Albert of Brandenburg

Albert of Brandenburg (28 June 1490 – 24 September 1545) was a German cardinal of the Catholic Church, Prince-Elector and Archbishop of Mainz (1514–1545), and Archbishop of Magdeburg (1513–1545). A prominent member of the House of Hohenzollern, he became one of the most influential ecclesiastical princes of the Holy Roman Empire. His sponsorship of the large-scale sale of indulgences to finance both his debts and the construction of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome made him a central catalyst in the emergence of Martin Luther’s Reformation, against which he became a determined opponent.

Early Life and Ecclesiastical Advancement

Born in Cölln an der Spree (today part of central Berlin), Albert was the younger son of Elector John Cicero of Brandenburg and Margaret of Thuringia. His elder brother, Joachim I Nestor, inherited the electoral dignity, while Albert pursued an ecclesiastical career. After studying at the University of Frankfurt (Oder), he ascended rapidly within the Church hierarchy. In 1513, at just twenty-three, he was elected Archbishop of Magdeburg and administrator of the Diocese of Halberstadt. The following year he secured election as Archbishop of Mainz, thus gaining a seat among the prince-electors and becoming Archchancellor of the Empire.
This advancement violated canonical prohibitions against holding multiple bishoprics and occurred before Albert was of canonical age or properly qualified. To secure papal confirmation he borrowed substantial sums—around 20,000 guilders—from the banker Jacob Fugger, a debt that would shape his later actions.

Indulgences and the Reformation

To repay the Fugger loan and finance the rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica, Albert proposed a joint indulgence campaign across his dioceses and in Brandenburg. Pope Leo X authorised the indulgence in 1515, granting Albert half of the proceeds. In 1517, Albert entrusted the preaching of the indulgence to Johann Tetzel, whose methods incensed critics.
Martin Luther addressed a letter of protest to Albert on 31 October 1517 regarding Tetzel’s practices. According to long-standing tradition, Luther also posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of Wittenberg’s All Saints’ Church that same day. Albert forwarded Luther’s theses to Rome, judging them heretical, thereby helping to spark the Protestant Reformation.
Albert’s religious policies extended beyond indulgence sales. In 1515 and 1516 he attempted unsuccessfully to expel the Jewish population from Mainz. In 1518, at age twenty-eight, he was elevated to the cardinalate.

Political Role in the Empire

As Prince-Elector of Mainz, Albert exerted significant influence within imperial politics. During the imperial election of 1519 he was courted by supporters of both Charles V and Francis I of France, and he likely received considerable sums in return for his vote. Ultimately, he cast his ballot for Charles V.
Despite early hopes that his humanist contacts—such as Ulrich von Hutten—and broad intellectual interests might incline him toward reform, the violence of the German Peasants’ War in 1525 pushed him firmly toward conservative Catholicism. He joined the League of Dessau that year and later the League of Nuremberg (1538), alliances formed to counter growing Protestant influence.

Governance and Religious Policy

Albert ruled primarily from Moritzburg in Halle (Saale). To house his extensive relic collection—over 8,100 relics and more than forty full human skeletons—he undertook a major architectural project. Beginning in 1529 he demolished two adjacent parish churches in Halle, preserving only their towers, between which he commissioned a large new nave. This structure, dedicated to the Virgin Mary as the Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen, was intended to promote Catholic worship and attract pilgrims.
However, Protestant doctrine spread rapidly in his territories. In 1541 the Lutheran preacher Justus Jonas delivered a pivotal Good Friday sermon in the Marktkirche, introducing the Reformation to Halle. After local Estates offered to assume his heavy debts to the Fugger bank, Albert left the city permanently. Halle adopted Protestantism soon after, and Jonas became its pastor and later bishop.
Though increasingly intolerant of Protestantism in his later years, Albert supported the Society of Jesus, encouraging Jesuit teaching within his dominions.

Private Life

Like many high-ranking clerics of his era, Albert lived openly in concubinage. He maintained long-term relationships first with Elisabeth Leys Schütz of Mainz and later with Agnes Pless of Frankfurt. With Leys Schütz he fathered a daughter, Anna, whom he married to his secretary Joachim Kirchner. Despite clerical prohibitions, Albert ensured favourable treatment for his children and partners with minimal scandal.

Patronage of Art and Learning

Albert cultivated a vibrant artistic and intellectual court. He corresponded with leading humanists, fostered scholarship and maintained a friendship with Erasmus. Although his ambition to found a Catholic university in Halle remained unrealised, he dramatically enhanced ecclesiastical art in his territories.
Halle Cathedral and Mainz Cathedral were richly furnished under his direction. The Halle Cathedral in particular became a monumental centre of religious art: between 1519 and 1525 Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop produced sixteen Passion altarpieces comprising 140 individual paintings—the largest single commission in German art history. Matthias Grünewald also worked for Albert, painting a notable St Erasmus and St Maurice in which Albert appears as the model for St Erasmus.

Death and Legacy

Albert died on 24 September 1545. His career embodied both the splendour and the crisis of the late medieval Church: a prince-prelate combining political power, artistic patronage and spiritual ambition, yet whose actions unintentionally ignited one of the most consequential religious transformations in European history. His indulgence campaign and response to Luther positioned him as a pivotal, if controversial, figure in the origins of the Reformation.