Tags
Albert II of Germany, Anna of Austria, Elector Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg, Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg, Elizabeth of Denmark, Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg, Hedwig Jagiellon of Poland, King Sigismund of Poland, Margaret of Thuringia, Norway, Sweden
Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (June 24, 1485 – June 10, 1555) the daughter of King Hans of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and his spouse, Princess Christina of Saxony, the daughter of Elector Ernst of Saxony from 1464 to 1486 and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria a daughter of the Duke Albrecht the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (1401–1460) from his marriage to Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck (1420–1474).
Biography
As a child, Elizabeth had a close relation with her brother, the future King Christian II of Denmark. She was able to read and write in both Danish and German. On April 10, 1502 she married Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, in a double wedding alongside her uncle, the future King Frederik I of Denmark, and her sister-in-law Anna of Brandenburg.
Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg and his sister, Anna of Brandenburg, were the children of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg and Margaret of Thuringia, the daughter of Wilhelm III, Landgrave of Thuringia and Anne of Austria, Duchess of Luxembourg suo jure.
Anne of Austria was the daughter of Albert II the Magnanimous elected King of the Romans/Germany. Through his wife (jure uxoris) Elizabeth of Luxembourg, he also became King of Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and inherited a claim to the Duchy of Luxembourg.
Elizabeth and Joachim got along quite well during the first twenty years of their marriage and co-existed harmoniously. She received her mother in 1507, attended her brother Christian’s wedding in 1515 and received Christian in 1523.
Her spouse was a pugnacious adherent of Roman Catholic orthodoxy during the Reformation. In 1523, she attended a sermon of Martin Luther’s with her brother and her sister-in-law and became a convinced Protestant. In 1527, she received the Protestant communion in public: this meant a public break with the Catholic Church, and caused a conflict with her husband.
In 1528, her husband asked a clerical council from the Catholic Church if he should divorce, execute or isolate her if she refused to renounce her new conviction. The church council replied that he should have her imprisoned.
Elizabeth escaped to the court of her uncle, Johann, Elector of Saxony, and a public debate broke out: the Protestant monarchs and her brother supported her, Luther supported her freedom to leave her husband for her religion, and she declared that she would return only if she was allowed to keep her conviction and if her husband renounced his adultery and his interest in astrology.
Otherwise, she suggested that they separate, referring to the separation of her own parents in 1504. She was given a residence near Wittenberg. Her husband refused to give her an allowance and forbade her sons to visit her. In 1532, her uncle died and her brother was imprisoned, and she thereby lost her supporters.
In 1535, her husband died and her sons asked her to return to Brandenburg, but changed their minds when she made the demand that the parishes in her dowry lands be made Protestant. She finally returned in 1545 and stayed in Spandau.
The marriage of her son Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, to Hedwig Jagiellon did not satisfy Elizabeth.
Hedwig Jagiellon of Poland was the eldest daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of Poland and his first wife, Hungarian Countess Barbara Zápolya, sister of the later King John I of Hungary. She was also a direct descendant of Albrecht II the Magnanimous King of the Romans/Germany and Sigismund of Luxembourg, Holy Roman Emperor.
Through her descent from Albrecht II the Magnanimous Hedwig Jagiellon was a first cousin once removed from her husband Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg. This means Elizabeth of Denmark ‘s husband, Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, and Hedwig Jagiellon’s father, King Sigismund I the Old of Poland, were first cousins.
Catholic services were held for Hedwig in her private chapel, and the Dowager Electress Elizabeth was also unhappy because Hedwig could not speak German.
Issue
Elizabeth’s children were the following:
Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
Anna (1507–1567), married Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg-Güstrow,
Elisabeth (1510–1558), married Eric I of Brunswick-Kalenberg,
Margaret (1511–1577), married Georg I, Duke of Pomerania,
Johann (1513–1571), Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin.