenthal, was a Swedish-German soldier who commanded Sweden's legendary flying column, a force which played a key role in Gustavus Adolphus' strategy...
. Her elder brother, Karl Johann, was a Knight of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
and a famous adventurer; her two younger siblings were the dilettante artist Amalia Wilhelmina
Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck
Amalia Wilhelmina Königsmarck was a Swedish noble, known as a dilettante artist , amateur actor, and poet.Daughter of Conrad Christoff Königsmarck and Maria Christina Wrangel, sister of Philip Christoph Königsmarck, Aurora Königsmarck and Carl Johan Königsmarck, and paternal niece of Otto Wilhelm...
-von Lewenhaupt by marriage- and Philip Christoph
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck or Philipp Christoph Königsmarck, was a Swedish count of Brandenburgian extraction and a soldier...
, who was the lover of the princess Sophia of Celle
Sophia Dorothea of Celle
Sophia Dorothea of Brunswick and Lunenburg was the wife and cousin of George Louis, Elector of Hanover, later George I of Great Britain, and mother of George II through an arranged marriage of state, instigated by the machinations of Duchess Sophia of Hanover...
, wife of the later King George I of Great Britain
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
.
She spent her childhood in the Agathenburg Castle. When her father died on 1673, her mother Maria Christina took the place of head of the family. From 1677, she began to travel with her family and visit the family properties in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
In Sweden, she and her sister Amalia were among the most known participants in the amateur theatre
Amateur theatre
Amateur theatre is theatre performed by amateur actors. These actors are not typically members of Actors' Equity groups or Actors' Unions as these organizations exist to protect the professional industry and therefore discourage their members from appearing with companies which are not a signatory...
of the royal court, which had the patronage of the queen, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark. In 1684, Aurora participated in Iphigenie
Iphigénie
Iphigénie is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by the French playwright Jean Racine. It was first performed in the Orangerie in Versailles on August 18th 1674 as part of the fifth of the royal Divertissements de Versailles of Louis XIV to celebrate the conquest of...
by Jean Racine
Jean Racine
Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
, which was performed only by women; she played the male part of Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
. This is the first known all female theatre performance in Sweden. She also belonged to the intellectual circle around the Salonist
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
and poet Sophia Elisabet Brenner
Sophia Elisabet Brenner
Sophia Elisabet Brenner was a Swedish writer, poet, feminist and salon hostess, and was regarded in her country as a pioneer in each of these fields.- Biography :...
.
When her mother died (1691), Aurora left Sweden. She and her sister passed some years at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, where she attracted attention both through her beauty and her talents. In 1694 she went 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....
, to make inquiries about her brother Philip Christoph of Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck
Philip Christoph von Königsmarck or Philipp Christoph Königsmarck, was a Swedish count of Brandenburgian extraction and a soldier...
, who had mysteriously disappeared from 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...
. She solicited the help of the Elector Frederick Augustus I to find Philip and, in case he was dead, to resolve any potential inheritance issues.
Shortly after, the Elector made her his first official mistress. On 28 October 1696, in the city of Goslar
Goslar
Goslar is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines of Rammelsberg are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-Geography:Goslar is situated at the...
, she gave birth to a son, Maurice, who later became the famous marshal de Saxe
Maurice, comte de Saxe
Maurice de Saxe was a German in French service who was Marshal and later also Marshal General of France.-Childhood:...
.
However, the Elector quickly tired of Aurora, who then spent her time trying to secure the position of princess-abbess of the Quedlinburg Abbey
Quedlinburg Abbey
Quedlinburg Abbey was a house of secular canonesses in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of Henry the Fowler, as his memorial...
, an office which carried with it princely dignity as imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, and to recover the lost inheritance of her family in Sweden. In January 1698 she was made coadjutor abbess and two years later (1700) provostess
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
of the Abbey, but lived mainly in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Dresden and Hamburg. She was replaced as mistress by her own companion, Maria Aurora of Spiegel
Maria Aurora of Spiegel
Maria Aurora of Spiegel, born Fatima , was a mistress of Augustus II the Strong and the wife of a Polish noble. Originally a Turkish slave, she was brought to the royal courts of Sweden and Poland from Buda and trained as a lady-in-waiting....
.
In 1702 she went on a diplomatic errand to Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
in his winter camp in Courland
Courland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
on behalf of Augustus, but her adventurous journey ended in failure. The countess, who was described by Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
as "the most famous woman of two centuries", died at Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....
, aged sixty-five. Her namesake and great-great-granddaughter, Aurore Dupin, became the French novelist George Sand
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
.