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Agnes Bernauer (c. 1410 – 12 October 1435) was the mistress and perhaps also the first wife of Albert, later
Albert III, Duke of Bavaria Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (; 27 March 1401 – 29 February 1460), since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was born in Wolfratshausen to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti. Life Alber ...
. Because his father,
Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, ...
, ruling Duke of Bavaria at the time, considered this liaison with a commoner unbefitting his son's social standing, he clashed with his son over the matter and finally arranged to have Agnes condemned for witchcraft and drowned in the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , ...
in 1435. Her life and death have been depicted in numerous literary works, the most well known being
Friedrich Hebbel Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the '' Gelehrtenschule des Johann ...
's tragedy of the same name and the folk musical ''Die Bernauerin'' by the composer
Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Ca ...
.


Biography

Agnes Bernauer was probably born around 1410; nothing is known of her childhood and youth. She is traditionally considered to have been the daughter of the
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the '' ...
barber surgeon The barber surgeon, one of the most common European medical practitioners of the Middle Ages, was generally charged with caring for soldiers during and after battle. In this era, surgery was seldom conducted by physicians, but instead by barbe ...
Kaspar Bernauer Kaspar Bernauer (, ~1385 — ~1450) — balneotherapist and barber surgeon, father of Agnes Bernauer. Biography Kaspar Bernauer was born approximately in 1385, presumably in the town of Scuol in the historical Rhaetian enclave of Engiadin ...
, whose existence has, however, not yet been proved. Since Ernest's son Albert participated in a
tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
in Augsburg in February 1428, it is generally assumed that the latter met Agnes on that occasion and shortly thereafter brought her to
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
. In a Munich tax roll dated 1428, a “pernawin” is listed as a member of his royal household, which is probably a reference to Agnes Bernauer. In summer 1432 at the latest, Agnes Bernauer was an integral part of the Munich court. She took part in the capture of the robber baron Münnhauser, who had fled to the Old Court in Munich, and she annoyed the Palatine Countess
Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...
, Albert's sister, because of her self-assured manner. It is possible that Agnes and Albert were already married at this point, but there is no concrete evidence of a marriage ceremony. Albert's frequent residence at
Blutenburg Castle Blutenburg Castle is an old ducal country seat in the west of Munich, Germany, on the banks of river Würm. History The castle was built between two arms of the River Würm for Duke Albert III, Duke of Bavaria in 1438–39 as a hunting-lodge ...
beginning in 1433 and the sale of two properties in the vicinity to Agnes suggest that the couple lived there together. There is no evidence of joint residence in Albert's county of
Vohburg Vohburg (Central Bavarian: ''Vohbuag an da Doana'') is a town in the district of Pfaffenhofen, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, 14 km east of Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Ba ...
, and there are no known descendants of the couple. Duke Ernest, Albert's father, was infuriated by the threat to the succession posed by his only son's unsuitable liaison. While Albert was on a hunt arranged by his relative Henry of Bavaria-Landshut, Duke Ernest had Agnes arrested and drowned in the Danube River on 12 October 1435 near
Straubing Straubing () is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held. The city is located on the Danube f ...
. Albert then went to
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area ...
to Duke Louis VII, but after a few months was reconciled with his father and married Anna of Brunswick in November 1436. The feared military conflict between father and son did not materialize; it is possible that
Emperor Sigismund Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death ...
exerted a restraining effect on Albert.


