Dorothea of Brandenburg (9 February 1420 – 19 January 1491) was a princess of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

by birth and by marriage Duchess of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

Life

Dorothea was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, a daughter of the Elector

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...

of Brandenburg (1371–1440) from his marriage to Elisabeth (1383–1442), daughter of Duke Frederick of Bayern-Landshut. Dorothea's brothers were Electors Frederick II and Albert Achilles, who successively ruled Brandenburg. In May 1432, Dorothea married Duke Henry IV of Mecklenburg (1417–1477). She received as dowry

Dömitz Dömitz () is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, 25 km southwest of Ludwigslust, and 37 km northwest of Wittenberge. It was grant ...

and Gorlosen, which her sister

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

had also received when she married into the House of Mecklenburg. Margaret's husband, Albet V, however, had died shortly after the marriage. When a dispute arose later between Brandenburg and Mecklenburg about the inheritance of the principality of Wenden, the family ties between Duke Henry and Elector Frederick made it easier to reach a settlement. Henry IV died in 1477. After 1485 Dorothea lived, she lived as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

in the Rehna convent. She died at the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery at

Rehna Rehna () is a town in the Nordwestmecklenburg district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated 26 km southeast of Lübeck, and 28 km northwest of Schwerin. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. References

...

in 1491 and was buried in the City Church of St. James' Church and St. Dionysius in

Gadebusch Gadebusch () is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the district of Nordwestmecklenburg. Halfway between Lübeck, Schwerin and Wismar, it is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The town is known for two notable monuments: the ''Stad ...

. Her grave stone is marked with an incised drawing of the Duchess as a nun, crowned by a canopy.

Issue

From her marriage with Henry, Dorothy had the following children: * Albert VI (1438–1483), Duke of Mecklenburg : married in 1466 or 1468 Countess Catherine of Lindau-Ruppin († 1485) * John VI († 1474), Duke of Mecklenburg * Magnus II (1441–1503), Duke of Mecklenburg : married in 1478 princess

Sophie of Pomerania Sophie of Pomerania (1498–1568) was List of Danish royal consorts, Queen of Denmark and List of Norwegian royal consorts, Norway as the spouse of Frederick I of Denmark, Frederick I. She is known for her independent rule over her fiefs Lolla ...

(1460-1504) * Catherine (1442-1451/52) * Anna (1447–1464) * Elisabeth (1449–1506), abbess of Ribnitz * Balthasar (1451–1507), Duke of Mecklenburg,

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

in the diocese of Schwerin until 1479

Notes

References

* Carl Friedrich Goeschel: ''Elisabeth, die erste Kurfürstin von Brandenburg aus dem Hause Hohenzollern'', Mittler, 1844, p. 35 * Samuel Buchholtz: ''Versuch einer Geschichte der Churmarck Brandenburg'', F. W. Birnstiel, 1767, p. 39 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorothea of Brandenburg Duchesses of Mecklenburg House of Hohenzollern House of Mecklenburg 1420 births 1491 deaths Benedictine nuns