Ursula of Brandenburg (25 September 1450 – 25 November 1508) was a princess of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

by birth and by marriage Duchess of Münsterberg and Oels and Countess of Glatz.

Life

Ursula was the eldest child of the Elector Albrecht Achilles of Brandenburg (1414–1486) from his first marriage to

Margarete of Baden Margaret of Baden (1431 – 24 October 1457) was a Margravine of Baden by birth and by marriage Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach. She was the daughter of Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden, and his wife Catherine of ...

(1431–1457). The princess was considered a favorite child of her father and one of the most prominent victims of the

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. Cases whe ...

in the 15th century. First, she had been promised to Duke Albert the Brave of Saxony. When he broke off the engagement, she was passed on to his older brother,

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

. When this engagement was also dissolved, the next marriage candidate was Duke Henry the Elder of Münsterberg-Oels (1448–1498), son of the Bohemian king

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...

. In 1466

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II (; ; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in 1471. When his maternal uncle became Pope Eugene IV, Barbo switched fr ...

disapproved of the engagement as a "blasphemous connection with a heretic", and Ursula and her father were

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

. The relations between Brandenburg and Emperor Frederick III also worsened due to the engagement. George of Poděbrady and Abrecht Achilles created a

defensive alliance A defense pact ( Commonwealth spelling: defence pact) is a type of treaty or military alliance in which the signatories promise to support each other militarily and to defend each other.Volker Krause, J. David Singer "Minor Powers, Alliances, And ...

against all the opponents of the marriage. Without telling her father, Ursula secretly became engaged to Count Rudolph III of Sulz, Landgrave in Klettgau. The pope dissolved this engagement, and she eventually married in

Cheb Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River. Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...

(), on 9 February 1467, Duke Henry the Elder of Münsterberg. The ban imposed on Ursula and her father was lifted in 1471.Georg H. Nicolovius: ''Erinnerungen an die Kurfürsten von Brandenburg '', Perthes, 1838, S. 25

Issue

From her marriage to Henry of Münsterberg, Ursula had the following children: *

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

(3 August 1468 – 12 July 1511), Duke of Münsterberg-Oels : married in 1487 Princess Salome (1475/76-1514), daughter of Duke

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–114 ...

Żagań Żagań (French language, French and , ) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019), capital of Żagań County in the Lubusz Voivodeship, located in the historic region of Lower Silesia. Founded in the 12th ce ...

and Großglogau *

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

(2 October 1470 – 10 November 1502), Duke of Münsterberg-Oels : married in 1488 Princess Jadwiga (1476–1524), also a daughter of John II of Żagań * John (23 June 1472 – 7 August 1472) *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(25 August 1473 – 28 June 1530) : married in 1494 Prince

of Anhalt-Dessau *

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

(2/4 May 1476 – 31 May 1536) : married in 1488 Princess

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

(1480/83-1541), also a daughter of John II of Żagań * Louis (21 June 1479 – 27 April 1480) * Magdalena (25 January 1482 – 11 April 1513) * Sidonie () (3 June 1483 – 1522), married in 1515

Ulrich of Hardegg Ulrich of Hardegg ( or or ; after 1483 – 1535) was an Austrian nobleman from the Prüschenk family of Count of Hardegg. He was "Cup-bearer" of Austria, which, by this time, was a title of nobility and no longer involved looking after the ...

References

* Karl Friedrich Pauli: ''Allgemeine preussissche Staats-Geschichte, bis auf gegenwärtige Regierung'', vol 1, 1761, p. 369 * Samuel Buchholtz: ''Versuch einer Geschichte der Churmarck Brandenburg'', F. W. Birnstiel, 1767, p. 216 * ''Heidelberger Jahrbücher der Literatur'', vol. 55, Mohr und Zimmer, 1862, p. 820
Digitized

GenaNet

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ursula of Brandenburg, Duchess of Munsterberg and Oels, Countess of Glatz House of Hohenzollern 1450 births 1508 deaths Duchesses in Germany Podiebrad family 15th-century nobility from Bohemia 16th-century nobility from Bohemia 15th-century women from Bohemia 16th-century women from Bohemia Daughters of prince-electors People excommunicated by the Catholic Church