Polyvore - sh0shan

Anna Karolina, Countess Orzelska, Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck

sh0shan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:57:28 GMT

Anna Karolina, Countess Orzelska, Princess of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Anna Karolina Orzelska (23 November 1707 – 27 September 1769) was an adventuress and Polish noblewomen, the illegitimate daughter of August II the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, by Henriette Rénard. The King-Elector August II the Strong met Henriette Rénard in Warsaw on 1706, where her father André Rénard, a wine merchant from Lyon, had a saloon. Most historians agree that at first, Henriette didn't know the true identity of her lover. As a result of the liaison, in November 1707 a daughter was born, Anna Karolina. August did not learn of her existence until a year and half later. Henriette married the Paris businessman François Drian shortly after Anna Karolina's birth and moved to France, where she grew up. For a long time, the girl lived in Paris with her mother in complete obscurity without the support of her father. However, in 1723, her half-brother, the later Count Frederick Augustus Rutowsky, found her. Anna Karolina followed him on his return to the Dresden court, where the sixteen-year-old beauty was presented to the King. On 19 September 1724, August the Strong officially acknowledged Anna Karolina as his daughter and gave her the title of Countess Orzelska. Anna Karolina became one of Augustus's most beloved children, not only because of her exceptional beauty, but also because of her improbable and extraordinary resemblance to her father. Without formal intellectual training, she nevertheless proved to be an excellent addition in the court life. The court of August the Strong had the most scandalous reputation in Europe and encouraged the Countess's behavior, which was considered scandalous according to the official moral of the time. Contemporaries noted her tendency to drink, smoke tobacco, and have numerous affairs. Anna excelled in riding, hunting, and dancing. The Countess frequently appeared in men's clothing and even in military uniform. Some sources alleged that August the Strong made his own daughter his favorite; however, this cannot be proved. In 1728, while King Frederick Wilhelm I of Prussia was visiting Dresden, the Countess Orzelska met his son, the Crown Prince Karl-Frederick (the future Frederick II the Great). She became the first (and, probably, the only) mistress of Frederick's life. In early 1729, Orzelska secretly arrived in Berlin in order to spend time with the Prussian heir. He dedicated verses and musical works of his own composition to her. Some believe that Orzelska, during her liaison with Frederick, carried out the tasks of reconnaissance nature. In 1730, the Countess obtained from her father 300,000 thalers as a dowry and married with the Prince Charles Louis of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck - younger brother of the reigning Duke Frederick Wilhelm II- in the city of Dresden, on 10 August of that year. They had one son, Karl Frederick (b. Dresden, 5 January 1732 - d. Strassburg, 21 February 1772), future General Major of the Saxon Army. Her husband would become Duke after their divorce. However, after three years of marriage (1733), Orzelska requested a divorce; from this moment, the couple began to live separately: Karl Ludwig in Königsberg and Anna Karolina in Venice. Inclined to adventure, the Countess participated, until the last days of her life, in a variety of activities which were considered scandalous. She died in the French city of Avignon, aged sixty-two.

Countess Sophia Sergeyevna Ignatieva

sh0shan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:15:33 GMT

Countess Sophia Sergeyevna Ignatieva by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Countess Sophia Sergeyevna Ignatieva (1850 - 1944)(born as Princess Meshcherskaya) was the child of Maria Apraksina and Sergey Meshcherskiy. She married Count Alexey Ignatyev. Countess Sophia had eight houses in Petrograd and was a landowner of Rzhev uyezd. Playing an important role in clerical circles, she reportedly was an adherent of Bishop Hermogenes and priest Heliodorus, being an opponent of Grigori Rasputin. She lived to be 94 years old.

Élisabeth de Gramont, Duchess of Clermont-Tonnerre

sh0shan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:37:33 GMT

Élisabeth de Gramont, Duchess of Clermont-Tonnerre by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Antoinette Corisande Élisabeth, Duchess of Clermont-Tonnerre (née de Gramont; 23 April 1875 – 6 December 1954) was a French writer of the early 20th century, best known for her long-term lesbian relationship with Natalie Clifford Barney. A descendant of Henry IV of France, Élisabeth de Gramont had grown up among the highest aristocracy; when she was a child, according to Janet Flanner, "peasants on her farm... begged her not to clean her shoes before entering their houses". She looked back on this lost world of wealth and privilege with little regret, and became known as the "red duchess" for her support of socialism. She was a close friend, and sometimes critic of writer Marcel Proust, whom she had met on June 9, 1903. In her youth, Élisabeth de Gramont was a strikingly pretty woman. Opinionated, outspoken, she became openly bisexual by the start of the 20th century, despite being married. She was born Antonia Corisande Élisabeth de Gramont in Nancy, France. Called "Lily", she was the daughter of Agénor, 11th duc de Gramont, and his wife, née Princesse Isabelle de Beauvau-Craon. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father remarried to the wealthy Marguerite de Rothschild. Natalie Barney and Duchess de Clermont-Tonnerre first met in the spring of 1909, became lovers on May 1, 1910, a date that became their anniversary. Although neither was faithful to the other sexually, they were devoted to one another for their entire lives. She was married to Philibert, duc de Clermont-Tonnerre and had two daughters in 1909, when she met Natalie Barney. Her husband is said to have been violent and tyrannical, but there is little confirmation to that. The Duchesse accepted Barney's nonmonogamy - perhaps reluctantly at first - and went out of her way to be gracious to Barney's other lovers. For example, she always included Romaine Brooks, another of Barney's lovers, when she invited Barney to vacation in the country. On June 20, 1918, the two filed an "unofficial" but, at least to them, binding "marriage contract". The contract stated, in part; "After nine years of life together, joys and worries shared, and affairs confessed. For the survival of the bond that we believe-and wish to believe-is unbreakable, since at its lowest level of reciprocal emotionalism that is the conclusion reached. The union, sorely tried by the passing years, failed doubly the faithfulness test in its sixth year, showing us that adultery is inevitable in these relationships where there is no prejudice, no religion other than feelings, no laws other than desire, incapable of vain sacrifices that seem to be the negation of life..." In essence, the contract was a contract that would bind them together, at least in their own minds, but did not bind them to being only with one another sexually. The contract was honored by both until death separated them. She was divorced in 1920. She participated Popular Front parades, and supported politicians of the left. She died in Paris and is buried at Ancy-le-Franc, near the family castle of Clermont-Tonnerre.

Ludmilla Tchérina (Princess Monique Tchemerzine)

sh0shan — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:07:03 GMT

Ludmilla Tchérina (Princess Monique Tchemerzine) by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Ludmilla Tchérina (10 October 1924 – 21 March 2004) was a French prima ballerina, sculptor, actress, painter, choreographer and author of two novels. Tchérina was born Monique Tchemerzine, into Circassian aristocracy as the daughter of Kabardian Prince Avenir Tchemerzine (Shamyrze), a former Russian general, who had escaped from St. Petersburg, and Stéphane Finette, a Frenchwoman. She studied with Blanche d'Alessandri, Olga Preobrajenska and Clustine. She started dancing at 16 and danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where she was spotted by Serge Lifar. She made her Paris debut creating the rôle of Juliet in his Romeo and Juliet in 1942, becoming the youngest prima ballerina in the history of dance. In 1945 she was a principal dancer with the Ballet des Champs-Élysées and performed in Paris concerts with her husband Edmond Audran. She created various rôles in Lifar's ballets including: 'Mephisto Waltz' in 1945, A la memoire d'un heros in 1946 and in Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastian in 1957. She appeared often with the Paris Opera, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet as a guest performer. Ludmilla Tchérina acted in several films including The Red Shoes, Les Rendezvous, The Tales of Hoffmann, Oh... Rosalinda!! and Luna de Miel. She also appeared in television. In the 1980s she turned to writing and published two novels under her own name, L'Amour au Miroir (1973) and La Femme a L'Envers (1986). Ludmilla Tchérina had a lifelong passion for painting and exhibited in many major galleries. She also conceived and executed several monumental sculptures, including Europe à Coeur, chosen in 1991 by the EU to symbolize the union of Europe and now located at the European Parliament. In 1994 she created Europa Operanda, now installed at the French terminal of Eurotunnel. Edmond Audran, whom she married in 1946, died in a car accident in 1951. She married Raymond Roi in 1953. She was decorated with the "Officier, Legion d'honneur" in 1980 Tchérina died in 2004, aged 79, and is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery, Paris.

Heading out into the world.

sh0shan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:15:26 GMT

Heading out into the world. by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

1902 Worth walking dress made of wool. Dimensions: Length at CB: 66 in. (167.6 cm)

Maria Nagaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia

sh0shan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:01:47 GMT

Maria Nagaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Maria Feodorovna Nagaya (died 1608) was a Russian tsaritsa and eighth (uncanonical) wife of Ivan the Terrible. Maria married Ivan IV in 1581 and a year later gave birth to their son Dmitry. After the Tsar's death in 1584, Nagaya, her son and her brothers were sent into exile to Uglich by Boris Godunov, where she lived until the mysterious death of tsarevich Dmitry in 1591. Maria and her relatives were accused of "criminal negligence" and, as a result, her brothers were incarcerated and she was made a nun in a monastery. In 1605, after the accession of False Dmitriy I in Moscow, Nagaya was forced to "recognize" him as her son and returned to Moscow. All of her family members were freed, reinstated in their ranks and given their confiscated property. After the death of False Dmitriy I in 1606, Maria Nagaya renounced him as her son.

Maria Aurora of Spiegel (Fatima)

sh0shan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:41:47 GMT

Maria Aurora of Spiegel (Fatima) by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Maria Aurora of Spiegel, born Fatima (fl 1733), was a mistress of Augustus II the Strong and the wife of a Polish noble. Originally a Turkish slave, she was brought to the royal courts of Sweden and Poland from Buda and trained as a lady-in-waiting. During the Imperial "reconquest" of Buda from the Ottoman Empire in 1686, soldiers of the Imperial army took the slaves and property belonging to the Turks. The Swedish baron Alexander Erskin, then in Austrian service, took four women: Raziye (Roosia); Asiye (Eisia); Emine; and Fatma (Fatima). Fatima claimed to have been the wife of a mullah. Baron Erskin returned to Sweden with Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, and gave Fatima to Philip's sister Maria Aurora of Königsmarck. The four women were baptized in Stockholm on 7 November 1686 in the presence of the royal court. Crown Prince Charles and Aurora of Königsmarck stood as Fatima's godparents, and she was christened Maria Aurora after Maria Aurora of Königsmarck. She was taught etiquette and French and became a well-liked companion to Aurora of Königsmarck. In 1691 she followed her mistress to Saxony and Poland, where Aurora of Königsmarck became the royal mistress of King Augustus. She was often present at Augustus' visits to Königsmarck, and in 1701 she replaced Aurora as the royal mistress. Augustus married her to his ennobled servant Spiegel. Augustus acknowledged his children with her and seemed to have been in love with her. He often returned to her between his other relationships, and she herself is said to have been tolerant of this, supposedly because she was brought up in a harem. She was the mother of Frederick Augustus Rutowsky and Maria Anna Katharina Rutowska. She later divorced Spiegel and married a Frenchman in Saxon service, Count Claude de Bellegarde She continued as a central character within the royal court after her relationship with Augustus ended, and was good friends with the influential Przebendowska, a relation to the favorite count Fleming. At the king's death in 1733, she was given an allowance of 8.000 thaler in his will.

Marfa Sobakina, Tsaritsa of All Russia

sh0shan — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:24:27 GMT

Marfa Sobakina, Tsaritsa of All Russia by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Marfa Vasilevna Sobakina (1552–1571), was Tsaritsa of the Tsardom of Russia and was the third wife of Ivan the Terrible. The daughter of a Novgorod based merchant Vasiliy Sobakin, Marfa was selected by Ivan among 12 marriage finalists. A few days after her selection, Marfa began to succumb to a mysterious ailment. It was rumored that she was unintentionally poisoned by her mother, who gave her a potion supposedly meant to increase her fertility. Despite rapidly losing weight and barely standing, Marfa was nonetheless married to Ivan on 28 October 1571 in Aleksandrovska Sloboda. Marfa died a few days later. Her death increased her husband's paranoia, because she died in what was meant to be an impregnable fortress filled with loyal subjects. Ivan, remembering the death of his first wife, immediately suspected poison and put to death many of his subjects, including Mikail Temjruk (brother to the Tzar's previous wife) who was impaled.

Princess Elizabeth of Wales

sh0shan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 08:33:13 GMT

Princess Elizabeth of Wales by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Princess Elizabeth of Wales (10 January 1741 – 4 September 1759) was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandchild of George II and sister of George III. Princess Elizabeth was born at Norfolk House, St James's Square, Westminster. Her father was The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King George II and Caroline of Ansbach. Her mother was Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. She was christened twenty-five days later at Norfolk House, by The Bishop of Oxford, Thomas Secker - her godparents were The Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (her first cousin once-removed by marriage; for whom The Lord Baltimore (Gentleman of the Bedchamber to her father) stood proxy), The Queen of Denmark (for whom Anne, Viscountess of Irvine stood proxy) and The Duchess of Saxe-Gotha (her maternal aunt by marriage, for whom Lady Jane Hamilton stood proxy). Little is known of her short life other than a fragment preserved in the Letters of Walpole. “ We have lost another Princess, Lady Elizabeth. She died of an inflammation in her bowels in two days. Her figure was so very unfortunate, that it would have been difficult for her to be happy, but her parts and application were extraordinary. I saw her act in "Cato" at eight years old, (when she could not stand alone, but was forced to lean against the side-scene,) better than any of her brothers and sisters. She had been so unhealthy, that at that age she had not been taught to read, but had learned the part of Lucia by hearing the others study their parts. She went to her father and mother, and begged she might act. They put her off as gently as they could - she desired leave to repeat her part, and when she did, it was with so much sense, that there was no denying her. ” -Horace Walpole, letter to Horatio Mann, 13 September 1759 She died on 4 September 1759 at Kew Palace, London and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg

sh0shan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 08:09:21 GMT

Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Pauline Christine Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Bernburg (also: Princess Pauline of Lippe; 23 February 1769, Ballenstedt – 29 December 1820, Detmold) was a princess consort of Lippe, married in 1796 to Leopold I, Prince of Lippe. She served as the regent of Lippe during the minority of her son from 1802 to 1820. She is regarded as one of the most important rulers of Lippe. On 1 January 1809, she abolised serfdom by princely decree. She managed to keep the principality independent during the Napoleonic Wars. She wrote a constitution, in which the power of the estates was reduced. In the collective historical consciousness of the Lippe population, however, she is best remembered for her social goals.[2] She founded the first day care center in Germany, a labor school for neglected children, a voluntary work camp for adult charity recipients and a health care institution with first aid center. Pauline was the daughter of Prince Frederick Albert, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg of Anhalt-Bernburg and his wife Louise of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön. A few days after her birth, her mother died of the measles. She had an elder brother, Alexius Frederick Christian, who was Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg from 1807. It was noticed at an early age that Pauline had an alert mind. Her father, Prince Frederick Albert personally took over the upbringing of his daughter Pauline and his son and heir Alexei. She was a good student and learned French in addition to Latin, history and political sciences. Already at 13 years of age, she assisted her father in the business of government. First she took over the French correspondence, and later the entire correspondence between the residence in Ballenstedt Castle and the government offices in Bernburg. Her education was strongly influenced by Christian ethics and the ideas of the Enlightenment. Later Pauline continued to practice what she had learned in her youth, such as the teachings of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. On 2 January 1796 Princess Pauline of Anhalt-Bernburg married Prince Leopold I of Lippe. The wedding was celebrated in Ballenstedt, and on 21 January 1796 the couple returned to Detmold, under great cheers of the population. Leopold of Lippe had been asking for her hand for years, but Pauline had repeatedly rejected his suits. The marriage took place only after Leopold's health improved. Previously, he had been put under guardianship for a short time because of mental confusion. In the following years, Pauline spoke positively about their marriage and her "loving" husband. She confessed in a letter to her trusted cousin Frederick Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg: I have never done a step with more consideration than this, I never decided more cold-bloodedly, because my love was really no magnifying glass in front of ..., my heart that on closer acquaintance overruled my reason. The Prince is good, noble, and righteous; he loves me and appreciates me and has far more internal values than appearances. —Pauline, correspondence Pauline gave birth to two sons, Leopold and, Frederick. A third child, a girl named Louise, died shortly after birth on 17 July 1800. Leopold I died on 4 April 1802 and on 18 May Pauline took up the regency for her minor son, the later prince Leopold. In the marriage contract between Leopold and Pauline from 1795, it had been agreed that Pauline, as the future mother, should take both the guardianship and the regency of a minor prince. The Estates of Lippe fiercely opposed this rule. However, no appropriate male male guardian was available and Pauline had also already demonstrated that she would be a suitable regent. Her reign lasted nearly two decades, and is regarded as a happy chapter in the history of Lippe. Pauline held from 1818 until her death in 1820 the office of Mayor of Lemgo, overlapping the period she ruled Lippe. After the Napoleonic Wars, the city was heavily indebted. When mayor Overbeck in 1817, no suitable new mayor could be found, and the magistrates and citizens decided on 4 January 1818 to ask Pauline ... to take a period the police and financial posts of the government of the city under her immediate direction for a period of six years .... Pauline answered on the same day and, contrary to everyone's expectations, she accepted the invitation. Locally, she was represented by the talented and dedicated lawyer Kestner, acting as Commissioner. She managed to improve the financial and social situation by taking some unpopular measures, but always with respect for the parliamentary rules of the city. Like in Detmold in 1801, she founded a workhouse for the poor and a service club under her own direction. She planned to retire to the Lippehof, a baroque palace built in Lemgo in 1734, but she died on 29 December 1820, a few month after she had handed over government business to her son Leopold II on 3 July 1820. In comparison with her contemporary Queen Louise of Sweden Pauline has in the historic context not been glorified as idealistic. She held her position publicly and privately, and often reacted quite violently when she disagreed. This led to quite a few angry and ironic commentaries during her lifetime. Her biographer Hans Kiewning has described her as the regent of Lippe, who was far superior to all those around her, who would also have been an unusual phenomenon in a larger context. The historian Heinrich von Treitschke called her "one of the cleverest women of her time. Her contemporary Ferdinand Weerth described her in his sermons as Princely in her whole being, an unusual degree of mental strength, the clear light mind, and her tireless work. Pauline was challenging her two sons, especially Leopold, the heir apparent. She carefully selected teachers, however, she considered herself to be too impatient in dealing with their sons, which sometimes led to violent confrontations. The only where Princess Pauline failed was the education of her own two sons, her only children. In order to teach them the principles of strict morality she had treated them for too long as children, and had bullied them both to such an extent that the eldest, who was shy and reserved by nature, had become half wild. —Malvida von Meysenbug, memoirs The Prince and the state government had to agree with the Estates, the nobility as landowners and representatives of the cities, on important political issues. Before Pauline's rule, the sovereign, the government and the Estates had usually been able to work out a compromise, despite their often conflicting interests. Pauline, however, was accustomed to the absolute monarchy as practiced in Anhalt-Bernburg, where the Prince ultimately takes the decision. She did not want to allow the Estates to talk her out of realizing her well-intentioned social plans. She felt that she knew what was best for the country and its inhabitants. In 1805, the Estates rejected her plan to introduce a tax on liquor to finance a hospital for the insane. After that, she rarely summoned the Estates and mostly ruled by decree. The government of Lippe had been presided by a chancellor or prime minister since the 18th Century. Their weight grew over time. They rarely came into conflict with Princess Pauline, since their reform ideas of both sides were largely compatible with hers. Pauline regularly participated in meetings of the cabinet or the parliament and made her decisions there. Such sessions were often dominated by her impatience and her desire to lead. Her main focus was on foreign policy, however, because she spoke and wrote better French than any of her officials. She broke through the male monopoly, which in those days was only possible due to her Princely rank. No other females were active in the Lippe government, until some female Councillors were elected after 1945. She took over the foreign ministry in 1810 and in 1817 the Princess also took up the management of the "madhouse" (as it was called at the time), the house of correction and the distribution of subdidies. In the relationship to her subjects, she was often close to the people, but ultimately, she had an autocratic style of government. The publications of Count Rumford Pauline inspired to put into practice her ideas on the state organization of the poor relief. She believed the cause of poverty and begging in her country was mainly to be found in the Lippe national character with his penchant for laziness and idleness. From the scientific literature on poor relief available to her, she gathered that real improvement could only be achieved through labor, voluntary or otherwise, and not through financial handouts. Inspired by this, Pauline continued the policies introduced by her late stepmother-in-law Casimire of Anhalt-Dessau, in accordance with the socio-political beliefs of their time. Among the institutions founded by Pauline were a vocational school, a day care center, the hospital, the voluntary workhouse. An orphanage already existed since 1720, and a teacher training college had been founded in 1781. She grouped these six institutions under the term nursing homes and housed them in a former convent. They formed the nucleus of today's Princess Pauline Foundation in Detmold. The nursing home claimed that they could provide assistance "from the cradle to the grave". It was considered unique and was often visited by foreign guests, who praised especially the day care center. The services were, however, only available to residents of Detmold. The people liked Pauline mainly because of her social institutions. The integrated charitable institutions were viewed as a model at home and abroad and were visited by foreign delegations, most of them British. Her care for the poor was evident. She relieved the famine in the years 1802 to 1804, by creating granaries. She was personally responsible for the softening the impact of military activities, such as quarterting and positioning of troops. She was also responsible for the improvement of the infrastructure of the country. She built new roads and introduced street lighting in Detmold, using 26 oil lamps. She did not build any important monuments herself, but the construction of the neo-classical houses on the avenue in Detmold began during her reign. She initiated the merger in 1819 of several existing collections of books into a public library. Today's Lippe State Library at Detmold is a direct continuation of this library. In the summer of 1798, Pauline had turned to the social tasks. There was great poverty in Lippe and the Princess accepted that this was due to a lack of education of the population. Many parents did not sent their children to school out of economic necessity, instead letting the children work or beg. Simon Ernst Moritz Krücke, the inspector of the teacher seminary, was Pauline's closest advisor on social questions. He recommended the establishment of a vocational school; children should learn the theoretical knowledge but also practical skills. Leopold I agreed and the new school was opened in the orphanage at Bruchtor in Detmold. There, Krücke taught the children of poor people together with the orphans. Legally, the school became equivalent to an elementary school. Some of the lesson was filled with practical work. Among the practical skills taught was knitting. The Princess visited knitting classes and gave small rewards to the children. The knitted goods were sold and the children received a part of the proceeds. This was meant to counter the objections of the parents, who would rather send their children to beg. A year later, the school was handed over to the country during a school festival. It was officially inaugurated on 28 June 1799. Sixty children who had not attended school before this school began, showed the knowledge and skills they had acquired in that year. Nevertheless, problems continued with parents who sent their children to the field in summer, to herd cattle or gather ears of corn, or sent them begging during the Christmas season. Economic conditions were harsh; the parents' income was never secure; the economy was evolving into a money economy and this made it difficult for them to do without the money earned by their children even seasonally Pauline worried about the welfare of small children, whose parents had to leave the house for work during the day. She read in a Paris newspaper of an initiative by Joséphine de Beauharnais, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was still First Consul of France at that point in time. In Paris, however, only unmarried mothers were allowed to use the center, while in Detmold, the offering was also to married couples, if they both had to work. A circular from Princess Pauline Detmold ladies with the title German: Vorschlag eine Pariser Mode nach Detmold zu verpflanzen is viewed as a starting point for the creation of a day care center: Madame Bonaparte and several delicate and elegant ladies in the vast capital of the French Empire chose and built with truly feminine sister feeling and enviable refinement in the various neighborhoods of the big city, rooms where delicate youngsters, whose mothers are employed outside their homes, are being nurtured, fed, and calmed. Every morning blissful mothers bring their children; every night they take them home again with joy and gratitude, and the female founders of this mild institution alternately assume the supervision —circular (quoted from Traute zur Lippe: Zur Geschichte der Paulinenanstalt in Detmold) Pauline used the circular to find educated ladies willing to supervise the center one day each week, for free. The princely house would finance the center. Older girls from the vocational school and the orphanage would look after the children and be trained to care for them. In 1801, Pauline purchased a suitable building for the institution: the so-called "Schwalenberg Court" on Süsterstraße (now called Schülerstraße) in Detmold. The first day care center opened on 1 July 1802. The building was a three story nobel court; it was demolished at the end of the 19th Century. The "Gymnasium Leopoldinum" developed from a school that was already housed in the building when Pauline bought it. The day care center was soon imitated all over Germany. The city of Detmold, however, saw the project as a royal hobby and provided no financial support. Up to 20 children were cared for in the first years. They were required to have been weaned from their mother's breast of and no older than four years of age. Four-year-old children, it was believed, could stay at home alone or accompany their parents in the gardens or the fields, until they were old enough to go to the vocational school. The child-care institution was open from 24 June until late October when the harvest and garden work were completed. Based on a report published by inspector Krücke in 1813, the center was open from 06:00 to 18:00 or 20:00. In the morning adolescent girls from the orphanage and older pupils from the vocational school would wash the children and put on a clean shirt and woolen jackets. On weekends, the clothing worn during the week was washed. The clothes were donated to the children when center closed at the end of the season. Pauline mostly financed the center using her own money, and the rest was paid out of the hospital fund. She managed to find twelve wealthy middle class women willing to act as supervisors. They had to record certain events in a journal, so that the princess was always well informed There are numerous indications that Pauline admired Napoleon. She was grateful for allowing Lippe to remain independent. Pauline was reinforced in her opinion by her correspondence with the highly educated diplomat Karl Friedrich Reinhard, who was in the service of France and was a friend of Goethe. Reinhard was an enthusiast for the French Revolution and was ambassador at the court of the Kingdom of Westphalia in Kassel. Until the end, Pauline believed in that Napoleon would win the war. The news of Napoleon's defeat in Russia could not change their beliefs. She was opposed to Lippe seceding from the Confederation of the Rhine and Lippe prosecuted soldiers who had deserted from Napoleon's army. The Prussian lieutenant Haxthausen, who worked as a Russian diplomat, had behaved unduly toward her. She responded by having him locked up in the madhouse. He could only be released when Lippe was declared a hostile country after the Battle of Leipzig and was occupied by Prussian troops. The Prussian commander, Colonel von der Marwitz, described the incident in a letter to his wife and wrote about Pauline: The Princess-Regent is a rascal, and she has always served Napoleon faithfully Next to Pauline's for social reform, the preservation of the Lippe's independence was her greatest foreign policy success. She felt obliged, as guardian, to act in her son's best interest and to keep his rights intact as far as possible. The small country was wedged between the warring powers France, Prussia and Hesse and under threat of being occupied by one or the other of its neighbors. At the beginning of her reign, Lippe was part of a neutral protection zone established by treaty, which all the warring parties respected. To ensure the neutrality, Prussian observation troops of there were stationed in Lippe. In 1806 Napoleon initiated the so-called Confederation of the Rhine. Prussia responded with the North German Confederation and solicited members. Pauline saw that Lippe's independence was threatened and sought to join the Confederation of the Rhine. Napoleon confirmed Lippe's affiliation with the Confederation on 18 April 1807 with a certificate, and Pauline traveled to Paris to negotiate some special arrangements for Lippe. She was known as an admirer of Napoleon, an attitude that earned her much criticism later. In justifying her decision, she stated that she preferred to submit to a distant France than to neighboring Hesse or Prussia. The inclusion in the Confederation of the Rhine had the consequence that Lippe had to provide troops for Napoleon's army. The citizens of Lippe resisted and there were riots. Many young men evaded the recruitment or deserted during the French campaigns. After Napoleon's defeat in October 1813 in the Battle of Leipzig, the citizens of Lippe flogged the French officials in Lippe, to Pauline's dismay. Until then she had believed in Napoleon's victory. Lippe was occupied by the Prussians, who regarded it as a hostile country and as Pauline as a collaborator. As a result, Lippe resigned from the Confederation of the Rhine. Counsellor Preuss signed treaties of alliance with Austria and Russia on 29 November 1813. A Lippe volunteer corps was formed and was equipped by donations from Lippe citizens. Pauline invited her citizens to contribute and every gift, regardless of size, was published with the name of the donor in the newspaper of record. That Lippe came out of the political disaster of 1813 intact, was due to the tendency of the rulers in Austria and Russia to restore the status quo ante. The South German members of the Confederation had been accepted as allies and it was felt that Lippe coud not be treated differently. After these, Pauline suffered a nervous breakdown from which she recovered only slowly. She therefore took no part in the Congress of Vienna 1814–15, when Europe was reorganized after the victory over Napoleon. Many small states disappeared from the map, but Lippe's sovereignty was confirmed at the Congress of Vienna. The last entry in the list of sovereign princes in the preamble of the constitution of the German Confederation of 8 July 1815 reads: Her Highness the Princess of the Lippe as regent and guardian of the prince her son [...] —preamble of the constitution of the German Confederation On 27 December 1808, Princess Pauline issued a decree to abolish serfdom in Lippe, against the will of the Estates, who had been side-lined since 1805. The decree came into force on 1 January 1809. She followed the example of most other states from the Confederation of the Rhine. In the era after the French Revolution, serfdom was widely seen as a "relic of the Middle Ages", and firmly rejected. In the preamble to the decree, the Princess Regent, explained her humanistic and, above all, economic motives. Her words were read from the pulpits and published through posters and printed in the Lippischen Intelligenzblättern: Convinced that serfdom, even if it is as moderate as it has been so far in this country, will always have a negative influence on the morality andthe diligence and solvency of the peasants, we find ourselves, as mother of the nation, and in the interest of the wealth of this class of faithful subjects, moved to follow the example of other member states of the Confederation and give up such a relationship, [...] —Lippischen Intelligenzblättern The decree of 27 December 1808 abolished the Weinkauf and Sterbfall rules, which had been applied until then. The Weinkauf rule stipulated that when a serf sold his Kolonat, a transfer fee had to be paid to the landlord. Under the Sterbfall rule, when a serf died, his heirs had to deliver his best set of clothes or his or the most valuable piece of cattle. This Regulation initially affected only Paulines own serfs and their relatives. Within a short time, however, it was extended to the landed gentry, the landowners, the Church of Lippe and the wealthy citizens. This gave the Lippe farmers and their families a noticeable improvement of their previously modest social status. However, the Lippe variant of serfdom was by no means comparable with the Prussian or the Russian serfdom. It was only a mild obligation and its abolition posed no particular event and sparked no celebrations among those affected. The farmers were more hindered by the numerous banalities and payments in cash and in kind they wre required to make, which would only be abolished by law in Lippe in the 1830. The Estates were made up of representatives of the knighthood and the cities and convened each year at a Landtag in order to discuss the affairs of Lippe and to make decisions. With the membership of Lippe in the Confederation of the Rhine, these rights were suspended and the Princess was appointed to Sovereign. Pauline took her new authority to the mean that she would no longer need the consent of the Estates now: I can not do it, although perhaps a fault of my strong character [...], to endure the pretensions and stabbings, the disrespectful tone, the eternal hindering of every good act which the Estates allow themselves year after year. —Pauline, letters Pauline did not resolved the Estates but largely ruled without them, like the absolutist Frederick Adolph a century earlier. Her relationship to the Estates had already been tarnished when the Estates refused the duty on spirits that she had proposed in 1805 to finance the asylum for the insane she was planning. After the Confederation of the Rhine was dissolved, the Estates demanded their old rights be reinstated and it came to a bitter dispute with the Princely House. In the Vienna Final Act, the final document of the Congress of Vienna, paragraph 13 states: In all German states will a Constitution of the Estates will be established. Pauline had a Constitution for Lippe drafted along the lines of some southern German states; she wrote the final version personally. This Constitution was adopted by the Government on 8 June 1819 and subsequently published under cheers of the population. The Estates protested against the restriction of their traditional rights and asked the Emperor to counter the Princess's subversive and the democratic spirit of the times. At the instigation of Metternich, the so-called Carlsbad Decrees were taken against democratic agitation. These coincided with the bitter confrontation about the Constitution in Lippe. The Federal Assembly of the German Confederation asked Pauline to immediately repeal the Constitution. After Pauline's death, Leopold II and the Lippe government tried to maintain her Legacy, with the necessary changes. After long and difficult negotiations with the estates, including the nobility, this proved impossible. Eventually a compromise was found in which some of the ancient privileges of the nobility were restored. The new Constitution came into force in 1836 Pauline was often disappointed because of Leopold's phlegm and believed she could not hand over government to him with clear conscience. She postponed the date of the transfer several times, until critical voices became too loud. Finally, she surprised her son by announcing her resignation on 3 July 1820. At first, Leopold needed her assistance in the affairs of government, but he made sure that this was not visible to outsiders. Pauline planned to end this situation by moving from Detmold to her widow seat Lippehof at Lemgo. However, before she could move, she died on 29 December 1820 of a painful lung ulceration. She was buried in the Reformed Church at the market square in Detmold, today's Church of the Redeemer. On 5 March 1822 an obituary of Pauline by Helmina von Chézy was published in the Dresdner Abendzeitung. It condemned her anti-Prussian policy and cited as an excuse: Who is going to require a woman, even if she were an Empress, an independent, correct political view and steady action in matters of war? —Helmina von Chézy, obituary in the Dresdner Abendzeitung The historian Hans Kiewning wrote a biography of Pauline in the 1930s entitled: Princess Pauline of Lippe, 1769 to 1820. It is the most influential positive biography until today. Kiewning expressed his admiration for Pauline in the following words: Additionally, there is little doubt that Pauline far surpassed all rulers of Lippe who came before or after her, and made a name for herself outside her country's borders during her lifetime more than any of them. —Hans Kiewning Pauline's personality, politics and reforms have been the subject of numerous studies and publications. The Lippe Bibliography lists some 170 titles are currently only about personal. Historical research in the second half of the 20th Century began to question the uncritical historical view of Pauline. Elizabeth Stolle asked in her contribution to Lippischen Mitteilungen aus Geschichte und Landeskunde, 1969 questions about the Pauline's religious stance, in order to obtain a better understanding of her diaconal interests. In a survey conducted by the Lippische Landeszeitung at the end of 2009, Princess Pauline was elected as the most significant figure in the history of Lippe, with 28 percent of the votes cast. Former state president Heinrich Drake finished second with 22 percent, the third place was tied between Arminius, winner of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, and ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, with 9 percent of the votes each. Statues of Pauline can be found on the grounds of the Lindenhaus in Lemgo and in park of Bad Meinberg. A plaque is attached to a building at the Castle Square in Detmold. An association name Pauline's daughters, a mineral spring at Bad Salzuflen name Pauline spring, and a number of street names in several towns in Lippe, all remind us of the Princess. The Princess Pauline Foundation in Detmold still exists and focusses on assisting young people and the elderly. The foundation runs a number of day care centers and strives help people in need in the spirit of the Princess. Issue Leopold II, Prince of Lippe (6 November 1796 – 1 January 1851) Prince Frederick (8 December 1797 – 20 October 1854) Princess Louise (17 July 1800 – 18 July 1800)

Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, Duchess of Longueville

sh0shan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 07:04:36 GMT

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Anne Geneviève de Bourbon (28 August 1619 – 5 April 1679) was a French princess who is remembered for her beauty and amours, her influence during the civil wars of the Fronde, and her final conversion to Jansenism. Anne Geneviève was the only daughter of Henri de Bourbon, Prince of Condé, and his wife Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency, and the sister of Louis, Grand Condé. She was born in the prison of the Château of Vincennes into which her father and mother had been thrown for opposition to Marshal d'Ancre, the favorite of Marie de' Medici, who was then regent during the minority of Louis XIII. She was educated with great strictness in the convent of the Carmelites in the Rue Saint-Jacques in Paris. Her early years were clouded by the execution of Henri of Montmorency, her mother's only brother, for intriguing against Richelieu in 1632, and that of her mother's cousin the Count François de Montmorency-Boutteville for duelling in 1635; but her parents made their peace with Richelieu, and being introduced into society in 1635 she soon became one of the stars of the Hôtel de Rambouillet, at that time the center of all that was learned, witty, and gay in France. In 1642, she was married to Henri II d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville, governor of Normandy, a widower twice her age (his first wife Louise de Bourbon had died in 1637). The marriage was not happy. After Richelieu's death, her father became chief of the council of regency during the minority of Louis XIV, her brother Louis won the great victory of Rocroi in 1643, and the duchess became of political importance. In 1646, she accompanied her husband to Münster, where he was sent by Mazarin as chief envoy, and where she charmed the German diplomats who were negotiating the treaty of Westphalia and was addressed as the "goddess of peace and concord". On her return, she fell in love with the Duke of La Rochefoucauld, the author of the Maxims, who made use of her love to obtain influence over her brother, and thus win honors for himself. She was the guiding spirit of the first Fronde, when she brought over Armand de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, her second brother, and her husband to the malcontents, but she failed to attract Condé himself, whose loyalty to the court overthrew the first Fronde. It was during the first Fronde that she lived at the Hôtel de Ville and took the city of Paris as godmother for the child born to her there. The peace did not satisfy her, although La Rochefoucauld won the titles he desired. The second Fronde was largely her work, and in it she played the most prominent part in attracting to the rebels first Condé and later Turenne. In the last year of the war, she was accompanied into Aquitaine by the Duke of Nemours, an intimacy which gave La Rochefoucauld an excuse for abandoning her, and to immediately return to his former mistress the duchesse de Chevreuse. Jansenism: a Refuge from Disgrace Thus abandoned, and in disgrace at court, the Duchess betook herself to religion. She accompanied her husband to his government at Rouen, and devoted herself to good works. She took for her spiritual director the Abbé Antoine Singlin, famous in the history of Port-Royal. She chiefly lived in Normandy until 1663, when her husband died, and she came to Paris. There she became more and more Jansenist in opinion, and her piety and the remembrance of her influence during the disastrous days of the Fronde, and above all the love her brother, the great Condé, bore her, made her conspicuous. The king pardoned her and in every way showed respect for her. She became the great protectress of the Jansenists; it was in her house that Antoine Arnauld, Pierre Nicole and Noël Lalane, author of De la Grâce victorieuse, were protected; and to her influence must be in great part attributed the release of Louis-Isaac Lemaistre de Sacy, from the Bastille, the introduction of Simon Arnauld, marquis de Pomponne into the ministry and of Arnauld to the king. Her famous letters to the pope are part of the history of Port-Royal, and as long as she lived the nuns of Port-Royal des Champs were left in safety. Her elder son resigned his title and estates, and became a Jesuit under the name of the Abbé d'Orléans, while the younger, after leading a debauched life, was killed leading the attack in the passage of the Rhine in 1673. As her health failed, she hardly ever left the convent of the Carmelites in which she had been educated. On her death in 1679, she was buried with great splendor by her brother Condé, and her heart, as she had directed, was sent to the nuns of the Port-Royal des Champs. The chief authority for Madame de Longueville's life is a little book in two volumes by Villefore the Jansenist, published in 1738. Victor Cousin has devoted four volumes to her, which, though immensely diffuse, give a vivid picture of her time. See also Sainte-Beuve, Portraits des femmes. Her connection with Port-Royal should be studied in Arnauld's Memoirs, and in the different histories of that institution. Charlotte Louise, Mademoiselle de Dunois (1645-1664). Jean Louis Charles d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville (1646-1694). Marie Gabrielle (1646-1650). Charles Paris d'Orléans, Duke of Longuveille (1649-1672).

Princess Frederica Wilhelmina of Prussia

sh0shan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:35:04 GMT

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Princess Frederica Wilhelmina Louise Amalia of Prussia (30 September 1796 – 1 January 1850) was a daughter of Prince Louis Charles of Prussia and Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was a member of the House of Hohenzollern. By her marriage to Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, she would become Duchess consort of Anhalt-Dessau. Frederica was the youngest child and only daughter of Prince Louis Charles of Prussia and his wife Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Her father was a younger son of Frederick William II of Prussia. Due to her mother's later marriages, Frederica would have many half-siblings, including George V of Hanover. On 18 April 1818, Frederica married Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt in Berlin. They had been engaged since 17 May 1816, as the connection had already been arranged by the Prussian court. This dynastic connection was an expression of Leopold's pro-Prussian policies. They had six children: Princess Fredericka Amalie Auguste, 28 November 1819 - 11 December 1822 Princess Fredericka Amalie Agnes, 24 June 1824 - 23 October 1897, married on 28 April 1853 to Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. A son, 3 August 1825 - 3 August 1825, he was either stillborn or died shortly after the birth. A son, 3 November 1827 - 3 November 1827, he was either stillborn or died shortly after the birth. Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt, 29 April 1831 - 24 January 1904, married on 22 April 1854 to Princess Antoinette of Saxe-Altenburg. Princess Maria Anna, 14 September 1837 - 12 May 1906, married on 29 November 1854 to Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia. Frederica died on 1 January 1850 in Dessau. Leopold would die 21 years later, on 22 May 1871.

Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

sh0shan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:11:38 GMT

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Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (30 November 1719 – 8 February 1772) was Princess of Wales between 1736 and 1751, and Dowager Princess of Wales thereafter. She was one of only three Princesses of Wales who never became queen consort. Princess Augusta's eldest son succeeded as George III of the United Kingdom in 1760, as her husband, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died nine years earlier. Princess Augusta was born in Gotha to Frederick II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1676–1732) and Magdalena Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1676–1740). Her paternal grandfather was Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, eldest surviving son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg. At age sixteen and speaking virtually no English, Augusta arrived in Great Britain in order to marry 29-year old Frederick, Prince of Wales, eldest son of King George II and Queen Caroline. The wedding ceremony took place almost immediately, on 27 April 1736, at the Chapel Royal in St James's Palace, London. The marriage seems to have been a happy one. Augusta and Frederick had nine children, the last born after Frederick's death. The birth of their first daughter, Princess Augusta, on 31 August 1737, took place at St James's after Princess Augusta was forced by Frederick to travel from Hampton Court Palace while in labor, simply to prevent his hated parents from being present at the birth. Throughout their marriage, Augusta went along with her husband's wishes in the feud with his parents. Following Frederick's death, her role as mother of the heir-apparent to the throne became a more important one, and she was named prospective regent, which caused a political controversy. Shortly afterwards, she began to be influenced by John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, her son's tutor, and rumors spread that they were having an affair. This was due to her being adamant that Bute was visiting her, and not her son, during his back door visits to tutor the prince. Both were pilloried in the press. Even after George III's accession, Augusta suffered widespread hostility from the public. After she died of cancer of the throat at age 52 at Carlton House, her funeral procession attracted troublemakers who followed the coffin to the grave shouting insults. Princess Augusta enlarged and greatly extended Kew Gardens after her husband's death. Sir William Chambers built several garden structures for her. One of these, the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761, still remains.

