Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Georg Friedrich von Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim (September 5, 1569 – July 7, 1645) was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

and an amateur

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Biography

Born in Neuenstein, Georg Friedrich was the son of Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim and his wife Magdalena of Nassau-Dillenburg. At the age of 17, in 1586 Count Georg Friedrich went to the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

and studied there until 1588. He was probably the last student of Professor François Hotman. Subsequently, for the purpose of study, Count Georg Friedrich went to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and later to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he enrolled at the universities of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

and

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

. After finishing his studies, in 1591 he fought under

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

against the Catholic League. In the war against the Turks in 1595, he was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. In 1605, as imperial field commander, he put down an uprising in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. On June 18, 1607, Friedrich married Eva von Waldstein. Through this marriage he became a member of the Bohemian Estates and thereby also became involved in the resistance against King (

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

) Ferdinand II. As General commander of the Estates, he was responsible for organization and in the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

he commanded a cavalry unit. On January 22, 1621, he was accepted as a member of the '' Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft'' by Prince Ludwig I of Anhalt-Köthen. In 1621,

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

proclaimed

Frederick V of the Palatinate Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fr ...

and others to be traitors. The others included Georg Friedrich of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim. In spite of having fallen under the proclamation of

imperial ban The imperial ban () was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or the '' Reichskammerg ...

ishment in 1621, Count Georg Friedrich was able to achieve peace with the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

and with imperial approval was even able to exercise his lordship in Weikersheim, which had fallen to him at the death of his father in 1610. His wife Eva died May 24, 1631. On August 17, 1633, he married Maria Magdalena von Oettingen-Oettingen, who however died on May 29, 1636, after a barely three-year-long marriage. In 1632, Count Georg Friedrich was installed as the Swedish

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the Swabian Circle. When he accepted this post, he infuriated the emperor to the point that he immediately outlawed him again. Additionally, the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

immediately, by imperial decree, received the lordship of Weikersheim. This was only returned to the House of Hohenlohe after the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

in 1648. Due to his outlawry, Georg Friedrich was excluded from the Peace of Prague

635 __NOTOC__ Year 635 (Roman numerals, DCXXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 635 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent me ...

Nevertheless, during a personal conversation in 1637, the emperor forgave him. Count Georg Friedrich settled in Langenburg and avoided every form of political activity. Here in Langenburg he was also active in literature. He wrote primarily

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

s and

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s. Count Georg Friedrich of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim died on August 7, 1645, at the age of 76 years, in Langenburg.

Works

* ''Geistliche Psalmen und Kirchengesänge'' ("Spiritual Psalms and Church Songs", 1648) {{DEFAULTSORT:Georg Friedrich Of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein-Weikersheim Counts of Hohenlohe Hohenlohe-Neuenstein 1569 births 1645 deaths Imperial Army (Holy Roman Empire) personnel