of Brandenbourg and widow to Christopher the last King of Denmark That Prince having Reigned happily 33. years in Denmark 32. in Norway and 25. in Sweden dyed afterwards A. D. 1482. leaving two sons who succeeded him in this manner John his eldest was King of those three Kingdoms after his Father and gave his brother Frederick the moyety of his Hereditary lands Then having reigned peaceably he dyed A. D. 1513. leaving his son Christian II. to be his Successor That Prince was born A. D. 1481. and married Isabel sister to the Emperor Charles V. by whom he had Dorothy Electoress of Brandenbourg Christina Dutchess of Milan and afterwards of Lorraine and John who dyed bearing arms under the Emperor Charles his Unkle by the Mothers side in the year 1532. Christiern otherwise Christian II. forsook the way of his Father and Grandfather and became so cruel a Tyrant that the Swedes drove him out of their Countrey and placed upon the Throne Gustavus Vasc son to Erick a Swedish Knight A. D. 1523. And nine years after the Danes cast him in prison where he ended his dayes in five more P. Men seem to be of a worse condition then beasts inasmuch as Eagles do not ingender pigeons nor Lions Stags yet Heroical persons rarely beget their like The greatest men are subject to the misfortune of seeing their children unworthy to succeed them But what came to pass after the imprisonment of Christiern G. We will speak in another place of what followed in Sweden In Denmark the Nobility had an honourable memory and high esteem of the virtues of Christian I. and of Iohn wherefore instead of the Tyrant who was prisoner at Sunderbourg they placed Frederick his Unkle by the Fathers side upon the Throne who was very aged and yet he introduced the Doctrine of Luther into Denmark and his own hereditary Principalities That Frederick was the first Duke of Holstein which is held in Fee of the Empire as Schleswick is of Denmark but neither he nor his son Christian III. durst send any body to the Diets fearing they should be but ill used for having assumed the place of a brother-in-law to two Emperors P. It may be those Princes not daring to send their Deputies to the Diets lost the Rank they held there G. Frederick I. of that name King of Denmark was Duke of Holstein before he came to the Crown yet I cannot tell whether he had taken place in the Assemblies of the Empire But to pursue the discourse we have begun that Prince left two sons the elder of whom was King after him by the name of Christian III. and Adolph his younger son Duke of Holstein They had both children from whom all the Princes of this House are descended For Christian was Father to King Frederick II. and to Iohn the younger and Adolph to Iohn Adolph and to Frederick Archbishop of Bremen and Bishop of Lubeck P. I pray draw out this Genealogy a little more at length G. Frederick II. husband to Sophia daughter to Vlrick Duke of Meklebourg had one son and four daughters very worthy of your knowledge For as much as Elizabeth the eldest was married to Henry Iulius Duke of Brunswick Anne to Iames VI. King of Scotland who afterwards got all Great Britain by the death and Testament of Elizabeth Queen of England Augusta to Iohn Adolph Duke of Holstein and Hedwig to Christian II. Elector of Saxony His Son and Successor to the Crown was Christian IV. a great King both in time of peace and war That Prince who admiring the worth of Henry the Great King of France made him his pattern in every thing and had at the least as many sons as he as well Legitimate as Natural But there remains no more of the lawfully begotten then his Successor Frederick III. who hath already many children and may have more P. This King is esteemed throughout all Europe for a knowing Prince and one that sets a value upon good men Let us see the Descendents of Iohn the younger G. That Prince was even goodness it self and God blessed him exceedingly for he had 23. children by Elizabeth Dutchess of Brunswick and Agnes Hedwig Princess of Anhalt his wives Two of those Princes dyed in Hungary one at the illustrious Colledge of Tubing two departed in their infancy and four lived to be married who are fathers of many Lords either residing at Sunderbourg Nortbourg Glugsbourg and Plone or else seeking their fortune in the Wars The daughters were thus married the eldest to a Duke of Lignitz three of the youngest to three Dukes of Pomerania Anne Sabina to a Duke of Wirtemberg Eleonor Sophia to a Prince of Anhalt and Margaret to John Count of Nassau The rest dyed in their Cradle except Eleonor who is still unmarried and leads an exemplary life she is 67. years old yet very lovely for her age and worthy to be visited by Kings for she hath a marvellous way of entertaining those Princes and Ladies that do her the honour to see her And I can assure you I never saw better sweet-meats served any where then at her house nor strangers received with greater civility P. Tell me I pray a little more particularly who are the Descendents of John the younger brother to King Frederick