Georg Bearded ( German: Georg der Bärtige ; August 27, 1471 , Meissen - April 17, 1539 , Dresden ) - Duke of Saxony since 1500 , from the Albertine dynasty. The eldest son of Albrecht the Bold . His mother Zdena ( Sidonia of Bohemia ) (1449-1510) was the daughter of the Czech king Jiri Podebrad . George received the nickname of the Bearded because after the death of his wife he stopped cutting his beard.
| Georg Bearded | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| him. Georg der Bärtige | |||||||
 portrait of a brush by Lucas Cranach | |||||||
| |||||||
| Predecessor | Albrecht the Brave | ||||||
| Successor | Henry V | ||||||
| Birth | August 27, 1471 Meissen | ||||||
| Death | April 17, 1539 (67 years old) Dresden | ||||||
| Burial place | |||||||
| Kind | Vettins | ||||||
| Father | Albrecht the Brave | ||||||
| Mother | Sidonia of Bohemia | ||||||
| Spouse | Barbara Jagiellon | ||||||
| Children | , , and | ||||||
| Religion | |||||||
| Awards |  | ||||||
Biography
Board
In 1488, George replaced the father on the ducal throne, who waged wars in Flanders and Frisia . He studied theology (he was fluent in Latin), but soon left the clergy and married Barbara , daughter of the Polish king Casimir IV .
After the death of his father in 1500, George inherited the duchy of Saxony. He was an ardent opponent of the Reformation , although he was not a fanatical Catholic, recognized the dark sides of the Catholic clergy and tried to eradicate church abuse. He was especially restored against the teachings of Luther by the peasant war and the Anabaptists (renegade) [1] . He considered it necessary to take strict measures in relation to heretical teaching and made a visit of churches in his state, to which even the University of Leipzig had to submit. This caused a controversy on the part of Luther, in the heat of which Luther called George "the Saxon murderer, the diabolical apostle and the stupid nobleman." However, all the efforts of George were in vain, and the Reformation continued to gain adherents, especially since his official successor, brother Henry V (the sons of George died during his lifetime), converted to Protestantism, and the attempt to deprive his brother of the succession to the throne failed.
He was a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece .
Georg died in Dresden, was buried next to his wife in the chapel of the Meissen Cathedral. The ducal throne passed to Henry the "Pious" (1473-1541).
Family
Since 1496, George was married to Barbara Polish , daughter of Casimir IV . They had ten children, but only one daughter survived the father.
- Johann ( 1498 - 1537 ), in 1516 married Elizabeth of Hesse , did not leave offspring,
- Frederick ( 1504 - 1539 ), in 1539 married Elizabeth of Mansfeld, did not leave offspring,
- Christina ( 1505 - 1549 ), in 1523 married Philip, Landgrave of Hesse ,
- Magdalena ( 1507 - 1534 ), in 1524 she married Joachim II Hector .
George's sister, Katarina (1468-1524) in 1484 married the Archduke Sigismund of Austria.
George's younger brother, Frederick (1498-1510) was the great master of the Teutonic Order in 1498-1510.
Notes
- ↑ Adherents of Thomas Müntzer , later convicted by Luther.
Literature
- Georg Bearded // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.