Elisabeth of Brunswick-Calenberg
{{infobox nobility
| name = Elisabeth of Brunswick-Calenberg
| image =
| caption =
| noble family = House of Guelph
| father = Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
| mother = Elisabeth of Brandenburg
| spouse = George Ernest of Henneberg
| birth_date = 8 April 1526
| birth_place = Nienover
| death_date = {{death date and age|1566|8|19|1526|4|8|df=yes}}
| death_place = Schleusingen
| burial_place = Castle church in Schleusingen
}}
Elisabeth of Brunswick-Calenberg (8 April 1526 in Nienover – 19 August 1566 in Schleusingen) was a princess of Brunswick-Calenberg by birth and by marriage a Countess of Henneberg.
Life
Elizabeth was the eldest child of the Duke Eric I of Brunswick-Calenberg and his wife Elisabeth (1510-1558), the daughter of Elector Joachim I of Brandenburg. Elisabeth was raised as a strict Protestant by her mother.
Elisabeth married on 19 August 1543 in Münden to Count George Ernest of Henneberg (1511-1583). His brother Poppo XII had married Elisabeth's mother two years earlier. Her mother, her brother Eric II and her cousin Joachim II Hector guaranteed her dowry of {{gaps|20|000|guilders}}. The monastery at Weende contributed 350 guilders towards this dowry.Wilhelm Havemann: Geschichte der Lande Braunschweig und Lüneburg, 1855, p. 349 As her jointure, she was promised the districts of Schleusingen, Themar and Suhl.Ferdinand Werther: Chronik der Stadt Suhl in der gefürsteten Grafschaft Henneberg, vol. 1, Manitius, 1846, p. 113 Via his marriage to Elisabeth, George Ernest came into contact with the leading Protestant dynasties in Germany.
Elisabeth's marriage remained childless. She was devoted to piety and charity and was considered "peaceful". As a strictly evangelical countess consort, she played a decisive rôle in converting the county of Henneberg to Protestantism.Johann Jakob Herzog: Real-encyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche, R. Besser, 1862, p. 136 The county provided asylum to several displaced Protestant preachers.Ernst Daniel Martin Kirchner: Die Churfürstinnen und Königinnen auf dem Throne der Hohenzollern, Wiegandt & Grieben, 1866, p. 287
Elisabeth died on 19 August 1566 and was buried in the castle church in Schleusingen. Her grave was decorated with an epitaph which had been crafted during her lifetime.Hennebergischer Altertumsforschender Verein: Einladungsschrift zur ... Jahresfestfeier des Hennebergischen Alterthumsforschenden Vereins in Meiningen, vol. 11, 1843, p. 14 [https://books.google.com/books?id=-QE_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PT13 Online] Prior to her death, the Henneberg family buried their dead in Vessra Abbey, however, George Ernest decided to move the family burial location to the Schleusingen.{{Cite web |url=http://www.schleusingen.de/stadt/schloss_bert2.php |title=Schloss Bertholdsburg |access-date=2012-04-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714000953/http://www.schleusingen.de/stadt/schloss_bert2.php |archive-date=2012-07-14 |url-status=dead }}
References
- Johann Adolph Schultes: Diplomatische Geschichte des Gräflichen Hauses Henneberg, Böhme, 1791, p. 194 ff
- Carl Wernicke: Die Geschichte der Welt, part 1, vol. 3, Duncker, 1855, p. 13
External links
- http://thepeerage.com/p769.htm#i7682
Footnotes
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Category:Middle House of Brunswick
Category:Countesses in the Holy Roman Empire
Category:16th-century German nobility