Friedrich of Saxe-Altenburg (12 February 1599,

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 first ...

– in battle: 24 October 1625,

Seelze Seelze is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approximately west of Hanover. Today Seelze mainly plays the role of a bedroom town for commuters working in Hanover. Division of the town ...

) was a member of the Ernestine branch of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

and a Duke of

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometer ...

and Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Friedrich is sometimes called "Friedrich the younger" to distinguish him from Prince Frederick of Saxe-Weimar, as they were both called "Friedrich of Saxe-Weimar".

Life

Frederick was the second son of Duke Friedrich Wilhelm I of Saxe-Weimar (1562–1602) from his second marriage to Anna Maria (1575–1643), daughter of

Philipp Ludwig, Count Palatine of Neuburg Philipp Ludwig of Neuburg (2 October 1547 – 22 August 1614) was the Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg from 1569 until 1614. Life Philipp Ludwig was born in Zweibrücken in 1547 as the eldest son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. After his f ...

. After the death of his father Frederick inherited the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg jointly with his brothers

Johann Philipp Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

, Johann Wilhelm and

Friedrich Wilhelm II Frederick William II may refer to: * Frederick William II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1603–1669) * Frederick William II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (1687–1749) * Frederick William II, Prince of Nassau-Siegen (1706–1734) * Freder ...

. Their guardians were the Elector

Christian II Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...

of Saxony and their uncle, Duke Johann II. After John II died in 1605, Christian II was their sole guardian. After the

War of the Jülich Succession The War of the Jülich Succession was a war of succession in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. It lasted between 10 June 1609 and 24 October 1610, resumed in May 1614 and finally ended on 13 October 1614. The first round of the conflict ...

, the brothers were

enfeoffed In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...

with the Duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg. However, they were still minors and were only allowed to use the title and the coat of arms. In 1612, the brothers enrolled at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

to complete their education. Frederick and John Philip participated in the Princess Congress at

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

in 1614, where the inheritance alliance between Brandenburg, Hesse and Saxony was created. In 1618, the oldest brother Johann Philipp came of age and began to rule independently. The younger brothers decided to allow John Philip to continue to rule alone, when they came of age, in exchange for a

jointure Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the dea ...

. At first, this was agreed for a limited number of years. In 1624, however, the arrangement was made permanent. Friedrich went into the service of the Elector John George I of Saxony and fought in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

in Lusatia and Bohemia. From 1622, he led his own corps of troops, however, these scattered due to lack of pay. Frederick then went into the service of Duke Christian the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. During the

Battle of Stadtlohn The Battle of Stadtlohn was fought on 6 August 1623 between the armies of the Electoral Palatinate and of the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War. The League's forces were led by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, the Protestants by ...

of 1623, Friedrich and

William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar ( Altenburg, 11 April 1598 – Weimar, 17 May 1662), was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. Wilhelm was the fifth (but third surviving) son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt. He was brother to Be ...

were captured by

Tilly Tilly may refer to: Places France * Tilly, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Tilly, Indre, in the Indre ''département'' * Tilly, Yvelines, in the Yvelines ''département'' Elsewhere * Tilly, Belgium, a village in the municipality of Viller ...

, who surrendered the Dukes to the Emperor. Friedrich remained imprisoned for a while. In 1624, John George I intervened and he was released. In 1625 Friedrich became a cavalry commander in Danish service. With his regiment he formed a Danish outpost in Seelze. They were attacked by Tilly and he died of a head wound.

Hans Michael Elias von Obentraut Hans Michael Elias of Obentraut (also known as ''Johann Michel Elias von Obentraut''; 1574 at the Stromburg near Stromberg – 25 October 1625 in Seelze) was a German cavalry general, who fought on the side of the Protestant Union during t ...

died during the same skirmish. Frederick's body was first interred in Hanover and later moved the Brothers' Church in Altenburg. He died unmarried and without heirs.

References and sources

* Johann Samuel Ersch: ''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste'', Leipzig 1849, p. 64 ff
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich Of Saxe-Altenburg House of Wettin 1599 births 1625 deaths Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg