Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg
Magnus II | |
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Sybille of Saxe-Freiberg | |
Religion | Lutheran |
Magnus II of Saxe-Lauenburg (1543 – 14 May 1603, in
Life
In 1550 Francis I sought to exercise influence to compel the
Eric XIV waged war against their common cousin King
On this occasion Magnus took
As a Swedish commander, and with Sophia's dowry at his disposal, Magnus had gained a considerable fortune and pursued a new prize. His father Francis I agreed to resign in favour of Magnus in 1571, in return for which Magnus promised to redeem the pawned ducal demesnes. Rather than redeeming the estates, however, Magnus, further alienated ducal possessions, for instance selling the expectancy to the pawned estates of the bailiwick (Amt) of Tremsbüttel to Duke Adolphus of Holstein-Gottorp.
This ignited a conflict between Magnus on the one hand and his father and brothers,
In October 1573 Francis I deposed Magnus and re-ascended the ducal throne. The following year Magnus hired, among others, Dutch troops to take Saxe-Lauenburg by force. He invaded, ravaged and plundered
Magnus fled to his estates in
The Danes complained, meanwhile Magnus fell into John's disfavour for his mistreatment of Sophia, who separated from him and stayed with their son Gustav in Sweden. In 1578 Magnus started a second attempt to conquer Saxe-Lauenburg, but was repelled by his brother Francis (II), whom - for his military success - their father rewarded with the rank of viceregent.[2]
In 1581 - shortly before he died and after consultations with his son, the Prince-Archbishop
The violation of primogeniture, however, gave grounds for the estates to consider the upcoming duke as illegitimate.[4] Francis II, though, only officiated as administrator of Saxe-Lauenburg, while Magnus II appealed to Rudolph II to endow him with the throne. On 31 January 1585 Rudolph II finally ruled in favour of Francis II, as agreed with Francis I in 1581.
Meanwhile, Francis II had won over his brother Maurice by sharing rule with him and with the estates. On 16 December 1585 Francis II accepted, by the constitutional act of the "Eternal Union" (German: Ewige Union), the establishment of the representatives of Saxe-Lauenburg's nobility and cities, Lauenburg upon Elbe and Ratzeburg, as the estates of the duchy; a permanent institution with a crucial say in government matters. In return the estates accepted Francis II as legitimate and rendered him homage as duke in 1586.
Francis II lured Magnus into a trap in Hamburg and captured him later in 1588. Magnus remained imprisoned for the rest of his life, mostly in the castle of Ratzeburg, where he died in 1603.[5]
Marriage and issue
On 4 July 1568 Magnus II married Sophia of Sweden (October 29, 1547 - March 17, 1611). After 1574 they lived in Sweden. Their marriage was unhappy and in 1578 Sophia's brother, King John III of Sweden, expelled Magnus from the kingdom. Sophia and Magnus II had one son.
- Gustav (Västerås, *31 August 1570 – 11 November 1597*, Stockholm), governor in Kalmar, died at the age of 27, leaving a son and his unmarried mother.
Ancestry
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References
- Otto von Heinemann (1884), "Magnus II", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 20, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 72–73
- Wolf-Dieter Mohrmann (1987), "Magnus II.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 15, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 668–669
Notes
- ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
- ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
- ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
- ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5
- ISBN 978-3-529-02606-5