Princess Augusta of Great Britain

sh0shan — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 05:27:38 GMT

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Princess Augusta Frederica of Wales (31 August 1737 – 23 March 1813) was a member of the British Royal Family, a granddaughter of George II and only elder sibling of George III. She later married into the Ducal House of Brunswick, of which she was already a member. Her daughter Caroline of Brunswick was the Queen consort of George IV. Princess Augusta Frederica of Wales was born at St. James's Palace, London. Her father was Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King George II and Queen Caroline of Ansbach and her mother was the Princess of Wales, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. Fifty days later, she was christened at St. James's Palace by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Her godparents were her paternal grandfather, the King (represented by his Lord Chamberlain, the Duke of Grafton), and her grandmothers, Queen Caroline and the Dowager Duchess of Saxe-Gotha (both represented by proxies). Her third birthday was celebrated by the first public performance of Rule, Britannia! at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire. She was born second in the line of succession. Augusta was given a careful education and the negotiations about her marriage began in 1761. On 16 January 1764, Augusta married Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, at the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace. Augusta regarded the residence in Brunswick as too simple. She returned to Great Britain in 1764 to give birth to her first child and took a long time to return to Brunswick after the birth. A new palace was built for her in Zuckerberg south of Brunswick to answer more to her taste, constructed by Carl Christoph Wilhelm Fleischer, and called Richmond, to remind her of England. When the palace was finished in 1768, Augusta moved there permanently. The marriage was purely an arranged political marriage and Augusta and Charles regarded each other with mutual indifference. Augusta was indifferent to Charles's affairs with Maria Antonia Branconi and Louise Hertefeld. Her indifference was sometimes seen as arrogance, and it gave rise to rumors and slander. Augusta's popularity was severely damaged by the fact that her eldest sons were born with handicaps. Augusta rarely appeared at the court of Braunschweig because of the dominance of her mother-in-law. When Charles became regent in 1773, her mother-in-law left the court and Augusta filled the position of first lady in the court ceremonies of Brunswick, although she often took short holidays to her personal palace Richmond. In 1780, Charles, already regent for his father, became sovereign duke, and Augusta became duchess consort. The Swedish Princess Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte described her, as well as her family, at the time of her visit in August, 1799: Our cousin the Duke arrived immediately the next morning. He has won many victorys as a notable military man, are witty, litteral and a pleasant aquaitance but ceremonial beyond description. He is said to be quite strict, but a good father of the nation who attends to the needs of his people. After he left us, I visited the Dowager Duchess, the aunt of my consort. She is an agreable, highly educated and well respected lady, but now so old that she has almost lost her memory. From her I continued to the Duchess, sister to the King of England and a typical English woman. She looked very simple, like a vicar's wife, has I am sure many admirable qualities and are very respectable, but completely lacks manners. She makes the stranges questions without considering how difficult and unpleasant they can be. Both the hereditary princess as well as princess Augusta - sister of the sovereign Duke - came to her while I was there. The former are delightful, mild, loveable, witty and clever, not a beauty but still very pretty. In addition, she is said to be admirably kind to her boring consort. The princess Augusta are full of wit and energy and very amusing. (....) The Duchess and the Princesses followed me to Richmond, the country villa of the Duchess a bit outside of the town. It was small and pretty with a beautiful little park, all after an English pattern. As she had the residence constructed herself, it amuses her to show it to others. (....)The sons of the Ducal couple are somewhat peculiar. The hereditary prince, chubby and fat, almost blind, strange and odd - if not to say an imbecill - attempts to imitate his father but only makes himself artificial and unpleasant. He talks contiunously, does not know what he says and is in all aspects unbearable. He is accommodating but a poor thing, loves his consort to the point of worship and is completely governed by her. The other son, Prince Georg, is the most ridiculous person imaginable, and so silly that he can never be left alone but is always accompanied by a courtier. The third son is also described as an original. I never saw him, as he served with his regiment. The fourth is the only normal one, but also torments his parents by his imoral behaviour. In 1806, when Prussia declared war on France, the Duke of Brunswick, 71 at the time, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Prussian army. On 14 October of that year, at the Battle of Jena, Napoleon defeated the Prussian army, and, on the same day, at the battle of Auerstadt, the Duke of Brunswick was seriously wounded, dying a few days later. The Duchess of Brunswick, with two of her sons, and a widowed daughter-in-law, fled her ruined palace for Altona, were she was present with her daughter-in-law Marie of Baden at her dying husband's side. Her other daughter-in-law, Louise of Orange-Nassau, left for Switzerland with her mother. Due to the advancing French army, Augusta and Marie were advised by the British ambassador to flee, and they left shortly before her husband's death. They were invited to Sweden by Marie's brother-in-law King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. Marie accepted to offer and left for Sweden, but Augusta left for Augustenborg, a small town east of Jutland. The Duchess of Brunswick remained here, with her niece, Princess Louise Augusta, daughter of her sister Queen Caroline Mathilde of Denmark, until her brother, George III finally relented, in September 1807, and allowed her to move to London. She moved to Montague House, Blackheath, in Greenwich, with her daughter, the Princess of Wales, but soon fell out with her daughter, and purchased the house next door, Brunswick House, as she renamed it. The Duchess of Brunswick lived out her days in Blackheath and died, in 1813, aged 75.

Princess Carolina of Orange and Nassau-Dietz, Princess of Nassau-Weilburg

sh0shan — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:01:54 GMT

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Princess Carolina of Orange and Nassau-Dietz, Princess of Nassau-Weilburg (28 February 1743, Leeuwarden – 6 May 1787, Kirchheimbolanden) was the daughter of William IV, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and Anne, Princess Royal. Princess Carolina was born in Leeuwarden. In 1747, it was declared that the position of Stadtholder could be inherited by females, thus making the young Princess Carolina the heiress presumptive to the position of Stadtholder. However, in 1748, a male heir, Willem, was born to her parents, thus displacing her and putting her second in line to the position. Princess Carolina's father died in 1751, making her three-year-old brother Willem V of Orange. At that point, her mother was appointed Princess-Regent. However, in 1759, her mother died, and Willem V was still just ten years old. Then, Princess Carolina's paternal grandmother, Princess Marie-Luise, was made Princess-Regent. Princess Marie-Luise was regent until 1765, when she died. Willem V was now seventeen, but that was still not old enough to rule on his own. So, Princess Carolina was made regent. She ruled until 1766, when Willem V turned eighteen. On 5 March 1760 in The Hague, during the regency of her grandmother Princess Marie Luise, Princess Carolina married Karl Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg. They had fifteen children: Georg Wilhelm Belgicus of Nassau-Weilburg (The Hague, 18 December 1760 - Honselaarsdijk, 27 May 1762) Wilhelm Ludwig Karl Flamand of Nassau-Weilburg (The Hague, 12 December 1761 - Kirchheim, 16 April/26 April 1770) Augusta Carolina Maria of Nassau-Weilburg (The Hague, 5 February 1764 - Weilburg, 25 January 1802). A nun in Quedlinburg and Herford. Wilhelmine Luise of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (The Hague, 28 September 1765 - Greiz, 10 October 1837), married in Kirchheim on 9 January 1786 Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss of Greiz (Greiz, 16 February 1747 - Greiz, 29 January 1817), and had issue Stillborn Daughter (21 October 1767-21 October 1767) Frederick William, Duke of Nassau (25 October 1768, The Hague - 9 January 1816). Karoline Luise Friederike of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (Kirchheim, 14 February 1770 - Wiesbaden, 8 July 1828), married in Kirchheim on 4 September 1787 Karl Ludwig Fürst zu Wied (Dierdorf, 9 September 1763 - Dierdorf, 9 March 1824), without issue Karl Ludwig of Nassau-Weilburg (Kirchheim, 19 July 1772 - Kirchheim, 27 July 1772) Karl Wilhelm Friedrich of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (Kirchheim, 1 May 1775 - Weilburg, 11 May 1807), unmarried and without issue Amalie Charlotte Wilhelmine Louise of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (Kirchheim, 7 August 1776 - Schaumburg, 19 February 1841), married firstly in Weilburg on 29 October 1793 Victor II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, and had issue, and married secondly in Schaumburg on 15 February 1813 Friedrich Freiherr von Stein-Liebenstein zu Barchfeld (14 February 1777 - 4 December 1849), and had issue Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg, then of Nassau (22 April 1780 - 2 January 1857). Married Duke Louis of Württemberg, second son of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg. Karl of Nassau-Weilburg (1784 - shortly thereafter) Three nameless, stillborn, children (1778, 1779, 1785)

Countess Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya

sh0shan — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:27:04 GMT

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Alexandra Vasilievna Zhukovskaya (11 November 1842 Düsseldorf - 26 August 1899 Wendischbora, Germany), was a Russian noble and lady in waiting, daughter of Vasily Zhukovsky and Elizabeth Reitern. In 1870, Alexandra is alleged to have married a very prominent Russian Royal, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, the son of Czar Alexander II of Russia. However no proof of such a marriage exists. Even if they were married she would have not been his Grand Duchess as such a marriage did not conform to the laws of the Imperial family. The Grand Duke tried to get a title for her and her son. However, the Emperor, his father refused. He was however able to secure her a title by the Republic of San Marino. She was made on 24 March 1875 Baroness Seggiano. The same year, on December 14,1875 she married Baron Christian-Henrich von Wohrmann in Munich/ Bavaria.This marriage seem to prove that she did not marry the Grand Duke before. No proof of a divorce exists. Alexandra and Alexei had one child, a son: Count Alexei Alexandrovich Belevsky-Zhukovsky (1871–1931), He received the title Count Belesvsky on 21 March 1884 from his uncle, Emperor Alexander III. In 1901 he added his name of his grandfather on his mother's side.

