Ludwig II, Landgrave of Thuringia, nicknamed ''Louis the Iron'' (1128 – 14 October 1172 at Neuenburg Castle in Freyburg).

Life

He was born in 1128, the son of Louis I, who in 1131 became the first

landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

of Thuringia, and his wife,

Hedwig of Gudensberg Hedwig of Gudensberg, also known as ''Hedwig of Hesse'' (1098–1148) was German regent: she served as regent of Thuringia during the minority of her son Louis II from 1140. Life She was the daughter and heiress of Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg ( ...

. When Louis I died in 1140, King

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

enfeoffed the 12-year-old Louis II with the landgraviate. The Ludowingians had a good relationship with the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

, because Louis I had supported the election of Conrad III in 1138. The relationship was so good that it was arranged that Louis II should marry Judith, who was a niece of Conrad III and a half-sister of his successor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

. Until Conrad's death, Louis II stayed at the royal court, where he was given an education by the

archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

and the bishop of Merseburg. He married Judith in 1150, and a year later his son and successor

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis III ...

was born. During Louis II's reign, the population of Thuringia was frequently bullied and harassed by the nobility. Louis began to intervene against these practises, earning him his nickname "Louis the Iron". According to a legend, which was recorded by

Johannes Rothe Johannes Rothé, or Jan Rothe, de Rothe of Rode, also Mr Roder (Amsterdam, 2 December 1628 - 18 March 1702), Lord of Oud-Wulven and Wayen in the Netherlands, was a prophetic preacher and Fifth Monarchist. He was the son of an Amsterdam patrician, ...

in 1421, Louis II was travelling anonymously and one night, he found shelter with a blacksmith in

Ruhla is a town situated in the forest of Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis in Germany, immediately next to the Rennsteig. Thal and Kittelsthal are parts of the town. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), part of Ruhla belonged to t ...

. The blacksmith, as he worked the iron in his forge, complained about the people's plight and cursed the nobility, lamenting that their lord was too soft towards them, and addressed the iron as if it were the landgrave himself: "''Landgraf, werde hart!''" (german: "Landgrave, become hard!" or "Landgrave, take a stance!") These words spurred Louis into action against the robber barons. According to the legend, after the offenders had been arrested, they were harnessed to a plough and forced to plough a field. During his reign, Louis was allied with his brother-in-law Frederick Barbarossa, who became king in 1152 and was crowned emperor in 1155. They fought together against the

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

Duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

and the archbishops of Mainz (who held

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 ...

, among other possessions). The

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 ...

was further extended during Louis II's reign. The

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

was constructed in its present form —

radiocarbon Carbon-14, C-14, or radiocarbon, is a radioactive isotope of carbon with an atomic nucleus containing 6 protons and 8 neutrons. Its presence in organic materials is the basis of the radiocarbon dating method pioneered by Willard Libby and coll ...

dating shows that the oaks for the roof beams were felled in 1157. In 1168, he built Runneburg Castle in Weißensee and in 1184 he built

Creuzburg Creuzburg is a town and a former municipality on the Werra river in the Wartburgkreis in Thuringia, Germany. Since December 2019, it is part of the town Amt Creuzburg. Geography Creuzburg is in the area known as the Muschelkalk. Three mountains ...

Castle. In 1170, Frederick and Louis undertook an expedition against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. After Louis's return, he fell ill and he died on 14 October 1172. Like almost all Thuringian landgraves, he was buried in the monastery in

Reinhardsbrunn Reinhardsbrunn in Friedrichroda near Gotha, in the German state of Thuringia, is the site of a formerly prominent Benedictine abbey, the house monastery of the Ludovingian Landgraves of Thuringia abbey extant between 1085 and 1525. Later used as ...

. Tomb stones for members of the family were transferred to the St. George church in Eisenach when the monastery was demolished.

Marriage and issue

In 1140, Louis II married

Judith of Hohenstaufen Judith of Hohenstaufen, also known as ''Judith of Hohenstaufen'' or ''Judith of Swabia'' ( – 7 July 1191), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was Landgravine of Thuringia from 1150 until 1172 by her marriage with the Ludovingian landgrave ...

, a half-sister of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. They had the following children: * Louis III "the Mild" (1151–1190), his successor *

Henry Raspe III 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 ...

( – 18 July 1180), Count of Gudensberg * Frederick ( – 1229), Count of Ziegenhain *

Herman I Herman I may refer to: * Herman I (Archbishop of Cologne) (died in 924) * Herman I, Duke of Swabia (died in 949) * Herman I, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (died in 996) * Herman I, Margrave of Meissen (died in 1038) * Herman I, Margrave of Baden (c ...

( – 1217) * Judith, married

Herman II, Count of Ravensberg Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minn ...

* Sophia, married

Bernhard, Count of Anhalt Bernhard ( – 2 February 1212), a member of the House of Ascania, was Count of Anhalt and Ballenstedt, and Lord of Bernburg through his paternal inheritance. From 1180 he was also Duke of Saxony (as Bernhard III or Bernhard I). Life Early year ...

References

Sources

* Heinrich Wolfgang Behrisch: ''Leben Conrads des Großen, Markgrafens zu Meißen und Ludwigs des Eisernen, Landgrafens in Thüringen'', Hilscher, Dresden, 1776
Online
* Helga Wäß: ''Grabplatte für Landgraf Ludwig II., den Eisernen.'' in: Form und Wahrnehmung mitteldeutscher Gedächtnisskulptur im 14. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zu mittelalterlichen Grabmonumenten, Epitaphen und Kuriosa in Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen, Nord-Hessen, Ost-Westfalen und Südniedersachsen (in zwei Bänden)'', vol. 2: ''Katalog ausgewählter Objekte vom Hohen Mittelalter bis zum Anfang des 15. Jahrhunderts'', Tenea Verlag, Berlin, 2006, , p. 531–542 * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 02 Thuringen Landgraves of Thuringia 1128 births 1172 deaths 12th-century German nobility Ludovingians