Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia

Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia
Spouse(s)	Anna of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg
Noble family	House of Wettin
Father	Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia
Mother	Margaret of Nuremberg
Born	before 30 November 1384
Died	7 May 1440 Runneburg Castle in Weißensee

Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, nicknamed Frederick the Peaceful or Frederick the Simple, the peaceful one, and the Fool (before 30 November 1384 – 7 May 1440 at Runneburg Castle in Weißensee) was a member of the House of Wettin and was Margrave of Meissen and Landgrave of Thuringia.

Life

Frederick was the son of Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia and his first wife, Margaret of Nuremberg. In 1407, he married Countess Anna (d. 1431), the daughter of Count Günther XXX of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg. This marriage remained childless.

Frederick is considered a relatively weak ruler, who was at times very dependent on the influence of his wife and her relatives. To finance his lavish court, he sold more and more land and titles. In 1436, he expelled all Jews from the Landgraviate of Thuringia.

Frederick died childless in 1440. After his death, Thuringia was inherited by his two nephews, Frederick II and William III. He had sold them the more remote areas of Meissen some years earlier for 15000guilders.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia

16. Albert II, Margrave of Meissen               8. Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen                       17. Margaret of Sicily               4. Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen                             18. Hartmann XI, Count of Lobdeburg-Arnshaugk               9. Elisabeth of Lobdeburg-Arnshaugk                       19. Elisabeth, Countess of Weimar-Orlamünde               2. Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia                                   20. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria               10. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor                       21. Matilda of Habsburg               5. Mathilde of Bavaria                             22. Bolko I the Strict               11. Beatrix of Silesia-Glogau                       23. Beatrice of Brandenburg               1. Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia                                         24. Frederick III, Burgrave of Nuremberg               12. Frederick IV, Burgrave of Nuremberg                       25. Helen of Saxony               6. Albert of Nuremberg                             26. Albert of Gorizia               13. Margaret of Gorizia                       27. Agnes of Hohenberg               3. Margaret of Nuremberg                                   28. Berthold VII, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen               14. Henry IV, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen                       29. Adelheid of Hesse               7. Sophie of Henneberg-Schleusingen                             30. Herman, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel               15. Judith of Brandenburg-Salzwedel                       31. Anne of Austria, Margravine of Brandenburg

References

• Heinrich Theodor Flathe (1877), "Friedrich (IV.), der Einfältige oder Friedfertige, Landgraf von Thüringen", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 7, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, p. 567

External links

• Entry in the Saxon Biography
• www.genealogie-mittelalter.de