Dorothea of Brandenburg (9 February 1420 – 19 January 1491) was a princess of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

by birth and by marriage Duchess of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

Life

Dorothea was born in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, a daughter of the Elector

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

of Brandenburg (1371–1440) from his marriage to Elisabeth (1383–1442), daughter of Duke Frederick of Bayern-Landshut. Dorothea's brothers were Electors Frederick II and Albert Achilles, who successively ruled Brandenburg. In May 1432, Dorothea married Duke Henry IV of Mecklenburg (1417–1477). She received as dowry

Dömitz Dömitz () is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of C ...

and Gorlosen, which her sister

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

had also received when she married into the House of Mecklenburg. Margaret's husband, Albet V, however, had died shortly after the marriage.Ludwig Ernst Hahn: ''Kurfürst Friedrich der Erste von Brandenburg, Burggraf zu Nürnberg, der Ahnherr des preußischen Königshauses'', Hertz, 1859, S. 210 When a dispute arose later between Brandenburg and Mecklenburg about the inheritance of the principality of Wenden, the family ties between Duke Henry and Elector Frederick made it easier to reach a settlement. Henry IV died in 1477 and after 1485 Dorothea lived as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

in the Rehna convent. She died at the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery at Rehna in 1491 and was buried in the City Church of St. James' Church and St. Dionysius in

Gadebusch Gadebusch () is a town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the district of Nordwestmecklenburg. Halfway between Lübeck, Schwerin and Wismar, it is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The town is known for two notable monuments: the ''Stadt ...

. Her grave stone is marked with an incised drawing of the Duchess as a nun, crowned by a canopy.

Issue

From her marriage with Henry, Dorothy had the following children: * Albert VI (1438–1483), Duke of Mecklenburg : married in 1466 or 1468 Countess Catherine of Lindau-Ruppin († 1485) * John VI († 1474), Duke of Mecklenburg * Magnus II (1441–1503), Duke of Mecklenburg : married in 1478 princess

Sophie of Pomerania Sophie of Pomerania (1498–1568) was Queen of Denmark and Norway as the spouse of Frederick I. She is known for her independent rule over her fiefs Lolland and Falster, the castles in Kiel and Plön, and several villages in Holstein as quee ...

(1460-1504) * Catherine (1442-1451/52) * Anna (1447–1464) * Elisabeth (1449–1506), abbess of Ribnitz * Balthasar (1451–1507), Duke of Mecklenburg,

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

in the diocese of Schwerin until 1479

Notes

References

* Carl Friedrich Goeschel: ''Elisabeth, die erste Kurfürstin von Brandenburg aus dem Hause Hohenzollern'', Mittler, 1844, p. 35 * Samuel Buchholtz: ''Versuch einer Geschichte der Churmarck Brandenburg'', F. W. Birnstiel, 1767, p. 39 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorothea of Brandenburg Duchesses of Mecklenburg House of Hohenzollern House of Mecklenburg 1420 births 1491 deaths Benedictine nuns Daughters of prince-electors Mothers of German monarchs