II. G. Alexander his eldest son had six sons whereof the eldest married a Countess of Delmenhorst and at his death left one son and two daughters by her Frederick Philip and Joachim Ernest brethren to Alexander are yet living the first hath three sons and as many daughters the second hath but two sons alive five Princesses married and one to marry the third hath four Princes two whereof have command in the King of Spains service and three Princesses still maids all beautiful and witty and brought up in the School of a Father inferior to none in the Empire for prudence and of a Mother that hath but few equals in all kind of vertues P. Do not forget the Descendents of Adolph younger brother to Christian III. of that name G. Adolph had many sons that dyed young one that was Archbishop of Bremen and John Adolph his eldest married Augusta daughter to Frederick II. King of Denmark These two had issue John Bishop of Lubeck a comely and liberal Prince who dying left his son John Augustus still very young but pretty and exceeding hopeful Frederick this Bishops elder brother hath the moyety of the Dutchies of Schleswick Holstein Stormar and Dithmarsh and takes turns with the King of Denmark in the administration of Justice in having place and voice in the Assemblies of the Empire and in all other Rights of Regality This Prince great in knowledge and magnanimity hath for a partner in his bed and felicity Mary Elizabeth daughter to John George Elector of Saxony by whom he hath still living three sons and five daughters four whereof are married to John Prince of Anhalt Gustavus Adolph Duke of Meklebourg Lewis Landgrave of Darmstadt and Charles Gustavus
also have bestowed so many favours and bounties upon my House that there remains nothing for me to ask Every body was surprized at this discourse For although it be honorable for the Sea to communicate it self through the rivers and for the Soverain to aggrandize his best deserving Subjects yet the Sea ought not to cover all the earth nor the King to diffuse his Royal graces too prodigally upon a Subject Otherwise the rivers will become Sea and the servant Master which cannot but prove very prejudicial As then the Planets would have but little regard to the Sun if they had no need of his light nor the servant to his Master if he could do him no more good So Great men ought to be very circumspect in the distribution of their favours if they would not lose that honour and respect which their Inferiors give them P. There are few Houses in Germany that have so long possessed two Secular Electorships at a time as this hath done Let us see how it lost them G. Otho and Bernard sons to Albertus Vrsus divided this House into two Branches The first was Elector of Brandenbourg and the latter of Saxony who fixed himself at Wittemberg and took for his principal distinctive Coat a Bend Fleury Vert on a Field Barry or and Sable There have been 13. Electors of Brandenbourg descended from Otho whereof the last was Iohn IV. of that name From Bernard there came in a direct Male line the Dukes of Lower Saxony and the Princes of Anhalt the first by the way of Albert I. of that name and Helen daughter to the Emperor Otho IV. and the second by the way of Henry to whom the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa gave the title of Prince of Anhalt There have been 8. Electors of Saxony of this Family The last was Albert II. after whom the Emperor Sigismond preferred Frederick the Warlike Marquis of Misnia before Erick V. Alberts Cousin and lawful Successor to teach us that all things under the Sun are flitting and transitory and that the greatest Houses may be humbled and brought low P. Hath a Soverain any power to take Principalities from one House and transfer them unto another G. A King gives account of his actions to none but God and can do almost all that he will he ought nevertheless to act equitably and not to plunge men of courage into despair then which nothing is more dangerous They that have lost their estate think they have nothing more to lose and are capable of making the greatest repent of the wrongs they have done them The Soverain then may take back the benefits he bestowed when he that received them is become altogether unworthy of them But before he come to that extremity he should endeavour to reduce them unto their duty and having tryed all fair means he must be very careful that he do not faintly and loosely execute the resolutions that he hath generously taken nor rashly undertake a great action which prudence will afterwards perswade him to abandon A Prince should think seriously of a thing before he enters upon it but having begun he should carry it through For there is nothing so repugnant to the of authority Kings as to act by halves nor any thing that so much encourages Subjects to Rebellion as to see that their Masters are afraid of them P. Since the death of Francis Albert who was slain by General Torstenson in Silesia I hear but little speech of these Dukes which makes me conjecture there are but