George III (Anhalt-Plötzkau)
George III von Anhalt-Plötzkau , called "the godly", (* August 15, 1507 in Dessau ; † October 17, 1553 ibid) was initially co-regent in the Principality of Anhalt-Dessau and, after the division of the country, Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau as well as priest and later driving force the Evangelical Lutheran Reformation .
Life
Georg comes from the Askanians . He was a son of Prince Ernst von Anhalt (1474–1516) and his wife Margarethe von Münsterberg (1473–1530). After the death of his father in 1516, he was raised in the Catholic faith by his devout mother. In 1518 at the age of 11 he became canon and canon in the diocese of Merseburg , whose bishop was his uncle Adolf von Anhalt-Zerbst . His first study visit to the University of Leipzig ended after a few months in early 1519 because of a plague outbreak in Leipzig. His training was directed by the humanist Georg Helt , who turned to the Lutheran Reformation as early as 1519.
In 1524, the 17-year-old Georg was ordained a subdeacon in Merseburg and a priest in 1526. Shortly afterwards, Archbishop Albrecht von Magdeburg , a cousin of his mother, appointed him provost of the cathedral in Magdeburg . Here he fought the first beginnings of the Reformation as a close advisor to the archbishop. While Anhalt-Köthen had already introduced the Reformation in 1525 and Anhalt-Bernburg in 1526, Dessau remained strictly Catholic under the reign of Georg's mother, the princess widow Margarete. In 1525, the fiercest opponents of the Reformation accepted their invitation and gathered in their castle for the Dessau Bund . Georg meanwhile resumed his studies of canon law in Leipzig from 1528 .
Due to the complicated Anhalt line of succession, after the death of his mother in 1530, he and his two brothers Johann IV and Joachim became the ruling Prince of Anhalt-Dessau. Under the government of the brothers, Anhalt-Dessau also opened up to the Reformation. Georg had had a personal friendship with Luther and Melanchthon in neighboring Wittenberg for a long time. Luther particularly valued his uncomplicated manner and expressed the wish "to be as pious and innocent as Georg." Georg's former teacher Georg Helt also remained his adviser and friend for life. In 1533 Georg III. by receiving the Lord's Supper in both forms, officially converted to Lutheranism. In 1534 he and his brothers in Anhalt-Dessau were the last of the Anhalt principalities to introduce the Reformation. He was also actively involved in the introduction of the Reformation in Brandenburg in 1539. He also supported the young Duke and Elector Moritz in Albertine Saxony with the introduction of the Reformation and church legislation. In 1541 Georg represented his country at the Regensburg Religious Discussion .
In 1544 the brothers divided the country in 1546. Georg received Anhalt-Plötzkau. When August of Saxony introduced the Reformation in the then Catholic diocese of Merseburg in 1544 , Georg took over the offices of the previous bishop as coadjutor and was personally ordained by Martin Luther in Merseburg Cathedral in 1545 shortly before his death. Georg was the only German prince who officially held the office of a Lutheran clergyman after the Reformation. Due to the defeat of the Evangelicals in the Schmalkaldic War , Merseburg became Catholic again for a short time. Georg was resigned to the Meissen cathedral provost in 1549.
Georg's brother Johann died in 1551, and Joachim and Georg jointly took over the guardianship of his underage sons. In 1552 Georg retired to his Castle Warmsdorf for health reasons . He died unmarried on October 17, 1553 at Dessau Castle and was buried two days later in the Dessau Marienkirche in the presence of Melanchthon . Anhalt-Plötzkau fell to his brother Joachim and his nephews. His precious book collection has been preserved and today forms part of the Anhalt State Library in Dessau as the “Georgsbibliothek” .
The Evangelical Church of Anhalt celebrated the 500th birthday of the Dessau reformer Georg III. on August 15, 2007 with an exhibition and conference.
Works (selection)
- Interpretation of the 16th Psalm. Leipzig 1553
- Sermons and other scriptures. Zerbst 1555 etc.
- From Rev. H. Last Supper. Zerbst 1650
- Harmonia Publica Doctrinae Christianae, that is: Harmonization of Christian teaching. Wittenberg 1677
literature
- Georgius, Prince of Anhalt. In: Johann Heinrich Zedler : Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences and arts . Volume 10, Leipzig 1735, column 985 f.
- Joachim Camerarius: Georg, the godly, Prince of Anhalt. Zerbst 1853
- Otto von Heinemann : Georg III., Prince of Anhalt . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 8, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1878, p. 595 f.
- Emil Sehling : The church legislation under Moritz von Sachsen and Georg von Anhalt . 1899.
- F. Westphal: Prince Georg the godly of Anhalt. 1907.
- Franz Lau : Georg III .. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 6, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1964, ISBN 3-428-00187-7 , p. 197 ( digitized version ).
- Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz : Georg III. the godly. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 2, Bautz, Hamm 1990, ISBN 3-88309-032-8 , Sp. 210-211.
- Evangelical Church of Anhalt (Hrsg.): Reformation in Anhalt. Melanchthon - George III. Catalog for the exhibition of the Anhaltische Landesbücherei Dessau as well as publications of the scientific contributions of the colloquium v. September 5, 1997. Dessau 1997.
- Peter Gabriel: Prince Georg III. von Anhalt as Protestant bishop of Merseburg and Thuringia. Lang, Frankfurt / M. 1997.
- Steve Bahn: Georg III. von Anhalt (1507–1553). In: Susan Richter , Armin Kohnle (ed.): Dominion and change of faith. The Prince Reformation in the Empire and in Europe in 28 biographies. Heidelberg 2016, pp. 181–198.
- Tobias Jammerthal and David Burkhart Janssen (ed. On behalf of the Evangelical Church of Anhalt): Georg III. from Anhalt. Sacrament scriptures . Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig 2019. ISBN 978-3-374-06284-3 ( reading sample (pdf, accessed December 27, 2019))
Web links
- Works by and about Georg III. in the German Digital Library
- Prince George III. at Anhalt-geschichte.de
- Friends of the Reformer Prince Georg III. e. V.
- George III - Texts in the voice of faith
- Tripota - Trier portrait database
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
Johann IV. And Margarethe von Münsterberg as guardianship regent |
Co-regent in the Principality of Anhalt 1525 / 30 - 1544 |
Division of the country with Johann IV. And Joachim |
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
Johann IV. , Joachim and himself |
Prince of Anhalt-Plötzkau 1544 - 1553 |
Karl , Joachim Ernst and Bernhard VII. |
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
Magnus, Prince of Anhalt-Koethen |
Provost of Magdeburg 1526 - 1553 |
? |
predecessor | Office | successor |
---|---|---|
Sigismund von Lindenau |
Coadjutor of the Diocese of Merseburg 1544 - 1549 |
Michael Helding |
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | George III |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Anhalt-Dessau, George III. Prince of (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Catholic priest and Protestant reformer |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 15, 1507 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Dessau |
DATE OF DEATH | October 17, 1553 |
Place of death | Dessau |