Dorothea of Denmark – Openly forsaking the faith (Part three)

Read part two here.

On 18 May 1535, the proxy wedding took place in Brussels. Dorothea set out for Heidelberg, where she arrived on 8 September. Frederick rode out to meet her and escorted her to Heidelberg Castle. On 9 September, the Bishop of Spires celebrated a nuptial mass. Afterwards, Frederick and Dorothea made their home at Neumarkt. Frederick soon learned that Emperor Charles had “no great affection for the enterprise of Denmark” and he had “embarked on a new and tempestuous ocean.”¹ They never managed to recover Dorothea’s inheritance. Dorothea’s father had been a prisoner in Denmark since 1531.

Luckily, it proved to be a happy marriage otherwise. Dorothea was loved by her subjects, but she turned out to be quite a spendthrift, like her husband. They often went out together, even climbing mountains. She tried desperately to conceive a child and went on pilgrimages and wore holy girdles.

Christina returned to Flanders in 1537 after being widowed in 1535. She had requested to travel by way of Dorothea’s home, as she had not seen her sister since the spring of 1534. This request was granted, and the two sisters met in Heidelberg in November 1547. Christina was magnificently entertained with banquets, jousts and dances. They had so much that Christina was invited to stay over for Christmas. However, Mary demanded that Christina return to Flanders as quickly as possible, and so the sisters parted ways again. Christina remarried in 1541 to the future Francis I, Duke of Lorraine. Her youngest daughter was named Dorothea after their aunt, but she would be widowed again just one month after the younger Dorothea’s birth.

Dorothea and Christina remained in regular contact. During one such visit to Lorraine in 1551, Dorothea rode back in a chariot after a hunt, which got stuck in the mud because of heavy rain. The carriage had jolted in the mud, leaving the ladies covered in it, and Dorothea had a scratch on her face as well. Dorothea laughed off the incident and managed to return on horseback.²

Dorothea was widowed on 26 February 1556 when Frederick died at the age of 73 at Alzey. She had nursed him throughout his final illness. Three weeks before Frederick’s death, Dorothea had sent for his nephew and heir, Otto Henry, Count Palatine. He, too, remained with Frederick until his death. Frederick’s body was returned to Heidelberg, where his body lay in state for three days. Then his body was carried down to the Church of the Holy Spirit where he was interred. Christina had wanted to immediately visit her widowed sister, but her request was denied.

Dorothea had become well-known for her Lutheran leanings, much to the annoyance of her family. One observer wrote, “The Electress Dorothea is known to be a Lutheran and against the Emperor and is as much hated here as her sister Christina is beloved.”³ Emperor Charles asked his son to invite Dorothea to come live in Brussels, “lest one of our own blood should openly forsake the faith.”³ Christina was also sent in to persuade Dorothea, but she refused them all. In the end, she settled in Neuburg, where she was able to practise her faith the way she wanted.

In 1561, Dorothea and Christina’s father died in prison in Denmark, and Dorothea assumed the title of Queen of Denmark, although it was an empty title. Christina reportedly visited her sister to convince her to pass her claim to her nephew, Christina’s son.

Dorothea reportedly died suddenly the following year at Neuburg. She was interred next to her husband, and her tomb had the following inscription, “To the most noble Lady, Dorothea, Countess Palatine and Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, the beloved consort of the Elector Frederic II. This tomb was raised by Frederic III by the Grace of God Elector Palatine, in the year 1562, as a token of love and gratitude to this his most dear and excellent kinswoman.”⁴ This tomb was destroyed in 1693 when French armies sacked the town of Heidelberg.

However, many other sources state that Dorothea died on 31 May 1580.⁵ We can only assume the majority here is correct as we no longer have the tomb to rely on. There is also a reference to her writing a letter in 1567.⁶ However, there is also a reference of an inscription from 1563 referring to Christina as Queen of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.⁷

1. Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.56
2. Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.182
3. Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.218
4. Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.246
5. Frederik II and the Protestant Cause by Paul Douglas Lockhart p.18 & Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon & Dansk biografisk Lexikon / IV. Ata. Clemens-Eynden
6. History of the German people at the close of the Middle Ages by Johannes Janssen p.155
7. Christina of Denmark, Duchess of Milan and Lorraine, 1522-1590 by Julia Cartwright p.247