Sophia of Nassau

sh0shan — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 07:13:34 GMT

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Sophia of Nassau (9 July 1836 – Stockholm, 30 December 1913) was Queen consort of Sweden and Norway. Sophia was Queen of Sweden for 35 years, second longest period in Swedish history. Only queen Silvia holds this title for longer period. Sophia was the youngest daughter of Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau, by his second wife Princess Pauline Friederica Marie of Württemberg. Her maternal grandfather was Prince Paul of Württemberg, a son of King Frederick I of Württemberg and his ill-fated consort Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1764–88). Augusta was a daughter of Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg and Princess Augusta of Great Britain, George III of the United Kingdom's older sister. Sophia's marriage to Prince Oscar of Sweden, Duke of Östergötland, second son of the reigning king, was considered to be the first in the Royal House that was not completely arranged. Though the match was considered very suitable, the couple was allowed to make their own decision on the basis of their feelings, and generally, their marriage was considered happy. She married Prince Oscar (later King Oscar II of Sweden) on 6 June 1857 at the Castle in Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Sophia was received with enormous enthusiasm when she arrived in Sweden in 1857 because the then-Crown Prince Charles XV of Sweden and his wife were not expected to produce a male heir. Following the death of her father-in-law in 1859, Oscar was first in line to the Swedish throne after his brother the King. The couple lived a quiet life in Arvfurstens palats. Sophia was said to dislike the frivolity of her brother-in-law's court and the French-influenced culture and Catholic tendencies she reportedly saw there. She was described as learned, calm and sensible but boring and regarded as a respected and dignified a center of the Royal Family life and someone from whom to seek advice. She exercised stern discipline over both her sons and her husband and shocked people by letting her sons attend a public boys' school. Her family life represented the Victorian ideal but involved the usual double-standards. Oscar was sometimes unfaithful, but much more discreet than his brother Charles. Upon the death of her brother-in-law on 12 May 1873, Sophia became Queen consort of Sweden. As queen, Sophia was liberal and almost democratic in her views, in contrast to her daughter-in-law Victoria of Baden, whose militant aggression she disliked. She had a moderating effect on her husband's more conservative and pro-German ideas. It was noticed that she had a stabilising effect on him. After 1866, when Nassau was annexed by Prussia, she became an Anglophile. Acting as her husband's advisor, she is known to have used her political influence on several occasions. She was popular in Norway, where she spent all her summers between 1892 and 1904. In 1895, a dispute broke out with Norway, which wished to have its own embassies abroad. The royal family gathered by the Queen's sickbed to discuss what to do, accompanied by the German Emperor William II. William recommended military intervention, but Sophia forbade anything of the sort and told the Emperor that he did not understand the situation. In 1898, the Prime Minister Boström threatened to resign, and the King to abdicate, after the Norwegians began using their own flag. Sophia calmed the situation, called the minister and convinced him to stay. She is often credited with using her influence to prevent war between Sweden and Norway when their union dissolved in 1905. She supported her son Eugén, who wanted to study art in Paris, and her son Oscar when he wanted to marry the noble lady-in-waiting Ebba Munck af Fulkila. Queen Sophia was deeply religious and very active in charity work, especially health care and medicine. During her first years as queen, her husband had several affairs, notably with Magda von Dolcke and Marie Friberg. Sophia left Stockholm for the countryside several times as the new queen, She acquired a greater interest in religion through a society preacher. She attended various religious groups and services, often in the company of her sister-in-law Eugenie, and in 1878, she became a follower of the English preacher Lord Radstock, whom she had listened to when he visited Stockholm. Radstock's teachings, that one must suffer to honor God and the Savior, appealed to her. Her son Eugen said of her that human worth and justice almost had a higher standing with her than her deep piety. In 1884, Sophia established the first school for the education of nurses after a visit to London, where she was inspired by Florence Nightingale. In 1887, she founded the hospital Sophiahemmet. She was always very interested in increasing respect for the nursing profession among doctors and had many conflicts with authorities over this. She wanted the profession of nursing to be seen as a holy task, not a profession, that the nurses be well educated in medicine, and encouraged women from the upper-classes to be nurses, all because she wanted nurses to be respected. In her nursing school, even students from the aristocracy were expected to scrub the floors. Queen Sophia suffered from poor health and in 1887, she had an ovariotomy operation. The surgery was considered a success, but afterwards she had difficulty walking and often used a wheelchair. Despite this she continued riding. Although she was very much active as a Queen in regards to her social projects and in politics, she was hardly ever seen at mere social occasions, such as balls and similar events: when she attended the Amaranter Ball in 1885, the occasion was so rare that it caused general amazement. She often visited the country, as well as spas in Norway, Germany and Bournemouth in Great Britain. During her visit to Paris, she caused great attention while dining at a public restaurant: this was unusual for a royal woman at this time, and it was also the only time she ever did that. She was interested in literature, and her library also included English detective stories. As Queen dowager, she took to making trips abroad by car: in 1909, for example, she visited Germany by car. Queen Sophia was a respected symbolic figure who represented the traditional Victorian virtues. She enjoyed a status similar to that of Britain's Queen Victoria. When she died in 1913, her grandson remarked : "The old time died with Grandma." Her children were: King Gustav V (1858–1950) Prince Oscar, Duke of Gotland, later Count Oscar Bernadotte af Wisborg (1859–1953) Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland (1861–1951) Prince Eugén, Duke of Närke (1865–1947) Sofia was the half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (and formerly the last Duke of Nassau), who created the title Count of Wisborg in the Luxembourg nobility for Sofia's son Oscar, who lost his succession rights and titles by marrying without the King's consent. urg; her great-great-granddaughter is Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.

Sophia of Halshany

sh0shan — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 06:54:45 GMT

Sophia of Halshany by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Sophia of Halshany or Sonka Olshanskaya (c. 1405 – September 21, 1461 in Kraków) was a Lithuanian princess of Halshany. As the fourth and last wife of Jogaila, King of Poland and Supreme Duke of Lithuania, she was Queen consort of Poland. As the mother of Władysław III, King of Poland and Hungary, and Casimir IV, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, she was the founder of the Jagiellon dynasty. Sophia was a middle daughter of Andrew Olshansky, son of Vytautas' right-hand man Ivan Olshansky, and Alexandra Drucka, daughter of Dmitry of Druck. Historians disagree on the identity of Dmitry: Polish historiography usually provides Jogaila's half-brother Dmitry I Starshiy while Russian historians provide Dimitri Semenovich of Rurikid origin. Her father died when she was young and the family moved to Druck to live with Alexandra's brother Siemion Drucki. Sophia grew up in a Russian environment and was an Eastern Orthodox Christian. It is believed that she was illiterate and largely uneducated. It is unknown when Sophia met Jogaila for the first time. It is known that they met in the winter of 1420–1421 when Jogaila visited Druck. At the time Sophia was still a teenager, while Jogaila was around 60 or 70 and widowed three times (most recently in May 1420 when Elizabeth Granowska died). He had only one surviving daughter, Hedwig Jagiellon, and no male heir. Their marriage was supported by Siemion Drucki, her uncle, and Vytautas, her aunt's husband, but opposed by Polish nobility and Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, who proposed marriage to his brother's widow Sophia of Bavaria. According to a custom, it would be a disgrace if a younger sister would marry before the elder sister. Therefore, Sophia's older sister Vasilisa was married off to Ivan Bielski, son of Jogaila's half-brother Vladimir Olgerdovich, in 1421. In February 1422, Sophia was baptized in the Roman Catholic rite. The wedding ceremony, carried out by Matthias of Trakai, Bishop of Samogitia, took place in Navahrudak on February 7 or 24. However, her coronation as Queen of Poland took place two years later, on March 5, 1424. This delay is explained by resistance from the Polish nobility and rather distant relationship between Sophia and Jogaila. In March 1422, Sophia moved to the Wawel Castle in Kraków. There she was met with hostility by supporters of Emperor Sigismund and Princess Hedwig, particularly Zbigniew Oleśnicki, the Tęczyński and Tarnowski families. For a year, the couple spent time mostly apart: Jogaila traveled to Prussia for the Gollub War, to Lithuania to spend the winter, to Slovakia for negotiations with Emperor Sigismund while Sophia stayed in Kraków. Alone in a foreign and hostile court, Sophia wrote letters to Jogaila expressing her unhappiness. Only in April 1423, Jogaila took Sophia to a trip to Russia. It is likely that the relationship grew closer during that journey as Jogaila took active steps to have Sophia crowned as the queen by Archbishop of Gniezno Wojciech Jastrzębiec. Coronation festivities in March 1424 lasted five days. Sophia received the villages of Stara Zagość and Bogucice Pierwsze as well as 20,000 grzywnas of Prague groschen. On the night of October 30–31, 1424, she gave birth to Władysław III of Poland, the first male heir born in Poland in 114 years. The son substantially raised Sophia's prestige and political influence in Poland. The parents soon became engulfed in a political power struggle to ensure Władysław's succession. Polish nobility claimed that Jogaila's claim to the throne was not hereditary and that a new king should be elected by the nobles. Congresses in Brest (April 1425) and Łęczyca (May 1426), the nobles declared that Władysław would inherit only if he confirmed certain noble freedoms and refused proposal for Sophia's regency. Jogaila disagreed with such a decision and continued to campaign. On May 16, 1426, in Kraków Sophia gave birth to Casimir, second son of Jogaila. However, the boy died on March 2, 1427. These dates, provided in historical sources, contradict a 1950 study of Casimir's skeleton which found that the bones are of an approximately 18-month old boy. In spring 1427, while pregnant with the third child, Sophia was accused of marital infidelity, therefore casting a doubt over Władysław's and yet-unborn Casimir's paternity. Two of her servants were arrested and tortured and seven men were named as Sophia's lovers: treasurer Hińcz of Rogów, Piotr Kurowski, Wawrzyniec Zaręba, Jan Kraska, Jan Koniecpolski, brothers Piotr and Dobiesław of Szczekociny. The case went before a court. After the birth of her third son, Sophia took an oath before the court that she was innocent and the case was dismissed. Despite the scandal which dragged on for several months, the paternity of Sophia's children was never questioned again. On November 29 or 30, 1427, Sophia gave birth to Casimir IV Jagiellon. The royal couple continued to work to assure their sons' rights to the Polish throne. In fall 1428, the couple traveled to Lithuania perhaps to support the plan to obtain royal crown of Lithuania to Grand Duke Vytautas. Elderly Vytautas had no heir and his crown would have passed to Jogaila and his sons. If Polish nobility wanted to preserve the Polish–Lithuanian union, they would be forced to elect Jogaila's sons to the Polish throne. Historians summed up this strategy as "through hereditary Lithuania to hereditary Poland." However, the plan was vehemently opposed by Polish nobles while Vytautas insisted on being crowned. In the end, Jogaila caved in. During a congress in Jedlnia in March 1430, he accepted nobility's declaration that Władysław would inherit only if he confirmed certain privileges for the nobility and that Sophia would not be a regent. Vytautas died in October 1430. Succession disputes in Lithuania led to the Lithuanian Civil War (1431–1435) and Polish–Teutonic War (1431–1435). That collapsed the strategy to secure hereditary rights in Poland through Lithuania and, in January 1433, Jogaila confirmed resolutions of the congress in Jedlnia. The Polish kings, even from the same dynasty, had to be elected by the nobles. In December 1431, Princess Hedwig Jagiellon, betrothed to Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg, died of a year-long illness. Sophia was accused of poisoning her step daughter to remove her from succession disputes. Again, Sophia had to give an oath professing her innocence. On June 1, 1434, Jogaila died in Horodok. The power was seized by Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki and his supporters. On July 25, 1434, following the decisions of the Jedlnia congress, ten-year old Władysław III of Poland was crowned as the King of Poland. The regency was entrusted to the royal council, and not directly to either Sophia and Oleśnicki who continued to struggle for the influence in the council. In summer 1435, Sophia helped Iliaș of Moldavia, husband of her youngest sister, escape a Polish prison and regain power in Moldavia. Iliaș swore fealty to Władysław and Moldavia paid a tribute to Poland. She also supported a project to betroth Władysław and Anne, Duchess of Luxembourg, who was at the time heiress to the Kingdom of Hungary and Bohemia. However, the project fell through. After the death of Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, Bohemian nobility, mainly Hussites opposing Albert of Austria, elected Casimir IV Jagiellon as their king in March 1438 in Chrudim. It is not known whether Sophia took any action to facilitate this election, but she was generally supportive of the Hussites while Oleśnicki strongly opposed them. In fall 1438, Polish army invaded Bohemia. However, the campaign was poorly organized and, after the defeat of Casimir's supporters in Želenice, the army returned to Poland in October 1438. In December 1438, Polish nobles gathered in Piotrków Trybunalski and proclaimed 14-year old Władysław to have attained the age of majority. That officially dissolved the regency, but did not strengthen Sophia's position against Oleśnicki. She actively took part in organizing a confederation "for protection of the king and order in the kingdom," which opposed Oleśnicki and supported Hussites, in Nowy Korczyn. The confederation, led by Spytek of Melsztyn, was defeated in the Battle of Grotniki. After the death of Albert in October 1439, Hungarian nobles elected Władysław as their king. Sophia escorted Władysław to the Hungarian border. They said goodbye on April 22, 1440 in Czorsztyn. It was the last time Sophia saw her eldest son. In March 1440, Sigismund Kęstutaitis, Grand Duke of Lithuania, was murdered. With Władysław in Hungary, Lithuanian nobles, led by Jonas Goštautas, invited Casimir to Vilnius and elected him as the Grand Duke. Sophia remained in Poland and devoted the next four years to the Sanok Land and Sanok Castle. Reportedly, she was a capable administrator and earned respect from local residents. However, income from the land did not support her royal lifestyle and she accumulated some debts. Władysław was killed in the Battle of Varna on November 10, 1444. The news propelled Sophia back into the national politics. In April 1445, she participated in the congress in Sieradz where Polish nobles elected Casimir as their king. However, Casimir was not eager to claim the throne and refused to travel to Poland. Sophia traveled to Lithuania where she met Casimir, after a separation of five years, in Hrodna in October 1445. Casimir refused to come to Poland and for the next two years Sophia acted as an intermediary between Casimir and Polish nobles. In 1466, Polish nobles selected Bolesław IV of Warsaw as their king if Casimir refused. Sophia once again sent envoys to her son who finally agreed to become the king. According to Jan Długosz, Sophia's motherly pleas convinced nobles to confirm Casimir as their king in Nowy Korczyn despite Oleśnicki's support to Bolesław. On June 25, 1447, Casimir was crowned King of Poland. As the new king, Casimir isolated Oleśnicki from power, but allowed Sophia to participate in the royal council. She accompanied Casimir in his travels and continued to influence his decisions. Casimir supported Sophia's nephews, Roman II and Alexăndrel of Moldavia. Her influence decreased significantly after Casimir married Elisabeth of Habsburg in 1454. Her last known political action was sending envoy to newly elected Pope Pius II to find out his opinions on the Polish-Teutonic War (1454-1466). According to Długosz, Sophia became ill after eating too many melons and refused treatment. The illness worsened and she was paralyzed. She died on September 21, 1461. She was buried in the Holy Trinity Chapel of the Wawel Cathedral. She had funded construction and decoration of the chapel in 1431–1432. At the time of her death, she had four grandsons and one granddaughter.[22] Sophia sponsored a translation of the Bible into the Polish language (1453–1461). Even though the translation was not completed, it is an important monument of the Polish language.

