Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia

Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia
File:Landgraf balthasar wartburg.JPG Landgrave Balthasar in his fight against the robber barons (fresco by Moritz von Schwind in the Landgrave's room in the Wartburg in Eisenach)
Spouse(s)	Margaret of Nuremberg Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg
Noble family	House of Wettin
Father	Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen
Mother	Mathilde of Bavaria
Born	(1336-12-21)21 December 1336 Weißenfels
Died	Wartburg in Eisenach

Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia (born 21 December 1336 in Weißenfels; died: 18 May 1406 at the Wartburg in Eisenach) was Margrave of Meissen and Landgrave of Thuringia from the House of Wettin.

Life

Balthasar was the second son of Frederick the Serious. After his father's death in 1349, his elder brother Frederick the Austere acted as regent and guardian for Balthasar and his brothers William I and Louis. After they came of age, William and Balthasar ruled joinly with Frederick.

After Frederick's death, a conflict arose between the brothers Balthasar and William on the one hand, and their nephews, Frederick the Warlike, William the rich and George on the other hand. This was resolved on November 1382, with the so-called Division of Chemnitz in which Balthasar received the Landgraviate of Thuringia.

Marriage and issue

Balthasar first married, in the spring of 1374, with Margaret, the daughter of Burgrave Albert of Nuremberg (d. 1390). With her, he had a son: Frederick the Peaceable, who succeeded him as Landgrave of Thuringia.

After Margaret's death, Balthasar married Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg (d. 1426), the widow of Duke Frederick I of Brunswick-Lüneburg. This marriage remained childless.

Ancestry

Family of Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia

16. Henry III, Margrave of Meissen               8. Albert II, Margrave of Meissen                       17. Constantia of Austria               4. Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen                             18. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor               9. Margaret of Sicily                       19. Isabella of England               2. Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen                                   20. Otto IV, Count of Lobdeburg-Arnshaugk               10. Hartmann XI, Count of Lobdeburg-Arnshaugk                       21. Hedwig of Schwarzburg               5. Elizabeth of Lobdeburg-Arnshaugk                             22. Hermann III, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde               11. Elisabeth, Countess of Weimar-Orlamünde                       1. Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia                                         24. Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria               12. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria                       25. Agnes of the Palatinate               6. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor                             26. Rudolph I of Germany               13. Matilda of Habsburg                       27. Gertrude of Hohenburg               3. Mathilde of Bavaria                                   28. Bolesław II Rogatka               14. Bolko I the Strict                       29. Hedwig of Anhalt               7. Beatrix of Silesia-Glogau                             30. Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel               15. Beatrice of Brandenburg                       31. Judith of Henneberg-Coburg

References

Balthasar, Landgrave of Thuringia House of Wettin Born: 21 December 1336 Died: 18 May 1406
Preceded by Frederick II	Margrave of Meissen 1349-1382 With: Frederick III and William I	Margraviate divided
New division	Landgrave of Thuringia 1382-1406	Succeeded by Frederick IV