When two brothers, Ernst and Albrecht of Saxony divided up their enormous inheritance that comprised Thuringia, Meissen and the electorate of Sachsen-Wittenberg, they not only undermined their power base as the de facto #2 amongst the imperial principalities and planted the seed for a conflict that would play a key role in the Reformation but they also laid the foundations for the modern Länder of Thuringia and Saxony. And this division was not driven by the usual family feud but came after 20 years of largely harmonious government and a shared childhood trauma. Why they took, or had to take this fateful step, is what we will discuss today. The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0 . As always: Homepage with maps, photos, transcripts and blog: www.historyofthegermans.com If you wish to support the show go to: Support • History of the Germans Podcast Facebook: @HOTGPod Threads: @history_of_the_germans_podcast Bluesky: @hotgpod.bsky.social Instagram: history_of_the_germans Twitter: @germanshistory To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season. So far I have: The Ottonians Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen Frederick II Stupor Mundi Saxony and Eastward Expansion The Hanseatic League The Teutonic Knights The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356 The Reformation before the Reformation