Jelena Balšić, Lady of Zeta; Grand Duchess of Hum

sh0shan — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 05:28:03 GMT

Jelena Balšić, Lady of Zeta; Grand Duchess of Hum by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Jelena Balšić née Lazarević (1365/1366 – 1443) was a medieval Serbian noblewoman and a member of the Lazarević dynasty. She had a very strong personality and significantly influenced the way her husbands, first Đurađ II Balšić and second Sandalj Hranić, and her son Balša III governed their realms. Jelena encouraged them to resist Venetian encroachment on territory belonging to Zeta, the medieval Serbian state ruled by Đurađ II and then by Balša III after Đurađ II's death. She is also known as a writer. Her three epistles are part of the Gorički zbornik, a medieval manuscript collection. Jelena's nickname was Lena, Lady Lena or the Learned one. In some English sources her first name is Helen. She was referred to as Jelena Lazarević because of her father's noble family. Based on her marriage to Đurađ II Balšić she was referred to as Jelena Balšić, while because of her marriage to Sandalj Hranić she was sometimes referred to as Jelena Balšić-Hranić or Jelena Hranić. In a Venetian document from 1409 she is referred to as Magnifica Domina Elena. Jelena was born in 1365 or 1366 as the third daughter of Princess Milica of Serbia and Lazar of Serbia. Her mother belonged to the Nemanjić dynasty, while her father was the founder of the Lazarević dynasty. He created Moravian Serbia, the largest and most powerful state to emerge from the ruins of the Serbian Empire. Hence, Jelena was a member of the highest Serbian aristocracy. She was born in Prilepac and spent her childhood in Kruševac, where she lived until she married her first husband, Đurađ II Balšić, in 1386. She had one child with him, a son named Balša III who was born in 1387. Balša III had three children, a son whose name is not known and two daughters, Jelena and Teodora. His son died at a very young age in 1415. In 1424, Balša's daughter Jelena married Stjepan Vukčić Kosača and became the mother of Queen Catherine of Bosnia and Vladislav Hercegović. Jelena married Đurađ II Balšić in 1386 or 1387. After this marriage the suzerainty of Lazar of Serbia was accepted in most if not all of Zeta. When the Sultan sent an army to invade the lands of Đurađ II at the beginning of 1392, Jelena traveled to Ragusa to get out of harm's way. On 1 June 1392, the senate of Dubrovnik decided to send a galley to take her to the city. Đurađ was captured by the Ottomans in October 1392 and was released only once he agreed to cede Scutari to them. He managed to recapture the town in 1395 but subsequently sold it to the Venetians, together with the surrounding fortresses. Jelena was firmly opposed to the pro-Venetian policy of Đurađ II and his sale of Scutari and other towns to the Venetians. She did not like the Venetians because they obstructed the contacts between the Zetan Orthodox Metropolitanate and the Patriarchate of Peć, cut off Orthodox monasteries around Lake Skadar from the incomes that they were legally entitled to, and engaged in an aggressive trading policy, which significantly reduced Zeta′s earnings. Even before the First Scutari War, she was in a dispute with the Venetians over the jurisdiction of the Zetan Orthodox Metropolitanate over the Orthodox churches around the river Bojana and the Church of St. Peter in Scutari. The reign of 16-year-old Balša III began in April 1403 when Đurađ II died of the injuries suffered in November 1402 at the Battle of Tripolje. In this battle Đurađ II supported Stefan Lazarević in an attempt to protect the throne of Serbian Despotate from Đurađ Branković. Jelena had a significant influence on the way Balša III governed Zeta. Because he was a minor when he inherited the throne, she actually governed Zeta as his regent. In a dispute between the Venetians and the Zetan Metropolitan bishop appointed by the Patriarchate of Peć, Balša III followed her instructions and protected the ancient rights of the Serbian church. In 1405, Balša III, supported by Jelena, launched a ten-year war against Venice. At the beginning of the war, Balša managed to capture the whole Scutari region except for the Scutari fortress. The Venetians offered a 2,000-ducat reward for anyone able to kill both Balša and Jelena. When the Venetians in return captured Bar, Ulcinj and Budva, three of the most important ports of Zeta, Balša and Jelena fled from Ulcinj to Drivast Castle. In 1409, Jelena decided to travel to Venice to negotiate peace in person. At the end of May, she arrived in Dubrovnik but had to wait for almost two months because her hosts warned her that there were Napolitan galleys in the Adriatic Sea. On 9 July 1409, while she was still waiting in Dubrovnik, Venice purchased the entire Dalmatian coast from Ladislaus of Naples for 100,000 ducats. The Kingdom of Naples was not a threat to Venetians anymore. By gaining the Dalmatian coast, Venetians further increased their influence and power in the region of the Adriatic Sea, which made Jelena's negotiating position difficult. When she finally arrived in Venice at the end of July, she was financially broken because of her long voyage. The Venetians had to support her with three ducats a day during negotiations which lasted for the next three months. On 26 October 1409, a year-long peace agreement with the Venetian doge, Michele Steno, was signed without territorial changes for any of the parties. Jelena traveled back to Zeta through Dubrovnik where she received 100 ducats worth of presents. Although both she and the Venetian representative swore on the Gospel to respect the truce, in reality there was no peace. When Ladislaus of Naples sold his rights to the kingdom of Dalmatia to the Republic of Venice and retreated from the Balkans in 1409, many local nobles allied themselves with the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund and accepted Ostoja as the King of Bosnia. This seriously weakened the position of Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, a Grand Duke of Bosnia, whose niece Katarina was a second wife of Sandalj Hranić, a Grand Duke of Hum. In such circumstances Sandalj decided to ally with emperor Sigismund in mid 1411 and to establish closer connections with Sigismund's important ally Stefan Lazarević. In December 1411 Sandalj divorced his wife Katarina and married Stefan's sister Jelena at the end of the same year. Jelena married Sandalj because she wanted to strengthen the position of her son. With this marriage Sandalj, the most dangerous enemy of Balša III, became his stepfather and protector. Although it spoiled Sandalj's relations with Hrvoje, it also strengthened traditionally close relations with the Lazarević family. Although Jelena was in her forties, Sandalj hoped they would have children and in 1413 deposited some money at a transactional account with the city of Dubrovnik for the child they would eventually have. Jelena went to live with her husband at his court in Blagaj in Herzegovina while Balša remained as the only governor of Zeta. In his second marriage, concluded in 1412 or at the beginning of 1413, Balša III married Bolja, a daughter of Koja Zaharia who was a Lord of Sati and Dagnum in Albania. Sandalj had a court in Novi where he spent some time every year, usually in winter and spring. Beginning in 1424, Jelena spent a good part of the year at this court, accompanied by her sister Olivera. At the beginning of February 1426 a special ceremony was dedicated to Jelena and Sandalj in Ragusa when they attended the feast of Sveti Vlaho, who is the city's patron saint. Jelena intended to be buried in the church she would build in Dubrovnik. Initially, Dubrovnik was interested in accepting her wish on the condition that she help them take control of Novi, its rival in salt-trading. That is why Dubrovnik proposed to Sandalj to build an Orthodox church and home for old and sick people in 1434. Sandalj died in 1435 before he replied to their proposal. He was succeeded by his nephew Stjepan Vukčić Kosača who was a son of Sandalj's brother Vukac. After Sandalj's death Jelena did not interfere in the governing of the realm previously controlled by her husband but went to live at the seaside, probably in Novi. In September 1435 Jelena asked the Ragusans to allow her to build a church in Dubrovnik in which would be her grave. Since circumstances had changed after Sandalj's death, the Ragusans rejected Jelena's request although it was supported by her nephew, Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković. They justified their refusal with the lack of the approval of the Pope. Three epistles she wrote to her spiritual adviser were included in the Gorički zbornik, a medieval manuscript collection. Today only one of them, known as the Otpisanije bogoljubno, is preserved. Jelena wrote her will on 25 November 1442. Based on its text it can be concluded that she had her own library and that in 1441 she told her chancellor Doberko Marinić to order a book cover. The book cover was made of silver and decorated with the image of Jesus. It was made by Andrija Izat, who was a famous goldsmith from Kotor. On Beška island on the Skadar Lake she first reconstructed the Church of St. George built by Đurađ II and in 1439/1440 built as her endowment the Church of Holy Mother next to it. She was buried in its western vault, near the southern wall of the church. The purpose of her endowment was to be her crypt and to serve as the spiritual center which would continue the orientation of the Serbian culture toward Byzantine Orthodox spirituality in this historically last period of Serbian medieval statehood. In this way Jelena confirmed her loyalty to the tradition of the Nemanjić dynasty and her father Prince Lazar in the period when she was able to make a political choice between Islam and militant Catholicism. Jelena's efforts had an additional dimension taking into consideration that her work is a testimony of the presence of the Byzantine hesychasm in the Serbian Despotate. The sacred bones of Jelena Balšić were placed in the new relic case made of stone after the Church of Holy Mother she built on Beška island was reconstructed in 2002 by the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral. By the decision of the 'Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral' in 2006 she was titled 'Blagovjerna' and named Blagovjerna Jelena Lazareva Balšić. Jelena Balšić was praised as an extraordinary woman who preserved the power of the Balšić family during a very turbulent period. It is obvious that she had a strong personality probably similar to her mother, Princess Milica of Serbia. She managed to maintain the cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Serbia, and her writing has been evaluated highly. The literature award "Jelena Balšić" was established in 2007 by the 'Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral' and is awarded every two years. As of 2013, its laureates have been Đorđe Sladoje, Žarko Komanin, Ranko Jovović and Slobodan Rakitić.

