Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg (11 September 1494 in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...

– 2 April 1572 in

Geldern Geldern ( nl, Gelderen, archaic English: ''Guelder(s)'') is a city in the federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the district of Kleve, which is part of the Düsseldorf administrative region. Geography Location Geldern l ...

) was a Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg by birth and by marriage Duchess of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

Life

Elizabeth was a daughter of Duke

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

of Brunswick-Luneburg (1468-1532) from his marriage to

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

( 1469-1528), daughter of Elector

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

of Saxony. She married on 7 December 1518 in Celle to

Charles II, Duke of Guelders Charles II (9 November 1467 – 30 June 1538) was a member of the House of Egmond who ruled as Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen from 1492 until his death. He was the son of Adolf of Egmond and Catharine of Bourbon. He had a principal role ...

(1467-1538). In the marriage contract Charles had kept open the line of succession in Lorraine. Elisabeth was promised a

jointure Jointure is, in law, a provision for a wife after the death of her husband. As defined by Sir Edward Coke, it is "a competent livelihood of freehold for the wife, of lands or tenements, to take effect presently in possession or profit after the dea ...

consisting of the distring and city of

, plus an annual pensionof 4000 gold guilders. The marriage remained childless. On 1528 in Gorinchem, Charles II of Guelders reached a compromise with Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

: Charles II would retain the Duchy of Guelders for the rest of his life, however, when he died, Charles V would inherit the Duchy.Theodor Joseph Lacomblet and Woldemar Harless: ''Archiv für die geschichte des Niederrheins'', vol. 5, Heberle, 1866, p. 27 Elisabeth survived her husband by 34 years. She resided at her

wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

in Geldern. As a devote Catholic, she supported her local parish church and the church in neighbouring

Kerken Kerken with the towns of Aldekerk, Eyll, Nieukerk and Stenden, is a municipality in the Cleves (district), district of Kleve in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, approx. 15 km no ...

generously, with monetary gifts and gifts in kind. In 1566, she suppressed an attempt to introduce the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in her territory. She died in Geldern on 2 April 1572 and was buried under the high altar of her parish church. A grave monument had been planned during her lifetime, however, it was not completed.

Ancestors

References

* Wilhelm J. J. Böhmer: ''Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Lüneburg: die letzte Herzogin von Geldern (1494-1572): nach archivalischen Quellen'', in ''Veröffentlichungen des Historischen Vereins für Geldern und Umgegend'', 1915 * Friedrich Nettesheim: ''Geschichte der Stadt und des Amtes Geldern'', vol. 1, Kühler, 1863, p. 218 and 235 ff * Johannes Stinner and Karl-Heinz Tekath: ''Herzogtum Geldern'', vol. 1, Verlag des Historischen Vereins für Geldern und Umgegend, 2001, p. 63

Footnotes

1494 births 1572 deaths Elisabeth 16th-century German people Elisabeth {{Germany-duchess-stub