Theodoric IV, Landgrave of Lusatia, also called in German ''Diezmann'', or ''Dietrich III'' ( – probably 10 December 1307 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

) was a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

. He was

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

from 1291 to 1303. He was also Margrave of

Osterland Osterland (''terra orientalis'') is a historical region in Germany. It was situated between the Elbe and Saale rivers to the north of Pleissnerland which it later absorbed and it included the city of Leipzig. The name derives from the previous ...

from 1291 until his death, and Landgrave of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, as Dietrich I, from 1298 until his death.

Life

Theodoric was born in 1260, the third son of Margrave Albert II of Meissen and his wife

Margaret of Sicily Margaret of Sicily (also called Margaret of Hohenstaufen or Margaret of Germany) (1 December 1241, in Foggia – 8 August 1270, in Frankfurt-am-Main) was a Princess of Sicily and Germany, and a member of the House of Hohenstaufen. By marriage ...

. After Theodoric's mother fled from 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 ...

in 1270, because her husband had fallen in love with Kunigunde of Eisenberg, Theodoric and his elder brother

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

were raised by their uncle Margrave

Theodoric of Landsberg Theodoric of Landsberg (, nicknamed ''the Wise'' or ''the Fat''; 1242 – 8 February 1285), a member of the House of Wettin was Margrave of Landsberg from 1265 until his death. Life Theodoric was the second son of Henry the Illustrious, ma ...

. After Theodoric and Frederick had come of age, they and their elder brother Henry fought a war against their father, who wanted his son Apitz, from his second marriage with Kunigunde, to inherit the

Landgraviate of Thuringia The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia, established about 631 by King Dagobert I after his troops had been defeated by the forces of the Samo, Slavic confederation of Samo ...

. Theodoric's first territorial possession was the

Pleissnerland Pleissnerland, Pleissenland or the Imperial Territory of Pleissenland (; ) was a '' Reichsgut'' of the Holy Roman Empire, which meant that it was directly possessed by the respective elected King of the Romans or Emperor. It was named for the Plei� ...

. After the death of Margrave Henry III in 1288, he inherited

and after the death of

Frederick Tuta Frederick Tuta (c. 1269 – 16 August 1291), a member of the House of Wettin, was Margrave of Landsberg from 1285 and Margrave of Lusatia from 1288 until his death. He also served as regent of the Margraviate of Meissen. The origin and mean ...

in 1291 he inherited the

. In 1301 Archbishop Burchard II of Magdeburg sold Theodoric the castles in Droyßig and Burgwerben for 2000 marks of Stendal silver, with the option to buy them back later. Burchard did not use this option; instead he also sold the castle and town of

Spremberg Spremberg or Grodk (, ; Polish: ''Gródek'' ) is a municipality near the Saxon city of Hoyerswerda and is in the Spree-Neiße district of Brandenburg, Germany. First mentioned in 1301, the town alone has 14,028 inhabitants, and the municipalit ...

to Theodoric. In 1303, Theodoric sold Lusatia to the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

, which was ruled by the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

at the time. Adolph of Nassau, the

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

, deprived Theodoric of his inherited lands, but after Adolph's fall Theodoric was reinstated. In 1307, King

Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg () (July 12551 May 1308) was a List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria and Duchy of Styria, Styria from 1282 and List of German monarchs, King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Ru ...

invaded the Osterland with a large army. Theodoric and his brother Frederick armed civilians and peasants and with some assistance from knights from Brunswick they defeated Albert in the

Battle of Lucka The Battle of Lucka occurred on 31 May 1307 near the village of Lucka. The settlement was first mentioned in 1320, but had already existed for around 700 years before that. Lucka is located in the Altenburger Land district of Thuringia. The ba ...

on 31 May 1307. Theodoric died in December 1307 in Leipzig. According to later traditions, he was murdered on 24 or 25 December by one Philip of Nassau in the St. Thomas church in Leipzig. However, it is more likely that he died of natural causes on 10 December.

Marriage

Theodoric married in 1295 Jutta, a daughter of Count Berthold VIII of Henneberg. This marriage did not produce an heir. Jutta later married

Otto IV, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal Otto IV, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal, nicknamed ''Otto with the arrow'' ( – 27 November 1308 or 1309) was the Margrave of Brandenburg from the House of Ascania from 1266 until his death. Life Otto was the son of John I and his first ...

References

* * Bernd Kaufmann: ''Der Verleumdete. Die Geschichte des Landgrafen Albrecht II. von Thüringen'', vol. 1: ''Margareta'', BKP-Verlag GmbH, Zweibrücken, 2009, * Bernd Kaufmann: ''Der Verleumdete. Die Geschichte des Landgrafen Albrecht II. von Thüringen'', vol. 2: ''Krieg der Söhne'', BKP Verlag GmbH, Zweibrücken, 2011,

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric 04, Landgrave of Lusatia Margraves of Lusatia House of Wettin Landgraves of Thuringia 1260s births Year of birth uncertain 1307 deaths 13th-century German nobility