few of them left G. Though Francis II. had ten sons six whereof were married yet there remaine but Iulius Henry Francis Charles and Francis Henry brethren all without hopes of having children and one son of Iulius Henry called Francis Herman who probably will have but few having married his Cousin who is exceeding weak and of a stature to bear few or no children This Prince is at present in the service of the King of Sweden against Poland P. It were great pity that a House so ancient and so illustrious should totally fail but if that do come to pass who will be the heir of it G. The Princes of Anhalt as we have seen come from the same source besides which right they have that of Confraternity Now this House is one of the most numerous in the Empire and because it is equally divided amongst many the Princes are not of the richest Ioachim Ernest who was the only person left of the Family dyed at 50. years of age A. D. 1566. and had 16. children of whom Anne Mary was married to Ioachim Frederick Duke of Lignitz Elizabeth to Ioachim George Elector of Brandenbourg Sibyll to Frederick Duke of Wirtemberg Agnes Hedwig to Augustus Elector of Saxony and after his death to Iohn the younger Duke of Holstein Dorothy Mary to Iohn Duke of Saxon-Weimar and Anne Sophia to Gunther Albert Count of Schurtzebourg The sons divided the Principality into four equal shares because Augustus said he would be content with a Pension for his life not intending to marry But at last upon second thoughts he came back into Germany where he married Sibyll Countess of Solmes and his brethren chose rather to give him a part of the land then pay him a Pension So Iohn George had Dissau Christian resided at Berembourg Augustus fixt his abode at Pleskau Rodolph at Zerbst and Lewis at Cotheim and every one them hath children P. This way of sharing may bring their House to a very weak condition But how do they govern their Estate G. Being all of equal authority and one having no power or command over the lands of another they submit to the eldest of the Family who hath the direction of affairs calls the Princes together when there is need of having their advice upon any matter of importance And as they have but one voice in the Diets so one of them represents all the rest there To conclude these Princes are commonly brave learned active bold courteous and obliging The two Christians of Berembourg father and son have born arms with honour Augustus hath extracted Soverain remedies out of Chymistry and Lewis hath established the society of great Wits or the Fructifying Company whereinto there are at this time admitted and enrolled above 20. Princes and five or 600. Lords Gentlemen or Doctors and other persons of knowledge P. There is much talk of this Society and I have not yet learnt what is the principal aim and intent of it G. This Prince having travelled through all Europe and seen that France and Italy are full of excellent books in the language of the Countrey whereby Ladies and Great men who by reason of their weighty employments cannot have leisure to learn Forain Languages have the means to be instructed in all that concerns them was desirous to introduce the same advantage into Germany and hath succeeded so prosperously in his design that now the Virtuosi of our Countrey cultivate their Mother-tongue enrich and adorn
1607. at which time the Burgers endeavouring to hinder the Catholiques from burying a Corps with the ceremonies of the Church of Rome it incurred the Imperial Ban or Proscription which was executed by the Duke of Bavaria who brought it into subjection and holds it still under his Laws Dunkelspiel hath been so often taken and re-taken in the last Wars that it will carry the marks thereof a great while Eslinguen is a pretty Town upon the Neckar within the Dutchy and under the protection of the Duke of Wirtemberg to whom it sends every first day of the year a hundred Florins of gold in a green velvet purse for the honour he doth them in being their Protector P. If I be not mistaken this City hath been honoured with the celebration of some Turnament G Not with a Turnament only but also with an Imperial Diet And produces great store of excellent Wine Francfort which was anciently called Tentoburgum and Hellenopolis signifies the passage or Ford of the Franks and was so termed because it served them for a retreat when they went into and came back from Gaule This City is renowned for its Fairs for the Article of the Golden Bull which ordains that the King of the Romans should be chosen there for its Fortress and for the river of Mein which parts it into two Towns whereof one retains the old name and the other is called Saxenhausen P. You have told me elsewhere that that clause of the Golden Bull is not observed and that many Kings of the Romans have been elected in other places G. That is true but yet the Town is very considerable for all that The Religion professed there is of two sorts and the Jews drive a great Trade amongst them Fridberg a very small City in Wetteravia had