William the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

William the Younger, Duke of Brunswick- Lüneburg ( * July 4, 1535; † August 20, 1592 ) was, together with his brother Henry from 1559 to 1569, 1569 to then into autocracy Prince of Lüneburg.

Life

From 1569 Wilhelm supported the Younger with the Corpus Doctrinae Wilhelminum the reform of the Principality. The legal system was reorganized, introduced the High Court and promoted trade. William signed the Formula of Concord of 1577 and the Book of Concord of 1580th Since autumn 1577 Duke William the Younger suffered from a mental illness that initially improved, but reappeared in 1582. Duchess Dorothea sought the advice of relatives and doctors could actually help anyone. Because of their requirement to include the Duke to his own and the safety of the family, they had a falling out with the leading officials of the Duke. Finally, even the Emperor Rudolf II had to intervene, an imperial commission recommended strict custody. The psychological problems disappeared fortunately for several years, but in 1587 they started again. Duke William the Younger could no longer perform his duties and was found at his residence Celle under room arrest. Since the sons were minors, a government of the governors and councils took over, led by Phillip of Grubenhagen and William wife Dorothea managing the Principality.

Progeny

William was the son of Duke Ernst the Confessor and was with Dorothea, Princess of Denmark since October 12, 1561 ( born June 29, 1546 Kolding, † January 6, 1617 in Winsen (Luhe ) ), a daughter of King Christian III. married from Denmark. Their children were:

  • Sofie (* October 30, 1563; † 14 Januarjul / January 24 1639greg. . ) ∞ since 1579 with Georg Friedrich I of Brandenburg -Ansbach
  • Ernst (1564-1611)
  • Elisabeth ( * October 19, 1565: † July 17, 1621 ) ∞ Friedrich Graf von Hohenlohe -Langenburg ( 1553-1590 )
  • Christian (1566-1633), Bishop of Minden
  • August the Elder (1568-1636), Bishop of Ratzeburg
  • Dorothea (* January 1, 1570; † August 15, 1649 ) ∞ Karl, Count Palatine of Birkenfeld ( 1560-1600 )
  • Clara ( born January 16, 1571 † July 18, 1658 ) ∞ since March 7, 1593 Wilhelm Graf von Schwarzburg- Blankenburg
  • Anne Ursula (* March 22, 1572; † February 5, 1601 )
  • Margaret (* April 6, 1573; † August 1643 ) ∞ since September 16, 1599 Johann Casimir of Saxe- Coburg
  • Friedrich ( * August 28, 1574, † December 10, 1648 )
  • Marie ( * October 21, 1575; † August 8, 1610 )
  • Magnus (* August 30, 1577, † February 10, 1632 )
  • Georg von Calenberg (1582-1641), the progenitor of today's surviving line
  • Johann (* June 23, 1583, † November 27, 1628 )
  • Sybille (* June 3, 1584; † August 5, 1652 ) ∞ Ernst Julius of Brunswick- Dannenberg ( 1571-1636 )

William the Younger was buried in the royal crypt in St. Mary's Church in Celle. After the death of William drew his widow Dorothea 1593 Winsener the castle as a widow seat.

Succession

After William's death, his sons agreed to carry out any further division of the inheritance of the New House of Lüneburg, but undivided reign, the Principality of Celle. The lot should also decide which of the sons could marry befitting. This lot fell to his son George, so that his sons even allowed to take the succession from him and his brothers. This solution, however, has essentially only to the Welf inheritance 1635 constituents.

Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach Julius Ernst, Duke of Brunswick-Dannenberg Flyer (pamphlet) Integrated Authority File
820575
de