Henry V of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ( la, Henricus; 10 November 1489 – 11 June 1568), called the Younger, (''Heinrich der Jüngere''), a member of the
House of Welf
The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...
, was
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
and ruling
Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
from 1514 until his death. The last
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 ...
of the Welf princes, he was known for the large number of wars in which he was involved and for the long-standing affair with his mistress
Eva von Trott.
Life
He was born at
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest c ...
Castle, the son of Duke
Henry IV of Brunswick-Lüneburg, known as Henry the Elder, and his consort
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, a daughter of the
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
duke
Eric II of Pomerania
Eric II or Erich II (between 1418 and 1425 – 5 July 1474) was a member of the House of Pomerania (also known as the House of Griffins) and was the ruling Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1457 to 1474. He was the son of Wartislaw IX of Pomeran ...
. His father had received the
Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
The Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (german: Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, whose history was characterised by numerous divisions and reunifications. It had an area of 3,828 ...
in the course of a subdivision of the Brunswick lands in 1495.
Henry V succeeded as ruling Prince of Wolfenbüttel when his father was killed in a 1514 battle during the
Saxon feud
The Saxon feud (Dutch: ''Saksische Vete''; Frisian: ''Saksyske Skeel''; German: ''Säschische Fehde'') was a military conflict in the years 1514–1517 between the East Frisian Count Edzard I, ' West Frisian' rebels, the city of Groningen, and C ...
. He soon entered into the
Great Diocesan Feud with the
Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim
The Prince-Bishopric of Hildesheim (german: Hochstift Hildesheim, Fürstbistum Hildesheim, Bistum Hildesheim) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the Middle Ages until its dissolution in 1803. The Prince-Bishopric must ...
under
John IV of Saxe-Lauenburg
John IV of Saxe-Lauenburg (*?–1414*) was a son of Duke Eric IV of Saxe-Lauenburg and Sophia of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Life
When Eric III of Saxe-Bergedorf-Mölln had died in 1401, John's father, Eric IV, inherited the branch duchy of the decease ...
, against whom he lost the
Battle of Soltau
The Battle of Soltau (german: Schlacht bei Soltau) took place on 28 June 1519 and was the military climax of the Hildesheim Diocesan Feud which lasted from 1519–1523.Felleckner 2009 Some sources describe it as "the last knights' battle" (''Die l ...
in 1519. However, the duke profited from his support of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
in the succession as
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
, and in 1523 the Bishopric had to cede large territories to Wolfenbüttel. Henry remained loyal to the Imperial authority during the
German Peasants' War, and in 1528 he assisted Emperor Charles V in the
War of the League of Cognac
The War of the League of Cognac (1526–30) was fought between the Habsburg dominions of Charles V—primarily the Holy Roman Empire and Spain—and the League of Cognac, an alliance including the Kingdom of France, Pope Clement VII, the Repub ...
against King
Francis I of France
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...
in Italy.
While Henry initially leaned towards
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and supported parts of the
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...
in 1530, he remained Catholic. He was involved in an ongoing conflict with the Protestant
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz.
In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...
, and strongly protested when the
Calenberg
The Calenberg is a hill in central Germany in the Leine depression near Pattensen in the municipality of Schulenburg. It lies 13 km west of the city of Hildesheim in south Lower Saxony on the edge of the Central Uplands. It is made from a ...
branch of Brunswick-Lüneburg switched to Protestantism. In 1541, under a pretext but actually to gain the fertile mines of
Rammelsberg
The Rammelsberg is a mountain, high, on the northern edge of the Harz range, south of the historic town of Goslar in the North German state of Lower Saxony. The mountain is the location of an important silver, copper, and lead mine, the only min ...
, Henry attacked the Protestant
Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
of
Goslar
Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...
. When in 1542 Elector
John Frederick I of Saxony and Landgrave
Philip I of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protesta ...
as members of the Protestant
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century.
Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...
came to the help of Goslar, they managed to occupy the complete Principality of Wolfenbüttel. Henry fled to the
Duchy of Bavaria
The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under Fr ...
.
In 1545, Henry recruited an army with the support of Emperor Charles and managed to take control of parts of Wolfenbüttel. But in October he was captured by
Hessian
A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse.
Hessian may also refer to:
Named from the toponym
*Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire
**Hessian (boot), a style of boot
**Hessian f ...
troops and kept prisoner,
[Letter from Melanchthon to Medler, MBW 4050] until the Emperor finally defeated the Schmalkaldic League at the
Battle of Mühlberg
The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalka ...
, freed Henry and reinstated him in 1547. In 1550 the mercenaries of Count Volrad of
Mansfeld
Mansfeld, sometimes also unofficially Mansfeld-Lutherstadt, is a town in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Protestant reformator Martin Luther grew up in Mansfeld, and in 1993 the town became one of sixteen places in ...
occupied Wolfenbüttel, and Henry again fled, this time to the Emperor's troops at
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
. But Mansfeld soon left, and Henry returned. In 1553, he allied himself with Elector
Maurice of Saxony
Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity.
...
against Margrave
Albert Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, who had attacked Wolfenbüttel. This conflict culminated in the bloody
Battle of Sievershausen
The Battle of Sievershausen occurred on 9 July 1553 near the village of Sievershausen (today part of Lehrte in present-day Germany), where the forces of the Hohenzollern margrave Albert Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach fought against the unit ...
, in which Maurice as well as Henry's two eldest sons were killed. The battle, however, ended in a victory for Henry.
Henry finally converted to Protestantism under the influence of his only remaining son,
Julius
The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...
, and died in 1568 at Wolfenbüttel.
Family
Henry firstly married Maria (died 1541), daughter of
Henry, Count of Württemberg, former
Count of Montbéliard
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
, in 1515. They had the following children:
*
Margaret (1516–1580), married
John of Poděbrady,
Duke of Münsterberg
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
and
Oels, in 1561
* Andrew (c. 1517–c. 1517)
*
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
(c. 1518–1574), married Margrave
John of Brandenburg-Küstrin, son of Elector
Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg in 1537
* Mary (c. 1521–1539), became
Abbess of Gandersheim
Gandersheim Abbey (german: Stift Gandersheim) is a former house of secular canonesses (Frauenstift) in the present town of Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, progenitor of the Liudolfing or O ...
in 1532
* Charles Victor (1525–1553), killed in the Battle of Sievershausen
* Philip (1527–1553), killed in the Battle of Sievershausen
*
Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg (also known as Julius of Braunschweig; 29 June 1528 – 3 May 1589), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1568 until his death. From 1584, he ...
(1528–1589), Prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1568
*
Clara
Clara may refer to:
Organizations
* CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization
* Clara.Net, a European ISP
* Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium
People
* Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...
(1532–1595), succeeded her sister Mary as Abbess of Gandersheim in 1539, later married Duke
Philip II of Brunswick-Lüneburg,
Prince of Grubenhagen, in 1560
In 1556 Henry secondly married
Sophia Jagiellon
Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to:
*Sophia (wisdom)
*Sophia (Gnosticism)
* Sophia (given name)
Places
* Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu
* Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana
* Sophia, North Carolina, an uninco ...
(died 1575), daughter of King
Sigismund I of Poland
Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...
, in 1556. The second marriage remained childless.
Henry's affair with his mistress
Eva von Trott (1506–1567), a
lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
to his consort Maria of Württemberg, produced ten children
522-1558 When rumours about his amour spread, he pretended she had died and arranged for a feigned funeral at
Gandersheim Abbey, while she hid in
Liebenburg
Liebenburg is a municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Geography
The municipal area is situated north of the Harz mountain range, within the eastern Salzgitter Hills of the Innerste Uplands. It borders on the dist ...
Castle. Eva and the duke continued to meet even after Maria's death. She likewise had to flee from the Brunswick lands during the
Schmalkaldic War
The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...
in 1543, but returned and retired to
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...
. The ducal affair inspired
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
to write his libel ''Wider Hans Worst'' in 1541.
References
Sources
*
Zedlers Universal-Lexicon, vol. 12, p. 777-778* ''Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte im Überblick'', Braunschweig 1977
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 05, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg
1489 births
1568 deaths
German Lutherans
Princes of Wolfenbüttel
Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism
Middle House of Brunswick