Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben
Encyclopedia
Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben (1551 1637) was Countess of Mansfeld and the daughter of Johann (Hans) Georg I, of Mansfeld Eisleben. She converted Gebhard, Seneschal of Waldburg
, the Prince-Elector
of Electorate of Cologne and archbishop of the Diocese of Cologne to the Protestant faith, leading to the Cologne War
(1583–1588).
After a multiple year odyssey in which she and her husband sought refuge in several parts of northern Germany, Gebhard relinquished his claim on the Electorate. They settled in Strassbourg, where he had retained a position in the Cathedral chapter. After his death in 1601, she came under the protection of the Duke of Wūrttemberg, who had himself been chased from his duchy. She died in 1637.
, in Saxony, as an adult, Agnes von Mansfeld Eisleben became a Protestant canoness at a cloister in Gerresheim
, today a district of Düsseldorf. Agnes' sister Sibilla lived in the city of Cologne, having married to the Freiherr (baron) Peter von Kriechingen; although a member of the cloister, Agnes was not bound to it and was free during her days to move about the city. She visited Sibilla one day, and was noticed by the Elector of Cologne, Gebhard, Truchsess von Waldburg. Reportedly a beautiful woman (she was also the known as the lovely Mansfeld girl) he sought her out, and they started a liaison. Two of her brothers, Hoyer and Ernst, visited Gebhard at the archbishop's palace in the electoral capital of Bonn
, and convinced him to marry her.
She insisted Gebhard first convert to Calvinism
. The difficulties of a conversion by a Catholic Archbishop and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire
had been faced before: Hermann von Wied had also converted to Protestantism, and had resigned from his office. Similarly, Gebhard's immediate predecessor, Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau had resigned to marry when it appeared his family line would become extinct. Initially, it appeared that Gebhard would resign. However, several of his associates in the Cathedral chapter
convinced him that he could have the lady and the Electorate. Before Christmas in 1582, he proclaimed the Reformation from the pulpit in Cologne, establishing Protestantism on parity with Catholicism in the archdiocese.
This declaration of parity between Protestantism and Catholics in an electoral territory contravened the Religious Peace of Augsburg
established in 1555. In this document, to which the all the Estates
of the Holy Roman Empire agreed, confirmed the co-existence of Lutheranism
and Catholicism in select polities were both religious were already established; in all other regions, the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio
(loosely translated from Latin as "Whose realm, his religion") confirmed the religion of the reigning sovereign to be the religion of his subjects.
Any other Christian religious practice, such as Calvinism, was considered heresy
.
s of Waldburg, Gebhard came from a line of stalwart Catholic defenders of what was considered the universal faith. One of his uncles was the bishop of Augsburg; his grandfather's brother had been a general in the German Peasants' War
of 1525 and instrumental in the destruction of the German Peasant army. The family had been long-time supporters of Habsburg dynastic aspirations and policies, and key advisers for in the often-troubled Imperial relationships with the Swabian Imperial circle
(Kreis). Gebhard himself had been raised in a Catholic tradition, and strongly influenced by the Jesuits in his education. His career had been solely focused on obtaining a preferential position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and his election as the archbishop of Cologne, in a close contest with the equally-qualified Wittelsbach
candidate, attested not to the diligence and application of his personal faith, but his family's Imperial influence.
On the other side of the relationship, Agnes came from a family of dedicated Lutherans; the town in which she was born and raised, and whose name she bore, Eisleben
, was also Martin Luther's
home town. Her father and her uncles had been signatories of the Book of Concord
, established in 1580 as the doctrinal standard of the Lutheran faith. Luther himself had negotiated a settlement to a disagreement between her uncles and her brothers over inheritance and succession issues. Her placement in the religious community at Gerresheim was a factor of her nobility and her family's connections; although she came from the impoverished side of the old Mansfeld house, her family continued to wield influence in Imperial, Saxon, and religious circles, although it is unclear why she was placed in a Calvinist convent.
The marriage of this seeming unlikely pair caused a scandal throughout the Empire. At 27-years-of-age, Gebhard had apparently abjured the matrimonial life in his acceptance of the church career often reserved for a second or third son of noble families. If he had converted to Lutheranism
and resigned from his electoral and episcopal responsibilities, the marriage might have made a ripple in social circles, but his refusal to give up his electoral and episcopal responsibilities, his declaration of the electorate as henceforth a dynastic property, however, made his marriage of utmost political importance. Furthermore, his conversion to Calvinism was heresy
, because Calvinism was not one of the two legal professions of faith accepted by the Peace of Augsburg
in 1556.
of Cologne established Calvinism as a religious option in the Electorate. He also intended to convert the electorate into a dynastic property generated an uproar among the other Prince-electors. The transformation of an important ecclesiastical territory into a secular, dynastic duchy would then bring the principle of cuius regio, eius religio
into play in the Electorate. Under this principle, all of Gebhard's subjects would be required to convert to his faith: his rule, his religion.
The conversion of the Archbishop of Cologne to Protestantism also triggered religious and political repercussions throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Gebhard's conversion had widespread implications for the future of the Holy Roman Empire's electoral process, established by the Golden Bull of 1356
. The council continued for more than a year, and eventually moved to other cities; although several times they seemed close to negotiating a conclusion to the crisis, a successful agreement remained beyond their reach. They also offered Gebhard a sum of money to relinquish his claim, which he refused on the high moral grounds of religious principle.
Agnes and Gebhard married on 2 February 1583 in Bonn and retired to the Elector's country seat in Poppelsdorf to celebrate their nuptials. Within weeks, the Cathedral chapter had deposed Gebhard, electing in his place an old opponent, Ernst of Bavaria, the brother of Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria, who immediately set about raising an army with the help of his brother the duke, and his second brother, Ferdinand of Bavaria
. In the spring and summer, Agnes and Gebhard did likewise, traveling to different parts of the electorate, raising an army, and extending the Protestant cause. By October, Ernst's brother Ferdinand entered the electorate from the south, near Koblenz. In their northward progress, they left a path of fire and destruction. Agnes and Gebhard fled, as Poppelsdorf, then Godesberg
, and later the capital city of the electorate, Bonn
, were over-run and destroyed.
Initially, the couple fled to Vest Recklinghausen
, a fiefdom
of the Electorate. There, Agnes and Gebhard encouraged an outbreak of iconoclasm that destroyed many well-known and beloved religious sites; the Reformation had already been wrought in Vest and Recklinghausen, and many of the inhabitants had converted to the new faith. The burst of iconoclastic energy, indulged predominantly by Gebhard's troops and not by the inhabitants themselves, alienated the residents from Gebhard, his wife, and their cause. With local support, Catholic armies chased the couple from Vest Recklinghausen later in the year. Gebhard and Agnes escaped with approximately 1000 cavalry and some infantry.
A multiple year odyssey followed, as Agnes and her husband sought refuge in the northern territories of the Electorate at the castle Arensberg, and later at the city of Delft
, with William I of Orange
. Living in the Netherlands, they became acquainted with Elizabeth's
envoy, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
, and entered into lengthy negotiations with Elizabeth's Court to obtain support for Gebhard's cause; these efforts failed to garner assistance for renewing the war either from the English queen or in any other quarter. In 1585, Agnes reportedly traveled to England in a futile effort to seek assistance from Elizabeth I, but this claim has been refuted by modern scholars.
After his once prosperous electorate was ruined by war, Gebhard relinquished his claim on it in 1588. Ernst of Bavaria, had recruited the assistance of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
. By some twist of fate, her first cousin, Karl von Mansfeld
, was in the service of the Duke of Parma at the Destruction of Neuss, a critical battle that turned the tide of war against her husband.
, later Johann Friedrich
and then his son Eberhard
. She was buried in Sulzbach
.
Mother: Katharina of Mansfeld-Hinterort
Children:
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Agnes' ancestors in three generations
|-
|-
| rowspan="8" align="center"| Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben
| rowspan="4" align="center"| Father:
Johann Georg I, Count von/zu Mansfeld-Eisleben, 1515 14 August 1579
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Paternal Grandfather:
Ernst II Count von Mansfeld zu Vorderort, 6 December 1479 Heldrungen 9 May 1531
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandfather:
Albrecht V, Count von Mansfeld zu Vorderort 14353 December 1484
|-
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandmother:
Susanna von Bickenbach,1450 19 April 1530 married 1470
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Paternal Grandmother:
Dorothea zu Solm-Lich (25 January 1493 Mansfeld 8 June 1578) married 1512
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandfather:
Philipp Graf zu Solms-Lich, (born 15 August 1468died Frankfurt 3 October 1544, buried in Lich)
|-
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandmother:
Adriana von Hanau-Münzenberg (born, Hanau 1 May 1470 m. Hanau 15 February 1489 died 12 April 1524, buried in Lich)
|-
| rowspan="4" align="center"| Mother:
Katharina von Mansfeld-Hinterort (1525 1584), married 1541.
