Severinus of Saxony
Encyclopedia
Severinus of Saxony was a Saxon
prince of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.
of Saxony (1473–1541) from his marriage to Catherine
(1487–1561), daughter of Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg. His mother and the educator Balthasar Rysche had a significant influence on the education of Severinus and his older brother Maurice.
When his uncle George the Bearded visited, he would organize a fight between Severinus and his older brother Maurice. Despite his frail health, Severinus always had upper hand in such fights. This gave their father the idea that Maurice was better perhaps suited for an ecclesiastical career.
At the behest of their Catholic
uncle George, Duke Severinus was separated from his Lutheran parents and send to Innsbruck to received a Cahtolic education. In Innsbruck, he stayed at the court of the future emperor Fredinand I
and his wife Anna
. He was raised together with their children. He had Bernhard von Rathschitz as his own private tutor. He was buried in the Cistercian abbey in Stams
. His tomb was looted and destroyed in 1552 by the troops of his own brother Maurice during the Schmalkaldic War
.
made two portraits of the young Princes Maurice and Severinus. The painting of Severinus was created with tempera on wood and measures 57 x 38.5 cm. It is consieder as an excellent and safe work by Cranach and was included in the overall list of nationally valuable cultural heritage. It is owned by the House of Hesse Foundation and was between 2005 and 2006 on loan to the Portland Art Museum
.
History of Saxony
The Saxons were originally a small tribe living on the North Sea between the Elbe and Eider Rivers in the present Holstein. Their name, derived from their weapon called Seax, a knife, is first mentioned by the Roman author Ptolemy ....
prince of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.
Life
Severinus was the second son of the Duke HenryHenry 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...
of Saxony (1473–1541) from his marriage to 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...
(1487–1561), daughter of Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg. His mother and the educator Balthasar Rysche had a significant influence on the education of Severinus and his older brother Maurice.
When his uncle George the Bearded visited, he would organize a fight between Severinus and his older brother Maurice. Despite his frail health, Severinus always had upper hand in such fights. This gave their father the idea that Maurice was better perhaps suited for an ecclesiastical career.
At the behest of their Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
uncle George, Duke Severinus was separated from his Lutheran parents and send to Innsbruck to received a Cahtolic education. In Innsbruck, he stayed at the court of the future emperor Fredinand I
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
and his wife Anna
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, also sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica was, by marriage to Ferdinand I, King of the Romans and later Holy Roman Emperor, Queen of the Romans.-Family:She was the elder child and only daughter of king Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third...
. He was raised together with their children. He had Bernhard von Rathschitz as his own private tutor. He was buried in the Cistercian abbey in Stams
Stams
Stams is a municipality in the Imst district and is located 18.50 km east of Imst, 7 km west of Telfs and 46 km west of Innsbruck on the southern shore of the Inn River...
. His tomb was looted and destroyed in 1552 by the troops of his own brother Maurice during the Schmalkaldic War
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War refers to the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of the Holy Roman Empire, commanded by Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, and the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League within the domains of the Holy Roman...
.
Legacy
In 1526 Lucas Cranach the ElderLucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
made two portraits of the young Princes Maurice and Severinus. The painting of Severinus was created with tempera on wood and measures 57 x 38.5 cm. It is consieder as an excellent and safe work by Cranach and was included in the overall list of nationally valuable cultural heritage. It is owned by the House of Hesse Foundation and was between 2005 and 2006 on loan to the Portland Art Museum
Portland Art Museum
The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it the oldest art museum on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the United States. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum became one of the twenty-five largest art museums in...
.