Blessed Richeza of Lotharingia

sh0shan — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 07:22:49 GMT

Blessed Richeza of Lotharingia by sh0shan on Polyvore.com

Richeza of Lotharingia (995/1000 – Saalfeld, 21 March 1063), was a German noblewoman by birth, a member of the Ezzonen dynasty. She married Mieszko II Lambert, King of Poland, becoming Queen of Poland. She returned to Germany following the deposition of her husband in 1031, later becoming a nun, and today is revered as Blessed Richeza of Lotharingia. Richeza had three known children: Casimir I the Restorer, Ryksa, Queen of Hungary and Gertruda, Grand Princess of Kiev. Through her descended the eastern rulers of the Piast, Rurikid and Árpád dynasties. Four of her Árpád descendants were Saints: Elisabeth, Landgravine of Thuringia, Kinga, Duchess of Kraków, Princess Margaret of Hungary, and Irene of Hungary, a Saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and one like her was beatified, Jolanta Helena, Duchess of Greater Poland. She was the daughter of Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia by his wife Mathilde, daughter of Emperor Otto II. She was probably the eldest of the ten children born during the marriage of her parents. Through her mother, Richeza was a niece of Emperor Otto III, Adelheid I, Abbess of Quedlinburg and Sophia I, Abbess of Gandersheim. Probably already in 1000 during the Congress of Gniezno, was made an agreement between Bolesław I the Brave and Emperor Otto III. Among the usual political talks, was decided to close ties through a marriage. Due to the childlessness of Otto III, the seven daughters of his sister Mathilde, were the only potential brides for Mieszko, Bolesław I's son and heir; the oldest of Otto III's nieces, Richeza, was the chosen one. However, the unexpected death of Otto III in 1002 and the reorientation of the Holy Roman Empire politics by his successor Henry II, the wedding is delayed until 1012, when Bolesław I demanded the wedding and sent his son to Germany with gifts to his bride's family, who at that time quarreled with Henry II for Mathilde's dowry. The Emperor took the opportunity of a settlement with the Ezzonen family and in Merseburg he negotiated a temporary peace with Poland. The marriage between Mieszko and Richeza took place in Merseburg, probably during the Pentecost festivities. Among those present were Emperor Henry II and Bolesław I. After the final peace agreement between the Holy Roman Empire and Poland, which was signed in 1018 in Bautzen, Richeza and Mieszko maintained close contacts with the German court. In 1021 they participated in the consecration over part of the Bamberg Cathedral. Bolesław I the Brave died on 17 June 1025. Six months later, on Christmas Day, Mieszko II Lambert and Richeza were crowned King and Queen of Poland by the Archbishop of Gniezno, Hipolit, in the Gniezno Cathedral. The reign of Mieszko II Lambert, however, was short-lived: in 1031, the invasion of both German and Kievan troops against Poland forced him to escape to Bohemia, where he was imprisoned and castrated by orders of Duke Oldrich. Mieszko II's half-brother Bezprym took the government of Poland and began a cruel persecution against the followers of the former King. The Brauweiler Chronicle indicated that soon after the escape of her husband, Richeza and her children fled to Germany with the Polish royal crown and regalia, which were given to Emperor Conrad II and she subsequently played an important role in mediating a peace settlement between Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. However, modern historians believe that these facts are not credible. Richeza and Mieszko II never reunited again; according to some sources, they were either officially divorced or only separated. After Bezprym was murdered in 1032, Mieszko II was released from captivity and returned to Poland, but was forced to divide the country into three parts: between him, his brother Otto and their cousin Dytryk. One year later (1033), after Otto was killed and Dytryk expelled from the country, Mieszko II finally reunited all Poland under his domain. However, his sole rule lasted only one year: between 10/11 July 1034, Mieszko II died suddenly, probably killed as consequence of a conspiracy. Richeza's son Casimir was at that time at the court of his maternal uncle Hermann II, Archbishop of Köln. Only in 1037 the young prince returned to Poland in order to recover his rights over the throne; apparently Richeza also returned with him, although this fact is disputed among historians. Soon after, a barons' rebellion-coupled with the so - called "Pagan Reaction" of the commoners - forced both Casimir and Richeza to flee to Germany again. The Queen never returned to Poland. The return of Richeza to Germany forced a redistribution of his father's inheritance, because at the previous arrangement it wasn't contemplated that Richeza would need a place to live. Richeza received Saalfeld, a possession that didn't belong to the Lower Rhine area in which the Ezzonen dynasty tried to build a coherent dominion. Richeza still called herself Queen of Poland, a privilege that was given to her by the Emperor. In Saalfeld Richeza led the Polish opposition which supported her son Casimir, who in 1039, with the help of Conrad II, finally obtain the Polish throne. During the years 1040–1047 Richeza lived in the Klotten state in Moselle. On 7 September 1047 Richeza's brother Otto, the last male representative of the Ezzonen dynasty who remained, died and with him, the territorial and political objectives of his family. Richeza now inherited large parts of the Ezzonen possessions. Otto's death seems to have touched Richeza; apparently, they were very close. At his funeral in Brauweiler, according to Bruno of Toul, she put her fine jewelry on the altar and declared that she devote the rest of her life as a nun and to preserved the memory of the Ezzonen dynasty. Another goal was probably to secure the remaining Ezzonen rights. By a charter dated on 17 July 1051 is noted that Richeza participated in the reorganization of the Ezzonen properties. She, her sister Theophanu, Abbess of Essen, and her brother, Hermann II, Archbishop of Köln, transferred the Abbey of Brauweiler to the Archdiocese of Köln. This originated a dispute with the Emperor, as this transfer had already been done under the reign of Ezzo. This was successfully challenged by Ezzo's surviving children. The reason for the transfer was likely that the future wasn't secured to the descendants of the Ezzonen: From Ezzo's ten children only Richeza and Otto had children. None of these children was in a position of real power over the Ezzonen inheritance. The transfer to the diocese, headed by Hermann II with one of the younger Ezzonen, ensured the cohesion of the property. In 1054 in connection with some donations to the Abbey of Brauweiler, Richeza expressed her desire to be buried there beside her mother. This reorganization, which apparently emanated from the fact that Hermann II would survive his siblings failed, because he died in 1056. The Archbishop of Köln, Anno II, trying to increase the power of his diocese at the expense of the Ezzonen. Richeza responded to Anno II's ambitions with the formal renunciation of her possessions in Brauweiler to the monastery of Moselle, while reserving the lifelong use of the lands. Brauweiler was the center of Ezzonen memory and should be assured regardless of the powerful economic position of the family. Then Richeza went to Saalfeld, where she met similar arrangements in favor of the Diocese of Würzburg. Anno II protested against these regulations unsuccessfully. At the end Richeza only maintain her direct rule over the towns of Saalfeld and Coburg, but retained the right to use until her death seven other locations in the Rhineland with their additional incomes, and 100 silver pounds per year by the Archdiocese of Köln. Richeza died on 21 March 1063 in Saalfeld. Richeza was buried in Köln's church of St. Maria ad Gradus and not, as she had wished, in Brauweiler. This was prompted by Archbishop Anno II, who appealed to an oral agreement with Richeza. The Klotten estate donated the Richeza's funeral arrangements to St. Maria ad Gradus, whose relationship with Richeza, Hermann II and Anno II is unclear. Maybe St. Maria ad Gradus was an unfinished work of Richeza's brother and completed by Anno II, who wanted to secured part of the Ezzonen patrimony in this way. The Brauweiler Abbey claimed the validy of the 1051 charter and demanded that Klotten given to them the remains of the Polish Queen. The dispute was only ended in 1090 when the current Archbishop of Köln, Hermann III, ruled in favor of the monastery of Brauweiler. However, Richeza's grave remained in St. Maria ad Gradus until 1816, when was transferred to the Köln Cathedral. Her grave was placed in the chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist in a classic wooden sarcophagus. Besides the coffin, hang two medieval portraits of Richeza and Anno II, who dated from the medieval grave in St. Maria ad Gradus. Her grave was opened multiple times after the transfer to the Köln Cathedral. The last opening was in 1959 and showed her bones. According to witnesses, Richeza had a small and graceful stature; her collarbone showed traces of a fracture, which may have been caused by falling from a horse. The skull was brownish and skinless, her head wrapped up in her face in substance, and the skull was also a golden dome with a cross grid pattern. Because the skull was praying on a red cushion, was made an exhibition of the late Queen. Richeza's relics are located since then in St. Nicholas church in Brauweiler and since 2002 in the Klotter parish church. The most important of Richeza's foundations was the re-building of the Abbey of Brauweiler. Her parents had founded Brauweiler, but the original church was modestly furnished, a fact who was incompatible with the territorial objectives of the Ezzonen dynasty. After the death of his brother Otto, Richeza decided that Brauweiler became in the center of Ezzonen memory. This purpose wasn't enough of the original building so Richeza built a new Abbey, which is substantially conserved until today. When the construction began was planned a three-aisled pillared basilica with projecting transept to the east apse across a crypt. The aisles were groined vaults with flat ceilings in the central nave. Inside, the nave had five Pfeilerjoche, each of which was half as large as the square crossing. In all the Abbey could see the cross-vaulted ceiling which can be found in many Ezzonen buildings. The crypt was consecrate on 11 December 1051. The consecration of the rest of the construction was on 30 October 1063, seven months after Richeza's death. The building has distinct references to the Church of St. Maria im Kapitol in Cologne, founded by Richeza's sister Ida. Both crypts are laid out identically, the two bays in Brauweiler, however, was shorter. Also in the upper church, there are clear implications. Also, Brauweiler is reduced as a copy of the Cologne Cathedral, probably thanks to the influence of Richeza's brother Hermann II, who in 1040 consecrated Stavelot Abbey. Richeza planned to made Brauweiler as the Ezzonen family crypt, so in 1051 she placed there the remains of her sister Adelaide, Abbess of Nivelles, and in 1054 transferred the remains of her father from Augsburg to be buried next to her sister. The Gospel Book of Queen Richeza, comes from St. Maria ad Gradus, where Richeza had a reserved space in the central nave occupied, normally occupied by the Donors. Whether this was done at the behest of Anno II, or whether it may have made by Richeza, isn't clarified. An indication of the latter thesis, however, is the Gospel Book. The manuscript is in the format of 18 x 13.5 cms is made from 153 pages at the pergamin style. In 150 of the 152 pages of the book the prayer is recorded, which suggests a high-born owner. The following pages contain entries about the Ezzonen memorial. Among these, in addition to Richeza were named Anno II and her parents. The entries can be count with drawns like the Codex style recognized around 1100. The Codex itself is built around 1040, probably in Maasland, and incomplete in its ornamentation: the Evangelists Mark and Luke are complete drawned, but only in a preliminary sketch. The evangelist Matthew wasn't draw. Possibly can be more precisely from the condition of the Codex date: After 1047, when Richeza assumed her clerical vows, she had no need for a personal representative signature. Whether they remained in their possession and was used together with other relics of Anno II from her estate for St. Maria ad Gradus, or already has been donated to her brother, is unknown.