Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine (9 December 1482 – 26 February 1556), a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Prince-elector of the Palatinate from 1544 to 1556.
Frederick was born in Winzingen Castle near Neustadt an der Weinstraße as the fourth son of Philip, Elector Palatine and Margarete of Bavaria-Landshut. In 1535, he married in Heidelberg to Dorothea of Denmark, Electress Palatine, they had no issue.
He was custodian of the young dukes of Palatinate-Neuburg Otto Henry and Philip and then served as general for the Habsburg Ferdinand I.
Frederick was for a time involved in coup plans in Denmark-Norway. His wife Dorothea was a daughter of Christian II of Denmark,[1] the former King of Denmark and Norway who was deposed after a Danish noble rebellion in 1523. The exiled Christian II was contacted by Olav Engelbrektsson, Catholic Archbishop of Norway and head of the Council of the Realm, in 1529. Christian II was a Protestant, but was also the brother-in-law of Emperor Charles V and therefore vowed to help the Catholic cause in Norway.[2] After Frederick's marriage to Dorothea, Frederick soon sent a letter to Olav Engelbrektsson (via emissaries in Brussels) where he promised military support from himself and Charles V. In the winter of 1536, Olav Engelbrektsson sent squads of supporters to villages in Eastern Norway; among other things the squads read the letter out to people, signalling that a new ruler could be on his way. However, few peasants joined the would-be rebellion, and it soon failed as no actual support from Frederick or Charles came.[1] In the winter of 1537, then, Frederick did send two ships from the Habsburg Netherlands. However, this was to no avail as the King of Denmark mounted a naval offensive to secure Norway around the same time. Olav Engelbrektsson fled the country, bishops Hoskuld Hoskuldsson and Mogens Lauritssøn were arrested, other supporters were punished and the Catholic Church in Norway and the Council of the Realm were abolished.[3]
In March 1544 Frederick succeeded his brother Louis V as Prince-elector of the Palatinate. He introduced the Protestant Reformation and was therefore outlawed by Emperor Charles V until Frederick submitted. He was succeeded by his former ward Otto Henry. He died in February 1556 in Alzey.
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Frederick_II_of_the_Palatinate Frederick II of the Palatinate] at Wikimedia Commons
|
Frederick II, Elector Palatine
Born: 1482 Died: 1556 |
||
| German royalty | ||
|---|---|---|
| Regnal titles | ||
| Preceded by Louis V |
Elector Palatine 1544–1556 |
Succeeded by Otto Henry |