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Maternal Grandfather:
Albert von Mansfeld (? 1560)
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandfather:
Ernest von Mansfeld (1445? 1486)
|-
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandmother:
Marguerite von Mansfeld (? 1531)
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Maternal Grandmother:
Anna von Honstein Klettenberg (1495? – 1559)
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandfather:
Ernst IV von Honstein (? 1508)
|-
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandmother:
Felicitas von Beichlingen (by 1468 after 1500) (?)
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg was Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. After pursuing an ecclesiastical career, he won a close election in the Cathedral chapter of Cologne over Ernst of Bavaria. After his election, he fell in love with and later married Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben, a Protestant...
, the Prince-Elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
of Electorate of Cologne and archbishop of the Diocese of Cologne to the Protestant faith, leading to the Cologne War
Cologne War
The Cologne War devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, present-day North-Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany...
(1583–1588).
After a multiple year odyssey in which she and her husband sought refuge in several parts of northern Germany, Gebhard relinquished his claim on the Electorate. They settled in Strassbourg, where he had retained a position in the Cathedral chapter. After his death in 1601, she came under the protection of the Duke of Wūrttemberg, who had himself been chased from his duchy. She died in 1637.
Affair
Agnes was the daughter of Johann (Hans) Georg I, of Mansfeld Eisleben (1515 14 August 1579), and his wife, Katharina of Mansfeld-Hinterort (1521/1525 1580/1583). Although born and raised in the town of MansfeldMansfeld
Mansfeld is a town in the Mansfeld-Südharz district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Wipper, 10 km northwest of Eisleben....
, in Saxony, as an adult, Agnes von Mansfeld Eisleben became a Protestant canoness at a cloister in Gerresheim
Düsseldorf-Gerresheim
Gerresheim is one of the City of Düsseldorf, Germany's forty-nine boroughs. It is located in the eastern part of the municipality. Gerresheim is much older than Düsseldorf itself, having been an independent city with a rich history for over 1,000 years...
, today a district of Düsseldorf. Agnes' sister Sibilla lived in the city of Cologne, having married to the Freiherr (baron) Peter von Kriechingen; although a member of the cloister, Agnes was not bound to it and was free during her days to move about the city. She visited Sibilla one day, and was noticed by the Elector of Cologne, Gebhard, Truchsess von Waldburg. Reportedly a beautiful woman (she was also the known as the lovely Mansfeld girl) he sought her out, and they started a liaison. Two of her brothers, Hoyer and Ernst, visited Gebhard at the archbishop's palace in the electoral capital of Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, and convinced him to marry her.
She insisted Gebhard first convert to Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. The difficulties of a conversion by a Catholic Archbishop and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
had been faced before: Hermann von Wied had also converted to Protestantism, and had resigned from his office. Similarly, Gebhard's immediate predecessor, Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau had resigned to marry when it appeared his family line would become extinct. Initially, it appeared that Gebhard would resign. However, several of his associates in the Cathedral chapter
Chapter
Chapter, as an organizational class title, may refer to:* A main division of a piece of writing or document, as a Chapter and a chapter in legislation...
convinced him that he could have the lady and the Electorate. Before Christmas in 1582, he proclaimed the Reformation from the pulpit in Cologne, establishing Protestantism on parity with Catholicism in the archdiocese.
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
established in 1555. In this document, to which the all the Estates
Estates of the realm
The Estates of the realm were the broad social orders of the hierarchically conceived society, recognized in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period in Christian Europe; they are sometimes distinguished as the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and commoners, and are often referred to by...
of the Holy Roman Empire agreed, confirmed the co-existence of Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
and Catholicism in select polities were both religious were already established; in all other regions, the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio is a phrase in Latin translated as "Whose realm, his religion", meaning the religion of the ruler dictated the religion of the ruled...
(loosely translated from Latin as "Whose realm, his religion") confirmed the religion of the reigning sovereign to be the religion of his subjects.
Any other Christian religious practice, such as Calvinism, was considered heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
.
Unlikely match
Gebhard's conversion under the influence of Agnes caused more than a ripple of scandal in the aristocratic circles of the Holy Roman Empire. Descended as he was from the hereditary seneschalSeneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
s of Waldburg, Gebhard came from a line of stalwart Catholic defenders of what was considered the universal faith. One of his uncles was the bishop of Augsburg; his grandfather's brother had been a general in the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
of 1525 and instrumental in the destruction of the German Peasant army. The family had been long-time supporters of Habsburg dynastic aspirations and policies, and key advisers for in the often-troubled Imperial relationships with the Swabian Imperial circle
Imperial Circle
An Imperial Circle comprised a regional grouping of territories of the Holy Roman Empire, primarily for the purpose of organizing a common defensive structure and of collecting the imperial taxes, but also as a means of organization within the Imperial Diet and the Imperial Chamber Court.Each...
