Catherine of Mecklenburg (1487 – 6 June 1561,

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces firs ...

), was a Duchess of Saxony by marriage to Henry IV, Duke of Saxony. She was the daughter of the Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg and

Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin ( – 26 April 1504, Wismar), was Duchess of Mecklenburg by marriage from 1478 to 1504. She was the daughter of Eric II of Pomerania-Wolgast (d. 1474) and his wife Sophia of Pomerania-Stolp (d. 1497). Her brothe ...

Life

She married on 6 July 1512 in

Freiberg Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage ...

Duke Henry the Pious of Saxony. Catherine sympathized early with

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

's teachings, while her husband suppressed the Reformation until 1536 for fear of his brother, the reigning Duke George the Bearded. Later, the

area became Lutheran. When duke George tried bear down on Catherine, she told the envoy: ''You could do me a big favor by leaving Freiberg right now''. In 1539, after the death of Duke George, the couple moved to Dresden and brought the Reformation there. Duke Henry died on 18 August 1541; Catherine outlived him by 20 years. She spent her days in Wolkenstein castle. In 1560, she published a book on etiquette for ladies, which is culturally and historically very interesting.

Issue

She had six children with Henry the Pious: * Sibylle (1515–1592) : married in 1540 Duke Francis I of Saxe-Lauenburg (1510–1581) * Aemilia (1516–1591) : married in 1533 Margrave George the Pious of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1484–1534) * Sidonie (1518–1575) : married in 1545 Duke Eric II of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1528–1584) * Maurice (1521–1553), Elector of Saxony : married in 1541 princess Agnes of Hesse (1527–1555) * Severinus (1522–1533) *

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

(1526–1586), Elector of Saxony : married in 1548 princess Anne of Denmark and Norway (1532–1585)

Ancestry

References

* * Franz Otto Stichart: ''Gallery of the Saxon princesses. Biographical sketches of all the ancestress of the royal house of Saxony'', Fleischer, Leipzig, 1857, p. 229-247
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. * Theodor Distel: ''News on the Duchess Catherine of Saxony and her people'' In: ''New archive for Saxon history'' (NASG), Volume 15, 1894, , p. 326 ff.
digitized
. * John Meyer: ''Female characters and women's sway in the House of Wettin'', Weller, Bautzen, 1912. * Sabine Ulbricht: ''princesses in the Saxon History (1382-1622)'', Sax, Beucha/Markham, 2010, , p. 99-125.

Life

Issue

Ancestry

References

See also