Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia

Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, nicknamed Frederick the Peaceful or Frederick the Simple, the peaceful one,, andthe 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 condered a relatively weak ruler, who was at times very deendent 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.

References

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

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

External links

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