Elizabeth of Görlitz

Elisabeth of Görlitz (November 1390 – 2 August 1451) was a Duchess regnant of Luxemburg from 1411 to 1443.

Elisabeth was the only daughter and heiress of John of Görlitz, the third son of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. He was Duke of Lusatia and Görlitz, and also Elector of Brandenburg for a brief period. Her mother, Richardis Catherine of Sweden, was the daughter of King Albert of Sweden.

The Duchy of Luxemburg was mortgaged to Elisabeth by her uncle the King Sigismund of Hungary, who later also became King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. He was unable to repay the loan, and subsequently left Elisabeth in control of the duchy.

Her first marriage took place in Brussels on 16 July 1409, to Antoine, Duke of Brabant. He defended her against three uprisings of the Luxemburg nobility, until his death in 1415. They had two children:

• William (2 June 1410 – 10 July 1410, Brussels)
• unknown (1412)

John of Bavaria was her second husband. He died in 1425, and they did not have any children. After his death, she became heavily indebted.

In 1441, she made a treaty with Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, allowing him to immediately assume the administrative duties of Luxemburg and inherit the duchy upon her death. He agreed to this, but chose to launch a night attack on the territory two years later, taking immediate control. Elisabeth was subsequently expelled from Luxemburg by Philip's forces.

Ancestors

Further reading

• Joseph Calmette. Die großen Herzöge von Burgund. Callwey, München 1963; Eugen Diederichs Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-424-01312-9
• Michael Erbe. Belgien - Niederlande - Luxemburg – Geschichte des niederländischen Raumes. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-17-010976-6
• Jörg K. Hoensch. Die Luxemburger – Eine spätmittelalterliche Dynastie gesamteuropäischer Bedeutung 1308–1437. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-17-015159-2
• Jörg K. Hoensch. Kaiser Sigismund – Herrscher an der Schwelle zur Neuzeit 1368–1437. C. H. Beck, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-406-41119-3
• Walter Kaemmerer (1959), "Elisabeth von Görlitz", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German) 4, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 445 ; (full text online)

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