Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious,
Elector Palatine
The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kin ...
of the Rhine (14 February 1515 – 16 October 1576) was a ruler from the house of
Wittelsbach, branch
Palatinate-Simmern
The House of Palatinate-Simmern (german: Pfalz-Simmern) was a German- Bavarian cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. The house was one of the collateral lineages of the Palatinate.
The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided ...
-
Sponheim. He was a son of
John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector
Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine
Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine, (; 10 April 1502, Amberg – 12 February 1559, Heidelberg) a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Count Palatine of Palatinate-Neuburg from 1505 to 1559 and prince elector of the Palatinate from 1556 to 1559. ...
(''Ottheinrich'') in 1559. He was a devout convert to
Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
, and made the Reformed confession the official religion of his domain by overseeing the composition and promulgation of the
Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg ...
. His support of Calvinism gave the German Reformed movement a foothold within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
.
Life
Frederick was strictly educated in the
Catholic
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 ...
faith at his father's court and at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, but, influenced by his wife, the pious princess
Maria of Brandenburg, whom he married in 1537, he followed the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, and in 1546 made a public profession of his faith. He succeeded his father John II as duke of
Simmern
Simmern (; officially Simmern/Hunsrück) is a town of roughly 7,600 inhabitants (2013) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Simmern-Rheinböllen. In the Rhin ...
on 18 May 1557, and became elector on 12 February 1559, on the death of Otto Henry. Under his predecessor
strict Lutherans like
Tilemann Heshusius
Tilemann Heshusius (also ''Hesshus, Heßhusen, Hess Husen, Heshusen'') (3 November 1527 in Wesel — 25 September 1588 in Helmstedt) was a Gnesio-Lutheran theologian and Protestant reformer.
Life
Heshusius came from an influential family in W ...
,
Melanchthonians, and
Calvinists had found a place in the Palatinate. In the summer of 1559 bitter controversies arose among them. Theses on the
Lord's Supper
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institut ...
prepared by the
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
deacon Wilhelm Klebitz provoked a bitter controversy between him and Heshusius.
When efforts at mediation failed Frederick deposed both men on 16 September 1559. To get a clear understanding of the controversy Frederick spent days and nights in theological studies and was thus led more and more to the Reformed confession. A disputation held in June 1560 between the Saxon theologians
Johann Stössel and
Joachim Mörlin
Joachim Mörlin (5 April 1514, Wittenberg, Electorate of Saxony – 29 May 1571, Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia (now Kaliningrad in Russia) - 1945) was an Evangelical Lutheran theologian and an important figure in the controversies followin ...
and the Heidelbergers
Pierre Boquin
Pierre Boquin (also known as Bouquin, Boucquin, or Petrus Boquinus; post 1518 –1582 in Lausanne) was a French Reformed Theologian who played a critical role in the Reformation of the Electoral Palatinate.
Origins and early career
Pier ...
,
Thomas Erastus
Thomas Erastus (original surname Lüber, Lieber, or Liebler; 7 September 152431 December 1583) was a Swiss physician and Calvinist theologian. He wrote 100 theses (later reduced to 75) in which he argued that the sins committed by Christians sh ...
, and Paul Einhorn increased Frederick's dislike for the Lutheran zealots. After the
Naumburg Convention (January 1561) Frederick fully adopted the Reformed dogmas.
In March 1561 he invited
Emmanuel Tremellius
Immanuel Tremellius ( it, Giovanni Emmanuele Tremellio; 1510 – 9 October 1580) was an Italian Jewish convert to Christianity. He was known as a leading Hebraist and Bible translator.
Life
He was born at Ferrara and educated at the University o ...
to Heidelberg, and in September the famous
Zacharius Ursinus. The whole Church was now transformed.
Caspar Olevianus
Caspar Olevian (or Kaspar Olevianus; 10 August 1536 – 15 March 1587) was a significant German Reformed theologian during the Protestant Reformation and along with Zacharius Ursinus was said to be co-author of the Heidelberg Catechism. That the ...
had been there since January 1560. Images of the saints,
vestments
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; th ...
, baptismal fonts, and other "idolatrous works," even organs, were ruthlessly removed from the churches. In the celebration of the Lord's Supper the breaking of bread was introduced. The revenues from monasteries and foundations were confiscated and applied to Evangelical church purposes or charity. The
Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Calvinist Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg ...
, prepared by a committee of theologians and ministers likely led by Ursinus, now served as the norm of doctrine and for the instruction of the youth.
