Joachim II ( or ''Hektor''; 13 January 1505 – 3 January 1571) was a

Prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

(1535–1571), the sixth member 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 ...

. Joachim II was the eldest son of

Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

and his wife Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. He received the

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...

''Hector'' after the Trojan prince and warrior for his qualities and prowess.

Biography

Joachim II was born 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 ...

and received his education at the imperial court. His father, Joachim I Nestor, made Joachim Hector sign an inheritance contract in which he promised to remain

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. This was intended in part to assist Joachim Nestor's younger brother, the Archbishop-Elector Albert of Mainz. Albert had borrowed huge amounts from the banking house of

Fugger The House of Fugger () is a German family that was historically a prominent group of European bankers, members of the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century mercantile patriciate of Augsburg, international mercantile bankers, and venture capitalists. ...

in order to pay the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

for his elevation to the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt and for a dispensation permitting him to hold both the

Archbishopric of Magdeburg The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Catholic Church, Latin Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Bishopric, Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 95 ...

and

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

. This provided the Hohenzollerns with control over two of the seven electoral votes in imperial elections and many suffragan dioceses to levy dues. Joachim Nestor, who had co-financed this accumulation of offices, agreed to let Albert recover these costs by the sale of

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

s to his subjects. Joachim's neighbor,

John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony John Frederick I (, 30 June 1503 – 3 March 1554), called the Magnanimous (), was the Elector of Saxony (1532–1547) until he was deprived of this title in the Capitulation of Wittenberg by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. He was leading the Sc ...

, forbade the sale of indulgences, because Albert had outbid his candidate for the see of Mainz, but also on principle, being persuaded by his subject

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

. Thus repayment of the debt to the Fugger depended on the sale of indulgences to Catholic believers in Brandenburg. However, had Joachim Hector not agreed to this, he would likely have been passed over in the line of inheritance. His first marriage was to Magdalena of Saxony from the ducal Albertine line 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 ...

. She died in 1534. In 1535 he married Hedwig, daughter of King

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

of Poland. As the Jagiellon dynasty was Catholic, Joachim II promised Sigismund that he would not make Hedwig change her religious affiliation. Joachim II nimmt das Abendmahl

With the deaths of his father Joachim Nestor (1535) and father-in-law Sigismund (1548), Joachim turned gradually to the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. On 1 November 1539, he received

Communion under both kinds Communion under both kinds in Roman Catholicism is the reception under both "species" (i.e., both the consecrated bread and wine) of the Eucharist. Denominations of Christianity that hold to a doctrine of Communion under both kinds may believe ...

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

's St. Nicholas' Church, an act that indicated a degree of sympathy with the new religious ideas. However, Joachim did not explicitly adopt

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

until 1555, to avoid open confrontation with his ally, Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * 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 Others * Charles V, Duke ...

. Prior to this, Joachim promulgated a conservative church order that was Lutheran in doctrine, but retained many traditional religious institutions and observances, such as the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, much of the

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in Latin, religious plays and

feast days The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

. In early 1539, at the diet of princes of

imperial immediacy In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...

(''Fürstentag'') of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Lutheran spokesman

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

revealed to the gathered princes (among them Joachim) that the anti-Jewish

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

s of 1510 in Brandenburg had been based on a feigned

host desecration Host desecration is a form of sacrilege in Christian denominations that follow the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It involves the mistreatment or malicious use of a consecrated Sacramental bread, host—the bread used in ...

. This pogrom had resulted in the expulsion of the

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s from Brandenburg. The Jewish advocate Josel von Rosheim, who was also in attendance, pleaded privately with Joachim to allow the Jews to settle in the Brandenburg again. Joachim acceded to this request on 25 June 1539. Joachim not only loved hunting in person, he also spent great sums on live lions, bears, wolves, and other beasts which he made to fight each other. He also maintained no fewer than eleven

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 ...

at his court over a mere ten-year period. Because of these and other extravagances, although Joachim I had left the country's finances in satisfactory order, by 1540 Joachim II was over 600,000 thalers in debt, which he attempted to pay off by confiscating church property and raising taxes. His wife Hedwig's mother Barbara Zápolya was a sister of

John Zápolya John Zápolya or Szapolyai (; ; ; ; 1487 – 22 July 1540), was King of Hungary (as John I) from 1526 to 1540. His rule was disputed by Archduke Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I, who also claimed the title King of Hungary. He wa ...

, who had claimed the vacant throne of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

after King Louis II was killed in battle against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1526. However, Joachim supported Ferdinand of Habsburg, who also claimed the crown and challenged the Turkish invaders. In 1542 Joachim assisted Ferdinand against the Ottomans at the Siege of Buda (1541). He commanded an army of Austrian, Hungarian, German, Bohemian, Italian, and Dalmatian troops, but the Elector was not a seasoned warrior and eventually beat a retreat. He was defeated again by the Ottomans in the Siege of Pest in 1542. As a part of the alliance, in 1545 Joachim held a gala double wedding celebration for his two children, John George and Barbara. They were married to Sophie of Legnica and George, both children of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

Duke Frederick II of Legnica in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

.A. Sammter: ''Chronik von Liegnitz'', ed. by W. Pfingsten, 1868, p. 191. Joachim was a brother-in-law of King

Sigismund II Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

of Poland. In 1569, he paid Sigismund for a deed of

enfeoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...

which made Joachim and his issue heirs to

Ducal Prussia The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...

in case of the extinction of the Prussian Hohenzollern line. In 1571, Joachim died in the Köpenick Palace, which he had built in 1558.

Marriages and children

With Magdalena of Saxony (1507–1534): *

John George, Elector of Brandenburg John George of Brandenburg (; 11 September 1525 – 8 January 1598) was a prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571–1598). Early life Born as a member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the son of Joachim II Hector, Elector ...

(1525–1598), had issue * Barbara of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brieg (1527–1595), had issue * Elisabeth (1 April 1528 – 20 August 1529) died in infancy * Frederick IV of Brandenburg (1530–1552), Archbishop of Magdeburg and Bishop of Halberstadt * Albrecht (15 February 1532 – 16 February 1532) died in infancy. * Georg (15 February 1532 – 15 February 1532) died in infancy. * Paul (4 January 1534 – 4 January 1534) died in infancy. With Hedwig Jagiellon (1513–1573): * Elisabeth Magdalena (6 November 1537 – 1 September 1595), married Francis Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, *

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

(1538–1566), Archbishop of Magdeburg and Bishop of Halberstadt * Hedwig (1540–1602), married

Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg (also known as Julius of Braunschweig; 29 June 1528 – 3 May 1589), a member of the House of Welf, was Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling List of rulers of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, ...

, * Sophia (14 December 1541 – 27 June 1564), married William of Rosenberg, * Joachim (14 January 1543 – 23 March 1544) died in infancy.

Ancestry

References

External links

Joachim Hector co-inherits Ducal Prussia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joachim 02 Hector, Elector of Brandenburg 1505 births 1571 deaths Prince-electors of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern German Lutherans Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism People of the Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary (1526–1568)

Biography

Marriages and children

Ancestry

References

Further reading

External links