(Kreis). Gebhard himself had been raised in a Catholic tradition, and strongly influenced by the Jesuits in his education. His career had been solely focused on obtaining a preferential position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and his election as the archbishop of Cologne, in a close contest with the equally-qualified Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
candidate, attested not to the diligence and application of his personal faith, but his family's Imperial influence.
On the other side of the relationship, Agnes came from a family of dedicated Lutherans; the town in which she was born and raised, and whose name she bore, Eisleben
Eisleben
Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as the hometown of Martin Luther, hence its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. As of 2005, Eisleben had a population of 24,552...
, was also Martin Luther's
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
home town. Her father and her uncles had been signatories of the Book of Concord
Book of Concord
The Book of Concord or Concordia is the historic doctrinal standard of the Lutheran Church, consisting of ten credal documents recognized as authoritative in Lutheranism since the 16th century...
, established in 1580 as the doctrinal standard of the Lutheran faith. Luther himself had negotiated a settlement to a disagreement between her uncles and her brothers over inheritance and succession issues. Her placement in the religious community at Gerresheim was a factor of her nobility and her family's connections; although she came from the impoverished side of the old Mansfeld house, her family continued to wield influence in Imperial, Saxon, and religious circles, although it is unclear why she was placed in a Calvinist convent.
The marriage of this seeming unlikely pair caused a scandal throughout the Empire. At 27-years-of-age, Gebhard had apparently abjured the matrimonial life in his acceptance of the church career often reserved for a second or third son of noble families. If he had converted to Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
and resigned from his electoral and episcopal responsibilities, the marriage might have made a ripple in social circles, but his refusal to give up his electoral and episcopal responsibilities, his declaration of the electorate as henceforth a dynastic property, however, made his marriage of utmost political importance. Furthermore, his conversion to Calvinism was heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
, because Calvinism was not one of the two legal professions of faith accepted by the Peace of Augsburg
Peace of Augsburg
The Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
in 1556.
War
News of the pending marriage became public in late November 1582, but it was still unclear what Gebhard would do. Precedent suggested he would resign prior to his marriage, but rumors abounded that he would convert the Electorate to Protestantism, perhaps forcibly. Throughout the Electorate, and on its borders, his supporters and opponents gathered their troops, armed their garrisons, stockpiled food, and prepared for war. On 19 December 1582, Gebhard announced his conversion, from, as he phrased it, the "darkness of the papacy to the Light" of the Word of God. His proclamation of the Reformation from the Cathedral pulpit in the Imperial CityFree Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, a free imperial city was a city formally ruled by the emperor only — as opposed to the majority of cities in the Empire, which were governed by one of the many princes of the Empire, such as dukes or prince-bishops...
of Cologne established Calvinism as a religious option in the Electorate. He also intended to convert the electorate into a dynastic property generated an uproar among the other Prince-electors. The transformation of an important ecclesiastical territory into a secular, dynastic duchy would then bring the principle of cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio
Cuius regio, eius religio is a phrase in Latin translated as "Whose realm, his religion", meaning the religion of the ruler dictated the religion of the ruled...
into play in the Electorate. Under this principle, all of Gebhard's subjects would be required to convert to his faith: his rule, his religion.
The conversion of the Archbishop of Cologne to Protestantism also triggered religious and political repercussions throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Gebhard's conversion had widespread implications for the future of the Holy Roman Empire's electoral process, established by the Golden Bull of 1356
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...
. The council continued for more than a year, and eventually moved to other cities; although several times they seemed close to negotiating a conclusion to the crisis, a successful agreement remained beyond their reach. They also offered Gebhard a sum of money to relinquish his claim, which he refused on the high moral grounds of religious principle.
Agnes and Gebhard married on 2 February 1583 in Bonn and retired to the Elector's country seat in Poppelsdorf to celebrate their nuptials. Within weeks, the Cathedral chapter had deposed Gebhard, electing in his place an old opponent, Ernst of Bavaria, the brother of Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria, who immediately set about raising an army with the help of his brother the duke, and his second brother, Ferdinand of Bavaria
Ferdinand of Bavaria (soldier)
-Youth:In 1565, the 15 year old Ferdinand made a widely publicized journey to Florence, to attend the wedding of his maternal aunt, Johanna of Austria, to Francesco I de' Medici, and to visit with other maternal aunts in the city. Johanna's marriage to the Medici was a politically expedient one:...
