Hedwig Of Brandenburg, Duchess Of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
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Hedwig of Brandenburg (23 February 1540 – 21 October 1602), a member of the
Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...
dynasty, was Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1568 to 1589, by her marriage with the Welf duke Julius.


Life

Born at the City Palace in
Cölln Cölln () was the Twin cities, twin city of Old Berlin (Alt-Berlin) from the 13th century to the 18th century. Cölln was located on the Fischerinsel, Fisher Island section of Spree Island, opposite Altberlin on the western bank of the River ...
(today part of
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 ...
), Hedwig was a younger daughter of Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg (1505–1571) from his second marriage with Hedwig Jagiellon (1513–1573), a daughter of King Sigismund I of Poland. Her elder sister Elizabeth Magdalena was married to Duke Francis Otto of Brunswick-Lüneburg in 1559; however, her husband died in the same year. One year later, on 25 February 1560, Hedwig was married in Cölln on the Spree river to the Welf prince Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1528–1589). Catherine's mother and Sophia Jagellion (stepmother to Julius) were sisters. The couple had met at the Küstrin court of Margrave John of Brandenburg, where Julius had fled in 1558 from his father, Duke
Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
. His two older brothers having died at Battle of Sievershausen, Julius had suddenly become the new heir - but he was disliked by his father for his intellectual pursuits, lack of interest in riding and hunting and for his adherence to Protestantism. This all came to a head in Easter 1558, when Julius refused to attend Catholic mass. This meant a final break with his father. He was able to avoid arrest by fleeing. There was also the fact that his father had remarried to Sophia Jagiellon, and with the possibility of his father having another son to replace him, Julius, fearing for his life, quickly left his father's court. After Julius had reconciled with his father, who had agreed only reluctantly to the marriage of his son with a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
princess, the couple received the castles of
Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...
and Schladen as residences. Duke Henry V was alleged to have appeared at Hessen Castle and let himself into the room of his daughter-in-law, took her newborn son Henry Julius from the cradle and exclaimed: ''You'll now have to be my beloved son!'' In 1568, Julius succeeded his father as ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. He turned out to be a capable ruler; nevertheless, he later came under the fraudulent influence of the
alchemists Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
Philipp Sömmering and Anne Marie Schombach (nicknamed ''Schlüter-Liese''), whom he received at the
Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...
court in 1571, and gradually estranged from his wife.Carl Eduard Vehse: ''Geschichte der deutschen Höfe seit der Reformation'', part 5, Hoffman and Campe, 1854, p. 281 Hedwig was described as pious and humble, with preference for domestic activities. In 1598, the theologician Stephan Prätorius dedicated his book ("The Widow's Consolation") to Hedwig.


Issue

From her marriage to Julius, Hedwig had the following children: * Sophie Hedwig (1561–1631) : married in 1577 Duke Ernest Louis of Pomerania-Wolgast (1545-1592) * Henry Julius (1564–1613), Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, married: *# in 1585, Princess Dorothea of Saxony (1563–1587) *# in 1590, Princess Elizabeth of Denmark (1573–1625) * Maria (1566–1626) : married in 1582, Duke Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg (1547-1619) * Elisabeth (1567–1618), married *# in 1583 to Count Adolf XI of Holstein-Schauenburg (d. 1601) *# in 1604 to Duke
Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...
of Brunswick-Harburg (d. 1606) * Philip Sigismund (1568–1623),
Bishop of Osnabrück A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and Verden * Margaret (1571–1580) * Joachim Charles (1573–1615) * Sabine Catharina (1574–1590) * Dorothea Augusta (1577–1625), Abbess of Gandersheim * Julius Augustus (1578–1617),
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of
Michaelstein Abbey Michaelstein Abbey (Kloster Michaelstein) is a former Cistercian monastery, now the home of the ''Stiftung Kloster Michaelstein - Musikinstitut für Aufführungspraxis'' ("Michaelstein Abbey Foundation - Music Institute for Performance"), near ...
* Hedwig (1580–1657) : married in 1621 Duke
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 ...
of Brunswick-Harburg (1572-1641)


References

* Inge Mager: ''Die Konkordienformel im Fürstentum Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel'', Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1993, p. 22 ff


Footnotes


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandenburg, Hedwig of, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel Hedwig Hedwig 1540 births 1602 deaths 16th-century German nobility Hedwig Daughters of prince-electors Mothers of German monarchs