Princely count William IV of Henneberg-Schleusingen (29 January 1478 – 24 January 1559), a member of the
House of Henneberg, was a ruler of the
Principality of Henneberg, within the
Holy Roman Empire.
The son of
William III of Henneberg, William inherited the Principality of Henneberg on 26 May 1480, when his father died, and reigned until his own death nearly eighty years later, on 24 January 1559.
William married Anastasia of Brandenburg, a daughter of
Albert Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg.
In 1543–1544, William embraced the
Protestant Reformation.
[Johannes A. Mol, Klaus Militzer, Helen J. Nicholson, ''The Military Orders and the Reformation'' (2006), p. 108] In 1554, he signed a treaty of inheritance with
John Frederick II, Duke of Saxony
John Frederick II of Saxony (8 January 1529 – 19 May 1595), was Duke of Saxony (1554–1566).
Early life
John Frederick II was the eldest son of John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony and Sibylle of Cleves. He was given a comprehensive educ ...
. William died in
Salorno five years later. However, when his successor George Ernest, the last Prince of Henneberg, died, both the
Ernestine Ernestine is a feminine given name. Ernest is the male counterpart of this name. Notable people with the name include:
* Ernestine Anderson (1928–2016), American jazz and blues singer
* Ernestine Bayer (1909–2006), American athlete
* Ernestine ...
and the
Albertine branches of the
Wettin dynasty
The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its orig ...
claimed his estates. In 1660, they were finally divided between the Ernestine duchies of
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant bra ...
and
Saxe-Gotha and the Albertine
Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz
Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (28 March 1619 – 4 December 1681) was a duke of Saxe-Zeitz and member of the House of Wettin.
Born in Dresden, he was the youngest surviving son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Magdalene Sibylle of ...
, while the lordship of
Schmalkalden went to
William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, honouring an inheritance treaty of 1360.
Notes
Counts of Henneberg
William 04
1470s births
1559 deaths
15th-century German people
16th-century German people
15th-century monarchs in Europe
16th-century monarchs in Europe
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