Antonie of Lorraine

Antonie von Lothringen , also Antoinette or Antoniette , (* August 26, 1568 , † August 23, 1610 ) was the second daughter of Duke Charles III. von Lorraine (1543–1608) and his wife Claudia von Valois . Through her marriage she became Duchess of Jülich-Kleve-Berg. After her husband's death, she lost control of the duchies of Jülich-Kleve-Berg in the Jülich-Klevian succession dispute, despite initial support from Emperor Rudolf II .

Anthony of Lorraine 1599. Engraving by Crispin de Passe

Life

After Jacobes von Baden (1558–1597) was murdered , she was married to Johann Wilhelm , Duke of Jülich-Kleve Berg on June 20, 1599 . This marriage led to the fact that the connection between the Jülich court and the leading Catholic royal houses was even closer and the government based on the exclusion of the heirs was strengthened. At first, of course, since Johann Wilhelm remained childless and mentally ill in this marriage too, the split that had existed between Jakobe von Baden and the councilors threatened to repeat under a new name. Antonie alone intervened more moderately and more firmly than her predecessor. First she obtained an imperial order, which made her co-regent of her husband and consequently bound the councils to their consent and cooperation in running the government. Then she succeeded in driving the most dangerous of the regents, Marshal Schenkern, from his office in the fortress of Jülich and from his position at the princely court, and from now on to coerce the councilors into their due share of the rule. In co-ownership of power, however, it also followed with all certainty the principle that the heirs had to keep away from any influence on the government, but that the connection with the emperor had to be kept all the more firmly. After the death of her husband, she resigned "almost silently from the arena of rulership" and died the following year.

literature

• Stefan Ehrenpreis, Klaus Herdepe : The Thirty Years' War in the Duchy of Berg and its neighboring regions . Schmidt, Neustadt an der Aisch 2002, ISBN 3-87707-581-9 .
• Heinz Ollmann-Kösling: The succession dispute over Jülich-Kleve (1609-1914 [1614]). A prelude to the Thirty Years War . Roderer, Regensburg 1996, ISBN 3-89073-941-5 .
• Andreas Thiele: Narrative genealogical family tables on European history . Vol. I, Part 1. RG Fischer, Frankfurt / Main 1993, ISBN 3-89406-965-1 .
• Moritz Ritter: German history in the age of the Counter Reformation and the Thirty Years War (1555-1648) . Photomechanical reprint of the 1st edition from 1889-1908. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 1962.

See also

• United Duchies of Jülich-Kleve-Berg
• Duchy of Jülich , Duchy of Kleve , Duchy of Berg
• Jülich-Klevian succession dispute