Elizabeth of Brandenburg (1425 – after 13 January 1465) 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 marriage Duchess of Pomerania.

Life

Elizabeth was a daughter of the Margrave John ''the Alchemist'' of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (1406–1464) from his marriage to Barbara (1405–1465), daughter of Duke Rudolf III of Saxe-Wittenberg. Elizabeth's father renounced his rights to the succession in Brandenburg and instead received the Franconian possessions of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...

. Her sisters were Queen Dorothea of Denmark and Marchioness Barbara of Mantua. She married on 27 August 1440 with Duke Joachim I of Pomerania-Stettin (1427–1451). The marriage was meant to seal a treaty between Brandenburg and Pomerania.Johann Jakob Sell: ''Geschichte des Herzogthums Pommern'', Flittner, 1819, p. 62 Joachim died of the plague in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, after eleven years of marriage. He had one son: Otto III of Pomerania-Stettin. On 5 March 1454, she married her second husband, Duke

Wartislaw X Duke Wartislaw X of Pomerania (1435 – 17 December 1478) was the second son of Duke Wartislaw IX of Pomerania and his wife, Sophia of Saxe-Lauenburg. Wartislaw married twice. On 5 March 1454, he married Elizabeth of Brandenburg, the wi ...

of Pomerania-Rügen (1435–1478). In 1464, her father and all three of her sons died. After the death of Otto III, a

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

erupted between Pomerania and Brandenburg about the inheritance of the Stettin branch of the family. Her second marriage was a very unhappy one. She felt that her husband had ''...planned to kill her, and take her life and limb and, although it would be unchristian and pitiable, revoke her interests and pensions''. Because of ''great distress and poverty'', her uncle gave her Lippehne and

Berlinchen Barlinek () is a town in Myślibórz County, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northwestern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Barlinek. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 13,491. It is situated on the shores of Barline ...

instead of her father's

Arnswalde Choszczno () is a town in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 14,831. The town is in a marshy district between the river Stobnica and Klukom lake, southeast of Stargard and ...

. For Frederick, the fate of his niece was the motivation to break off negotiations with Wartislaw about Stettin and push through his claims on Pomerania. After mediation by Duke

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

of Mecklenburg-Stargard, Wartislaw accepted Pomerania as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the Electorate of Brandenburg.

Issue

Elisabeth had a son from her first marriage to Joachim: *

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

(1444–1464), Duke of Pomerania-Stettin. From her second marriage with Wartislaw, she had two sons: * Swantibor V, Duke of Pomerania (1454–1464) * Ertmar (1455–1464)

Ancestry

References

Sources

* Friedrich Wilhelm Barthold: ''Geschichte von Rügen und Pommern, Band 4'', F. Perthes, 1843, p. 289 ff.

External links

* http://www.ruegenwalde.com/greifen/war-10/war-10.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth of Brandenburg Duchesses of Pomerania House of Hohenzollern House of Griffins 1425 births 1465 deaths 15th-century German nobility 15th-century German women Daughters of monarchs Mothers of German monarchs