Dorothea Sophia, Abbess of Quedlinburg

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

Dorothea Sophia
Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg
Reign21 April 1618 - 10 February 1645
PredecessorDorothea
SuccessorAnna Sophia I
Born(1587-12-19)19 December 1587
Weimar
Died10 February 1645(1645-02-10) (aged 57)
Quedlinburg Abbey
HouseWettin
FatherFriedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
MotherSophie of Württemberg
ReligionLutheran

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

Reign

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

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

Religious policy

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

Ancestry

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