Thin White Duke | |
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Apostolic President | |
Reign | 1517-1522 |
Coronation | 1 May 1517 in Erfurt |
Predecessor | Title Created |
Successor | Henry I |
Duke of Thuringia | |
Reign | 1460-1522 |
Coronation | 21 June 1460 in Erfurt |
Predecessor | Henry II von Jena |
Successor | Hugh the Heir |
Margrave of Nuremberg | |
Reign | 1499-1522 |
Predecessor | Elisabeth |
Successor | Jairus, Hugh the Heir |
Born | 6 June 1430 Erfurt, Thuringia, Holy Roman Empire |
Died | 6 June 1522 Unknown |
Issue | See below |
House | House of Jenagotha |
Religion | Jungism (See below) |
The Thin White Duke (6 June 1430 - 6 June 1522), was the Duke of Thuringia from 1460 (making him one of the world's longest reigning monarchs), the first Apostolic President after 1517, the founder of the House of Jenagotha, and a German polymath in the Northern Renaissance and the beginning of the Reformation. He is famous for his long-spanning and highly dissenting religious opinions – with his true religious affiliations throughout much of his life debated by historians – which led to him being a catalyst for and an early supporter of the rise of Jungism began in 1504 by Konrad Jung.
As Duke he was instrumental in the rise of Thuringia as a major power in German politics. He became a close ally of Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor and aided in his election after the assassination of the Emperor Wenceslaus. The Thin White Duke was instrumental in the Lenzburg-Premyslid War and the development of the anti-Swiss rivalry that preceded it. The war saw the installation of Edmund Alwin in Saxony, who later became a crucial Thuringian ally. After Henry's death, the Thin White Duke's grandson would be elected Emperor as Henry IX, and Thuringia was briefly be the center of a series of crusades and conflicts related to this election, known as the Henrician Civil War. The war would help contribute to the eventual Reformation under Konrad Jung, who was a frequent correspondent of the Thin White Duke. As such the Duke would be one of the first adopters of the religion, and would be instrumental in protecting its spread. He became the founder of an early Jungist alliance, along with Edmund Alwin and Charles I of Brandenburg, which was successful in defending the faith in the Wolfen War, and later aided the Jungist claimant George I in the War of the Bavarian Succession.
During the Great Peasant War, the Thin White Duke would form a compromise with the peasants to create the Jungist Räterepublic of Thuringia in 1517, with the Thin White Duke selected as Apostolic President. This would later develop into the Rätian Union in 1534, 12 years after the death or disappearance of the Thin White Duke, usually dated to 6 June 1522. After his death, the Thin White Duke's vast domain became contested between his numerous descendants, mostly notably his grandson Henry I and his son Hugh the Heir.
A highly controversial figure during his lifetime, the Thin White Duke would receive numerous excommunications and would be subject to criticism from many of his peers for his irregular practices, including his early adoption of polygamy, his large number of children, and his propensity for heretical sects of Christianity. As a writer the Thin White Duke is famous for his many religious and political treatises, the most famous of which forming the basic of the ideology known as Thinwhitedukism, which he helped to implement in Thuringia at the end of his life. He is also noted for him numerous books and places, including the play Station to Station and the "Berlin Trilogy" of works created in the early 1500s. The Thin White Duke's esoteric reputation has also made him a popular archetype in works such as Merveilles des Morte, the cult of Peter Meise, and the accounts of the King of Switzerland competition, which attracted a number of his desendants. Today his bloodline is one of the most vast in European history.
Family[]
The Thin White Duke is famous for fathering an exceptionally large family, which included over 100 acknowledged children. Collectively known as the House of Jenagotha (shortened from Saxe-Jena-Gotha), the descendants of the Thin White Duke would become influential all across Europe.
