Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (7 October 1672 – 24 November 1724) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

)

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Biography

He was born in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, the eldest son of

Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (10 September 1649 – 27 April 1706) was a duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Biography He was the sixth but third surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg. Afte ...

, and his first wife, Marie Hedwig of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgrave Philip I. ...

. After the death of his father in 1706, Ernst Ludwig inherited the duchy of

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day Germany, German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ern ...

jointly with his brother, Frederick Wilhelm, and his half-brother, Anton Ulrich. His father, in his will, had stipulated that the duchy never be divided and that it be governed jointly by his sons. The oldest brother, Ernst Ludwig, strove to establish autonomy for himself and his descendants. Immediately after the death of his father, Ernst Ludwig signed a contract with his brothers; in consideration of certain inducements, the brothers had to leave the government of the duchy in his hands. This introduction of ''

primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...

'' failed, however; his brothers managed to govern again after Ernst Ludwig's death, acting as guardians for his sons. Ernst Ludwig married

Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (22 January 1674 – 18 April 1713) was List of Saxon consorts#Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen as the first wife of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. She was the daughter of Fre ...

, his cousin in

on 19 September 1704. They had five children: # Josef Bernhard (b.