. In the spring and summer, Agnes and Gebhard did likewise, traveling to different parts of the electorate, raising an army, and extending the Protestant cause. By October, Ernst's brother Ferdinand entered the electorate from the south, near Koblenz. In their northward progress, they left a path of fire and destruction. Agnes and Gebhard fled, as Poppelsdorf, then Godesberg
Siege of Godesberg (1583)
The Siege of Godesberg, 18 November – 17 December 1583, was the first major siege of the Cologne War . Seeking to wrest control of an important fortification, Bavarian and mercenary soldiers surrounded the Godesberg...
, and later the capital city of the electorate, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, were over-run and destroyed.
Initially, the couple fled to Vest Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen
Recklinghausen is the northernmost city in the Ruhr-Area and the capital of the Recklinghausen district. It borders the rural Münsterland and is characterized by large fields and farms in the north and industry in the south...
, a fiefdom
Fiefdom
A fee was the central element of feudalism and consisted of heritable lands granted under one of several varieties of feudal tenure by an overlord to a vassal who held it in fealty in return for a form of feudal allegiance and service, usually given by the...
of the Electorate. There, Agnes and Gebhard encouraged an outbreak of iconoclasm that destroyed many well-known and beloved religious sites; the Reformation had already been wrought in Vest and Recklinghausen, and many of the inhabitants had converted to the new faith. The burst of iconoclastic energy, indulged predominantly by Gebhard's troops and not by the inhabitants themselves, alienated the residents from Gebhard, his wife, and their cause. With local support, Catholic armies chased the couple from Vest Recklinghausen later in the year. Gebhard and Agnes escaped with approximately 1000 cavalry and some infantry.
A multiple year odyssey followed, as Agnes and her husband sought refuge in the northern territories of the Electorate at the castle Arensberg, and later at the city of Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, with William I of Orange
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
. Living in the Netherlands, they became acquainted with Elizabeth's
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
envoy, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
, and entered into lengthy negotiations with Elizabeth's Court to obtain support for Gebhard's cause; these efforts failed to garner assistance for renewing the war either from the English queen or in any other quarter. In 1585, Agnes reportedly traveled to England in a futile effort to seek assistance from Elizabeth I, but this claim has been refuted by modern scholars.
After his once prosperous electorate was ruined by war, Gebhard relinquished his claim on it in 1588. Ernst of Bavaria, had recruited the assistance of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
. By some twist of fate, her first cousin, Karl von Mansfeld
Karl von Mansfeld
Karl von Mansfeld was a German general during the Cologne War and the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.Von Mansfeld was the son of Count Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, born in present day Luxembourg, and was educated in France. He entered the military of Philip II of Spain, and was appointed a general...
, was in the service of the Duke of Parma at the Destruction of Neuss, a critical battle that turned the tide of war against her husband.
Peace in Strassbourg
In 1589, they could not return to the Electorate territories, which her husband had relinquished, nor could she, a married lady, return to the convent at Gerresheim. They sought refuge in Strassbourg, a stronghold of Calvinism. Gebhard had been a member of the Cathedral Chapter there since 1576. Three other canons from Cologne had also taken refuge in Strassbourg after 1583. Shortly after their marriage in 1583, Gebhard had written his Testament in which he left his estate to his brother, Karl, and a life-time annuity to Agnes, and charged Karl with her safety and protection. Karl died on 18 June 1593, and was buried in the Strasbourg cathedral; Gebhard wrote a codicil leaving Agnes to the care and protection of the Dukes of Württemberg. Gebhard died in 21 May 1601. Until her death in 1637, she lived under the protection of the Dukes, first Friedrich IFrederick I, Duke of Württemberg
Friedrich I of Württemberg was the son of Georg of Mömpelgard and his wife Barbara of Hesse, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse....
, later Johann Friedrich
Johann Frederick, Duke of Württemberg
Duke John Frederick of Württemberg was the 7th Duke of Württemberg from 4 February 1608 until his death on 18 July 1628 whilst en route to Heidenheim.- Life :...
and then his son Eberhard
Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg
Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg ruled as Duke of Württemberg from 1628 until his death in 1674....
