Ernst I. (Braunschweig-Lüneburg)

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Duke Ernst I the Confessor on a painting from the workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder from the 16th century.
Ernst the Confessor takes the Lord's Supper for the first time in the castle chapel in Celle in both forms - that is, with the host and wine.

Ernst I , Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (born June 26, 1497 in Uelzen ; † January 11, 1546 in Celle ), was Prince of Lüneburg from 1521 to 1546 . Because of his consistent Reformation attitude and the co- signing of the Augsburg Confession , he was nicknamed the Confessors in the 18th century .

Ancestors and kin

Ernst's father was Prince Heinrich the Middle (* 1468, † February 19, 1532 in Wienhausen), who ruled the Principality of Lüneburg from 1486 to 1520. Ernst's mother was Magarete of Saxony (born August 4, 1469 in Meißen , † December 7, 1528 in Weimar ) from the Ernestian line of the House of Wettin . Ernst I had four sisters, three brothers and two half-brothers, the latter from Henry the Middle's second marriage.

Life

Ernst was born in Uelzen in 1497 as the fourth child of Duke Heinrich and his wife Margarete. In 1512 he was sent to the University of Wittenberg to study. Although his subject was not theology, he may also have attended lectures by Martin Luther , whose Reformation turn was looming during these years.

After completing his studies, Ernst entered the service of French King Franz I. When Emperor Maximilian I died in January 1519, Franz I tried to succeed him alongside Charles I of Spain (later Emperor Charles V ). Ernst's father Heinrich had stood on the side of the French crown pretender in the election of the king and thus incurred the hostility of Charles V. Because Henry's role in the Hildesheimer pin feud of the Emperor in 1521 imposed the imperial ban against him. Heinrich, however, with the threat in mind, had already handed over the government to Ernst and his brother Otto in 1520 and went into exile in France at the court of the French king .

Sophie von Mecklenburg, depiction in the Lüneburg illustrated chronicle of 1595

After Otto left the government in 1527 and resigned himself to the rule of Harburg and the youngest brother Franz , who had been co-ruling since 1536, also resigned himself to the rule of Gifhorn in 1539 , Ernst the Confessor ruled alone. One focus of his government was the rehabilitation of the completely indebted principality. So when he took office, with the exception of the castle bailiwick , all offices were pledged, and his efforts were aimed primarily at their redemption. The tax increases required for this led to serious disputes with the estates . However, Ernst managed to assert himself and thus initiate the debt reduction that had become imperative.

A second focus in his work was the introduction of the Reformation . In 1525 Ernst publicly acknowledged Luther's teaching. In 1526 he joined the Torgau Bund . In 1527 he met Luther personally at the wedding of the electoral prince in Torgau and conferred with him on questions of faith and the reorganization of the church system. The Imperial Old Believers party then called Ernst's father Heinrich back from exile in France in order to oust Ernst. However, Heinrich had to finally renounce the throne at the Landtag in Scharnebeck Monastery in 1528 . Now Ernst consistently went about the implementation of the Reformation in his country, supported by the preachers of the royal seat, who wrote a theological report ( article ) for him , and by the state parliament. In 1529 Ernst was one of the most important signatories of the protestation at Speyer against the repeal of the Reichstag resolution of 1526, which had granted freedom to the imperial estates on the Luther question.

At the Augsburg Reichstag in 1530 he signed the Augsburg Confession , the fundamental confession of the Lutherans, and met the theologian Urbanus Rhegius , whom he won for the further church reorganization of his country and appointed general superintendent . A printed church ordinance for the principality did not appear until 1564.

When military conflicts arose in the empire over the religious issue in 1531, Ernst won the north German cities to join the Schmalkaldic League . In addition to his obvious personal convictions, Ernst's consistent commitment to the Lutheran Reformation also had an economic side. By confiscating the monastery property, the duke gained significant resources for restructuring the state finances. The monasteries themselves were partly continued as aristocratic evangelical monasteries.

Ernst's motto was Aliis servio, me ipsum contero : "I serve others, I consume myself".

Ernst I was buried in the royal crypt in the town church of St. Marien in Celle.

progeny

From his marriage to Sophie von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1508–1541) Ernst had the following children:

  • Franz Otto (1530–1559)
  • Friedrich (1532–1553)
  • Heinrich von Dannenberg (1533–1598)
  • Margarete (1534–1596), ⚭ 1559 Count Johann von Mansfeld-Hinterort
  • Wilhelm the Younger (1535–1592)
  • Ursula (1536–1538)
  • Catherine (1537-1540)
  • Elisabeth Ursula (1539–1586)
  • Magdalene Sophie (1540–1586), ⚭ Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt
  • Sophie (1541-1631)

Honorable memory

The day of remembrance of Ernst the Confessor is January 11th in the Evangelical Name Calendar .

Statues, plaques and memorial pictures can be found in Celle, Uelzen, Hanover and Speyer.

The Ernestinum grammar school in Celle was named after him in 1928, and the Herzog Ernst grammar school in Uelzen was also named after him .

  • In front of the town church of Celle

  • Duke Ernst Tafel in Uelzen

  • Speyer Memorial Church

  • Hoppenerhaus Celle

  • New Town Hall Hanover

literature

Web links

Commons : Ernst the Confessor  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The oil painting (214 × 293 cm) by Hugo Vogel from 1887 is in a depot of the Lower Saxony State Museum in Hanover.
  2. ↑ In the older literature, the state parliament is dated to 1527, the new literature, however, assumes that the state parliament did not take place until 1528. See: http://www.st-marien-winsen.de/wp-content/uploads/St.-Marien-Quellen-2.-Auflage-Buch.pdf
  3. ↑ NN : The princely crypt and the grave slabs of the dukes of Braunschweig-Lüneburg in the city church of St. Marien Celle , with photos by Dietrich Klatt, Friedrich Kremzow and Ralf Pfeiffer illustrated leaflet , in DIN A5 format (4 pages, above, above) . D.) designed by Heide Kremzow, based on: Dietrich Klatt: Kleiner Kunstführer Schnell & Steiner No. 1986 , 2008
  4. ^ Ernst I. in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
predecessor Office successor
Heinrich I the Middle Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,
Prince of Lüneburg
1520–1546 		Wilhelm the Younger
personal data
SURNAME Ernst I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ernst the confessor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1497
PLACE OF BIRTH Uelzen
DATE OF DEATH January 11, 1546