Dorothea Sophia, Abbess of Quedlinburg

Dorothea Sophia
Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg
Reign	21 April 1618 - 10 February 1645
Predecessor	Dorothea
Successor	Anna Sophia I
Born	19 December 1587 Weimar
Died	10 February 1645 Quedlinburg Abbey
House	House of Wettin
Father	Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
Mother	Sophie of Württemberg
Religion	Lutheran

Duchess Dorothea Sophia of Saxe-Altenburg (19 December 1587 – 10 February 1645) was Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg.

She was the fourth child and second daughter of Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and his first wife, Sophie of Württemberg.

Reign

On 21 April 1618, Dorothea Sophia was elected successor to Princess-Abbess Dorothea. Her election was approved by Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor.

During her reign, Quedlinburg was devastated by the Thirty Years' War. Unlike her predecessors, Princess-Abbess Dorothea Sophia often confronted John George I, Elector of Saxony.

Religious policy

Dorothea Sophia prohibited her clergy to deny absolution to a person who made a genuine and contrite confession. However, if the same parishioner repeated the sin, they were to face increasingly severe chastisement and, finally, a referral to the consistory. She proscribed that these parishioners would not be able to serve as godparents, nor be buried according to tradition or within consecrated ground. These decisions were a lot like the previous Catholic practice. She also took measures to prevent secret engagements, declaring that every engagement has to be witnessed by three men and publicly announced.^[1]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Dorothea Sophia, Abbess of Quedlinburg

16. Johann, Elector of Saxony               8. Johann Friedrich I, Elector of Saxony                       17. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin               4. Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar                             18. Johann III, Duke of Cleves               9. Sibylle of Cleves                       19. Maria of Jülich-Berg               2. Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar                                   20. John II, Count Palatine of Simmern               10. Frederick III, Elector Palatine                       21. Beatrix of Baden               5. Dorothea Susanne of Simmern                             22. Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth               11. Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach                       23. Susanna of Bavaria               1. Dorothea Sophia, Abbess of Quedlinburg                                         24. Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken               12. Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken                       25. Elisabeth of Hesse               6. Philipp Ludwig, Count Palatine of Neuburg                             26. Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse               13. Anna of Hesse                       27. Christine of Saxony               3. Anna Maria of the Palatinate-Neuburg                                   28. John III, Duke of Cleves (= 18)               14. Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg                       29. Maria of Jülich-Berg (= 19)               7. Anna of Cleves                             30. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor               15. Maria of Habsburg, Archduchess of Austria                       31. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary

References

1. Karant-Nunn, Susan C. (1997). The Reformation of ritual: an interpretation of early modern Germany. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-11337-7. Retrieved 9 July 2009.

External links