The church order of 15 November 1563 and the
consistory order of 1564 consolidated the changes. The opposition of ministers inclining to Lutheranism was suppressed by their dismissal. Among the Lutherans, Frederick's measures caused a great sensation. The religious colloquy held at
Maulbronn in April 1564 increased the animosity. In 1565 the
Emperor Maximilian ordered the changes to be annulled. A unanimous decree of the 1566
Diet of Augsburg
The Diet of Augsburg were the meetings of the Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in the German city of Augsburg. Both an Imperial City and the residence of the Augsburg prince-bishops, the town had hosted the Estates in many such sessi ...
also demanded the abolition of the changes. Frederick, however, declared in the 14 May session of the Diet that a matter was concerned over which God alone has the rule, and if it was intended to proceed against him, he would find comfort in the promises of his Saviour. The decree was not carried out.
After completing the work of reform in the
Rhine Palatinate, Frederick endeavored to continue it in the
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria.
Geography
The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lak ...
; but here he was resisted by the zealous Lutheran estates. He continued his work of reform on the Rhine by introducing in 1570 a strict church discipline. Frederick pronounced the sentence of death on the Antitrinitarian
Johann Sylvan based on the opinion signed by Olevianus, Ursinus, and Boquin, on 23 December 1572.
In 1562 Frederick gave
Frankenthal as a refuge to the Evangelicals driven from the
Netherlands
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. He sent his like-minded son
Johann Casimir in 1567 and again in 1576 to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in aid of the
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...
. In 1569 he assisted also
Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken on his way to France.
Frederick's last years were troubled by domestic afflictions. As his older son Louis was a strict Lutheran, he could not hope that after his death his work would be carried out in his own spirit.
Family and children
Frederick III was married twice. Firstly, he married in 1537
Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1519 – 1567), daughter of
Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Casimir (or Kasimir) of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (27 December 1481 – 21 September 1527) was Margrave of Bayreuth or Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach from 1515 to 1527.
Life Family background
Casimir was born in Ansbach, as the son of Frederick ...
and
Susanna of Bavaria. Their children were:
# Alberta (4 April 1538 – 19 March 1553)
#
Louis VI, Elector Palatine
Louis VI, Elector Palatine (4 July 1539 in Simmern – 22 October 1583 in Heidelberg), was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of ...
(4 July 1539 – 22 October 1583)
#
Elisabeth (30 June 1540 – 8 February 1594), married in 1558 to Duke
Johann Frederick II of Saxony
# Hermann Ludwig (6 October 1541 – 1 July 1556)
#
Johann Casimir (7 March 1543 – 16 January 1592); married: 1570
Elisabeth of Saxony
Elisabeth of Saxony (18 October 1552, at Wolkenstein Castle in Wolkenstein – 2 April 1590, in Heidelberg) was a Saxon princess, and Countess Palatine of Simmern by marriage to John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern.
Life
Elisabeth was a dau ...
(18 October 1552 - 2 April 1590)
#
Dorothea Susanne (15 November 1544 – 8 April 1592), married in 1560 to
John William, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
# Albert (30 September 1546 – 30 April 1547)
# Anna Elisabeth (23 July 1549 – 20 September 1609), married:
## in 1569 to Landgrave
Philipp II of Hesse-Rheinfels;
## in 1599 to Count Palatine
John August of Veldenz
# Christof (13 June 1551 –
14 April 1574)
# Karl (28 December 1552 – 12 September 1555)
# Kunigunde Jakobäa (9 October 1556 – 26 January 1586), married in 1580 to Count
John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg
Secondly, he married in 1569
Amalia of Neuenahr
Amalia of Neuenahr (6 April 1539 – 10 April 1602) was the daughter of Gumprecht of Neuenahr and Cordula of Holstein Schauenburg.
Her first husband was Hendrik van Brederode, who played an important part in the events leading up to the Eighty Yea ...
( 1539 – 1602), but this marriage was childless.
He died in 1576, and was succeeded as Elector Palatine by his son
Louis VI. Frederick had carved out a territory from the Lower Palatine land dubbed "Pfalz-Lautern" for his second surviving son
Johann Casimir as an enclave to enable the continued existence of the Reformed faith. Johann Casimir would serve as regent for the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine o ...
upon Louis VI's death and would oversee the return of the Reformed faith to the Palatinate.
Literature
*
Ancestors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 03, Elector Palatine
1515 births
1576 deaths
People from Simmern
Converts to Calvinism
German Calvinist and Reformed Christians
House of Palatinate-Simmern
House of Wittelsbach
Prince-electors of the Palatinate
Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg