Margaret of Anhalt (12 November 1494, Köthen – 7 October 1521,

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 ...

) was a member of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlo ...

and was a princess of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

by birth and by marriage Duchess of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Life

Margaret was a daughter of Prince Waldemar VI from his marriage to Margaret of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1464–1539), a daughter of Count Günther XXXVI of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg. On 13 November 1513 she married in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies forces first ...

, the later Elector

John the Steadfast Johann (30 June 146816 August 1532), known as Johann the Steadfast or Johann the Constant (''Johann, der Beständige''), was Elector of Saxony from 1525 until 1532 from the House of Wettin. He is notable for organising the Lutheran Church in the ...

of Saxony (1468–1532). She was his second wife. His brother Frederick III was unhappy about John marrying Margaret, because she was from a relatively minor princely family. For Frederick, this was his reason to their joint rule and divide the country. Margaret's brother, Wolfgang, was the second prince in the Empire, after Frederick III, who converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

. The poet Philip Engelbrecht dedicated an

epithalamium An epithalamium (; Latin form of Greek ἐπιθαλάμιον ''epithalamion'' from ἐπί ''epi'' "upon," and θάλαμος ''thalamos'' nuptial chamber) is a poem written specifically for the bride on the way to her marital chamber. This form ...

to John and Margaret in 1514. John was devoted his wife and loved her dearly. Margaret died in 1521 in her residence in Weimar, four years before her husband became Elector of Saxony. She was buried in the City Church of St. Peter und Paul in

Issue

From her marriage, Margaret and John had the following children: #

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(b. Weimar, 15 December 1515 – d. Wolgast, 7 January 1583), married on 27 February 1536 to Duke Philip I of Pomerania-Wolgast. #Margaret (b. Zwickau, 25 April 1518 – d. Liestal 10 March 1545). #John (b. and d. Weimar, 26 September 1519). #

John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg John Ernest (german: Johann Ernst) (10 May 1521 – 8 February 1553) was a Duke of Saxe-Coburg. John Ernest was born in Coburg as the third (but second surviving and the youngest) son of John, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Margaret o ...

(b. Coburg, 10 May 1521 – d. Coburg, 8 February 1553).

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret Of Anhalt-Kothen House of Ascania 1494 births 1521 deaths Duchesses of Saxony 16th-century German people People from Köthen (Anhalt)