| Louis de la Marck | |
|---|---|
| |
| Duke of Saxe-Wolfen | |
| Reign | 1533-1563 |
| Predecessor | Edmund Alwin |
| Successor | Engelbert |
| Count of Stolberg | |
| Reign | 1504-1533 |
| Successor | Jephthah I |
| Born | Wittenberg, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 1563 Italy |
| Issue | Engelbert |
| House | House of La Marck |
| Father | Edmund Alwin |
| Mother | Clementia of Thuringia |
Louis de la Marck was the Count of Stolberg from 1504 until 1533 and Duke of Saxe-Wolfen from 1533 until his death in 1563. A younger son of Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxony, he was particularly notorious for his cruelty to animals.
As a small child, Louis enjoyed hurting animals. In his very early years, he had been known to love all animals of all shapes and sizes, until one day he was savagely mauled by one of his father's bloodhounds, known as "Floppy". Thereafter, he developed a vicious hatred of animals. Floppy, who had been a gift from the King of Denmark (having been bred in his infamous kennels), was later eaten by Louis in the form of what he called, a "prime Engelbert steak".
For his 18th birthday, Louis was appointed Count of Stolberg. Louis, like the rest of his brothers, took full control of his new Duchy and used it to satisfy his dark desires. By the end of 1509, he had removed violently all dogs from the Duchy in a variety of agonizing ways, and planned to start on cats and birds the following year. Edmund Alwin, Louis's father, grew increasingly disillusioned with his sadistic or pathetic children, including Louis. According to Edmund Alwin's diary entry in 1510: "Louis has been hunting animals, of all shapes and sizes, on horseback, with cannons. He also likes to cut open donkeys and stuff other animals inside them, then sew the donkey back up and watch as the donkey spurts blood and the hapless small furry animal struggles inside. Only my son Edmund is worse, because he is Catholic."
The Emperor Henry IX considered Louis for appointment to the Imperial Guard, after hearing of his skills with a blade. Louis once boasted he was able to skin a puppy within three minutes. However, nothing came of this ultimately.
Following Edmund Alwin's death in 1533, the Duchy of Saxony was partitioned between his sons, with Louis de la Marck receiving the Duchy of Saxe-Wolfen. He was later forced to sell the County of Stolberg, where there were introduced environmental reforms.
In later life, the Duke Louis wrote a book entitled Butchery: Its Benefits. He also spoke in support of an end to the slave trade that was becoming popular with Europeans. He was a noted ally of the Jewish people in the state of Judenstadt, and an admirer and promoter of arts and culture. He allegedly died during a trip to Italy, where he met a gruesome death at the hands of an elephant which had been brought back from the Dark Continent. He claimed it had stepped on his foot, and then declared his intention to tear it limb from limb with his bare hands. He did not survive long after he began to engage with the elephant, according to several eyewitness accounts.
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