Frederick II (), also known as Frederick the Pious () (1418–1478) was a prominent German nobleman from the

House of Guelph The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse- ...

who served and ruled as the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of Brunswick-Lüneburg and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

from 1434 to 1457 and from 1471 to 1478. Born on 10 November 1418, he was the son of Duke Bernard I of Brunswick-Lüneburg and his wife, Margaret of Saxony.

Life

After the death of his father,

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

, Frederick assumed joint rule of the Principality of Lüneburg alongside his brother

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

. Their reign was marked by significant developments, including the extensive expansion of Celle Castle and the implementation of reforms aimed at improving the legal rights of farmers in relation to their landlords. Upon Otto's death in 1446, Frederick became the sole ruler of the principality. In 1452, he established a monastery dedicated to the Holy Cross (Heylig Kreuz) and invited

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friars to settle in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

. In 1457, Frederick transferred governance of the principality to his son,

, and entered monastic life himself. However, following the death of his second son, Otto V, in 1471, Frederick left the monastery to assume control once more, acting as regent for his three-year-old grandson,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

. Frederick was ultimately interred in the church of the Franciscan monastery he had founded in Celle.

Descendants

In 1437 Frederick II married Magdalene (1412–1454), daughter of

Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick (Middle High German: ''Friderich'', Standard German: ''Friedrich''; 21 September 1371 – 20 September 1440) was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427 (as Frederick VI), Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margra ...

, and had three children by her: # Bernhard II (died 1464) married Mathilda of Holstein-Schauenburg (died 1468) # Otto the Victorious (1439–1471) married Anne of Nassau-Siegen (1440/41–1514) # Gottfried (1441-1465) never married #

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(1442–1512) married Henry, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard (died 1466)

Ancestors

References

* Geckler, Christa (1986). ''Die Celler Herzöge: Leben und Wirken 1371–1705''. Celle: Georg Ströher. . .

External links

The Welfs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 02 (Brunswick-Luneburg) Princes of Lüneburg 1418 births 1478 deaths Middle House of Lüneburg