Maria Anna of Bavaria (born 1551)

Maria Anna of Bavaria (German: Maria Anna von Bayern) (21 March 1551, Munich 29 April 1608, Graz) was a politically active Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to her uncle Archduke Charles II of Austria. She played an important role in the Counter-Reformation in Austria.

Maria Anna of Bavaria
Portrait by Cornelis Vermeyen, 1577
Archduchess consort of Inner Austria
Tenure26 August 1571 10 July 1590
Born21 March 1551
Munich, Duchy of Bavaria
Died29 April 1608 (aged 57)
Graz, Archduchy of Austria
Spouse
(m. 1571; died 1590)
Issue
HouseWittelsbach
FatherAlbert V, Duke of Bavaria
MotherAnna of Austria

Biography

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Maria Anna was a daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Austria.[1] She was given an elementary education in Latin and religion but a high education in music, likely by Orlando di Lasso.

On 26 August 1571 in Vienna, the 20-year-old Maria Anna married her maternal uncle Charles II of Austria.[1] The marriage was arranged to give Austria political support from Bavaria and Bavaria an agent in Vienna.

The relation between Maria Anna and Charles was described as good, and the couple had 15 children in just 18 years. Maria Anna was described as confident, ambitious and a great lover of pomp and power, but foremost a devout Catholic. She participated in affairs of state and successfully benefited a powerful counter reformation in the domains of her spouse. She continued her education in music, benefited the Jesuit school in Graz, and spent her time in worship and religious charity.

Maria Anna was widowed in 1590, but she continued to participate in politics as an advisor to her son and encouraged him to continue the Counter-Reformation and work against the Protestant clergy and nobility.

In 1608, she retired to the Nunnery of St Clare in Graz.

Her correspondence is partially preserved.

Issue

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NamePictureBirthDeathNotes
Archduke Ferdinand15 July 1572, Judenburg3 August 1572, JudenburgDied in infancy.
Archduchess Anna16 August 1573, Graz10 February 1598, WarsawMarried on 31 May 1592 to Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Sweden.[1]
Archduchess Maria Christina10 November 1574, Graz6 April 1621, Hall in Tirol, TyrolMarried on 6 August 1595 to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania; they divorced in 1599.
Archduchess Catherine Renata4 January 1576, Graz29 June 1599, GrazDied unmarried.
Archduchess Elisabeth13 March 1577, Graz29 January 1586, GrazDied in childhood.
Archduke Ferdinand9 July 1578, Graz15 February 1637, ViennaHoly Roman Emperor as Ferdinand II in 1619.[1]
Archduke Charles17 July 1579, Graz17 May 1580, GrazDied in infancy.
Archduchess Gregoria Maximiliana22 March 1581, Graz20 September 1597, GrazDied unmarried.
Archduchess Eleanor25 September 1582, Graz28 January 1620, Hall in Tirol, TyrolDied unmarried.
Archduke Maximilian Ernest17 November 1583, Graz18 February 1616, GrazTeutonic Knight.
Archduchess Margaret25 December 1584, Graz3 October 1611, El EscorialMarried on 18 April 1599 to Philip III, King of Spain.[1]
Archduke Leopold9 October 1586, Graz13 September 1632, SchwazArchduke of Further Austria and Count of Tirol under the name Leopold V.[1]
Archduchess Constance24 December 1588, Graz10 July 1631, WarsawMarried on 11 December 1605 to Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (widower of her older sister).
Archduchess Maria Magdalena7 October 1589, Graz1 November 1631, PassauMarried on 19 October 1608 Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Archduke Charles7 August 1590, Graz28 December 1624, MadridBishop of Wroclaw and Brixen (1608–24), Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (1618–24).

Ancestry

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Bibliography

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  • HAMANN, Brigitte, Die Habsburger: Ein Biografisches Lexicon (Munich: Piper, 1988).
  • Parker, Geoffrey (1987). The Thirty Years' War. Military Heritage Press.
  • SÁNCHEZ, Magdalena, (2000) A Woman's Influence: Archduchess Maria of Bavaria and the Spanish Habsburgs. In C. Kent, T.K. Wolber, C.M.K. Hewitt (Eds.) The lion and the eagle: interdisciplinary essays on German-Spanish relations over the centuries (pp. 91–107). New York: Berghahn Books.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Parker 1987, p. 3.
  2. Rall, Hans (1953). "Albrecht IV.". Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. p. 157. (full text online).
  3. 1 2 Riezler, Sigmund Ritter von (1897). "Wilhelm IV." . Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 42. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 705–717.
  4. Rall, Hans (1953). "Albrect III.". Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. p. 156. (full text online).
  5. 1 2 Goetz, Walter (1953). "Albrecht V.". Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 158–160. (full text online).
  6. 1 2 Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Friedrich V. der Friedfertige" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 265 via Wikisource.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Brüning, Rainer (2001). "Philipp I.". Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 20. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. p. 372. (full text online).
  8. 1 2 Dotterweich, Helmut (1962). Der junge Maximilian: Jugend und Erziehung des bayerischen Herzogs und späteren Kurfürsten Maximilian I. von 1573 bis 1593 [The Young Maximilian: Youth and Education of the Bavarian Duke and Later Elector Maximilian I from 1573 to 1593]. R. Pflaum. p. 188. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 Philip I, King of Castile at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  10. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  11. 1 2 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  12. 1 2 Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (1528–1587)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 151 via Wikisource.
  13. 1 2 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  14. 1 2 Casimir IV, King of Poland at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  15. 1 2 Obermayer-Marnach, Eva (1953). "Anna Jagjello". Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 1. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. p. 299. (full text online).
  16. 1 2 Noubel, P., ed. (1877). Revue de l'Agenais [Review of the Agenais] (in French). Vol. 4. Société des sciences, lettres et arts d'Agen. p. 497.