Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg

Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg
File:FriedrichI group Siegesallee.JPG Frederick I, Siegesallee, Berlin
Spouse(s)	Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut
Noble family	House of Hohenzollern
Father	Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg
Mother	Elisabeth of Meissen
Born	(1371-09-21)21 September 1371 Nuremberg
Died	Cadolzburg Castle

Frederick (Middle High German: Friderich, Standard German: Friedrich; 21 September 1371 in Nuremberg – 20 September 1440) was Burgrave of Nuremberg as Frederick VI and Elector of Brandenburg as Frederick I. He was a son of Burgrave Frederick V of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Meissen, and was the first member of the House of Hohenzollern to rule the Margraviate of Brandenburg.

Biography

File:1371 Friedrich-01.jpg

Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg

Frederick entered early into the service of Austria and fought on the side of King Sigismund of Hungary. After he returned to Nuremberg, he divided the inheritance from his father with his brother John, who received Bayreuth, while Frederick kept Ansbach. At first he tried to mediate in the imperial confusion between King Wenceslaus and the party of Rupert of the Palatinate, but he fought on the side of Rupert in September 1399 nonetheless.

Frederick resumed his rule of Ansbach in 1409 and after heavy feuding, entered into the service of King Sigismund. In 1410, the death of Rupert, King of the Germans, left the throne of the Holy Roman Empire vacant. Sigismund enlisted Frederick's help in obtaining the throne. At the time, Jobst of Moravia ruled Brandenburg and thus was one of the prince-electors who had the right to vote for the new king. However, Sigismund disputed Jobst's claim to Brandenburg and his right to vote in the imperial election. Sigismund claimed these rights for himself and designated Frederick to represent him as elector of Brandenburg in the imperial election of 20 September 1410. While Sigismund won this initial vote, Jobst of Moravia won the support of a majority of electors in an election in October 1410 and himself claimed the imperial throne. Jobst's death under suspicious circumstances in January 1411 cleared the way for Sigismund's recovery of Brandenburg and his undisputed election as king of the empire later that year. In gratitude for Frederick's services, King Sigismund made him Oberster Hauptmann and Verwalter der Marken (1411). With an iron hand Frederick fought against the rebellious nobility of the March of Brandenburg (in particular, the Quitzow family) and, in the end, restored security. Frederick also became a member of the Parakeet Society and of the League of Constance.

At the Council of Constance (30 April 1415) Sigismund granted Frederick the titles of Margrave and Prince-elector of Brandenburg. On 21 October 1415 the Brandenburg states meeting in a Landtag asked him to rule in Berlin. The king awarded him the formal enfeoffment of the margravate on 18 April 1417. As Frederick did not agree with the forcible action of Sigismund against the Hussites, relations between them cooled.

Constant feuding with the nobility of Brandenburg led Frederick to withdraw to his castle at Cadolzburg in 1425 and transfer the regency of the margravate to his son John in 1426 (Frederick, however, remained elector). After 1427 he organized the imperial war against the Hussites and subsequently provided substantial assistance in the mediation of the Compacta of Prague at the Council of Basel (30 November 1433).

Upon his death in 1440, Frederick was succeeded as elector by his second-eldest son, Frederick II.

Family and children

He married Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut (1383–13 November 1442, Ansbach), daughter of Duke Frederick of Bavaria-Landshut and Maddalena Visconti. Their children were:

1. Elisabeth (1403–31 October 1449, Liegnitz), married:
   1. in Konstanz 1418 Duke Louis II of Brieg and Legnica (1380/5–1436);
   2. in 1438 Duke Wenzel I of Teschen (1413/18–1474).
2. John "the Alchemist" (1405–1465), Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
   1. married in 1416 Princess Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg (1405–1465)
3. Cecilia (c. 1405–4 January 1449), married:
   1. in Berlin 30 May 1423 Duke William III of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1392–1482).
4. Margaret (1410–27 July 1465, Landshut), married:
   1. in 1423 to Duke Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1397–1423);
   2. in Ingolstadt 20 July 1441 to Louis VIII, Duke of Bavaria (1403–1445);
   3. in 1446 to Count Martin of Waldenfels (d. 1471).
5. Magdalene (c. 1412 –27 October 1454, Scharnebeck), married:
   1. in Tangermünde 3 July 1429 to Duke Frederick of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1418–1478).
6. Frederick II (1413–1471), Elector of Brandenburg
   1. married in 1446 Princess Catherine of Saxony (1421–1476)
7. Albert Achilles, (1414–1486), Elector of Brandenburg, married:
   1. in 1446 Princess Margarete of Baden (1431–1457)
   2. in 1458 Princess Anna of Saxony (1437–1512)
8. Sofie, born and died 1417.
9. Dorothea (9 February 1420–19 January 1491, Rehna), married:
   1. in 1432 Duke Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (1417–1477)
10. Frederick "the Fat" (c. 1424–6 October 1463, Tangermünde), Lord of Altmark, married:
    1. in 1449 Princess Agnes of Pomerania (1436–1512)

Ancestry

Family of Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg

16. Frederick III, Burgrave of Nuremberg               8. Frederick IV, Burgrave of Nuremberg                       17. Helene of Saxony               4. John II, Burgrave of Nuremberg                             18. Albert of Carinthia               9. Margaret of Carinthia                       19. Agnes, Countess of Hohenberg               2. Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg                                   20. Berthold V, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen               10. Berthold VII, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen                       21. Sophie of Schwarzburg               5. Elisabeth of Henneberg-Schleusingen                             22. Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse               11. Adelheid of Hesse                       23. Adelheid of Brunswick-Lüneburg               1. Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg                                         24. Albert II, Margrave of Meissen               12. Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen                       25. Margaret of Sicily               6. Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen                             26. Hartmann XI of Lobdaburg-Arnshaugk               13. Elisabeth of Lobdaburg-Arnshaugk                       27. Elisabeth, Countess of Orlamünde               3. Elisabeth of Meissen                                   28. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria               14. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor                       29. Matilda of Habsburg               7. Mathilde of Bavaria                             30. Bolko I the Strict               15. Beatrix of Silesia-Glogau                       31. Beatrice of Brandenburg

Sources

• Mast, Peter: Die Hohenzollern - Von Friedrich III. bis Wilhelm II., Graz, Wien, Köln 1994

Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg House of Hohenzollern Born: 21 September 1371 Died: 20 September 1440
German nobility
Preceded by Frederick V	Burgrave of Nuremberg as Frederick VI 1397–1427 with John III (1397–1420)	Burgraviate abolished Titular title remained held by Elector of Brandenburg
New title Division of inheritance from Frederick V	Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1398–1440	Succeeded by Albert Achilles
Preceded by Sigismund	Elector of Brandenburg 1415–1440	Succeeded by Frederick II
	Margrave of Brandenburg 1417–1426	Succeeded by John the Alchemist
Preceded by John III	Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 1420–1440