Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.), also known as Frederick the Pious (german: der Fromme) (1418–1478) was the

Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and

Prince of Lüneburg A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

from 1434 to 1457 and from 1471 to 1478.

Life

After the death of his father

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

, Frederick ruled the Principality of Lüneburg jointly with his brother

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

. The highlights of their rule were a major expansion of

Celle Castle Celle Castle (german: Schloss Celle) or, less commonly, Celle Palace, in the German town of Celle in Lower Saxony, was one of the residences of the House of Brunswick-Lüneburg. This quadrangular building is the largest castle in the southern ...

and numerous reforms to improve the legal position of farmers vis-à-vis their landlords. After his brother died in 1446, Frederick ruled the principality on his own. In 1452 he had a monastery built on the ''Heylig Kreuz'' ("Holy Cross") and brought

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

friars to Celle. In 1457 he passed the government of the principality to his son,

, and entered the monastery, but in 1471, after the death of his second son Otto V, he left monastic life again and held the reins of power for his 3-year old first grandchild

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

. Frederick was interred in the church of the Franciscan monastery that he had founded in Celle.

Descendants

In 1437 Frederick II married Magdalene (1412–1454), daughter of

Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich','' Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margr ...

, and had three children by her: # Bernhard II (died 1464) married Mathilda of Holstein-Schauenburg (died 1468) # Otto the Victorious (1439–1471) married Anne of Nassau-Siegen (1440/41–1514) # Gottfried (1441-1465) never married #

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(1442–1512) married

Henry, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard Henry, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard (before 1412 – 26 May/20 August 1466) was the ruling Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard, including the Lordships of Neubrandenburg, Stargard, Strelitz and Wesenberg, from 1417 to 1466. He is sometimes called ...

(died 1466)

Ancestors

References

* Geckler, Christa (1986). ''Die Celler Herzöge: Leben und Wirken 1371–1705''. Celle: Georg Ströher. . .

External links

The Welfs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 02 (Brunswick-Luneburg) Princes of Lüneburg 1418 births 1478 deaths Middle House of Lüneburg