Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt

Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt
Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt
Spouse(s)	Catherine of Nassau-Dillenburg
Noble family	House of Schwarzburg
Father	Günther XL, Count of Schwarzburg
Mother	Elisabeth of Isenburg-Büdingen-Ronneburg
Born	(1529-09-25)25 September 1529 Sondershausen
Died	23 May 1583(1583-05-23) (aged 53) Antwerp
Buried	Sondershausen

Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt, nicknamed "the Quarrelsome" or Bellicosus, (25 September 1529 in Sondershausen – 23 May 1583 in Antwerp) was the ruling count of Schwarzburg from 1552 to 1571 and then Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt until his death.

Count Günther XLI was the eldest son of Count Günther XL of Schwarzburg (1490-1552), who was nicknamed the Rich or Günther with the fat mouth. His mother was Countess Elisabeth (d. 14 May 1572), the daughter of Count Philip of Isenburg-Büdingen-Ronneburg.

Günther XL had united all the possessions of Schwarzburg, except the Lordship of Leutenberg. After he died on 10 November 1552, his four surviving sons ruled jointly at first, with the younger brothers receiving assistance from their mother. However, in 1571, they divided the county among themselves.

Günther XLI began his military career in Vienna as Seneschal of Emperor Charles V. In 1553, he joined the imperial army which made an (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to reconquer Metz. He then accompanied Philip, the later King Philip II of Spain to London, where Philip would marry Queen Mary I of England. In 1555, Günther XLI stayed in Brussels, where Charles V gave him 10000guilders. He then make a visit to Schwarzburg, and then returned to the imperial army, where he served as a colonel. In 1557, he fought on the victorious side at St. Quentin.

At the turn of 1559/1560, Günther travelled to Dresden on behalf of William the Silent, to take the first steps in the process that led to William marrying Anna, the niece of Elector Augustus of Saxony on 24 August 1561.

Günther XLI married himself on 17 November 1560. For political reasons, he married William's sister, Catherine of Nassau-Dillenburg. The marriage remained childless. The couple lived in Arnstadt for a while, where Günther used his 10000guilders to build Neideck Castle. Between 1563 and 1565, Günther and his younger brothers John Günther I and Albert VII fought in the army of King Frederick II of Denmark in the Northern Seven Years' War against Sweden.