Ludwig IV of Thuringia
Encyclopedia
Ludwig IV or Louis IV was the Landgrave
of Thuringia
from 1217 to 1227.
Louis was born in Creuzburg
to Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia, and Duchess Sophia, daughter of Otto of Wittelsbach
, Duke of Bavaria. Upon his father's death in 1216, Louis ascended the Thuringian throne at the age of sixteen. On the Feast of St. Kilian in 1218 at age eighteen, he was armed as a knight
in the Church of St. George in Eisenach
.
At Wartburg Castle
in 1220 at age twenty, Louis married 14-year-old Elisabeth of Hungary
, with whom he had three children: Hermann II, Landgrave of Thuringia
, Sophie of Thuringia
, and Gertrud, later abbess at Altenberg. He set up court in Eisenach
.
In 1226, Louis was called to the Diet
in Cremona
, where he promised Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
, to take up the cross and accompany him to the Holy Land
. He embarked for the Sixth Crusade
in 1227, partly inspired also by the tales of his uncle, who had been to the Levant
with the Holy Roman Emperor. Fellow-travellers were five counts, Louis von Wartburg, Gunther von Kefernberg, Meinrad von Mühlberg
, Heinrich von Stolberg
, and Burkhard von Brandenberg
; Louis left his pregnant wife behind, who had a premonition that they would never meet again.
In August 1227 Louis transversed the mountains between Thuringia and Upper Franconia
, through Swabia
and Bavaria
, crossing the Tyrol
ian Alps
. He fell ill of a fever after reaching Brindisi
and Otranto
. He received Extreme Unction from the Patriarch of Jerusalem
and the Bishop of Santa Croce
. He died in Otranto in 1227. A few days after his death, his daughter Gertrud
was born. Louis's remains were buried in Reinhardsbrunn
in 1228.
Ludwig's wife Elisabeth died young only a few years later, at the age of 24, after spending the remainder of her life dedicated to a life of penance and serving the poor. She was officially proclaimed a saint only four years after her death. While Louis was never formally canonized, he became known among the German people as Louis the saint . He is known elsewhere as Blessed Louis of Thuringia.
Landgrave
Landgrave was a title used in the Holy Roman Empire and later on by its former territories. The title refers to a count who had feudal duty directly to the Holy Roman Emperor...
of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
from 1217 to 1227.
Louis was born in Creuzburg
Creuzburg
Creuzburg is a town on the Werra river in the Wartburgkreis in Thuringia, Germany.-Geography:Creuzburg is in the area known as the Muschelkalk...
to Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia, and Duchess Sophia, daughter of Otto of Wittelsbach
Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria
Otto I , called the Redhead , was Duke of Bavaria from 1180 until his death. He was the first Bavarian ruler from the House of Wittelsbach, a dynasty which reigned until the abdication of King Ludwig III of Bavaria in the German Revolution of 1918.-Biography:Duke Otto I was probably born at...
, Duke of Bavaria. Upon his father's death in 1216, Louis ascended the Thuringian throne at the age of sixteen. On the Feast of St. Kilian in 1218 at age eighteen, he was armed as a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
in the Church of St. George in Eisenach
Eisenach
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
.
At Wartburg Castle
Wartburg Castle
The Wartburg is a castle situated on a 1230-foot precipice to the southwest of, and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany...
in 1220 at age twenty, Louis married 14-year-old Elisabeth of Hungary
Elisabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary, T.O.S.F., was a princess of the Kingdom of Hungary, Countess of Thuringia, Germany and a greatly-venerated Catholic saint. Elizabeth was married at the age of 14, and widowed at 20. She then became one of the first members of the newly-founded Third Order of St. Francis,...
, with whom he had three children: Hermann II, Landgrave of Thuringia
Hermann II, Landgrave of Thuringia
Hermann II was the titular Landgrave of Thuringia and the son of Ludwig IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, and St. Elisabeth of Hungary....
, Sophie of Thuringia
Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of Brabant
Sophie of Thuringia was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in the War of the Thuringian Succession in which she was...
, and Gertrud, later abbess at Altenberg. He set up court in Eisenach
Eisenach
Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...
.
