Edward Fortunatus
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Edward Fortunatus (or in German Eduard Fortunat) of Baden (17 September 1565 – 8 June 1600) was
Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...
of Baden-Rodemachern and
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
.


Life and work

Born in London, Edward was the son of
Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern Christoph II of Baden-Rodemachern (26 February 1537 – 2 August 1575, Rodemachern) was the first Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern. He was the second son of Bernhard III of Baden-Baden and his wife Countess Franziska of Brienne and Luxembour ...
and Swedish Princess
Cecilia Vasa Cecilia of Sweden (Swedish: ''Cecilia Gustavsdotter Vasa'') (16 November 1540 in Stockholm – 27 January 1627 in Brussels), was Princess of Sweden as the daughter of King Gustav I and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, and Margravine o ...
. He received his name from
Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...
, who was his godmother. He spent his first year at
Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
, England. When his father died in 1575, he became the Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern. His guardian, Duke William V of Bavaria, gave him a
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 ...
upbringing and in 1584 he converted from
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
to Catholicism, as his mother had already done. The strife between Catholics and Protestants divided Edward's family, and on 18 November 1589 he hosted a colloquy in the Town Hall at Baden to discuss the relative claims of Catholicism (represented by
Johann Pistorius Johann Pistorius (14 February 1546 – 19 June 1608), also anglicized as John Pistorius or distinguished as Johann Pistorius the Younger, was a German controversialist and historian. He is sometimes called Niddanus from the name of his birthp ...
), Lutheranism (represented by Andreä and
Jacob Heerbrand Jacob Heerbrand (12 August 1521 – 22 May 1600) was a German Protestant theologian, reformer and controversialist. Life He was born at Giengen in Swabia on 12 August 1521. He was educated at the school at Ulm, and at the universities of Wi ...
), and
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 Cal ...
, represented by Schyrius, but it caused only a hardening of viewpoints.Charles Francis Coghlan, ''The Beauties of Baden-Baden and Its Environs'', London: F. Coghlan, 1858
p. 14
(wrongly stating 1569).
On 13 March 1591 in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
he made a non-church marriage with
Maria van Eicken Maria van der Eycken, Lady of Rivieren (1571 in Brussels – 21 April 1636 in Porta Angelica Monastery, Flaumbach Valley, near Treis-Karden) was the wife of the Margrave Edward Fortunatus of Baden-Baden. Early life She was born in Brussels a ...
(1569 – 21 April 1636), daughter of Joos vander Eycken, the Governor of Breda, which he regularised only on 14 May 1593, after she had borne him a daughter. They ultimately had four children but due in part to his wife's lesser antecedents they were never recognised as his heirs by
Ernest Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach (born 17 October 1560 in Durlach – died 14 April 1604 in Remchingen) ruled the northern part of the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach. He came to power when he came of age in 1584. He founded the first Gymnasium ' ...
, who succeeded him. In 1587 he visited his relatives in Sweden, and accompanied his cousin
Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...
, King of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
(and also later King of Sweden) to Poland and in 1588 was appointed by him to head the Polish customs and mines. The same year he inherited
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
, reuniting it with Baden-Rodemachern. However, he treated the Lutherans harshly and squandered the resources of the territory, and his marriage and children were not approved of by his relatives. In 1594 therefore a relative,
Ernest Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach (born 17 October 1560 in Durlach – died 14 April 1604 in Remchingen) ruled the northern part of the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach. He came to power when he came of age in 1584. He founded the first Gymnasium ' ...
, took over the whole of Baden-Baden. (Edward's sons were only reinstated in 1622 after the
Battle of Wimpfen The Battle of Wimpfen was a battle in the Palatinate campaign period of the Thirty Years' War on 6 May 1622 near Wimpfen. The combined forces of the Catholic League and the Spanish Empire under Marshal Tilly and Gonzalo de Córdoba defeated ...
, when their Catholicism gave them an advantage.) Edward inherited debts from his parents and aggravated them. After losing his margravate, he lived in various castles and attempted to raise money by coining money,
alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
and
black magic Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 145 ...
, bringing Paul Pestalozzi of Clavella and Mascarello of Chio from Padua to assist him, and succeeded in causing pain to Ernest Frederick by sticking pins in a wax effigy. He is also reported as having sought to have Ernest Frederick killed by poisoning. He also supposedly seduced and caused the death of the daughter of his castellan at the Yburg, which is now ruined and haunted by her ghost. In 1597 he was sent to Germany to recruit mercenaries on behalf of the Government of Spain. In 1598 he participated in his cousin Sigismund's attempt to regain Sweden from his uncle Charles IX and in the Battle of Stångebro. Edward was captured and briefly imprisoned by the Danes. He died in 1600 at
Castle Kastellaun Kastellaun Castle (german: Burg Kastellaun) is a ruined medieval castle in Kastellaun in the Rhein-Hunsrück district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Location The ruins of the castle are on the castle hill above the town of Kastellaun and a ...
as a result of falling down a stone staircase, possibly while drunk.''Sharpe's London Magazine'', Volume 10 (1850)
p. 315


Children

* Anna Maria Lukretia (1592–1654) *
William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
(1593–1677), later the
Margrave of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...
* Hermann Fortunatus (1595–1665) * Albrecht Karl of Baden-Baden (1598–1626)


Ancestors


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortunatus, Edward 1565 births 1600 deaths People from Richmond, London
Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
Converts to Roman Catholicism from Lutheranism Burials at Stiftskirche, Baden-Baden