Wilhelm von Rath (1585 – 27 April 1641) was a German scholar and a

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

. His name, in the dative case (after "von"), may be rendered as "Rathen".

Biography

Rath was born in Klein-Wülknitz,

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

, and came from an old noble family. His parents were Hans von Rath and his wife, Anna Voigt. Rath enjoyed a Protestant education and was registered at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

starting the summer of 1601. But he eventually left academia for a career in the military, the high point of which was Rath's appointment as the kriegskommissar, the officer appointed to handle financial matters under Prince Ludwig I of

Anhalt-Köthen Anhalt-Köthen was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the House of Ascania. It was created in 1396 when the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst was partitioned between Anhalt-Dessau and Anhalt-Köthen. T ...

. Rath was married to Dorothea von Hackeborn, who bore him a son, Balthasar Wilhelm von Rath, in 1629. In the service of Ludwig I throughout the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

until his death, he was appointed commander of the cavalry (January 10, 1627). In recognition of his military professionalism, Ludwig called him “rough” and “tough” when admitting him to the Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft, a society dedicated to the standardization of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. Rath distinguished himself with his cavalry at the

Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) The Battle of Breitenfeld took place during the Thirty Years' War on 17 September 1631 near Breitenfeld, Leipzig, in modern Saxony. A combined Swedish Army, Swedish-Royal Saxon Army, Saxon army led by Gustavus Adolphus and John George I, Electo ...

in the Swedish-Protestant victory against the Imperial Catholic troops. He was known for his battle cry, an earlier and more poetic version of “When things get tough, the tough get going": :''Wan das rauhe ist dahin'' :''So die iugent mit sich bringet:'' :''Endert sich der gantze sinn,'' :''Und dan nach dem himmel ringet.''

Personal life

Wilhelm was married to Dorothea von Hackeborn (1608 - 1667), daughter of Dietrich von Hackeborn-Sülldorf and Bahrendorf (1550 - 1617) and his wife, Anna von Werdensleben (1565 - 1639). They had a son and a daughter: *Balthasar Wilhelm von Rath (* 22 March 1629; † 22 November 1695) ⚭ Magdalene Barbara von Wuthenau (* 16 April 1629; † 16 January 1694) **Sophie Magdalene von Rath (1666 - 1666) **

Gisela Agnes of Rath Gisela Agnes of Rath (9 October 1669, in Kleinwülknitz, now part of Köthen – 12 March 1740, in Nienburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Nienburg) was Duchess of Anhalt-Köthen by marriage from 1698. In 1694, she was created Countess of Nienburg. From 1704 to ...

, Duchess regent of

⚭

Emmanuel Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Emmanuel Lebrecht of Anhalt-Köthen (20May 167130May 1704) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen. He was the only child of Emmanuel, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, by his wife Anna Eleonore of Stol ...

**Leopold von Rath *Magaretha Giesela von Rath (* 21 June 1627; † 17. November 1692) ⚭ Mathias von Lattorff (* 16 September 1619; † 19 February 1666)Johann Gottfried Dienemann, ''Nachrichten vom Johanniterorden'', 1767
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Death

Rath was killed by war-time marauders near

Wieskau Wieskau () is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Südliches Anhalt Südliches Anhalt (, ) is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitter ...

References

:''This article is based in part on material from the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Wilhelm Von 1585 births 1641 deaths People from Köthen (Anhalt) German Lutherans German untitled nobility 17th-century German military personnel People from Anhalt-Köthen German military personnel of the Thirty Years' War