Archduchess Barbara of Austria

Barbara of Austria (30 April 1539 – 19 September 1572) was Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio by marriage to Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara.

Archduchess Barbara
Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio
Born	30 April 1539 Vienna
Died	19 September 1572(1572-09-19) (aged 33)
Spouse	Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara ​ ( m. 1565)
House	Habsburg
Father	Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Anna of Bohemia and Hungary

Life

She was born in Vienna to Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. From 1547, in Innsbruck with her sisters Magdalena, Margareta, Helena and Johanna, she received a deeply religious upbringing.

Even though Barbara was regarded as plain, several proposals had been made for her hand, due to her connections with the Austrian and Spanish courts. In 1565 her marriage to Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, was celebrated with much splendour. It was a happy marriage but it remained childless. Torquato Tasso who, in 1565, had been called to the court of Ferrara, dedicated some sonnets to her.

In 1570 and 1571, after an earthquake, using her own income she supported young girls without parents. She founded the Conservatore delle orfane di Santa Barbara which was very much appreciated by the population of Ferrara. She was in constant touch with the Jesuits but also had a very close relationship with her Protestant mother-in-law, Renée of France, daughter of Louis XII of France.

Having been sickly since 1566, she died, aged thirty-three, of tuberculosis on 19 September 1572.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Archduchess Barbara of Austria

16. Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor[1] 8. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor[2] 17. Eleanor of Portugal[1] 4. Philip I of Castile[3] 18. Charles, Duke of Burgundy[4] 9. Mary, Duchess of Burgundy[2] 19. Isabella of Bourbon[4] 2. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor 20. John II of Aragon[5] 10. Ferdinand II of Aragon[3] 21. Juana Enríquez[5] 5. Joanna I of Castile[3] 22. John II of Castile[6] 11. Isabella I of Castile[3] 23. Isabella of Portugal[6] 1. Barbara of Austria 24. Vladislaus II Jagiellon[7] 12. Casimir IV Jagiellon[8] 25. Sophia of Halshany[7] 6. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary[8] 26. Albert II, King of the Romans[9] 13. Elisabeth of Austria[8] 27. Elizabeth of Luxembourg[9] 3. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary 28. John de Foix, 1st Earl of Kendal[10] 14. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale[10] 29. Margaret de la Pole[10] 7. Anne of Foix-Candale[8] 30. Gaston IV, Count of Foix[11] 15. Catherine of Foix[11] 31. Eleanor of Navarre[11]

References

1. Holland, Arthur William (1911). "Maximilian I. (emperor)" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
2. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Philipp I. der Schöne von Oesterreich" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 112 – via Wikisource.
3. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
4. Poupardin, René (1911). "Charles, called The Bold, duke of Burgundy" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
5. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ferdinand V. of Castile and Leon and II. of Aragon" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
6. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Isabella of Castile" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
7. Casimir IV, King of Poland at the Encyclopædia Britannica
8. Priebatsch, Felix (1908), "Wladislaw II.", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 54, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 688–696
9. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Elisabeth von Oesterreich (Königin von Polen)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 167 – via Wikisource.
10. Boureau, Alain (1995). The Lord's First Night: The Myth of the Droit de Cuissage. Translated by Cochrane, Lydia G. The University of Chicago Press. p. 96.
11. Noubel, P., ed. (1877). Revue de l'Agenais [Review of the Agenais]. 4. Société académique d'Agen. p. 497.

External links

Media related to Archduchess Barbara of Austria at Wikimedia Commons

Archduchess Barbara of Austria House of Habsburg Born: 30 April 1539 Died: 19 September 1572
Royal titles
Vacant Title last held by Lucrezia de' Medici	Duchess consort of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio 5 December 1565 – 19 September 1572	Vacant Title next held by Margherita Gonzaga