Anna of Mecklenburg

This article is about Anna von Mecklenburg . For further meanings see Anna zu Mecklenburg (disambiguation) .

Epitaph of Anna von Mecklenburg in Lich

Anna, Duchess of Mecklenburg [-Schwerin], in the literature often called Anna von Mecklenburg (* September 14, 1485 in Plau , † May 12, 1525 in Rödelheim ) was by marriage Landgravine of Hesse and then Countess of Solms-Lich .

Anna was a daughter of Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1441–1503) and his wife Sophie of Pomerania -Stettin (around 1460–1504). She belongs to the 13th generation of the Mecklenburg Princely House.

biography

“The historian has to give the Landgravine an excellent place in Hessian history” - this is how the historian Hans Glagau judged Anna in 1899. Landgravine Anna von Hessen, born Duchess of Mecklenburg, would be worthy of a historical-critical biography.

In 1500 Anna became the second wife of Landgrave Wilhelm II of Hesse (1469–1509). Because of the early death of the Upper Hessian regent, Wilhelm III. (1471–1500), and the insanity of the regent of Niederhessen , Wilhelm I (1466–1515), all of Hesse, including the County of Katzenelnbogen , was united under Wilhelm II that year . But Wilhelm II fell ill in 1504 - probably with syphilis - and was unable to rule in the following years .

In his first testament (1506) he transferred the guardianship of his children Elisabeth and Philipp (1504–1567) to five councilors , his older brother, Wilhelm I, and his wife Anna of Braunschweig, and his own wife. In his second testament (1508), however, he appointed Anna as the supreme guardian (next to his uncle, Archbishop Hermann von Köln , who died in September 1508) and gave her two advisers. But Anna's claim to regency was not recognized either by the Hessian estates or by the dukes of Saxony who had been entitled to inheritance through hereditary fraternities since 1373 . In July 1509 there was a dispute between Anna and the Hessian estates, who were supported by the Saxon dukes, on the spit , which was then the location of the Hessian provinces . The second testament was not recognized there.

In 1514 there was a change: Anna gained power with the support of numerous nobles and cities and banished the previous court master and de facto regent Ludwig I von Boyneburg from Hesse. She ruled beyond 1519, when her son Philip was declared of legal age by Emperor Maximilian - without ever having been officially recognized as regent.

Little is known about the last years of her life or about her first: In 1519 she married a second time, the 23-year-old Count Otto von Solms-Lich, who died three years later. Both became parents of Count Friedrich Magnus zu Solms-Laubach .

progeny

Anna married Landgrave Wilhelm II of Hesse (1469–1509) in Kassel on October 20, 1500, with whom she had the following children:

• Elisabeth von Rochlitz (1502–1557)
• Magdalena (1503–1504)
• Philip I of Hesse (1504–1567)

On September 7, 1519, she married Count Otto von Solms-Lich (1496–1522) a second marriage, which resulted in three children:

• Mary (1520-1522)
• Friedrich Magnus of Solms-Laubach (1521–1561)
• Anna von Solms-Lich (1522–1594)

meaning

Anna of Hesse is interesting from the point of view of church history, as she shaped the time immediately before the Reformation was introduced by Philip in 1527. Her husband had ordered the Reformation of all monasteries in Hesse in his will. Anna tried to reform monasteries in some places, but Philip was the first to implement his father's decree, albeit in his own way. In this respect, it seems extremely important in terms of church history to examine what character Anna gave to church politics and the Church in Hesse - taking into account the religious consequences beyond Hessen. She herself was very committed to the monasteries and Catholicism, which is why she fell out with her son.

From a higher-level perspective, the topic is important because it focuses on a period in the history of Hesse that has so far only been explored to a limited extent, the late Middle Ages shortly before the Reformation, using an outstanding female figure, the regent. The chaotic conditions in Hesse during the years 1509–1514 were due to the fact that the estates seized power and banished the actual regent to her Wittum in Felsberg .

Last but not least, the explosive political nature of the disputes between the various interest groups (the estates, Anna / Philip, the enacted councilors, the emperor, the Saxon princes and others) is also worth considering.

literature

• Claus Cramer:  Anna. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 300 ( digitized version ).
• Pauline Puppel: The regent. Guardian rule in Hesse 1500–1700 . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2004. ISBN 3-593-37480-3
• Pauline Puppel: "The kint is mine and I love it." The mother: Landgravine Anna von Hessen, Duchess of Mecklenburg (1485–1525) . In: Landgrave Philipp the Magnanimous of Hesse and his residence in Kassel. Results of the interdisciplinary symposium of the University of Kassel on the 500th birthday of Landgrave Philipp von Hessen (June 17 to 18, 2004) , edited by Heide Wunder u. a. (= Publications of the historical commission for Hessen 24.8). Marburg 2004, pp. 45-56. ISBN 3-7708-1267-0
• Pauline Puppel: Forms of widowhood. Anna of Hesse 1485–1525 . In: Widowhood in the Early Modern Age. Princely and noble widows between foreign and self-determination , edited by Martina Schattkowsky (= writings on Saxon history and folklore 6). Leipzig 2003, pp. 139–161.
• Pauline Puppel: The struggle for guardianship between Landgravine widow Anna von Hessen and the Hessian knighthood 1509 / 14-1518 . In: Fürstin und Fürst. Family relationships and opportunities for action by noble women in the Middle Ages , ed. by Jörg Rogge . Ostfildern 2004 (= Medieval Research, 15), p. 247ff.
• Pauline Puppel (together with Kerstin Merkel): Landgravine Anna von Hessen . In: Landgrave Philipp the Magnanimous, Hesse at the center of the Reformation . Exhibition catalog. Marburg 2004, pp. 31-36.
• Rajah Scheepers: regent by coup? Landgravine Anna of Hesse (1485–1525) . Ulrike Helmer, Königstein 2007. ISBN 3-89741-227-6
• Rajah Scheepers: Two Unknown Engagements by Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous? - Landgravine Anna's marriage policy . In: Journal of the Association for Hessian History . Vol. 109 (2004), pp. 13-29.
• Rajah Scheepers: 'Not a woman's work.' - women, religion and political power . In: Yearbook of the European Society of Women in Theological Research . Vol. 12 (2004), pp. 193-206.

As the subject of a novel:

• Anja Zimmer: Midnight Blossoms. The life of Anna von Hessen . Frauenzimmer-Verlag, Lauter 2007. ISBN 978-3-937013-06-0

Web links

• Literature about Duchess Anna in the state bibliography MV
• Hessen, Anna Landgräfin von. Hessian biography. (As of October 30, 2019). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

Individual evidence

1. ^ Place of birth according to Biogr. Lexikon für Mecklenburg, Vol. 2 (1999); NDB deviating: Wismar.
2. ↑ Last proof of life on May 11, 1525; so did not die on April 28, May 5 or May 6, 1525, as it is said in older literature. She was buried on May 15, 1525.
3. ↑ The shortest possible genealogical introduction , p. 90.