The Political Role of the Female Consort in Protestant Germany, 1550-1585: Anna of Saxony as Mater Patriae

Abstract

In a letter to the Augsburg patrician Martin Pfinzing, Anna of Saxony referred to herself as the Landesfurstin of Saxony. The term Anna used to describe her position is significant because it cannot simply be translated as “territorial princess” or female consort. Rather, the term Landesfurstin constitutes a female counterpart to the term Landesfurst, which is best translated as territorial ruler. In the letter she takes upon herself the responsibility for the well-being of the Saxon subjects, thereby acting in accordance with the literal meaning of the term with which she describes her position. More than ten years ago, Heide Wunder concluded that “the ruling couple [in early modern Germany] regarded itself as an ‘office-holding couple’, as the father and mother of the land - analogous to the position of the master and mistress of the house. Since the exercise of power was legitimated by eminent descent, women could assume the highest position in feudal political systems”. This is exactly what the Saxon electress expressed when she referred to herself as Landesfurstin and it is also implied in the associated terms Landesmutter and Mater Patriae, which both recur throughout numerous texts that were produced during the lifetime of Anna of Saxony.