Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Saxony (15 March 1504,

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

– 26 February 1539, Dresden) was a German nobleman and member of the

Albertine branch The Albertine branch is a German princely family of the House of Wettin. The name derives from the progenitor of the line, Albert III, Duke of Saxony. The Albertine branch ruled from 1485 to 1918 as dukes, electors and kings in Saxony. History o ...

of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

Life

He was the seventh child and fifth son of

George, Duke of Saxony George the Bearded ( Meissen, 27 August 1471 – Dresden, 17 April 1539) was Duke of Saxony from 1500 to 1539 known for his opposition to the Reformation. While the Ernestine line embraced Lutheranism, the Albertines (headed by George) were ...

and

Barbara Jagiellon Barbara Jagiellon (, ; 15 July 1478 – 15 February 1534) was a princess of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, member of the Jagiellonian dynasty and by marriage Duchess of Saxony. Born in Sandomierz, she was the sixth ...

, and grandson of

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

. Mentally disabled, he was the second of only four of their ten children to survive to adulthood and, on the death of his elder brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

in 1537, succeeded him as

hereditary prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

. In Dresden on 27 January 1539, he married the Catholic Elisabeth (ca. 1516–1541), daughter of

Ernest II, Count of Mansfeld-Vorderort Ernest II, Count of Mansfeld-Vorderort (6 December 1479 - 9 May 1531, Artern) was a German nobleman from the Mansfeld-Vorderort line of the House of Mansfeld. He was the fifth child and third son of Albert III (V), Count of Mansfeld, Lord in Mansf ...

and sister of

Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort (20 July 1517 – 25 May 1604) was a Spanish Imperial army commander of German origin and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1592 to 1594. Born in Heldrungen, Saxony, he was the 11th child (of 16) of ...

. However, he died four weeks later and the marriage was childless. On the day of his death, Frederick's father released him from his obligation to do homage: George had hoped that "his obedient son e Frederickwould leave behind him so many seeds that his e George'slands might have a ruling lord". Guido Görres, Georg Maria von Jochner, George Phillips (ed.s)
Historisch-politische Blätter für das katholische Deutschland, Volume 46, S. 587
/ref> Frederick was buried in the chapel at

Meissen Cathedral Meissen Cathedral or the Church of St John and St Donatus () is a Gothic church in Meissen in Saxony. It is situated on the castle hill of Meissen, adjacent to the Albrechtsburg castle and forms a critical centrepiece of the iconic Meissen skyli ...

. George promoted the marriage of Frederick's widow, Elisabeth, to Maurice, son of George's Lutheran younger brother,

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 ...

. Henry vetoed the idea and, soon afterwards, inherited the Duchy of Saxony from George when the latter died without surviving male issue in April 1539, less than two months after Frederick. The Duchy thus passed out of Catholic hands.

Bibliography (in German)

* Karl Wilhelm Böttiger
Geschichte des Kurstaates und Königreiches Sachsen ..., S. 485
* Friedrich Albert von Langenn
Moritz, Herzog und Churfuerst zu Sachsen: eine Darstellung aus dem ..., Volume 1, S. 72
* Matthäus Ratzeberger
Luther und seine Zeit, S. 169
* Franz Otto Stichart
Das Königreich Sachsen und seine Fürsten: e. geschichtl. Abriß für Schule u ..., S. 143

References

{{Authority control 1504 births 1539 deaths Nobility from Dresden Crown princes of Saxony House of Wettin Albertine branch Heirs apparent who never acceded Sons of dukes