Maurice, Elector of Saxony

Common card · No. 418404

Maurice (German: Moritz; 21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke of Saxony from 1541 to 1553, who became Prince-Elector and Arch-Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1547. Through shrewd political maneuvering, skillfully exploiting alliances and rivalries, he secured extensive territories and the electoral title for the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty. Maurice succeeded his father as duke of Saxony in 1541. Though a Protestant, he initially backed Emperor Charles V in several wars, then in 1545 accepted the Emperor's promise of the Saxon electorship and turned against the rival Ernestine branch—helping seize Electoral Saxony. After John Frederick's defeat at Mühlberg (1547), Maurice was rewarded with the electoral title and large new lands. He soon broke with Charles, angered by plans to restore Catholicism in Protestant territories and by the continued imprisonment of his father-in-law, Philip I of Hesse. Although sent to subdue Magdeburg in 1550, Maurice used the mission to raise...

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