She was considered a reformation Princess, but her marriage conceived
accusations of witchcraft. It was her son and heir who dared to disobey,
which led to despair and a broken heart. Let's now look at the life of
Elisabeth of Brandenburg.
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Cölln between the 13th and
18th centuries was located opposite Altberlin, but both cities were merged
by Frederick the first of Prussia to form the modern day Berlin. It was in
Cölln that Elisabeth was born. Her father was Joachim I of
Brandenburg and his wife, Elisabeth, who was the daughter of King John the
first of Denmark. Her upbringing would be of a rigorous religious and
Her upbringing would be of a rigorous religious and
humanist approach, which would remain with her throughout life. By the age
of 15. Elisabeth would marry on the seventh of July 1525, to Eric the first
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He would become her husband at the grand
old age of 55. However, the marriage was described as happy despite the age
difference, and the couple had four children, Elisabeth, Eric, Anna Maria,
and Katherine. Eric was a man who had been a brave fighter throughout his
life. He had taken part in the 1497 campaign against the Turks and would
become close to Emperor Maximilian the first with whom he served. However,
the age gap at times seemed just too large to bridge, and the couple had some
torrid times throughout the early part of the marriage. In 1528, one such
outrage broke out when Elisabeth accused a lady called Anna von Rumschottel;
She was a Gentry figure yet one who had also had a long affair
with her husband as his mistress. Elisabeth accused Anna of being
responsible for the complications she had during her second pregnancy. So
much so that Elisabeth threatened with outing Anna as a witch and implored
her husband to have her burned at the stake. Elisabeth sent spies and foot
soldiers to the town of Münden, a place thought to be the hideout of Anna,
but when they arrived, she was gone. It didn't deter the men from seeking
out her friends and accomplices and some were arrested, tortured and
eventually burned at the stake. Elisabeth's child would be born healthy and
her son would now go on to become her husband, Eric's heir to the throne.
Once the anger had died down, the couple put the whole sorry incident
involving Anna behind them.
In 1534 Elisabeth paid a visit to her mother,
who was residing at Lichtenburg Castle. It would be while here she would
first meet Martin Luther. He was a German professor of theology and a
significant figure in the Reformation. He was a man who rejected some
teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. One in particular,
was his views on indulgences. Elisabeth found a particular attraction to
Luther. His beliefs and ideologies would leave their mark on her. The
couple began writing regularly and gifts were also sent, including a German
Bible translation which Luther had dispatched to Elisabeth.
By 1538, Elisabeth was now accepting of these new ideas to the point where
she was contemplating a move to the new Lutheran ways. On the sixth of
October, she had spoken with Philip of Hesse with regards to the conversion. It
was now she also invited Anton Corvinus to move nearer to Münden. At first,
her husband Eric, although disputing the faith accepted Elisabeth's
request, it would go against all he had been brought up on yet he admired
his wife for taking the plunge and showing great strength and courage. But
for Eric, these were troubling times. He didn't want to be associated with
Lutheranism or be pestered by the likes of Philip of Hesse, who was the
political leader of the Protestants. If he did go down the same road as his
wife, it could also mean trouble from the Emperor. As Eric was due to meet
the Emperor at a Diet meeting in Hagenau in 1540. Eric decided to write his
will Before leaving, just in case. His son at this time was not old enough
to take the throne, which meant that a regent would have to come into play.
One name was eager to take control; he was Heinz of Wolfenbüttel, but Eric
appointed Elisabeth but she would also need a guardian. Decisions were now
difficult, nevermind in plotting the future. The problem was Philip and
Heinz were constantly at each other's throats. That was until Philip had
him arrested and locked up for two years. Eric must have felt death was
near; after he arrived in Hagenau, he died on 30 July 1540, aged 70.
Yet so depleted was his Treasury, he had to remain in state for a year
before the money could be given to transport him back home.
Eric's son was only 12 at the time, and it would be Elisabeth and Philip who would control
things for the next five years. Her time as Regent was marked by many
difficulties. She struggled both with the country's debt burden caused by
her husband and with the prejudices of those who did not want to recognise
her guardianship claim to rule. Nevertheless, Elisabeth made full use of
her possibilities as Regent, and it advanced the Principality through
social and political reforms and the Lutheran reformation which was
considered the most important. She approached Philip and asked for a
minister to be sent to put in motion her plan of action. Anton Corvinus, a
man who was ardent, able and fearless, headed up this new operation.
One thing Elisabeth wanted now was to raise her son in this new era of
reformed religion. For Philip, it was not so easy, and he had made a
significant mistake in his potential rise through the Lutheran ranks after
claims he had become a bigamist in 1540. This was one thing that couldn't
be accepted. Yet, he informed Lutheran theologians that if he had a wife he
really cared for, he would restrict himself to her. One can only imagine
the laughter that followed that statement. Elisabeth, undaunted by all the
furore going on around her, continued to promote her son. He was assessed for
leadership by Martin Luther, who gave him a clean bill of health but
secretly spoke to Corvinus that he hoped Eric would not succumb to pressures
in which princes often found themselves. With her work seemingly complete
for now. Elisabeth would start a new relationship, this time with Duke Poppo
of Hennenburg, a solid Lutheran prince. Eric was now at the age where a
marriage could be significant in moving forward. Elisabeth had already set
this plan in motion, and pre arranged this with Phillips daughter Anna of
Hesse in 1554. You'd think, Good news for Eric, but no, on the
contrary, as Eric had his eyes on another, and had fallen in love with a
girl called Sidonie, she was the sister of the Duke of Saxony. But Eric
eventually got his way. Elisabeth cancelled the wedding she thought was
best for him and Eric plumped for a 10 year old. They married on the 17th
of May 1545.
By 1546 Elisabeth now married Count Poppo. But her happiness
soon started to wane after she heard that her son Eric was falling back
into the beliefs of Catholicism. His reason for this was to have greater
opportunities at the imperial court. In 1548, Eric accepted what he must
now do! Reformers were arrested, including Corvinus. In total, around
140, others fell to the same fate. As for Corvinus he would now be held
at Calenburg Castle. Elisabeth was devoid of any ideas now about what to do,
and so turned her attention to other matters.
In 1550, she had arranged a
marriage for her daughter Anna Marie to the Duke Albert of Prussia. This
was on the back of some correspondence between the pair which had stretched
back many years. But after her son took over the government, both
Elisabeth's financial and political struggle would continue. In the peace
negotiations after the bloody Battle of Sievershausen in 1553, in which
Eric the younger fought together with Albrecht of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
against the Catholic princes Heinrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
This all culminated in Elisabeth now being deprived of her widows estate.
Elisabeth now lived in Hanover for the next two years, under
challenging circumstances and heavily in debt until 1555, when the Duke of
Wolfenbüttel finally settled. She was able to leave the Principality.
Until her death, she resisted her son's attempts to reverse
the Reformation, integrate the state of Calenberg-Göttingen into a
Catholic league and connect the family with old believing princely houses
through his marriage policy. More problems lay ahead for Elisabeth when her
son married her youngest daughter to a Catholic William of Rosenberg. He
said this was to provide much needed funds. But Elisabeth found herself now
on what seemed like an eternal slippery slope. Elisabeth would have none of
this, although she did agree to attend the wedding. Yet, once she arrived,
she then found out that Eric had already married the couple and given his
mother the incorrect date of the wedding so that she couldn't interfere.
It seemed after all Elisabeth had done for her son, it had now completely
backfired. He was ruler, and he certainly made the rules. Unfortunately for
his mother, she would be cast aside.
After decades of political disputes
and financial problems, Elisabeth finally gave up all hope. The recent
events were all too much for her, and she was brokenhearted, and in deep
despair about what she could have done so very wrong, that caused her son to be this way.
In 1558, Elisabeth succumbed and passed away. Her body was
first buried in the monastery church of Vessra, but in 1566 she was
transferred to the St. Aegidien Chapel at St. John's Church in Schleusingen.
The literary activity of Elisabeth is in many ways typical of the
writing of women in the early modern period. Her guides to marriage, ruling
and even being a widow are quite revealing. Although we wouldn't describe
her work as literature in the traditional sense, but one that consists of
texts that serve practical rather than aesthetic purposes. Her lyrical
writings all stand in a broader tradition of Protestant literature and
document Elisabeth's political and religious struggle in her time. Maybe
the failings of Elisabeth were actually successes, although certainly not
with Eric, her son. He went off to serve the Emperor around Europe before
death caught up with him, and he was buried at Pavia. In Elisabeth's book
about consolation for widows, she wrote, "no one without experience knows
the anguish which children can cause, and yet be loved." We must say finally,
that Elisabeth victory was not with her son, but in the triumph of her own cause.
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