John Frederick II of Saxony (8 January 1529 – 19 May 1595), was
Duke of Saxony
This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918.
The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...
(1554–1566).
Early life
John Frederick II was the eldest son of
John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
John Frederick I (30 June 1503 in Torgau – 3 March 1554 in Weimar), called the Magnanimous, was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) and head of the Schmalkaldic League.
Early years
John Frederick was the eldest son of Elector John by his firs ...
and
Sibylle of Cleves
Sibylle of Cleves (17 January 1512 – 21 February 1554) was electress consort of Saxony.
Born in Düsseldorf,At the time, the area was in the Duchy of Berg. she was the eldest daughter of John III of the House of La Marck, Duke of Jülich ...
. He was given a comprehensive education along with his younger brother
Johann Wilhelm under the guidance of the legal scholar
Basilius Monner
Basilius Monner (1500 - 16 January 1566 in Jena) was a German jurist.
Life
Monner joined the Order of Saint Augustine in his youth. He enrolled at the University of Wittenburg at the height of the Reformation. In 1524, Monner became the Recto ...
. The two brothers were invited to take part in the
Aulic Council
The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juri ...
, where they were able to develop their knowledge of diplomacy at a young age.
Reign and military ambitions
After 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 ...
(24 April 1547) and the capture of his father, John Frederick II, along with his brother
John William, succeeded their father as the regents of the lands still retained by their family. After the death of their father (1554), the brothers amicably divided the lands that were inherited from their father; even so, John Frederick II, remained as the exclusive regent for the family possessions. And even though he received
Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
and
Coburg
Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it was ...
in the divisionary treaty, John Frederick II chose
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
as his place of residence while serving as head of the family.
John Frederick's political aspirations were still directed towards the reinstatement of his family's right to the title of "Elector of Saxony," as well as the re-establishment of the lands that were lost due to his father's imprisonment. In 1563 his prized general,
Wilhelm von Grumbach
Wilhelm von Grumbach (1 June 150318 April 1567) was a German adventurer, chiefly known through his connection with the so-called "Grumbach Feud" (german: Grumbachsche Händel), the last attempt of the Imperial Knights to prevail against the power ...
attacked
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
, seized and plundered the city and compelled the chapter and the
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
to restore his lands. He was consequently placed under the
imperial ban
The imperial ban (german: Reichsacht) was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or th ...
, but John Frederick II refused to obey the order of the Emperor Maximilian II to withdraw his forces. Meanwhile, Grumbach plotted the assassination of
Saxon elector, Augustus; and proclamations were issued asking for assistance. Because of this, an end to alliances both inside and outside of Germany came about.
In November 1566 John Frederick was placed under the imperial ban, which had been placed against Grumbach earlier in the year, and Augustus marched against Gotha. Resistance from the people of Gotha was not forthcoming, and a mutiny led to the defeat of the town. Grumbach was delivered to his foes, and after being tortured, was executed at Gotha on 18 April 1567.
The Emperor imposed the Reichsacht (Imperial Ban) over John Frederick II, the current Elector of Saxony. The ''
Reichsexekution
In German history, a ''Reichsexekution'' (sometimes "Reich execution" in English) was an imperial or federal intervention against a member state, using military force if necessary. The instrument of the ''Reichsexekution'' was constitutionally av ...
'' (more or less an intervention against a single ruler in order to maintain the good of the entire empire) was also put into effect, in which John William, John Frederick's own brother, took part. After a siege of his castle in Gotha in 1566, John Frederick was eventually defeated and spent the rest of his life as an imperial prisoner. His possessions were confiscated by the emperor and handed over to John William, who became the sole ruler of the whole duchy of Saxony.
Marriages and children
![Coburg-Morizkirche2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Coburg-Morizkirche2.jpg)
In
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
on 26 May 1555 John Frederick II married his first wife,
Agnes of Hesse
Agnes of Hesse (31 May 1527 – 4 November 1555) was a princess of Hesse by birth and by marriage Electress of Saxony.
