John IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (before 1370 – 16 October 1422) was sole ruler of the
Duchy of Mecklenburg
The Duchy of Mecklenburg was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, located in the region of Mecklenburg. It existed during the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, from 1471 to 1520, as well as 1695 to 1701. Its capital was Schwerin.
T ...
from 1384 to 1395 and co-regent from 1395 to 1422.
Life
John IV was the only son of the Duke
Magnus I of Mecklenburg and his wife Elisabeth of Pommern-Wolgast.
Ernst Boll
Ernst Friedrich August Boll (21 September 1817, Neubrandenburg – 20 January 1868) was a German naturalist and historian. He was a brother to historian Franz Boll (1805–1875), with whom he worked on numerous projects. Ernst Boll is remembere ...
incorrectly refers to him as "John III" in his ''History of Mecklenburg'', Part 1.
After the death of his father in 1384 and his cousin
Albert IV in 1388, John ruled Mecklenburg jointly with his uncle
Albert III (also a King of Sweden). When Albert III was captured by the Danes in 1389 in connection with his rule in Sweden, John ruled as sole Regent of Mecklenburg until Albert's release in 1395. After Albert's death in 1412, John ruled jointly with Albert's son
Albert V Albert V may refer to:
*Albert V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (ca. mid-1330s–1370)
*Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1397–1423)
*Albert II of Germany (1397–1439), Albert V as Duke of Austria
*Albert V, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died c. 1469)
*Albert ...
.
On 13 February 1419, John, Albert V of Mecklenburg and the Council of the City of Rostock founded the
University of Rostock
The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...
, the first university in northern Germany and in the entire Baltic region.
He helped his uncle Albert III in the enforcement of the latter's rights as Swedish king. In this case, he probably acted as a leader of the
Victual Brothers
, native_name_lang =
, named_after = french: vitailleurs (provisioners, Hundred Years' War)
, image = Vitalienbrueder, Wandmalerei in d, Kirche zu Bunge auf Gotland, gemalt ca. 1405.JPG
, image_size = 250px ...
.
This "Enis" is probably John IV.
[Matthias Puhle, p. 54]
Marriage and issue
John married twice: first to Countess Jutta of
Hoya, who died in 1415, and secondly, in 1416, to
Catherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria.
In the early Christ ...
, daughter of Duke
Eric IV of Saxe-Lauenburg. Catherine's first marriage had been with
John VII of Werle, who died in 1414.
John had two sons:
*
Henry IV, ''the Fat'', Duke of Mecklenburg (1417–1477)
*
John V John V may refer to:
* Patriarch John V of Alexandria or John the Merciful (died by 620), Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 to 616
* John V of Constantinople, Patriarch from 669 to 675
* Pope John V (685–686), Pope from 685 to his death in 686
* J ...
, Duke of Mecklenburg (1422–1442)
Notes
References
* Wolf Karge, Hartmut Schmied, Ernst Munch: ''The History of Mecklenburg'', Rostock, Hinstorff, 1993.
eprinted several times, currently available in the 4th edition (2004). p. 203
External links
genealogical table of the House of Mecklenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:John 04 Mecklenburg
14th-century births
1422 deaths
Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin