View source for Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1497-1546)

Ernest (German, Ernst) (1497-1546), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1520 until his death in 1546, called "the Confessor." Ernest was born on 27 June 1497, the son of Henry I, Duke of Lüneburg, and Margarete of Saxony, the daughter of Ernest, Elector of Saxony. Ernest and his brother Otto (24 August 1495 – 11 August 1549) became rulers of Brunswick-Lüneburg after the abdication of their father, Henry I. Ernest became the sole ruler in 1527 after Otto's retirement. Ernest died on 11 January 1546 and was succeeded by his son, Francis Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (20 June 1530 – 29 April 1559).

Ernest introduced Lutheranism into his realm (1527). When he was asked by [[Philipp I, Landgrave of Hesse (1504-1567)|Philipp of Hesse]] for an opinion on the punishment of [[Anabaptism|Anabaptists]], he sent one drawn up by Urban Rhegius in 1536 with the remark that a more detailed statement would require exact information on the activities of the Anabaptists; this he lacked, as the movement had not found entry into his realm.
= Bibliography =
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. ''Mennonitisches Lexikon'', 4 vols. Frankfurt &amp; Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 608.

Hochhuth, K. W. H. "Landgraf Philip und die Wiedertäufer." <em>Zeitschrift für die historische Theologie</em> XXVIII (1858): 566 ff.

Wikipedia. "Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg." Web. 16 October 2012. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_I,_Duke_of_Brunswick-L%C3%BCneburg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_I,_Duke_of_Brunswick-Lüneburg].
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