In 1226, Louis was called to the Diet
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
in Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, where he promised Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, to take up the cross and accompany him to the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
. He embarked for the Sixth Crusade
Sixth Crusade
The Sixth Crusade started in 1228 as an attempt to regain Jerusalem. It began seven years after the failure of the Fifth Crusade. It involved very little actual fighting...
in 1227, partly inspired also by the tales of his uncle, who had been to the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
with the Holy Roman Emperor. Fellow-travellers were five counts, Louis von Wartburg, Gunther von Kefernberg, Meinrad von Mühlberg
Mühlberg
There are communes and places that have the name Mühlberg in Germany:*Mühlberg, Brandenburg, a town in the Elbe-Elster district, Brandenburg*Mühlberg, Thuringia, a municipality in the Gotha district, Thuringia...
, Heinrich von Stolberg
Stolberg
- Towns in Germany :* Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt in the district of Sangerhausen in Saxony-Anhalt, seat of the counts of Stolberg* Stolberg in the district of Aachen in North Rhine-Westphalia, part of the Duchy of Jülich until 1794, awarded to Prussia in 1815* Stollberg, in the Erzgebirgskreis in the...
, and Burkhard von Brandenberg
Brandenberg
Brandenberg is a municipality in Tyrol, Austria, in the district Kufstein. It consists of the Brandenberg village and the Aschau locality , and has a population of 1523 ....
; Louis left his pregnant wife behind, who had a premonition that they would never meet again.
In August 1227 Louis transversed the mountains between Thuringia and Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
, through Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, crossing the Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
ian Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. He fell ill of a fever after reaching Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
and Otranto
Otranto
Otranto is a town and comune in the province of Lecce , in a fertile region once famous for its breed of horses.It is located on the east coast of the Salento peninsula. The Strait of Otranto, to which the city gives its name, connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and Italy with Albania...
. He received Extreme Unction from the Patriarch of Jerusalem
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is the title possessed by the Latin Rite Catholic Archbishop of Jerusalem. The Archdiocese of Jerusalem has jurisdiction for all Latin Rite Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus...
and the Bishop of Santa Croce
Santa Croce
Santa Croce is one of the six sestieri of Venice, northern Italy.-Geography:It occupies the north west part of the main islands, and can be divided into two areas: the eastern area being largely mediaeval, and the western - including the main port and the Tronchetto - mostly lying on land reclaimed...
. He died in Otranto in 1227. A few days after his death, his daughter Gertrud
Gertrude of Aldenberg
Blessed Gertrude of Aldenberg was abbess of the Premonstratensian convent of Altenberg, near Wetzlar, in the Diocese of Trier. She was the daugther of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.-Life:...
was born. Louis's remains were buried in Reinhardsbrunn
Reinhardsbrunn
Reinhardsbrunn in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in Thuringia in Germany, is the site of a formerly prominent Benedictine abbey extant between 1085 and 1525, and, from 1827, of a royal castle and park of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha family.-Monastery:...
in 1228.
Ludwig's wife Elisabeth died young only a few years later, at the age of 24, after spending the remainder of her life dedicated to a life of penance and serving the poor. She was officially proclaimed a saint only four years after her death. While Louis was never formally canonized, he became known among the German people as Louis the saint . He is known elsewhere as Blessed Louis of Thuringia.
Family and children
He and Elisabeth of Hungary had the following children:- Hermann II, Landgrave of ThuringiaHermann II, Landgrave of ThuringiaHermann II was the titular Landgrave of Thuringia and the son of Ludwig IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, and St. Elisabeth of Hungary....
(1222–1241/42). - Sophie of ThuringiaSophie of Thuringia, Duchess of BrabantSophie of Thuringia was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory following her partial victory in the War of the Thuringian Succession in which she was...
(20 March 1224 – 29 May 1275). - Gertrud (1227–1297), abbess at AltenbergAltenbergAltenberg is a German language place name and may refer to:Places in Germany:*Altenberg, Germany, a city in the Free State of Saxony, Germany...
near WetzlarWetzlarWetzlar is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. Located at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, Wetzlar straddles the river Lahn and is on the German Timber-Framework Road which passes mile upon mile of half-timbered houses. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis on the north edge of...
.