Günther XLI. (Schwarzburg-Arnstadt)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Count Günther XLI. from Schwarzburg-Arnstadt

Günther XLI. von Schwarzburg-Arnstadt , called "the arguable" ( Bellicosus ), (born September 25, 1529 in Sondershausen , † May 23, 1583 in Antwerp ) was the ruling count of the county of Schwarzburg from 1552 to 1571 and since 1571 Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt.

Life

Count Günther XLI. was the eldest son of Count Günther XL. von Schwarzburg (1499–1552), who was called "the rich" or "the one with the fat mouth" , and Countess Elisabeth (* 1507 in Büdingen, † May 14, 1572 in Sondershausen), a daughter of Count Philipp von Isenburg -Büdingen to Ronneburg .

Günther XL. united all Schwarzburg possessions with the exception of the people mountain lordship . After his death on November 10, 1552, the four surviving sons first ruled together, the still underage sons were supported by their mother, but in 1571 they decided to divide their county.

Günther XLI. attended the University of Erfurt in 1547 . As early as 1549 he went to the court of Count Wilhelm von Nassau in Dillenburg and at the end of 1550 to the court of Charles V in Vienna , where his military career began as Truchseß. In 1553 he moved with the imperial army to Metz to recapture this city (ultimately without success). After the failure of this campaign, the Count accompanied the future Spanish King Philip II in 1554 to his future wife Maria I in London. In 1555 Günther XLI stayed. in Brussels , was given 10,000 guilders by Charles V and then visited his home country. A little later he served again as a colonel in the German Guards and fought victoriously at St. Quentin in 1557 . At the turn of the year 1559/60, Count Günther took the first steps to advertise Anna , the niece of the Saxon Elector August, at the Dresden court on behalf of Wilhelm von Oranien . The Schwarzburger managed to win the elector for a marriage between his niece and the Orange. The sectarian concerns of the Elector of Saxony were removed and in May 1560 August wrote tellingly to Landgrave Philip of Hesse : “Although religion cannot be publicly preached in Ireland at the moment, it was heartily inclined. Freulein should also be given freedom of conscience in matters of religion, an evangelical predicant and the right use of sacrament in every room should be allowed unhindered. "

Günther XLI married on November 17, 1560. von Schwarzburg for political reasons with a sister of Wilhelm von Orange , Catharina von Nassau-Dillenburg (1543–1624). The couple then lived in Arnstadt for some time and invested the 10,000 guilders given by Charles V in the expansion of the Count 's Neideck Castle . From 1563 to 1565, Count Günther, together with his brothers Johann Günther I and Albrecht VII, served the Danish King Friedrich II in the three-crown war against Sweden.

Günther XLI stayed at the beginning of 1566. again in the Netherlands. On March 12, 1566, William of Orange hosted a farewell ceremony for his brother-in-law, who was returning to the empire, at the castle of Count von Hoogstraten. But the celebration was just an excuse. In addition to Orange and the host, Counts Egmont , Hoorn , Bergen, Meghen and Montigny appeared at the banquet and agreed to act against the governor-general Margaret of Parma .

A few weeks later, the Schwarzburger fought against the Turks in Hungary in the service of Emperor Maximilian II . Günther, who earned the nickname "the arguable" on this campaign, was not respected by Maximilian. The count often quarreled with the emperor and did not obey his orders and instructions. Günther protested vigorously against the intended siege of Gran . “Count Günther can do nothing but strut, prevent more than he does good. Among other things, Count Günther has the 1500 horses in his draft, but as often as one has needed them or is drawn, I have never seen more than 1000. I will think about it three times before I use this colonel again ” , Maximilian wrote angrily to Vienna.

In spite of this, the emperor did not let go of the Schwarzburg count, he appointed him Reichshofrat and entrusted him with diplomatic tasks. In 1567 Günther XLI worked. on behalf of the emperor in the service of the Saxon elector August. He took part in the siege of Gotha ( Grumbachsche Handel ) and then transferred the disempowered Duke Johann Friedrich II the Middle of Saxe-Gotha-Eisenach to Vienna. From 1568 to 1573, Count Günther advised the Spanish governor-general Duke of Alba in the Netherlands. Günther spent the years after that in his home country. In 1582 Emperor Rudolf II sent the Schwarzburger again to the southern Netherlands. There Günther served the governor-general Archduke Matthias as a secret council.

Epitaph for Count Günther XLI. von Schwarzburg and his wife Katharina von Nassau-Dillenburg in the Liebfrauenkirche (Arnstadt)

On May 23, 1583 Günther XLI., Known as the arguable, died in Antwerp . His body was transported from Antwerp to Delft , then brought from Delft by ship to Emden and then transferred from Emden to Sondershausen . There Günther XLI became. buried. In 1585 the body was transferred to Arnstadt, where it was buried on November 7th in the grave chapel of the Liebfrauenkirche, according to the wishes of the deceased. An eight meter high epitaph on the east wall from 1590 shows Count Günther XLI. as a standing figure next to his wife.

The marriage between Günther and his wife Catharina remained childless. After Günther's death, the so-called Ilmian main division took place among his younger brothers.

Johann Günther I (1532–1586) received areas around Arnstadt and Sondershausen and is the founder of the Schwarzburg-Sondershausen line . Albrecht VII (1537–1605) got hold of Rudolstadt and founded the Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt line . Another brother, Wilhelm (1534–1597), whose two marriages remained childless, received Frankenhausen . His inheritance Frankenhausen with herrings and Kelbra came to Rudolstadt in 1598.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thilo Irmisch : Elisabeth von Schwarzburg, née Countess von Ysenburg. A life story from the sixteenth century. (Lecture September 24, 1872. Reprinted in the “Kleines Feuilleton” section of Der Deutsche 1895, No. 164 to 171. ) Here: Der Deutsche 1895 No. 164 and 169 .
  2. ^ Epitaph for Count Günther XLI and Katharina von Nassau
personal data
SURNAME Günther XLI.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Günther the arguable
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Schwarzburg and Schwarzburg-Arnstadt
DATE OF BIRTH September 25, 1529
PLACE OF BIRTH Sondershausen
DATE OF DEATH May 23, 1583
Place of death Antwerp