Augustus, Elector of Saxony

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Augustus
Lutheran
SignatureAugustus's signature

Augustus (31 July 1526 – 11 February 1586) was

Elector of Saxony
from 1553 to 1586.

First years

Augustus was born in

Lutheran, he received a good education and studied at Leipzig University.[1]

When Duke Henry IV died in 1541, he decreed that his lands should be divided equally between his two sons; but as his bequest was contrary to the Albertine Law, it was not carried out, and the dukedom passed almost intact to his elder son, Maurice. Augustus, however, remained on friendly terms with his brother, and to further his policy spent some time at the court of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, in Vienna.[1]

In 1544, Maurice secured the appointment of his brother as administrator of the

Ernestine branch of the Wettin family, to Maurice, head of the Albertine branch.[2]

Marriage and children

In

Weissenfels
. The couple had fifteen children:

  1. John Henry (b. Weissenfels, 5 May 1550 – d. Weissenfels, 12 November 1550).
  2. Eleonore (b. Wolkenstein, 2 May 1551 – d. Wolkenstein, 24 April 1553).
  3. Johann Casimir of Simmern
    ; they were separated in 1589.
  4. Alexander (b. Dresden, 21 February 1554 – d. Dresden, 8 October 1565), Hereditary Prince of Saxony.
  5. Magnus (b. Dresden, 24 September 1555 – d. Dresden, 6 November 1558).
  6. Joachim (b. Dresden, 3 May 1557 – d. Dresden, 21 November 1557).
  7. Hector (b. Dresden, 7 October 1558 – d. Dresden, 4 April 1560).
  8. Christian I
    (b. Dresden, 29 October 1560 – d. Dresden, 25 September 1591), successor of his father in the Electorship.
  9. Marie (b. Torgau, 8 March 1562 – d. Torgau, 6 January 1566).
  10. Dorothea (b. Dresden, 4 October 1563 – d. Wolfenbüttel, 13 February 1587), married on 26 September 1585 to Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
  11. Amalie (b. Dresden, 28 January 1565 – d. Dresden, 2 July 1565).
  12. Anna (b. Dresden, 16 November 1567 – d. imprisoned in Veste Coburg, 27 January 1613), married on 16 January 1586 to Duke John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach; they divorced in 1593.
  13. Augustus (b. Dresden, 23 October 1569 – d. Dresden, 12 February 1570).
  14. Adolf (b. Stolpen, 8 August 1571 – d. Dresden, 12 March 1572).
  15. Frederick (b. Annaberg, 18 June 1575 – d. Annaberg, 24 January 1577).

Soon after his marriage, Augustus desired a more imposing establishment. The result was that Maurice made more generous provision for his brother, who acted as Regent of Saxony in 1552 during the absence of the elector. Augustus was on a visit to Denmark when by Maurice's death in July 1553 he became elector of Saxony.[3]

Elector of Saxony

Augustus as depicted on a 1568 thaler, minted in Dresden

The first care of the new elector was to come to terms with John Frederick, and to strengthen his own hold upon the electoral position. This object was secured by a treaty made at

Johann Casimir, son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine, and Elisabeth, Augustus' own daughter. For a time it seemed possible that the Saxon elector would support his son-in-law in his attempts to aid the revolting inhabitants of the Spanish Netherlands. Augustus also entered into communication with the Huguenots; however, his aversion to foreign complications prevailed, and the incipient friendship with the elector Palatine soon gave way to serious dislike. Although a sturdy Lutheran, the elector hoped at one time to unite the Protestants. He continually urged them to consider the necessity of giving no cause of offence to their opponents, and he favoured the movement to get rid of the clause in the Peace of Augsburg concerning ecclesiastical reservation, which was offensive to many Protestants. His moderation, however, prevented him from joining those who were prepared to take strong measures to attain this end, and he refused to jeopardize the concessions already won.[3]

Religious policies

August von Sachsen (painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger, 1572, Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum in Freiberg)
The other half of the painting: Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony

The hostility between the Albertines and the Ernestines gave Augustus serious trouble. A preacher named