Tributes to her memory

In December 1435, Albert endowed a perpetual mass and an annual memorial celebration in the Straubing Carmelite Cloister in memory of Agnes Bernauer. In 1447 he expanded the endowment in her honor. In 1436, his father had an Agnes Bernauer Chapel erected in the cemetery of St. Peter Straubing, probably to appease his son. It is not known whether Agnes was buried in the Carmelite cloister, which was her wish, or whether Albert arranged for the transfer of her mortal remains to the chapel dedicated to her. In any event, a tombstone of red marble with an almost life-size effigy of Agnes Bernauer was fitted into the floor of the chapel. The relief shows her lying with her head on a large pillow. In her right hand, on which she wears two rings, she holds a
rosary The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or ...
, and two small dogs at her feet are there to guide her on her way to the hereafter. It was probably an oversight that the year of her death is incorrectly given there as 12 October 1436. There are only a few records about the memorial endowments for Agnes Bernauer from the next three centuries. In 1508 a certain Johannes Haberlander was the chaplain responsible for the Bernauer Chapel. For its maintenance and the daily reading of the memorial mass he received 17 pounds in Regensburg pence from the ducal treasury. By 1526 his office had been transferred to a Leonhard Plattner, who received for his services 48 guilders and 4 schilling in Viennese pence. It is not known how long the chaplain's office was maintained. All that is known is that the church trustee Franz von Paula Romayr had the tombstone moved to the wall of the chapel in 1785 in order to protect it from further damage “caused by depredatory footsteps”. The grave itself could not be located when the tombstone was repositioned. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 19th century the Agnes Bernauer Chapel became a tourist destination. One newspaper (the ''Bayerische National-Zeitung'') even asserted it as being the only reason to pay a visit to Straubing. The locals were happy to supply visitors with information, not all of it reliable. One concerned reader wrote to the ''Königlich-Bairische Intelligenzblatt'' in 1813 that the sexton had informed him that Austrian troops had walked off with the remains of Agnes Bernauer. When the German poet
August von Platen August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo (astrology), Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin ...
inspected the gravestone in 1822, he heard from the female sexton that Agnes and Albert had been switched as infants so that she was actually the duke's daughter and he the son of the barber-surgeon, but that the book which would have confirmed this exchange had been stolen by French soldiers. After excavations in the Chapel at St. Peter failed to produce any results, the Bernauer biographer Felix Joseph Lipowsky had the Carmelite cloister grounds searched in 1897 for evidence of her grave. He found in the cloister archives a note indicating that the grave was in the former Nicholas chapel of the cloister church, but this chapel had been converted to a sacristy after 1692 and the vault underneath filled in. Lipowsky could only assume that her remains were reburied elsewhere during the reconstruction work. Despite subsequent searches, her grave remains undiscovered.On the excavations in the Carmelite cloister: 1) Anniversar-Register im Archiv des Karmelitenklosters für 1447, p. 29. In: Felix Joseph Lipowsky: Agnes Bernauerinn historisch geschildert. Lentner, München 1801, p. 125 (following Alfons Huber, Agnes Bernauer im Spiegel der Quellen, p. 55).2) Joseph Scherer: Die Reliquien der Agnes Bernauerin betreffend. In: Teutoburg. Zeitschrift für die Geschichte, Läuterung und Fortbildung der deutschen Sprache. Heft 2, 1815 (following Alfons Huber, Agnes Bernauer im Spiegel der Quellen, p. 140).3) Other speculations about the location of the grave are in Marita Panzer, Agnes Bernauer, pp. 122–126. The Bavarian king
Ludwig I en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...
, who had himself visited the Agnes Bernauer Chapel in 1812 when he was crown prince and later dedicated a poem to Agnes, saw to it that at least the masses for Agnes and Albert were again read in the Carmelite church. Since 1922, only one memorial mass is celebrated annually, due to financial limitations; it is paid for by the
Bavarian government The politics of Bavaria takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany incl ...
. In 2013 at the
Blutenburg Castle Blutenburg Castle is an old ducal country seat in the west of Munich, Germany, on the banks of river Würm. History The castle was built between two arms of the River Würm for Duke Albert III, Duke of Bavaria in 1438–39 as a hunting-lodge ...
there was erected the Sculpture of Agnes Bernauer with
Albert III, Duke of Bavaria Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (; 27 March 1401 – 29 February 1460), since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was born in Wolfratshausen to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti. Life Alber ...
by Joseph Michael Neustifter. The memorial was funded by Ursula und Fritz Heimbüchler. In connection with the 1200th anniversary of the Obermenzing / Untermenzing (former Menzing) districts of Munich, on the stage belonging to the Temple "Leiden Christi" next to the
Blutenburg Castle Blutenburg Castle is an old ducal country seat in the west of Munich, Germany, on the banks of river Würm. History The castle was built between two arms of the River Würm for Duke Albert III, Duke of Bavaria in 1438–39 as a hunting-lodge ...
, in 2017 took place the premiere of the musical performance "Agnes or the Secret of the Blutenburg Castle", which presented a fantastic version of the fate of Agnes Bernauer.


