Wilhelm the Younger (Braunschweig-Lüneburg)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coat of arms of Wilhelm the Younger on the old town hall in Celle (1579)
Coat of arms of Dorothea Princess of Denmark at the old town hall in Celle

Wilhelm the Younger , Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (* July 4, 1535 ; † August 20, 1592 ) was together with his brother Heinrich from 1559 to 1569, and from 1569 on, Prince of Lüneburg was in sole rule .

Life

From 1569, Wilhelm the Younger supported the reform of the principality with the Corpus Doctrinae Wilhelminum . The legal system was reorganized, the court court introduced and trade promoted. Wilhelm signed the concord formula of 1577 and the concord book of 1580. Since the autumn of 1577, Duke Wilhelm the Younger suffered from a mental illness that initially improved, but reappeared in 1582. Duchess Dorothea sought advice from relatives and doctors, in fact no one could help. Because of her demand that the duke be locked up for his own safety and that of the family, she fell out with the duke's senior officials. Eventually, even Emperor Rudolf II had to intervene, an imperial commission recommended strict custody. The mental health problems fortunately disappeared for several years, but started again in 1587. Duke Wilhelm the Younger could no longer exercise his office and was placed under room arrest in his residence in Celle. Since the sons were still minors, a government of governors and councilors headed by Phillip von Grubenhagen and Wilhelm's wife Dorothea took over the administration of the principality.

progeny

Wilhelm was the son of Duke Ernst the Confessor and was since October 12, 1561 with Dorothea, Princess of Denmark (born June 29, 1546 in Koldinghus ; † January 6, 1617 in Winsen (Luhe) ), a daughter of King Christian III . married from Denmark. Your children were:

Wilhelm the Younger was buried in the princely crypt in the town church of St. Mary in Celle. After Wilhelm's death, his widow Dorothea moved into Winsen Castle as a widow's residence in 1593 .

succession

After Wilhelm's death, his sons agreed not to distribute any further inheritance of the New House of Lüneburg , but to rule the principality undivided from Celle . The lot was also intended to determine which of the sons was allowed to marry appropriately. This lot fell on his son Georg , so that his sons were allowed to inherit from him and his brothers. However, this solution essentially only lasted until the Guelph inheritance in 1635.

literature

  • Christa Geckler: The Celle dukes - life and work 1371-1705 , Georg Ströher Celle 1986, ISBN 3-921744-05-8

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm the Younger  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See BSLK , p. 16 and p. 763.
  2. ↑ 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, o. O., o . D.) designed by Heide Kremzow , based on: Dietrich Klatt: Kleiner Kunstführer Schnell & Steiner No. 1986 , 2008
  3. ^ Georg Schnath in: Geschichte des Landes Niedersachsen, Ploetz, Würzburg, 1973, p. 28
predecessor Office successor
Franz Otto Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,
Prince of Lüneburg
1559–1592 		Ernst II
personal data
SURNAME Wilhelm the Younger
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Wilhelm Herzog to the Younger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Prince of Lüneburg
DATE OF BIRTH 4th July 1535
DATE OF DEATH August 20, 1592