Elizabeth of Hesse-Kassel (24 March 1596 in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

– 16 December 1625 in

Güstrow Güstrow (; ) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-eastern Germany. It is capital of the Rostock (district), Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the sevent ...

), was a princess of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

, 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. ...

, and a poet of the German and Italian language.

Life

Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of Landgrave

Maurice of Hesse-Kassel Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627. Life Maurice was born in Kassel as the son of ...

(1572-1632) from his marriage to Agnes (1578-1602), a daughter Count John George of

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach was originally created as a partition of Solms-Lich. In 1537 Philip, Count of S ...

. Her godmother was 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. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, who was represented on this occasion by the

Earl of Lincoln Earl of Lincoln is a title that has been created eight times in the peerage of England, most recently in 1572. The Hereditary peerage, earldom was held as a subsidiary title by the Duke of Newcastle, Dukes of Newcastle-under-Lyne, from 1768 to 1 ...

. The christening of the Princess was one of the most elaborate ceremonies at the court in Kassel, including "four days of lavish games, tournaments, and fireworks". The last knight games in Europe were held on this occasion. The engraver and historian Wilhelm Dilich made a documentary about the event in 1598-1601. That volume is now in the City of Kassel Museum. A second manuscript about the celebrations, "compiled and executed by an unknown hand", is held by the

Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

. Her father educated her and her brothers at the court school. Elizabeth was described as very witty. She was fluent in several languages and has authored more than 200 poems. She played and composed music and also translated texts into German and Italian,. Her father wanted to marry her to Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland, but she refused. She was then engaged to

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...

. However, he broke off the engagement when he could not meet the considerable demands for her dowry. Elizabeth married on 25 March 1618 in Kassel, to Duke John Albert II of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, who already had four children from his first marriage. The Duchess, who was very musical, created the Court Orchestra at Güstrow and was also active as an author. Elizabeth had no children from her marriage and on her death, her dowry, the city of

Dargun Dargun is a town in the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated km west of Demmin. It is famous for Dargun Palace, a former Cistercian abbey. History From 1815 to 1918 Dargun was part o ...

, fell back to Hesse.

Ancestors

References

Sources

* * Christoph von Rommel: ''Geschichte von Hessen'', vol. 2, Kassel, 1837, p. 349 ff.
Online

External links

* https://archive.today/20071020025331/http://www.uni-kassel.de/presse/pm/anlagen/Lautenbuch.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Hesse-Kassel, Elizabeth of, Duchess of Mecklenburg 1596 births 1625 deaths Elizabeth Elizabeth Elizabeth 17th-century German nobility German women poets Daughters of monarchs Duchesses in the Holy Roman Empire