Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg
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Montbéliard
Montbéliard is a city in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.-History:...
– 29 January 1608, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
) was the son of Georg of Mömpelgard
Montbéliard
Montbéliard is a city in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.-History:...
and his wife Barbara of Hesse
Barbara of Hesse
Barbara of Hesse, Duchess of Württemberg-Mömpelgard was a German noblewoman, and the wife of Duke George I of Württemberg-Mömpelgard. Her second husband was Count Daniel of Waldeck.- Family :...
, daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....
.
Several references are made to him in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
, in which a series of anti-German jokes start with a horse theft, several references are made to German travellers in England and to a German Duke who is not expected to come to Windsor.
Frederick of Mömpelgard was heir apparent to the dukedom of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
when he visited Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
and other English cities in 1592. He developed a desire to be made a Knight of the Garter and solicited Queen Elizabeth
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...
for the honor repeatedly. After he had inherited the dukedom and become more prominent in affairs, she admitted him to the order. In a calculated slight, he was not informed of his admission in time to attend the investiture in spring 1597, the ceremony for which The Merry Wives of Windsor was written. Thus references to Mömpelgard's earlier visit and his not being in Windsor were jokes intended for the play's first audience, and appear in the First Folio
First Folio
Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. is the 1623 published collection of William Shakespeare's plays. Modern scholars commonly refer to it as the First Folio....
edition of the play, taken from the first private performance, but not in the 1602 Quarto
Quarto
Quarto could refer to:* Quarto, a size or format of a book in which four leaves of a book are created from a standard size sheet of paper* For specific information about quarto texts of William Shakespeare's works, see:...
derived from public theatrical production.
In 1599, Frederick I issued an order that a new town should be established at the northern extremity of the black forest by the name of Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt
Freudenstadt is a town in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is capital of the district Freudenstadt. The closest population centres are Offenburg to the west and Tübingen to the east ....
. The aim was for the town to become the new residence of the Duchy of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
as it was closer to Mömpelgard that the Württemberg capital Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. However, Frederick I died in 1608 and his plans never came to fruition.
The sons of Frederick I established the ducal house of Württemberg-Neuenstadt
Württemberg-Neuenstadt
Württemberg-Neuenstadt was the name of two branch lines of the ducal House of Württemberg in the 17th and 18th century. It was named after the town of residence, Neuenstadt.- First branch line :...
, a branch line of the House of Württemberg
House of Württemberg
The Württemberg family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Württemberg. The House has its origins, according to recent research, probably in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty.-History:...
after a Fürstbrüderlicher Vergleich - a mutual agreement made between ducal brothers on 7 June 1617. The eldest son, 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 :...
, assumed barony over the Duchy of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
while the second youngest son, Frederick Achilles, was bequethed Neuenstadt Castle and an annual endowment of 10,000 guilder
Guilder
Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch gulden — from Old Dutch for 'golden'. The guilder originated as a gold coin but has been a common name for a silver or base metal coin for some centuries...
.
Children
Sibylla of Anhalt
Sibylla of Anhalt was an Ascanian princess of Anhalt who became Duchess of Württemberg by marriage to Duke Frederick I. She was the fourth daughter of Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt, by his first wife Agnes, daughter of Wolfgang I, Count of Barby-Mühlingen.-Life:Sibylla was born in Bernburg in...
(1564-1614), daughter of Joachim Ernst, Prince of Anhalt, had:
- Johann FrederickJohann Frederick, Duke of WürttembergDuke 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 :...
(1582-1628) - Georg Frederick (1583-1591)
- Sibylla Elisabeth (1584-1606) - married John George I, Elector of SaxonyJohn George I, Elector of SaxonyJohn George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
- Elisabeth (born and died in 1585)
- Ludwig Frederick (1586-1631), founder of the later branch line of Württemberg-Mömpelgard
- Joachim Frederick (born and died in 1587)
- Julius Frederick (1588-1635), founder of the branch line of Württemberg-Weiltingen, also known as the Julian Line
- Philipp Frederick (born and died in 1589)
- Eva Christina (1590-1657) - married John George of Brandenburg (1577–1624), Duke of Jägerndorf
- Frederick Achilles (1591-1631)
- Agnes (1592-1629) - married Francis Julius of Saxe-Lauenburg (1584-1634)
- Barbara (1593-1627) - married Margrave Frederick V of Baden-DurlachFrederick V, Margrave of Baden-DurlachFrederick V, Margrave of Baden-Durlach was a German nobleman, who ruled as margrave of Baden-Durlach from 1622 to his death...
- Magnus (1594-1622), fell in war
- August (born and died in 1596)
- Anna (1597-1650)