Elisabeth II, Abbess of Quedlinburg explained

Elisabeth II
Succession:Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg
Reign:1574 – 1584
Predecessor:Anna II
Successor:Anna III
Mother:Magdalene of Stolberg
House:Regenstein
Birth Date:1542
Death Place:Quedlinburg Abbey
Religion:Lutheran

Countess Elisabeth of Regenstein-Blankenburg (1542 – 20 July 1584) was Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg. As such, she is numbered Elisabeth II.

Elisabeth was the daughter of, and his second wife, Magdalene of Stolberg.[1]

Reign

In 1565, with the consent of both the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope,[2] she was elected coadjutor to Anna II, the first Protestant Abbess of Quedlinburg. Abbess Anna II died on 4 March 1574;[3] a day after Anna II's death, Elisabeth was consecrated Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg,[4] and as such she was also Princess of the Holy Roman Empire. Elisabeth II was the second Protestant Abbess of Quedlinburg and the first one to be Protestant at the moment of her election.

Augustus, Elector of Saxony, was initially against her election. He eventually agreed to recognize her as abbess, on condition that he approves all the future candidates for the office of Abbess of Quedlinburg. Elisabeth II had to agree to impose taxes together with Augustus.

Abbess Elisabeth II hosted a theological conference in 1583, a year before her death.[5] Elisabeth II died on 20 July 1584. Countess Anna of Stolberg-Wernigerode succeeded Elisabeth as Anna III.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Princess-Abbess Elisabeth II zu Regenstein of Quedlinburg (Germany). guide2womenleaders.com. 2009-07-03.
  2. Book: Tatlock, Lynne . The Graph of Sex and the German Text: Gendered Culture in Early Modern Germany 1500-1700 . 1994 . Editions Rodopi . 978-90-5183-470-3.
  3. Book: Voigt, Gottfried C. . Geschichte des Stifts Quedlinburg . 1761 . de.
  4. Book: Fritsch, Johann H. . Geschichte des vormaligen Reichsstifts und der Stadt Quedlinburg . Quedlinburg . 1828 . de.
  5. Book: Herzog; Bomberger, Johan Jakob; John Henry Augustus . The Protestant Theological and Ecclesiastical Encyclopedia . Lindsay & Blakiston . USA . 1860.