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Balthasar of Mecklenburg (1451 – 16 March 1507) was a

Duke of Mecklenburg This list of dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg dates from the origins of the German princely state of Mecklenburg's royal house in the High Middle Ages to the monarchy's abolition at the end of World War I. Strictly speaking, Mecklenburg's p ...

and

Coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

of the

Diocese of Hildesheim The Diocese of Hildesheim (Latin: ''Dioecesis Hildesiensis'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. Founded in 815 as a missionary diocese by King Louis the Pious, his son Louis the German appointed the famous former archbishop of Rheim ...

between 1471 and 1474 and the Diocese of Schwerin between 1474 and 1479. Balthasar was the youngest son of

Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (1417 – 9 March 1477) was from 1422 to 1477 Duke of Mecklenburg. Life Henry IV of Mecklenburg, because of his obesity and lavish lifestyle also called the "Henry the Fat", was the son of the Duke John IV of ...

and

Dorothea of Brandenburg Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430/1431 – 10 November 1495) was a Hohenzollern princess who became a Scandinavian queen by marriage under the Kalmar Union. She was Queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden from her marriage to King Christopher III in 1 ...

, the daughter of the Margrave

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

of Brandenburg. When he came of age, Balthasar chose an ecclesiastical career. He was coadjutor of the

in the years 1471-1474 and then in the Diocese of Schwerin from 1474 to 1479. He probably was not satisfied with ecclesiastical life and returned to lay status in 1479. After mediation by his mother, an agreement was reached on 13 January 1480 between him and his older brothers to divide the duchy. His brother Albert VI received the larger part of the former Principality of

Werle {{Infobox country , native_name = ''Herrschaft Werle'' ( de) , conventional_long_name = Lordship of Werle , common_name = Werle , era = Middle Ages , status = Vassal , empire = ...

, while Balthasar and his brother Magnus II jointly administered the rest of the Duchy. After Magnus died, Balthasar ruled jointly with Magnus' sons. Balthasar died on 16 March 1507 (or, less likely, on 17 March) in

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

and was buried in the

Doberan Abbey Doberan Abbey (''Kloster Doberan'') is a former Cistercian monastery in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The Brick Gothic church continues in use as Doberan Minster (''Doberaner Münster''). After the conversion to Christianity of t ...

Bad Doberan Bad Doberan () is a town in the district of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Bad Doberan. In 2012, its population was 11,427. Geography Bad Doberan is situated just west of Rostock's city c ...

. He married Margaret, daughter of Duke

Eric II of Pomerania Eric II or Erich II (between 1418 and 1425 – 5 July 1474) was a member of the House of Pomerania (also known as the House of Griffins) and was the ruling Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast from 1457 to 1474. He was the son of Wartislaw IX of Pomeran ...

, in 1487. They had no children.

External links

genealogical table of the House of Mecklenburg
1451 births 1507 deaths 15th-century German people 16th-century German people Lutheran Prince-Bishops of Schwerin Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin German Roman Catholics House of Mecklenburg People from Mecklenburg {{Germany-duke-stub