Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Encyclopedia
Brunswick-Lüneburg
The Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , or more properly Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg, was an historical ducal state from the late Middle Ages until the late Early Modern era within the North-Western domains of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, in what is now northern Germany...
. In the estate division of the House of Welf of 1635, he received the Principality of Wolfenbüttel.
Dannenberg
- Places :* Dannenberg , a town in Germany* County of Dannenberg, a medieval fief founded by Henry the Lion- People :* Konrad Dannenberg, German-American engineer* Peter A Dannenberg, Russian general...
, the seventh child of Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. After complicated negotiations with his family members and an intervention by Emperor Ferdinand II, it was agreed that he should inherit Wolfenbüttel, whose last ruler had died in 1634. Because of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, he could not move into his residence until 1644. Augustus instituted a number of government reforms, and founded the Bibliotheca Augusta, a large library, in Wolfenbüttel. Under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Gustavus Selenus, he wrote a book on chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
in 1616, Chess or the King's game
Chess or the King's game
Chess or the King's Game is a book on chess. It was published in 1616 under the name of Gustavus Selenus, the pen name of Augustus the Younger, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.This book is the earliest known to use Selenus-type chess pieces....
, and on cryptography
Cryptography
Cryptography is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties...
in 1624: Cryptomenytices et Cryptographiae libri IX. The pseudonym is a cryptic reference to his name, Gustavus anagrams (with U=V) to Augustus, the surname is a play on the Greek goddess of the moon (Selene). The book on cryptography is largely based on earlier work by Trithemius.
Augustus died at Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Oker river about 13 kilometres south of Brunswick. It is the seat of the District of Wolfenbüttel and of the bishop of the Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick...
and was succeeded by his three sons, Rudolph Augustus
Rudolph Augustus, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Rudolph Augustus was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1666 until his death. He ruled over the Wolfenbüttel subdivision of the duchy...
, Anthony Ulrich, and Ferdinand Albert
Ferdinand Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Ferdinand Albert , Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was a relative of the princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel....
. His daughter Clara Augusta of Brunswick-Lüneburg married Frederick of Württemberg-Neuenstadt (December 19, 1615 - March 24, 1682) on June 7, 1653.