Name Catherine Saxony, | ||
Mother Catherine of Brunswick-Luneburg Children Dorothea of Brandenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg, Margaret of Brandenburg Parents Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, Catherine of Brunswick-Luneburg Grandchildren John IV of Saxe-Lauenburg, Eric of Saxe-Lauenburg, Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg Grandparents Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia, Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, Catherine of Henneberg | ||
Catherine of Saxony (1421 – 23 August 1476) was a princess of Saxony by birth and Electress of Brandenburg by marriage.
Contents
Life
Catherine was a daughter of the Elector Frederick I of Saxony (1370–1428) from his marriage to Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1395–1442), daughter of Duke Henry I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
On 11 June 1441 Catherine married Elector Frederick II of Brandenburg (1413–1471) in Wittenberg. Frederick had earlier asked for Catherine's hand unsuccessfully. The promise of marriage was finally made as part of a contract that settled the conflict between Brandenburg and Saxony over the ownership of Lusatia and sealed an alliance between the two countries. The marriage turned out to be an unhappy one. Frederick had numerous affairs, and his son Erasmus was born out of wedlock.
The last years of their marriage the couple spent entirely separate, with Frederick living in Franconia and Catherine living in the Mark Brandenburg.
Issue
Catherine had three children with Frederick: