John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
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John, nicknamed the Alchemist (German: Johann der Alchimist; 1406 - 16 November 1464), was a Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and served as the peace-loving Margrave of Brandenburg after the abdication of his father, Frederick I, the first member of the House of Hohenzollern to rule Brandenburg.
[edit] Biography
John was the eldest son of Frederick I (1371-1440) and Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut (1383-1442), daughter of Frederick, Duke of Bavaria, and his second wife Magdalena Visconti of Milan.
After marrying Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg (1405-1465), daughter of Rudolf III, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg, John hoped to eventually succeed to Saxe-Wittenberg once its line of Ascanian dukes died out. When this happened in November 1422, however, Emperor Sigismund was on poorer terms with the Hohenzollerns and was only willing to compensate John with a money payment.
John began participating in governmental affairs in Brandenburg in 1424. Frustrated by disputes with the feudal nobility, Frederick I retired to his castle at Cadolzburg in Franconia in 1425, granting the regency of Brandenburg to John at a Landtag in Rathenow on January 13, 1426, while retaining the electoral dignity for himself.
John was poorly received by the populace of Brandenburg, as his administration was incompetent, leading to unrest in the countryside. Rather than governing, John was more interested in artificially creating gold through alchemy, thereby receiving the cognomen "the Alchemist". Realizing the danger Brandenburg was in, Frederick I granted John Franconian lands in Brandenburg-Kulmbach on June 7, 1437, territory rich with mines for the Alchemist to indulge his hobby in. The governance of Brandenburg passed to Frederick I's second-oldest son, Frederick II.
After his younger brother Albert Achilles defeated a Hussite army in 1431, John and Albert went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to atone for their sins. Their retinue began its journey in Nuremberg on March 2, 1431, reached their destination in the Holy Land on May 30, stayed until June 6, and returned to Nuremberg on September 25. Despite his pacific nature, John knighted Albert Achilles in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
After the death of Frederick I in 1440, John inherited all of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, including the castle of Plassenburg in Kulmbach. In his later years, he allowed Christopher of Bavaria to administer his posessions in the Upper Palatinate until Christopher's death in 1848. John ruled as Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach until abdicating in 1457, which allowed him to dedicate himself toward studying alchemy and the environs of Franconia. He died in Castle Scharfeneck near Baiersdorf in 1464.
[edit] Family and children
John of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg had four children:
- Rudolf, born and died in 1424
- Elisabeth (1425 – after 13 January 1465), married:
- Dorothea (1431 – 10 November 1495), married:
- on 12 September 1445 King Christopher III of Denmark;
- on 28 October 1449 to King Christian I of Denmark.
[edit] References
This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article as of 9 September 2006.
- Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (German)
- Marlesreuth.de (German)
- Wer ist wer in Bayreuth? (German)
- Eulenberg, Herbert. The Hohenzollerns. Translated by M.M. Bozman. The Century Co. New York, 1929.
| House of Hohenzollern Born: 1406; Died: 16 November 1464 |
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|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frederick I |
Margrave of Brandenburg 1426 – 1440 |
Succeeded by Frederick II |
| Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 1440 – 1457 |
Succeeded by Albrecht Achilles |
|