Adaptations

Albert and Agnes' tragic love story has long been a staple of folk songs, and over the centuries many new literary and musical versions have been created. * Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau: ''Liebe Zwischen Hertzog Ungenand und Agnes Bernin'', Poem, 1680 *
Joseph August Graf von Toerring Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
: ''Agnes Bernauer, Vaterländisches Schauspiel'', Play, 1780 *
Georg Joseph Vogler Abbé Vogler Georg Joseph Vogler, also known as Abbé Vogler (June 15, 1749 – May 6, 1814), was a German composer, organist, teacher and theorist. In a long and colorful career extending over many more nations and decades than was usual at the ...
(Music),
Carl Theodor Traitteur Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...
(Libretto): ''Albert der Dritte von Bayern'', Singspiel, UA
München Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
1781 * Franz Gleißner (Music): ''Agnes Bernauerin'', Melodrama, probably after Toerring, 1781, UA München 1790 *
Ignaz von Seyfried Ignaz Xaver, Ritter von Seyfried (15 August 1776 – 27 August 1841) was an Austrian musician, conductor and composer. He was born and died in Vienna. According to a statement in his handwritten memoirs he was a pupil of both Wolfgang Amadeus Mo ...
(Music,
Karl Ludwig Giesecke Carl Ludwig Giesecke FRSE (6 April 1761 in Augsburg – 5 March 1833 in Dublin) was a German actor, librettist, polar explorer and mineralogist. In his youth he was called Johann Georg Metzler; in his later career in Ireland he was Sir Ch ...
(Libretto): Agnes Bernauerin (burlesque), 1798 *
Karl August Krebs Karl August Krebs (16 January 1804 as Karl August Miedke – 16 May 1880), also Carl, Miedtke, was a German pianist, composer, conductor and ''Kapellmeister''. Life Krebs was born in Nuremberg in 1804. His parents were the actor Carl Miedke an ...
(Music): ''Herzog Albrecht'', Opera, UA Hamburg 8 October 1833 (revised version: Dresden 1858 as ''Agnes Bernauer'') *
King Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...
: ''An Agnes Bernauerin'', Poem *
Adolf Böttger Adolf Böttger (21 May 1815 in Leipzig – 16 November 1870 in Gohlis, now part of Leipzig) was a German translator and poet. As a translator, he created German versions of works in the English language, a major project being the translation ...
: ''Agnes Bernauer'', Drama, 1846 * Melchior Meyr: ''Herzog Albrecht'', Drama, 1852 *
Friedrich Hebbel Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist. Biography Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the '' Gelehrtenschule des Johann ...
: ''Agnes Bernauer - Ein deutsches Trauerspiel in fünf Aufzügen'', Drama, 1855 *
Otto Ludwig Otto Ludwig may refer to: *Otto Ludwig (writer) (1813–1865), German novelist and dramatist *Otto Ludwig (film editor) (1903–1983), German film editor active in British inter-war films *Otto Ludwig (footballer) Otto Ludwig (29 November 193417 ...
, several versions of a drama, 19th century *
Martin Greif Martin Joel Greif (February 4, 1938, The Bronx, New York City - November 17, 1996, Cork (city), Cork, Ireland) was an American editor, lecturer, publisher and writer. He was the uncle of heavy metal music personality and lawyer Eric Greif. Backg ...
: ''Agnes Bernauer oder der Engel von Augsburg'', Drama, 1894 *
Eugen Hubrich Eugen is a masculine given name which may refer to: * Archduke Eugen of Austria (1863–1954), last Habsburg Grandmaster of the Teutonic Order from 1894 to 1923 * Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke (1865–1947), Swedish painter, art collector, and pa ...
