Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg (born: 2 May 1594; died: 30 November 1660 in Neuhaus) was a prince of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

and a general during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

Life

Francis Charles was a son of the Duke

Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg ( Ratzeburg, 10 August 1547 – 2 July 1619, Lauenburg upon Elbe), was the third son of Francis I of Saxe-Lauenburg and Sybille of Saxe-Freiberg (Freiberg, 2 May 1515 – 18 July 1592, Buxtehude), daughter of Duke ...

(1547–1619) from his second marriage to

Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (born: 13 January 1566 in Schladen; died: 13 August 1626 in Lauenburg) was a princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel by birth and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg. Life Mary was a daughter of the Duke Julius of ...

. In 1619, Francis Charles and his brothers confirmed in an inheritance contract that their elder half-brother

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 ...

would inherit all of Saxe-Lauenburg. Francis Charles went into military service, and after serving in various armies, he eventually joined the Protestant army of Count

Ernst von Mansfeld Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld (german: Peter Ernst Graf von Mansfeld; c. 158029 November 1626), or simply Ernst von Mansfeld, was a German military commander who, despite being a Catholic, fought for the Protestants during the early years of the ...

. With this army, he fought in Bohemia against Emperor Ferdinand II. Three of his brothers served in the imperial army opposing him. In 1623, Francis Charles' elder brother Julius Henry came to a reconciliation with the Emperor. At a meeting of Protestant Princes in Lauenburg upon Elbe in 1625, it was decided to put

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

under the protection of King

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

against the Emperor and his Catholic League. Francis Charles recruited a new regiment for the Danish King and quartered it in his brother's neutral Saxe-Lauenburg, where his troops took a hostile stance. After Christian IV was defeated, Francis Charles asked

Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

to help him seek another reconciliation with the Emperor. On 19 September 1628 Francis Charles married Agnes of Brandenburg, widow of the Duke Philip Julius of

Pomerania-Wolgast The Duchy of Pomerania-Wolgast, also known as the Duchy of Wolgast, and the Duchy of Wołogoszcz, was a feudal duchy in Western Pomerania within the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Wolgast. It was ruled by the Griffin dynasty.Edward Rymar, ''R ...

. Again with the help of Wallenstein, his brother Francis Julius achieved, that his wife was allowed keep her jointure, the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of Barth. After King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden had landed in Pomerania in 1630, Francis Charles entered his service as a colonel. Francis Charles was captured at the residence of his brother Augustus in

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum La ...

by the imperial general

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. It ...

, but was soon back in Swedish service as a colonel. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus, Francis Charles switched sides and joined the army of the Electorate of Saxony. This allowed him to reconcile with the Emperor once again. In 1637, Francis Charles converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and entered the imperial service as a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. After the death of his first wife, and after imperial mediation Francis Charles married on 27 August 1639 in

Sopron Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...

Catherine of Brandenburg Catherine of Brandenburg (Königsberg, 28 May 1602 – 27 August 1649, Schöningen) was an elected Princess of Transylvania between 1629 and 1630. She was the daughter of John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, and Anna of Prussia Life Catherine ...

, the very rich widow of the Transylvanian prince

Gábor Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of ...

. His second wife sold all her Hungarian possessions and moved with her husband to Germany, where she died in 1649. Francis Charles remarried in 1651 Countess Elisabeth Christine of Meggau, widow of the Baron Adolf Christoph of Teuff. After leaving the military service he toured Italy. He died in Saxe-Lauenburgian Neuhaus and, despite his three marriages, he left only children born out of wedlock.

Ancestry

References and sources

* Johann Samuel Ersch: ''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste in alphabetischer Folge'', vol. 48, J. f. Gleditsch, 1848, p. 94 ff.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg House of Ascania 1594 births 1660 deaths Generals of the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century German people Dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Military personnel of the Thirty Years' War German people of the Thirty Years' War Sons of monarchs