Maurice, Duke and Elector of Saxony (1521-53) was a German prince best known for betraying the Protestant cause in the 1540s before turning on Charles V at the start of the 1550s and forming an alliance with the French.
In 1485 Saxony had been split between the brothers Ernest and Albert. Ernest got the title of elector and Thuringia, Albert got the title of duke and the area ruled from Leipzig.
Maurice was the son of Henry, duke of Albertine Saxony. He converted to Protestantism in 1539, and inherited his father's lands two years later, in 1541.
During the 1540s Maurice refused to take up arms in support of the Lutheran cause. He had been a member of the League of Schmalkalde, but left in 1542. He fought in Charles's army during the invasion of France of 1544, the campaign that stalled outside Saint-Dizier (19 June-18 August 1544) during the Fourth Hapsburg-Valois War of 1542-44.
