
Balthasar of Mecklenburg (1451 – 16 March 1507) was a
Duke of Mecklenburg and
Coadjutor of the
Diocese of Hildesheim between 1471 and 1474 and the
Diocese of Schwerin between 1474 and 1479.
Balthasar was the youngest son of
Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg and
Dorothea of Brandenburg, the daughter of the Margrave
Frederick I of Brandenburg. When he came of age, Balthasar chose an ecclesiastical career. He was coadjutor of the
Diocese of Hildesheim 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, while Balthasar and his brother
Magnus II jointly administered the rest of the Duchy. After Magnus died, Balthasar ruled jointly with Magnus' sons.
He married Margaret, daughter of Duke
Eric II of Pomerania, in 1487. They had no children. After the deaths of Balthasar and his nephews
Eric II, the rule of Mecklenburg was divided among Magnus' surviving sons.
Balthasar was a scholarly man and served as the rector of the
University of Rostock three times. He was a promoter of the ''Dresdner Heldenbuch'', created by
Kaspar von der Rhön; this support likely influenced
Emperor Maximilian I in his support of the ''
Ambraser Heldenbuch'', a highly significant manuscript in the history of German literature.
Balthasar died on 16 March 1507 (or, less likely, on 17 March) in
Wismar
Wismar (; ), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar () is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city of Mecklenburg after Rostock, Schwerin and ...
and was buried in the
Doberan Abbey in
Bad Doberan.
References
External links
genealogical table of the House of Mecklenburg
1451 births
1507 deaths
15th-century German nobility
16th-century German nobility
Lutheran prince-bishops of Schwerin
Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
German Roman Catholics
House of Mecklenburg
People from Mecklenburg
{{Germany-duke-stub