His first wife was Drusilla of Thuringia (1430-1456), who he married in 1450. They had the following children:
- William (1450-1484) - Knight of the Imperial Guard, Burgrave of Talstein and Lord of Rutha
- Henriette (1453-1520), married to Ottokar I, Holy Roman Emperor
- Matilda (1453), married to Nikolaus von Bibra, Count of Meiningen
- Albert (1454-1456), died young
- Catherine (1456-1517), married to Heinrich von Ammendorf, Lord of Rothenburg
His second wife was Maria of Sommerschenburg (1437-1468), who he married in 1456. They had the following children:
- Wolfgang (1456-1493) - Imperial Master of the Hounds
- Clementia (1458-1530), married Edmund Alwin, Duke of Saxony
- Maria (1459-1540), married Charles I, Duke of Brandenburg
- Charles (1463-1470), died young
- Rudolf (1464-1487) - Burgrave of Mühlberg
- Agnes (1466-1512), married to Frederick VI, Margrave of Meissen
- Beatrice (1468), married Gregor von Hanstein, Count of Altenburg
His third wife was Constance (1450-1473), who he married in 1468. They had the following children:
- Sophie (1468-1527), married Frederick II von Battenberg
- Luitgard (1470-1510)
- Bertrada (1472-1530), married Gustav Jung, Bishop of Saxony
His fourth wife was Anne (1447-1473), who he married in 1473). The had the following child:
- Sylbille (1473-1549), married to Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
His fifth wife was Johanna (1432-1479), who he married in 1473. They had the following children:
- Conrad IV (1473-1539) - Duke of Württemberg
- Bertha (1474-1550)
- Fastrada (1475-1541), married to Paul Jung (brother of Konrad Jung)
- Hugh "the Heir" (1477-1534) - Duke of Thuringia, Duke of Bayreuth, President of the Magi, Count of Coburg, Ruler of Nuremberg
- Isabella (1478-1544), married to John Hawkwood, Count of Bayreuth
His sixth wife was Wilhelmine Přemysl (1444), daughter of Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor, who he married in 1479. They had the following children:
- Constance (1480-1539), married to John, King of Portugal
- Louis (1482-1540) - Count of Nordhausen
- Barbara (1483-1570)
- Eleanor (1485-1561)
- Edmund (1488-1556)
- Rosmarie (1490-1569), married Wolfgang of Anhalt
- Waldemar (1492-1522)
His seventh claimed wife was Christina de la Marck (1453-1528), who appears to have been taken as a war prize during the Lenzburg-Premyslid War. They had the following children:
- Louise (1487-1531)
- Niklaus (1488-1523)
- Roger (1489-1560) - Count of Wechselburg
- Constance (1491-1567), married John III, Duke of Brandenburg
His eighth claimed wife was Blanche de la Marck (1445-1492), who he entered relations with simultaneously with his previous two wives. They had the following children:
- August (1487-1571)
- Gotthard (1489-1526)
His ninth wife was Ida von Lenzburg (1472-1492), who was taken following as a bride following the war with the Lenzburgs. They had the following children:
- Constance (1489-1520)
- Sigismund (1491-1534)
- Margaret (1492-1494)
His tenth wife was Sabina von Lenzburg (1475-1495), who was also taken following as a bride following the war with the Lenzburgs. They had the following children:
- George (1489-1500)
- Maria (1492-1584)
His eleventh wife was Maria of Brandenburg (1445-1515), a legitimized bastard of Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor and widow of Engelbert II of Saxony. They had the following children:
- Japeth (1489-1548)
- Albrecht (1490-1498)
- Benedikt (1492-1577)
His twelfth wife was Elisabeth (1475-1518), who he married in 1492. They had the following children:
- Gertrude (1492-1563)
- Theodoric (1494-1500)
- Jutta (1496-1560)
- Isidore (1498-1533)
- Jorah (1500-1587)
- Jennifer (1503-1569)
- Luitgard(1504-1548)
- Elias (1506-1587)
- Ismael (1507-1580)
- Jezebel (1510-1576)
- Maria (1512-1568)
- Iael (1514-1566)
- Jotham (1516-1549)
- Taphath (1517-1539)
- Vophsi (1518-1550)
His thirteenth wife was Elisabeth, Margravess of Nuremberg (1481), who he married in 1498. They had the following children:
- Eckard (1499-1510)
- Jairus (1499-1564)
- Iunia (1500-1587)
- Matthias (1501-1540)
- Elisabeth (1503-1531)
- Naaman (1505-1555)
- Helena (1506-1539)
- Eduard (1509-1540)
- Maria (1510-1590)
- Emilia (1512-1578)
- Henry (1514-1560)
- Josiah (1515-1545)
- Athaliah (1517-1590)
- Gustav (1520-1554)
- Rachel(1522-1581), married to Issachar I, Duke of Thuringia and Saxe-Jessen
- Lilo (1521-1588)
His fourteenth wife was Matilda of Meissen (1500-1574). They had the following children:
- Matthias (1521-1523)
- Zechariah "the Posthumous" Jenagotha (1522) - President of the Rätian Union
The Thin White Duke also had many relationships outside of marriage, producing hundreds of illegitimate children. Many of these children would be formally recognized by the Thin White Duke and went on to found dynasties of their own. Notable bastards include:
- Conrad von Lautertal (1453-1530) - Lord of Lautertal
- Violante (1454-1540), married to Sir Marcus Tobias, Lord of Tiefurt
- Xaver von Coburg (1455-1505), Vicar of Saxony, BUrgrave of Alteburg, Lord of Rudolstadt
- Frederick von Halle (1455-1522)
- Maria (1457-1500), married to Sir Payn Roelt
- Frederick von Metilstein (1458-1511), Lord of Metilstein
- Janina (1476-1530), married to Frederick II von Batteberg
- Iephthae Waller (1507) - President of the Magi (1549-1559)
- Lorenz von Ebern (1521) - Spymaster of the Empire
Religion[]
Footnotes[]
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