: ''Die Agnes Bernauer zu Straubing'', Open-air Play, 1935. From 1952 to 1989, the play was adapted several times for the Agnes Bernauer Festival in Straubing. Until 1963, Hubrich made the changes himself. *
Hans Karl Meixner Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...
, ''Agnes Bernauer: Ein Leben voll Leid und Liebe: Roman''. Reutlingen: Enßlin & Laiblin, Novel, 1937. *
Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Ca ...
: ''Die Bernauerin - Ein bairisches Stück'', Folk Musical, 1944, UA Stuttgart 1947 *
Raymond Bernard Raymond Bernard (10 October 1891 – 12 December 1977) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career spanned more than 40 years. He is best remembered for several large-scale historical productions, including the silent films '' Le Mi ...
(Director), Bernard Zimmer (Screenplay),
Joseph Kosma Joseph Kosma (22 October 19057 August 1969) was a Hungarian-French composer. Biography Kosma was born József Kozma in Budapest, where his parents taught stenography and typing. He had a brother, Ákos. A maternal relative was the photograph ...
(Music): '' Le Jugement de Dieu'', Historical Movie, 1949–51 * Michel Boisrond (Director),
Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist movemen ...
(Screenplay), France Roche (Screenplay),
Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...
(Music): '' Famous Love Affairs'', Anthology film, 1961, with
Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a former French actress, singer and model. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the ...
as Agnes Bernauer *
Karl Ristikivi Karl Ristikivi (; in Pärnumaa, Saulepi Parish, Lääne County (now Kilgi, Varbla Parish, Pärnu County) – 19 July 1977 in Solna, Stockholm) was an Estonian writer. He is among the best Estonian writers for his historical novels. Early lif ...
. Nõiduse õpilane (The Student of Witchcraft). A novel in Estonian, 1967. Agnes Bernauer is one of the female main characters, causing political murder of the main character who is researcher and physician in the court of Dukes Ernst and Albrecht. * Franz Xaver Kroetz: ''Agnes Bernauer'', Play, 1976 * Manfred Böckl: ''Agnes Bernauer. Hexe, Hur' und Herzogin''. Novel, 1993 *
Thomas Stammberger Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...
und
Johannes Reitmeier Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as " John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, '' Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Y ...
: ''Agnes Bernauer - Ein Historienspiel in fünfzehn Bildern'', Open-air Play, 1995 (2003 and 2007 revised by Johannes Reitmeier) *
Richard Wunderer Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
: ''Agnes Bernauer und ihr Herzog''. Rosenheimer, Rosenheim 1999


Notes


References

*Werner Schäfer: ''Agnes Bernauer und ihre Zeit''. Nymphenburger, München 1987 *Werner Schäfer: ''Agnes Bernauer. Geschichte - Dichtung - Bild''. Attenkofer, Straubing 1995 *Hans Schlosser: Agnes Bernauerin (1410–1435). Der Mythos von Liebe, Mord und Staatsräson, in: Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Germanistische Abteilung, 122. Band (2005), Wien-Köln-Weimar, Seiten 263-284 *Richard Utz: ''Medievalism: A Manifesto'' (Bradford, UK: ARC Humanities Press, 2017), chapter 3: "Residual Medievalisms in Eastern Bavaria."


External links


Online Text of Hoffmannswaldau's poem
at Projekt Gutenberg-DE




Agnes Bernauer Festspiele
in Vohburg

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernauer, Agnes 1410 births 1435 deaths People executed by drowning People executed for witchcraft People from the Duchy of Bavaria People from Augsburg 15th-century German women Executed German women People executed by Bavaria Women of medieval Bavaria Witch trials in Germany