Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (28 March 1619 – 4 December 1681) was a duke of

Saxe-Zeitz The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Zeitz) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1656–57 as a secundogeniture of the Electoral Saxon house of House of Wettin. Its capital was Zeitz. The territory fell back to ...

and member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

. Born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, he was the youngest surviving son of

John George I, Elector of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45 year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector C ...

, and his second wife

Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony. She is a 6th times matrilineal great grandmother to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Life ...

Life

Together with his brothers, Maurice was educated at the court of the Elector of Saxony in

. Among his teachers, Field Marshal Kurt of Einsiedel took an outstanding role. From August 1642 until September 1645, Maurice and his brother

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

took a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

through northern Germany and the Netherlands. In 1645, shortly after his return home, Maurice was selected by Prince Ludwig I of Anhalt-Köthen to be a member of the

Fruitbearing Society The Fruitbearing Society (German Die Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, lat. ''societas fructifera'') was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility. Its aim was to standardize vernacular German and promote it a ...

. In 1650, he was appointed

Bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

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 ...

by the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. He selected as his chancellor and president to his

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

the noted state scientist and theologian

Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff or Seckendorf (December 20, 1626December 18, 1692), Germany, German politician, statesman and scholar, was a member of the House of Seckendorff, a noble family which took its name from the village of Sugenheim, Seckendo ...

. As ''Hofprediger'' he chose the dramatist Johann Sebastian Mitternacht. The Elector Johann Georg I, in his will 20 July 1652, ordered a division of the Albertine territories that was carried out on 22 April 1657 in Dresden. Maurice inherited the town of

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded u ...

and became its first duke. In order to have an appropriate official residence, Maurice decided to remove the old bishop's castle and build a splendid new residence in

baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

that was called

Schloss Moritzburg Moritzburg Castle (german: Schloss Moritzburg) or Moritzburg Palace is a Baroque palace in Moritzburg, in the German state of Saxony, about northwest of the Saxon capital, Dresden. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical ar ...

. The construction began in 1657 and was finished in 1678. The duke died there.

Marriages and issue

on 19 November 1650, Maurice married Sophie Hedwig of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a daughter of

Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Philip of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg (15 March 1584 – 27 September 1663) was the first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg after the death of his father in 1622. He was the son of John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and Duches ...

and at the same time his brother Christian also married her sister

Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg Princess Christiana of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, often referred to as ''Christiane'' (22 September 1634 in Copenhagen – 20 May 1701 at Delitzsch Castle) was the consort of Christian I, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg, who was the r ...

. The opera ''Paris und Helena'' was composed for the occasion by

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

. Maurice and Sophie had two sons: #Johann Philipp (b. Dresden, 12 November 1651 – d. Dresden, 24 March 1652). #Maurice (b. Dresden, 26 September 1652 – d. Dresden, 10 May 1653). 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 3 July 1656, Maurice married for a second time to Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Weimar, daughter of the Duke

Wilhelm Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

. They had ten children: #Eleonore Magdalene (b. Weimar, 30 October 1658 – d. Dresden, 26 February 1661). #Wilhelmine Eleonore (b. and d. Dresden?, September? 1659). # Erdmuthe Dorothea (b.

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

, 13 November 1661 – d.

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a dioces ...

, 29 April 1720), married on 14 October 1679 to Duke Christian II of Saxe-Merseburg. #

Maurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz Moritz Wilhelm (English: Maurice William; 12 March 1664 – 15 November 1718), a member of the Saxon House of Wettin, was the second and last Duke of Saxe-Zeitz from 1681 until his death. Life He was born at Moritzburg Castle in the Wettin ...

(b. Moritzburg, 12 March 1664 – d. Weida, 15 November 1718). #Johann Georg (b. Moritzburg, 27 April 1665 – d. Moritzburg, 5 September 1666). # Christian August (b. Moritzburg, 9 October 1666 – d.

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, 23 August 1725), Cardinal, Archbishop of Gran and

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

of Hungary. # Frederick Heinrich (b. Moritzburg, 21 July 1668 – d.

Neustadt an der Orla Neustadt an der Orla is a town in Saale-Orla-Kreis district, in Thuringia. It is situated at the small river Orla (Saale), Orla, 17 km north of Schleiz, and 25 km southeast of Jena. The former municipality Stanau was merged into Neustadt ...

, 18 December 1713), inherited

Pegau Pegau () is a town in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany, situated in a fertile plain, on the White Elster, 18 m. S.W. from Leipzig by the railway to Zeitz. It has two Evangelical churches, that of St. Lawrence being a fine Gothic structure ...

and Neustadt. #Marie Sophie (b. Moritzburg, 3 November 1670 – d. Moritzburg, 31 May 1671). #Magdalene Sibylle (b. Moritzburg, 7 April 1672 – d. Moritzburg, 20 August 1672) #Wilhelmine Sophie (b and d. Moritzburg?, 11 June? 1675). In

Wiesenburg Wiesenburg ( official name: ''Wiesenburg/Mark'') is a municipality in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 10 km west of Bad Belzig, and 34 km southwest of Brandenburg. It is located in the High Flä ...

on 14 June 1676 Maurice married for a third time to

Sophie Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg Sophie Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg (4 May 1653 - 19 August 1684), was a German noblewoman member of the House of Oldenburg and by marriage Duchess of Saxe-Zeitz. Born in Homburg vor der Höhe, she was the third of fift ...

, daughter of

Philip Louis, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg Philip Louis of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg (born 27 October 1620 in Beck; died: 10 March 1689 in Schneeberg) was the founder and first duke of the line Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Wiesenburg. His branch of the House of Schleswig- ...

. This union was childless.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz, Duke 1619 births 1681 deaths House of Wettin Nobility from Dresden Dukes of Saxe-Zeitz Albertine branch