Frederick II (; 30 November 1310 – 18 November 1349) was the

margrave of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Meissen, a march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928-29 campaign against the Slavic Glomacze tribes, had a fortress erected on a hil ...

from 1323 until his death.

Early life

Frederick was born on 30 November 1310 in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. His parents were Margrave

Frederick I of Meissen Frederick I, called the Brave or the Bitten (German: ''Friedrich der Freidige'' or ''Friedrich der Gebissene''; 1257 – 16 November 1323) was Margrave of Meissen and Landgrave of Thuringia. Life Born in Eisenach, Frederick was the son of Albert I ...

and

Elisabeth von Lobdeburg-Arnshaugk Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

. In 1323, under the guardianship of his mother, he succeeded his father in the

Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate of Meissen (german: Markgrafschaft Meißen) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of bor ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

Personal rule

After reaching the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

in 1329, he had to pass long-term fights with the vassals and neighbours. These conflicts mainly rose due to Frederick's declaration of peace in 1338, which drastically diminished the rights and influence of the small landlords and the local rulers, and which goal was the subjugation of the latter two groups. In 1342, dissatisfied nobles, whose concerns were their rights and independence, banded together in

Arnstadt Arnstadt () is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, on the river Gera about south of Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia. Arnstadt is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia, and has a well-preserved historic centre with a partially preserved town ...

(southwest of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...

) against Frederick II, in what would be known as the

Thuringian Count's War The Thuringian Counts' War (german: Thüringer Grafenkrieg), or Thuringian Counts' Feud (''Thüringer Grafenfehde'') was a conflict between several ancient aristocratic families and the House of Wettin for supremacy in Thuringia. The war lasted fro ...

. The conflict would last up to 1346. After the death of

Emperor Louis IV Louis IV (german: Ludwig; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328. Louis' election as king of Germany in ...

, the Bavarian party tried to move him to the acceptance of the German crown, however, he mistrusted the inconstancy of his voters and rejected such strange request in favour of Charles IV. Frederick II limited himself to consolidate his rule and to defend against the danger going out from Charles IV. At a meeting 1348 in

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budis ...

both recognized the existing possession states. Frederick died on 18 November 1349 in

Wartburg The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the p ...

Family

Frederick II married May 1323 in

Nürnberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...

Mathilde of Bavaria, daughter of

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV (german: Ludwig; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328. Louis' election as king of Germany in ...

and had 9 children: # Elisabeth (22 November 1329 – 21 April 1375), married to

Frederick V of Nuremberg Frederick V of Nuremberg (before 3 March 1333 – 21 January 1398) was a Burgrave (''Burggraf'') of Nuremberg, of the House of Hohenzollern. Life He was the elder son of John II, Burgrave of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Henneberg. From the de ...

. #Frederick (born and died 1330) #

Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia Frederick III, the Strict (''Friedrich III. der Strenge''; 14 December 1332, Dresden – 21 May 1381, Altenburg), Landgrave of Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen, was the son of Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen and Mathilde of Bavaria.Harald ...

# Balthasar (1336-1406) #Beatrice (1 September 1339 – 15 July 1399), nun in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

(25 February 1340 – 17 February 1382),

Bishop of Bamberg This is a list of bishops and archbishops of the Prince-Bishopric of Bamberg and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bamberg in Germany. __TOC__ Bishops, 1007–1245 * Eberhard I 1007-1040 * Suidger von Morsleben 1040-1046 (Later Pope Clement II) * Hartw ...

# William the One-eyed #Anne (7 August 1345 – 22 March 1363), nun in Seußlitz #Clara Elisabetta (born 7 August 1345)

References

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 02 of Meissen, Margrave People from Gotha (town) Margraves of Meissen Rulers of Thuringia Landgraves of Thuringia House of Wettin Medieval child rulers 1310 births 1349 deaths Burials at Altzella Abbey