Crypto-Calvinists, were favoured by the elector.[3]
The Crypto-Calvinists were confident that they would be able to bring Augustus over to their Calvinizing positions by convincing Augustus that they were in fact merely loyal Lutherans, when in fact they were working to introduce Calvinist views of the Lord's Supper, and the doctrine of predestination at the University of Wittenberg.[citation needed]

Augustus at first was deceived. Spurred on by his wife the matter reached a climax in 1574, when letters were discovered, which, while revealing a hope to bring over Augustus to Calvinism, cast some aspersions upon the elector and his wife. Augustus ordered the leaders of the Crypto-Calvinists to be seized, and they were tortured and imprisoned.[3] He restored genuine Lutheranism to Saxony and began to work on a way to bring unity among Lutherans by commencing a process that would lead to the publication, in 1580, of the Lutheran Book of Concord. Augustus personally sponsored the publication of the Book of Concord, a book containing the various Lutheran Confessions of faith, which was signed by over 8,100 ministers and professors and nearly 30 territories, states and cities in Germany.[citation needed] This strict form of Lutheranism was declared binding upon all the inhabitants of Saxony, and many persons were banished from the country. The change in Saxony, however, made no difference to the attitude of Augustus on imperial questions. In 1576 he opposed the proposal of the Protestant princes to make a grant for the War against the Ottoman Empire conditional upon the abolition of the clause concerning ecclesiastical reservation, and he continued to support the Habsburgs.[3]

Territorial expansion

Much of the elector's time was devoted to extending his territories. In 1573 he became guardian to the two sons of John William, duke of

bishop of Naumburg; and when this prince died in 1565 these bishoprics came under the direct rule of Augustus.[3]

Second marriage and death

On 1 October 1585 the Electress Anna died. Three months later, on 3 January 1586, in the city of Dessau, Augustus married secondly with Agnes Hedwig, a daughter of Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt.[3] The bride was only 13 years; the groom, almost 60. August died one month after his new marriage, and was buried at Freiberg Cathedral. His only surviving son, Christian I, was his successor.

Writing and collections

Augustus wrote a small work on agriculture entitled Künstlich Obstund Gartenbüchlein.[3] He was famous for his various museum collections, including the finest collection of arms and weapons in Northern Europe, paintings, and an extensive collection of tools. In 1560 he founded the Dresden Kunstkammer, the predecessor of the present day State Collections. One of his possessions, a clockwork automaton called the Mechanical Galleon is now in the British Museum. This table decoration played music, told the time and showed Augustus and the other six electors parading before the Roman Emperor.[4]

Ancestors

References

  1. ^ a b Chisholm 1911, p. 914.
  2. ^ Chisholm 1911, pp. 914–915.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Chisholm 1911, p. 915.
  4. ^ MacGregor, Neil. "Episode 76, Mechanical Galleon". A History of the World in 100 Objects. BBC. Retrieved 20 September 2010.

Sources

  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Augustus I.". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 914–915. This cites:
    • C. W. Böttiger and T. Flathe, Geschichte Sachsens, Band ii. (Gotha, 1870)
    • M. Ritter, Deutsche Geschichte im Zeitalter der Gegenreformation, Band i. (Stuttgart, 1890)
    • R. Calinich, Kampf und Untergang des Melanchthonismus in Kursachsen (Leipzig, 1866)
    • J. Falke, Geschichte des Kurfürsten August in volkswirtschaftlicher Beziehung (Leipzig, 1868)
    • J. Janssen, Geschichte des Deutschen Volkes seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters (Freiburg, 1885–1894)
    • W. Wenck, Kurfürst Moritz und Herzog August (Leipzig, 1874)
  • Böttcher, Hans-Joachim (2018). Elisabeth von Sachsen und Johann Kasimir von der Pfalz: Ein Ehe- und Religionskonflikt [Elisabeth of Saxony and John Casimir of the Palatinate: A Marital and Religious Conflict] (in German). Dresden: Dresdner Buchverlag.
    ISBN 9783946906063
    .

External links

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Augustus, Elector of Saxony
Born: 31 July 1526 Died: 11 February 1586
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Elector of Saxony

1553–1586 		Succeeded by
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