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Maria Aurora Von Königsmarck
Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmarck (sv: ''Aurora Königsmarck'') (28 August 166216 February 1728) was a Swedish and German noblewoman of Brandenburg extraction and mistress of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Life Aurora von Königsmarck was born at Stade, as the second child and eldest daughter of Count Kurt Christoph von Königsmarck (1634-1673), son of Hans Christoff von Königsmarck, and his wife Countess Maria Christina von Wrangel (1638-1691), daughter of Count Hermann von Wrangel and his wife Amalia Magdalena, Countess of Nassau-Siegen (1613-1669). 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 in 1673, her mother Maria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quedlinburg Abbey
Quedlinburg Abbey (german: Stift Quedlinburg or ) was a house of secular canonesses ''( Frauenstift)'' in Quedlinburg in what is now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was founded in 936 on the initiative of Saint Mathilda, the widow of the East Frankish King Henry the Fowler, as his memorial.The "Later Life" of Queen MathildPage 99/ref> For many centuries it and its abbesses enjoyed great prestige and influence. Quedlinburg Abbey was an Imperial Estate and one of the approximately forty self-ruling Imperial Abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire. It was disestablished in 1802/3. The church, known as ''Stiftskirche St Servatius'', is now used by the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Germany. The castle, abbey, church, and surrounding buildings are exceptionally well preserved and are masterpieces of Romanesque architecture. As a result, and because of their historical importance, the buildings were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. History Quedlinburg Abbey was founded on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was headquartered in the Kingdom of Jerusalem until 1291, on the island of Hospitaller Rhodes, Rhodes from 1310 until 1522, in Hospitaller Malta, Malta from 1530 until 1798 and at Saint Petersburg from 1799 until 1801. Today several organizations continue the Hospitaller tradition, specifically the mutually recognized orders of St. John, which are the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Order of Saint John (chartered 1888), Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John, the Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg), Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Chivalric Order of Saint John, the Order of Saint John in the Netherlands, and the Order of Saint John in Sweden. The Hospitallers arose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johanna Eleonora De La Gardie
Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie (1661 in Hamburg – 1708 in Stockholm), was a Swedish writer, poet, lady-in-waiting and noblewoman. Biography Johanna was the daughter of Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie and Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck. She received a cultivated education, along with her sister Ebba Maria De la Gardie and her cousins Amalia von Königsmarck and Maria Aurora von Königsmarck; her sister became a respected poet and singer at court. Johanna became lady-in-waiting and, with her sister, a favourite of Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, and was also a friend of the queen dowager, Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. Johanna participated at the amateur theatre of the royal court, encouraged by Queen Eleanora. In the winter of 1683–84, a group of female courtiers performed the Swedish premiere of ''Iphigénie'' by Racine at court. In the play, Johanna acted the part of ''Iphigenie'', Amalia von Königsmarck as ''Achilles'', Aurora von Königsmarck as ''Clitemnestre'', Aug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western tradition and world literature. Racine was primarily a tragedian, producing such "examples of neoclassical perfection" as ''Phèdre'', ''Andromaque'', and ''Athalie''. He did write one comedy, '' Les Plaideurs'', and a muted tragedy, ''Esther'' for the young. Racine's plays displayed his mastery of the dodecasyllabic (12 syllable) French alexandrine. His writing is renowned for its elegance, purity, speed, and fury, and for what American poet Robert Lowell described as a "diamond-edge", and the "glory of its hard, electric rage". Racine's dramaturgy is marked by his psychological insight, the prevailing passion of his characters, and the nakedness of both plot and stage. Biography Racine was born on 21 December 1639 in La Ferté-Milon ( Aisne) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 18, 1674, as part of the fifth of the royal ''Divertissements de Versailles'' of Louis XIV to celebrate the conquest of Franche-Comté. Later in December it was triumphantly revived at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, home of the royal troupe of actors in Paris. With Iphigénie, Racine returned once again to a mythological subject, following a series of historical plays ('' Britannicus'', ''Bérénice'', '' Bajazet'', ''Mithridate''). On the shores at Aulis, the Greeks prepare their departure for an attack on Troy. The gods quell the winds for their journey and demand the sacrifice of Iphigénie, daughter of Agamemnon, King of the Greeks. As in the original version of the play by Euripides, ''Iphigenia in Aulis'', the morally strongest character in the play is not Agamemnon, a pusillanimous leader, but Iph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ulrika Eleonora Of Denmark
Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (11 September 1656 – 26 July 1693) was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Charles XI. She is often admired for her generosity and charity. The name ''Ulrike'' is a Danish version of the name; in Swedish she is called ''Ulrika Eleonora den äldre'' (English: ''Ulrica Eleanor the Elder''), to distinguish her from her daughter, the future queen regnant. Life Early life and marriage Ulrika Eleonora was the daughter of King Frederick III of Denmark-Norway and his spouse, Queen Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. She was given a strict upbringing under the supervision of her mother: she was taught several different languages, and was reportedly a good student in drawing and painting. In 1675 she was betrothed to King Charles XI of Sweden. The purpose of the match, though from the Swedish viewpoint, was to prevent Denmark from forming an alliance with the enemies of Sweden. Her brother, the King of Denmark-Norway, was not enthusiastic about the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amateur Theatre
Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as for aesthetic values. Productions may take place in venues ranging from the open air, community centres, or schools to independent or major professional theatres. Amateur theatre is distinct from the professional or community theatre because performers are usually not paid. Amateur actors are not typically members of actors' unions. Definition Opinions vary on how to define "amateur" in relation to theatre. Technically speaking, an "amateur" is anyone who does not accept, or is not offered, money for their services. One interpretation of this is: "One lacking the skill of a professional, as in an art". Another is: "A person who engages in an art, science, study, or athletic activity as a pastime rather than as a profession". An amateur a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice De Saxe (1696-1750)
Maurice, Count of Saxony (german: Hermann Moritz von Sachsen, french: Maurice de Saxe; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, he initially served in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire, then the Imperial Army before finally entering French service. De Saxe became a Marshal and even Marshal General of France. He is best known for his deeds in the War of the Austrian Succession and especially for his decisive victory at the Battle of Fontenoy. He is honoured by the Walhalla Memorial. Childhood Maurice was born at Goslar, an illegitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, and the Countess Maria Aurora of Königsmarck. He was the first of eight extramarital children whom August acknowledged, although as many as 354 are claimed by sources, including Wilhelmine of Bayreuth, to have ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 until the twelfth century, the Empire was the most powerful monarchy in Europe. Andrew Holt characterizes it as "perhaps the most powerful European state of the Middle Ages". The functioning of government depended on the harmonic cooperation (dubbed ''consensual rulership'' by Bernd Schneidmüller) between monarch and vassals but this harmony was disturbed during the Salian Dynasty, Salian period. The empire reached the apex of territorial expansion and power under the House of Hohenstaufen in the mid-thirteenth century, but overextending led to partial collapse. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the List of Frankish kings, Frankish king Charlemagne as Carolingi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually taken as the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, who ascended the throne in 1611, and its end as the loss of territories in 1721 following the Great Northern War. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, the empire was controlled for lengthy periods by part of the high nobility, such as the Oxenstierna family, acting as regents for minor monarchs. The interests of the high nobility contrasted with the uniformity policy (i.e., upholding the traditional equality in status of the Swedish estates favoured by the kings and peasantry). In territories acquired during the periods of ''de facto'' noble rule, serfdom was not abolished, and there was also a trend to set up respective estates in Sweden proper. The Great Reduction of 1680 put an end to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agathenburg
Agathenburg (in High German, in Low Saxon: ) is a municipality in the district of Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. It was formerly known as Lieth. History Lieth, as it was originally named, belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, a territory of imperial immediacy established in 1180. In the mid-16th century the inhabitants of Lieth adopted Lutheranism. During the Leaguist occupation under Johan 't Serclaes, Count of Tilly, Lieth suffered from attempts of re-Catholicisation. In 1648 the prince-archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union by the Swedish Crown – interrupted by a Danish occupation (1712–1715) – and from 1715 on by the House of Hanover. In 1807 the ephemeric Kingdom of Westphalia annexed the duchy, before France annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy of Bremen was restored to the Electorate of Hanover, which – after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover in 1814 – incorporated the duchy in a real u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George I Of Great Britain
George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. He was the first British monarch of the House of Hanover as the most senior Protestant descendant of his great-grandfather James VI and I. Born in Hanover to Ernest Augustus and Sophia of Hanover, George inherited the titles and lands of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg from his father and uncles. A succession of European wars expanded his German domains during his lifetime; he was ratified as prince-elector of Hanover in 1708. After the deaths in 1714 of his mother Sophia and his second cousin Anne, Queen of Great Britain, George ascended the British throne as Anne's closest living Protestant relative under the Act of Settlement 1701. Jacobites attempted, but failed, to depose George and replace him with James Francis Edward Stuart, Anne's Catholi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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