After a multiple year odyssey in which she and her husband sought refuge in several parts of northern Germany, Gebhard relinquished his claim on the Electorate.

The difficulties of a conversion by a Catholic Archbishop and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire had been faced before: Hermann von Wied had also converted to Protestantism, and had resigned from his office.

Similarly, Gebhard's immediate predecessor, Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau had resigned to marry when it appeared his family line would become extinct.

His career had been solely focused on obtaining a preferential position in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and his election as the archbishop of Cologne, in a close contest with the equally-qualified Wittelsbach candidate, attested not to the diligence and application of his personal faith, but his family's Imperial influence.

The transformation of an important ecclesiastical territory into a secular, dynastic duchy would then bring the principle of cuius regio, eius religio into play in the Electorate.

Gebhard's conversion had widespread implications for the future of the Holy Roman Empire's electoral process, established by the Golden Bull of 1356.

The council continued for more than a year, and eventually moved to other cities; although several times they seemed close to negotiating a conclusion to the crisis, a successful agreement remained beyond their reach.

In the spring and summer, Agnes and Gebhard did likewise, traveling to different parts of the electorate, raising an army, and extending the Protestant cause.

There, Agnes and Gebhard encouraged an outbreak of iconoclasm that destroyed many well-known and beloved religious sites; the Reformation had already been wrought in Vest and Recklinghausen, and many of the inhabitants had converted to the new faith.

[20] A multiple year odyssey followed, as Agnes and her husband sought refuge in the northern territories of the Electorate at the castle Arensberg, and later at the city of Delft, with William I of Orange.

[21] In 1585, Agnes reportedly traveled to England in a futile effort to seek assistance from Elizabeth I, but this claim has been refuted by modern scholars.

[22] After his once prosperous electorate was ruined by war, Gebhard relinquished his claim on it in 1588 to Ernst of Bavaria, who had recruited the assistance of the powerful Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma.

[23] By some twist of fate, her first cousin, Karl von Mansfeld, was in the service of the Duke of Parma at the Destruction of Neuss, a critical battle that turned the tide of war against her husband.

Karl died on 18 June 1593, and was buried in the Strasbourg cathedral; Gebhard wrote a codicil leaving Agnes to the care and protection of the Dukes of Württemberg.