Sidonie of Saxony
Sidonie (also Sidonia ) of Saxony ( born March 8, 1518 Meissen, † January 4, 1575 in White Rock ) was Wettin princess and by marriage Duchess of Brunswick- Lüneburg and Princess of Calenberg- Göttingen.
Life
Family
Sidonie was a daughter of Duke Henry of Saxony (1473-1541) from his marriage to Catherine (1487-1561), daughter of Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg. Her brothers were the Saxon Elector Moritz and August, her sister Sibyl was since 1540 Duchess of Saxe- Lauenburg and her sister Aemilia since 1533 Margravine of Brandenburg- Ansbach.
Sidonie married on May 17, 1545 to 10 years younger Duke Erich II of Brunswick- Lüneburg ( 1528-1584 ). The wedding ceremony was held without " pomp and Expenses" in Munden.
Marriage
In the beginning, the couple was extremely inclined. In order to marry, Sidonie, Erich had dissolved an existing engagement to Agnes of Hesse. The marriage negotiations at the court in Kassel he had met Sidonie. Landgrave Philip of Hesse predicted: " It will be in this marriage after nerve ending of Küssmonats all sorts gather. "
Two years after the marriage converted Duke Erich to the Catholic faith after 1542 in his duchy, the Reformation had been introduced again and he came in 1547 to the government. Sidonie remained, in spite of all the action of her husband at her Lutheran faith. Also, money problems and childlessness marriage soon led to an extremely unfortunate course of the relationship of the Duke and Duchess.
The dispute culminated in her suspicion that her husband wanted to poison them. A Genoese had turned to Sidonie's brother August 1555 and informed him that Duke Erich I ordered poison with him on the grounds Erich " was a Christian and his wife would be Lutheran, it is better that a woman was going to reason than 20,000 people ". Erich turned to another woman, with whom he lived in 1563 at Schloss Calenberg, Sidonie was denied access to the castle, which was also due to the fact that they threatened, " if they come to the house, she wanted the whore cut off the nose and an eye gouge. "
Accusation of witchcraft
From 1564 to Sidonie was under virtual house arrest and protested vigorously at her brother and the Emperor. August sent councils that sought unsuccessfully to find a balance. Duke Erich fell ill in 1564 and heavily suspected poisoning. That's why four women were suspected of witchcraft and burned as witches in Neustadt am Ruebenberge. 1570 came through the mediation of the Emperor, the Elector of Saxony and the Duke Julius of Brunswick to a settlement of financial disputes between husband and wife, in Sidonie also lock Calenberg was assured that was not respected by Erich.
On March 30, 1572 called Duke Erich on Landestrost Castle in Neustadt some of his councilors, nobles and deputies of the cities of Hanover and Hameln to submit them testimonies and evidence that Sidonie of sorcery and the stop accusing the lives of the Duke and of the under torture carried out interrogations of suspected witchcraft women came. Sidonie turned to Emperor Maximilian II and asked for a revision, plus they secretly left Kalenberg and traveled to Vienna. Emperor Maximilian decreed then that the investigation should be carried out at the Imperial Court, but turned over the matter to the dukes and Julius Wilhelm of Brunswick.
On December 17, 1573 issue to great public interest in Halberstadt was negotiated, with all that time witnesses recanted their testimony against Sidonie and the Duchess was acquitted on January 1, 1574 all charges.
From Vienna Sidonie traveled in October 1572 to Dresden to her brother and his wife. Instead of the castle and its Calenberg retained by Duke Erich silver they finally got after several compare compensation and a pension for life. Elector Augustus gave her the Klarissenkloster Weissenfels with all agreements and interest, where Sidonie lived until her death.
Duke Julius of Brunswick did not succeed because of the resistance Sidonie, settled amicably the financial affairs of the investigation because of the Giftmischerei. Sidonie wrote Duke Julius 1573: " because Duke Erich's arduous blew out accusation I do not know how to speak, to the clothes, but to the honor, which is the highest and best gem particularly poor wenches in this world goes. "
In her will, Sidonie had intended to be buried in the cathedral at Freiberg and leave their negotiators in the process in Halberstadt significant sums.
Drive up
Elector Frederick I of Saxony (1370-1428) ∞ 1402 Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1395-1442)
Duke Ernst the Iron (1377-1424) ∞ 1412 Cimburgis of Mazovia ( 1394/97-1429 )
Viktorin of Podiebrad (1403-1427) Anna von Wartenberg (1403-1427)
Nobles Smil von Sternberg († 1431) Barbara of Pardubice († 1433 )
Duke John IV of Mecklenburg (1370-1422) ∞ 1416 Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1400-1450)
Elector Frederick I of Brandenburg (1371-1440) ∞ 1401 Elisabeth of Bavaria (1383-1442)
Wartislaw IX. (1400-1457) ∞ 1420 Sophia of Brunswick- Lüneburg ( † 1462 )
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Elector Frederick II (1412-1464) ∞ 1431 Margaret of Austria (1416-1486)
King George of Podiebrad (1420-1471) ∞ 1441 Cunegonde von Sternberg (1425-1449)
Duke Henry IV of Mecklenburg (1417-1477) ∞ 1432 Dorothea of Brandenburg (1420-1491)
Eric II of Pomerania - Wolgast (1425-1474) ∞ 1451 Sophia of Pomerania - Stolp
Duke Albrecht the Brave (1443-1500) ∞ 1464 Sidonie of Bohemia (1449-1510)
Duke Magnus II (1441-1503) ∞ 1478 Sophie of Pomerania (1460-1504)
Duke Henry the Pious (1473-1541) ∞ 1512 Catherine of Mecklenburg (1487-1561)
Sidonie of Saxony
Swell
- Martin stool: A Christian Leich sermons, VBER the corpse of the high-born princess Durchleuchtigen VND frawn, Frawen Sidonien Hertzogin natives of Saxony, Duchess of Brunswick VND VND Lüneburg, done to Freibergk in Thumkirchen. By M. Martinum stool preachers to Weissenfels etc. Schwertel 1575th