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George Duke of Saxony

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celebrated for his antagonism to Luther and to the Reformation, was born August 4, 1471. He began to govern his province in 1500, and immediately showed a persecuting spirit against those who inclined to the Reformation. In 1519 he attended the four-days' controversy between Eck and Carlstadt at Leipzic, and afterwards that of Eck and Luther, from the 4th to the 14th of July. Discussions followed between the duke and Luther, which were afterwards continued alternately in Dresden and Wittenberg. He several times accused Luther to his uncle, the elector of Saxony, and sought to prejudice him against the reformer. Familic misfortunes, such as the death of his brother Frederick in 1510, of his daughter Margaret in 1524, and of his wife in 1525, also contributed to embitter his disposition. He died April 17, 1539, but his religious views had some time before undergone a change; and under his successor and brother, Henry, the Reformation made great progress in Saxony. There is a MS. life of George of Sxaony by George Spalatinus in the library of Gotha. — Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 5:28; Schulze, Georg u. Luther (Leipz. 1834).