Life
Agnes was a daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, and his first wife, Christine of Saxony. She married Mauri ...
, Dowager Electress of Saxony. Six months later she suffered a miscarriage and died, on 4 November 1555.
In Weimar on 12 June 1558 John Frederick II married his second wife,
Countess Palatine Elisabeth of Simmern-Sponheim
Elisabeth of the Palatinate (german: Elisabeth von der Pfalz; 30 June 1540 in Birkenfeld – 8 February 1594 in Wiener Neustadt) was the second wife of John Frederick II, Duke of Saxony.
Life
Elisabeth was born in Birkenfeld, the daughter of Fre ...
, daughter of the later (1559)
Frederick III, Elector Palatine
Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (14 February 1515 – 16 October 1576) was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Pala ...
. They had four sons:
* John Frederick (30 November 1559, Weimar – 8 August 1560, Weimar)
* Frederick Henry (3 February 1563, Heldburg – 4 August 1572, Eisenberg)
*
John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg
John Casimir of Saxe-Coburg (Gotha, 12 June 1564 – Coburg, 16 July 1633) was the Duke of Saxe-Coburg. He was the descendant of the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin. Under his rule, the residence town of Coburg prospered with many Ren ...
(12 June 1564, Gotha – 16 July 1633, Coburg)
*
John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach
Johann Ernst of Saxe-Eisenach (Gotha, 9 July 1566 – Eisenach, 23 October 1638), was a duke of Saxe-Eisenach and later of Saxe-Coburg.
He was the fourth (but second surviving) and youngest son of Johann Frederick II, Duke of Saxony and Cou ...
(9 July 1566, Gotha – 23 October 1638, Eisenach)
Succession
Later, the Emperor used the two surviving sons of John Frederick II against their uncle John William; in 1572 the
Division of Erfurt
The Ernestine duchies (), also known as the Saxon duchies (, although the Albertine appanage duchies of Weissenfels, Merseburg and Zeitz were also "Saxon duchies" and adjacent to several Ernestine ones), were a group of small states whose numb ...
was made. The duchy of Saxony was divided into three parts. The older son, John Casimir, received Coburg, and the younger, John Ernest, received Eisenach. John William retained only the smaller part, the limited region of Weimar, but he added to his duchy the districts of
Altenburg
Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...
,
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
and
Meiningen
Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021). . Since it has several Ernestine dynasties,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
was also given in this division, the total possession of the
Wettins (the duchy of Saxony) that had always bordered each other were no longer combined. From John William descends the house of
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant bra ...
and the first house 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 ...
, which separated later from Saxe-Weimar.
John Frederick II died in 1595 and was buried in a large tomb by sculptor Nikolaus Bergner at
Morizkirche at Coburg, which his son John Casimir built for him and his wife, Elisabeth. The coffins are today in the crypt beneath the church.
Ancestors
References
* Karl August Engelhardt: ''Johann Friedrich der Mittlere, von Bösewichtern verblendet, in Gotha belagert, und bis an sein Ende gefangen'' (in der Reihe „Denkwürdigkeiten aus der sächsischen Geschichte, der vaterländischen Jugend gewidmet“). Gerlach, Dresden 1797
Digitalisat.
*
Ernst Wülcker
Ernst Wülcker (24 August 1843, in Frankfurt am Main – 16 September 1895, in Weimar) was a German archivist and lexicographer. He was an older brother of philologist Richard Paul Wülker (1845–1910).
He studied classical philology and Ger ...
''Johann Friedrich, Herzog zu Sachsen''.in:
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language.
It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...
. Band 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 330–343.
*
* Joachim Kruse: Herzog Johann Friedrich II. der Mittlere von Sachsen (1529–1595) und das ernestinische Familienepitaph in St. Moriz, Coburg, vollendet 1598. vol. I. in: Jahrbuch der Coburger Landesstiftung 52 (2007) pp. 1–334.
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Frederick 02 Saxony
1529 births
1595 deaths
Dukes of Saxony