not above 60. Burgers when I passed that way but it hath great priviledges There is a Castle near it the Lords whereof are called Burgraves Guemunde which seems to signifie Gaudia Mundi the joys of the world in regard of the Turnaments or other pastimes which the Lords of Swaben have heretofore given their friends there is entirely Catholique and an Imperial City since the death of Conradine who was beheaded at Naples Gostar a City of Hircynia was fortified in the year 1207. The Castle is called the Imperial Palace and the Town the Royal City because the Kings of Germany were wont to make their aboad there and some Emperors have honoured it with their residence Guelnehausen after the same manner as Fridberg hath City and Castle and place in the Assemblies though the Electors Palatine use their utter most endeavour to bring it under their subjection P. I wonder how these petty places are able to maintain their liberty G. They are supported by others and the Emperor would not willingly see Princes make themselves Masters of them Haguenau a City of Alsatiâ— is Head of a Bailywick that comprehends the Imperial Cities of Colmar Selestad Weissembourg Landau Oberhenheim Rosherim Munster in the valley of St. Gregory Keichersberg and Turgkeim This Bailywick was given to the most Christian King with its appurtenances and the right which the House of Austria had to it heretofore This City was very much a favourite to the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa who caused it to be walled about after he had built a house there for himself and six for the principal Gentlemen belonging to his Hunting which the Lords of Flekenstein Durcheim and some others do still hold in Fee of the Empire P. I think the Lords of Durcheim are your kinsmen G. Margaret of Rottembourg a Gentlewoman of a very ancient family in Lower Alsatia was married to John Albert of Anweil of which marriage came Anne Margaret of Anweil my wife by whose means I find my self allied to the Houses of Anweil Rottembourg Scheling Welward Spest Durcheim Stursel Dalbourg Bernehausen Flekenstein Stein and many others But this is besides our purpose Hambourg situate upon the Elbe where the reflux of the Sea makes a good Port is one of the richest Cities in Germany the greatest in Vandalia and the best fortified in Europe It doth ordinarily maintain a thousand Souldiers and for a time of necessity it hath 15000. Burgers listed in fifty Companies Trade is exceeding quick there by reason of the river which joyns it to the Sea and a multitude of Portuguese Jews who have liberty of conscience there This City hath been subject to several Lords but at last it is become free notwithstanding all that the Duke of Holstein could do or the King of Denmark who hath built Glugstadt and a Fort in the river to annoy and incommodate the City of Hambourg P. The neighbourhood of the Swedes may entrench much upon their liberty G. The Crown of Sweden hath the possession of Stade near the river of Elbe and the King of Denmark hath Glugstadt on the other side of the same river So that if those two Kings should conspire to ruine Hambourg it would be in great danger but it is sheltered under the jealousie that is between those two Crowns Although this City be indeed so prodigiously rich that if the Kings should agree together it is probable the Senat would be able to guard themselves and preserve their liberty by the expense of their Treasure And questionless if Hambourg make good use of its own strength and the friendship of those that are concerned for its preservation it hath no cause to fear For the King of Denmark and the Duke of Holstein apprehending the Swedes will be always glad to fortifie themselves by the good affection and forces of Hambourg and Lubeck which are as so many Bulwarks to their States P. Is Lubeck also in the entrance of the Cimbrique Chersonese G. These Cities are not far distant from one another They have the same interest and are powerful Hambourg upon the Ocean and Lubeck upon the Balthique Sea in the entrance of the Cimbrique Chersonese which contains the Dutchies of Holstein Schleswick Stormar and Dithmarsh with the Countrey of Jutland The City of Lubeck was built by Adolph Count of Holstein in the time of the Emperor Conrade III. and a little after it was taken by Henry Leo Duke of Bavaria and Saxony who founded a Bishoprick there as I have read over the Gates of the Castle of Eutin the place where the Bishop resides After the death of that Henry it returned to its first Master and passed from him into the power of Canute King of Denmark but the Danes being overcome in the time of the Emperor Frederick II. it became an Imperial City and enjoys that priviledge to this day When it began it was of no great consequence but now it is large fair and potent by land and by water too the river Drave encreasing its Trade and giving it opportunity to put great store of shipping to Sea P. If the King of Denmark had the command of these two Cities it would enable him to attempt upon his neighbours