John, Elector of Saxony
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John | |
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Elector of Saxony | |
Reign | 5 May 1525 – 16 August 1532 |
Predecessor | Frederick III |
Successor | Johann Frederick I |
Born | 30 June 1468 Meissen, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
Died | 16 August 1532 Schweinitz, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire | (aged 64)
Burial | |
Spouse | |
Lutheran (1525–1532) |
John (30 June 1468 – 16 August 1532),[1] known as John the Steadfast or John the Constant (Johann, der Beständige), was Elector of Saxony from 1525 until 1532 from the House of Wettin.
He is notable for organising the Lutheran Church in the Electorate of Saxony from a state and administrative level. In that, he was aided by Martin Luther, whose "Saxon model" of a Lutheran church was also soon to be implemented beyond Saxony, in other territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Luther turned to the Elector for secular leadership and funds on behalf of a church largely shorn of its assets and income after the break with Rome.[2]
He played a part in the Protestation at Speyer.
Biography
Born in Meissen, John was the fifth of the seven children of Ernest, Elector of Saxony and Elisabeth of Bavaria. From 1486 onward he was the heir presumptive of his childless brother
Having assisted in suppressing an uprising during the
As his nickname betrays, he had the same positive attitude to the Reformation as his older brother. His steadfastness and his courage to maintain his confessional position probably brought him the most fame with his contemporaries. Christian beliefs were the basis of his political decisions, which were regarded as very just[by whom?]. In political matters, he was often very hesitant[according to whom?]. In his collaboration with Philip I, with whom he was closely connected by virtue of his common religious beliefs, Philip was the driving force for and outspoken advocate of a more for an aggressive foreign policy while John, on the other hand, was particularly concerned with the question of whether to defend himself as a Protestant against the Emperor.
As the patron of Martin Luther, John maintained a very close, almost friendly relationship with the leading theologian of the Protestants. Luther often expressed a positive opinion about John, especially for his behavior at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, and praised him thus: "I am sure that the Elector Johann of Saxony had the Holy Spirit. In Augsburg he proved this admirably by his confession. John said, 'Tell my scholars that they are doing what is right, praise and honor God, and take no regard for me or my country.'" By his insistence on the Protestant profession of faith, John even went so far as to dismiss those Protestant theologians who were too compliant to the Emperor. In 1529, John belonged to the princely representatives of the Protestant minority (protestation) at the Reichstag in Speyer.
In the almost 40 years that John governed as a duke over the
The Evangelical Church in Germany honors John's significance during the Reformation, with a memorial day in the Evangelische Namenkalender on 16 August.
He died in
Marriage and children
In Torgau on 1 March 1500 Johann married firstly Sophie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg. They had one son:
- Johann Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (30 June 1503, Torgau – 3 March 1554, Weimar).
On 13 November 1513 Johann married secondly Margaret of Anhalt-Köthen in Torgau. They had four children:
- Maria (15 December 1515, Weimar – 7 January 1583, Wolgast), married on 27 February 1536 Duke Philip I of Pomerania-Wolgast
- Margaret (25 April 1518, Zwickau – 10 March 1545), married Hans Buser
- John (born and died 26 September 1519, Weimar)
- John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (10 May 1521, Coburg – 8 February 1553, Coburg).
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Sophie of Mecklenburg (1481–1503)
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Johann Frederick I
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Maria of Saxony (1515–1589), by Lucas Cranach the Elder
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John Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg 1521–1553
Ancestry
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References
- ^ a b c public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John, Elector of Saxony". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 446. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Brecht, 2:260–63, 67; Mullett, 184–86.