. She was buried in Sulzbach
Sulzbach an der Murr
Sulzbach an der Murr is a town in the district of Rems-Murr in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Geography :The resort town of Sulzbach an der Murr is in the Murr Valley at an elevation of 268 to 520 meters....
.
Cultural References
The life of Agnes and her romantic union with Gebhard became a theme for diverse story tellers and novelists, and is today still a resource of historical novelists.Literature
- Rafaela Matzigkeit, Schön, fromm, sittsam, tugendhaft... Agnes von Mansfeld im Spiegel der Geschichte und Literatur (Beautiful, pious, modest and chaste, Agnes von Mansfeld in the history and literature). In: Rund um den Quadenhof (Düsseldorf-Gerresheim) 47 (1996), S. 9–17 und S. 17–23
- Johann Baptist Durach, Gebhard der Zweite, Kurfürst von Köln, und Agnes von Mannsfeld, Kanonissinn von Girrisheim. Eine Bischofslegende aus dem sechszehnten Jahrhundert (Gebhard the 2nd, Prince of Cologne, and Agnes of Mansfeld, Cannoness of Gerresheim, A bishop's legend from the 16th century). Geb. Hochleiter und Komp., Wien und Leipzig 1791.
- Christoph Sigismund Grüner, Gebhard, Churfürst von Cöln, und seine schöne Agnes(Gebhard, Prince of Cologne, and his beautiful Agnes) Ursache und Veranlassung des gestörten Religionsfriedens, der Union und des dreißigjährigen Krieges. Eine historisch-romantische Ausstellung, frei, nach geschichtlichen Quellen, Goebbels und Unzer, Königsberg 1806.
- Carl August Gottlieb Seidel, Die unglückliche Constellation oder Gräfin Agnes von Mannsfeld. Eine Sage aus der zweiten Hälfte des sechzehnten Jahrhunderts, (The Unfortunate Constellation, or the Countess of Mansfeld, a story of the second half of the 16th century.) Supprian, Leipzig 1796.
- Eugenie Tafel: Gräfin Agnes aus dem Hause Mansfeld. Erzählung aus dem 16. Jahrhundert, (Countess Agnes of the House of Mansfeld, Tales of the 16th century), Schloeßmann, Gotha 1897.
Genealogy
Father: Johann Georg I of Mansfeld-EislebenMother: Katharina of Mansfeld-Hinterort
Children:
- Count Ernst IV of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.13 January 1544)
- Princess Maria of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.3/12/1545)
- Count Hoyer of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1546)
- Count Peter of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1548)
- Count Philipp of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1550)
- Princess Agnes of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1551)
- Princess Anna of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1552)
- Princess Catharina of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1554)
- Princess Dorothea of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1555)
- Princess Esther of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1556)
- Princess Sibilla of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.1557)
- Count Jobst of Mansfeld-Eisleben (b.14 April 1558)
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Agnes' ancestors in three generations
|-
|-
| rowspan="8" align="center"| Agnes von Mansfeld-Eisleben
| rowspan="4" align="center"| Father:
Johann Georg I, Count von/zu Mansfeld-Eisleben, 1515 14 August 1579
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Paternal Grandfather:
Ernst II Count von Mansfeld zu Vorderort, 6 December 1479 Heldrungen 9 May 1531
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandfather:
Albrecht V, Count von Mansfeld zu Vorderort 14353 December 1484
|-
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandmother:
Susanna von Bickenbach,1450 19 April 1530 married 1470
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Paternal Grandmother:
Dorothea zu Solm-Lich (25 January 1493 Mansfeld 8 June 1578) married 1512
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandfather:
Philipp Graf zu Solms-Lich, (born 15 August 1468died Frankfurt 3 October 1544, buried in Lich)
|-
| align="center"| Paternal Great-grandmother:
Adriana von Hanau-Münzenberg (born, Hanau 1 May 1470 m. Hanau 15 February 1489 died 12 April 1524, buried in Lich)
|-
| rowspan="4" align="center"| Mother:
Katharina von Mansfeld-Hinterort (1525 1584), married 1541.
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Maternal Grandfather:
Albert von Mansfeld (? 1560)
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandfather:
Ernest von Mansfeld (1445? 1486)
|-
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandmother:
Marguerite von Mansfeld (? 1531)
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center"| Maternal Grandmother:
Anna von Honstein Klettenberg (1495? – 1559)
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandfather:
Ernst IV von Honstein (? 1508)
|-
| align="center"| Maternal Great-grandmother:
Felicitas von Beichlingen (by 1468 after 1500) (?)