Frederick Tuta (1269 – 16 August 1291), a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

, was Margrave of Landsberg from 1285 and Margrave of Lusatia from 1288 until his death. He also served as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate of Meissen (german: Markgrafschaft Meißen) was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of bor ...

. The origin and meaning of his nickname ''Tuta'' are unclear and were not recorded. It possibly means "the Stammerer".

Life

Frederick was the only son of the Wettin margrave Theodoric of Landsberg and Helene, a daughter of Margrave John I of Brandenburg; he thereby was a grandson of Margrave

Henry III of Meissen Henry III, called Henry the Illustrious (''Heinrich der Erlauchte'') (c. 1215 – 15 February 1288) from the House of Wettin was Margrave of Meissen and last Margrave of Lusatia (as Henry IV) from 1221 until his death; from 1242 also Landgrav ...

. Upon his father's early death in 1285, he succeeded him in the Margraviate of Landsberg, then comprising the bulk of the

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 ...

territory with

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Grimma Grimma ( hsb, Grima) is a town in Saxony, Central Germany, on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district. Location The town is in northern Saxony, southeast of Leipzig and south o ...

, and the margravial residence of

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...

. When his grandfather Margrave Henry III died in 1288, Frederick Tuta entered into an inheritance conflict with his uncle Albert the Degenerate around the Margraviates of Meissen and Lusatia. While Albert succeeded his father as Margrave of Meissen, Frederick inherited the Lusatian march. However, Albert's sons Frederick the Bitten and Theodoric IV disputed this arrangement and Frederick's rule in Lusatia within short time was contested by his cousin Theodoric IV. In turn, Frederick Tuta concentrated on expanding his power into the Meissen lands where Margrave Albert's rule was shaken by a fierce dispute with his sons. Temporarily arrested by Frederick the Bitten, Albert had to renounce large parts of his estates and in 1289 Frederick Tuta, with the support of several local nobles, was able to purchase a significant Meissen territory. He also acquired several estates around

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

from his uncle Frederick Clem, the youngest son of late Margrave Henry III. However, Frederick's sudden death put an end to his ambitions, when he died on 16 August 1291, aged 22, at

Hirschstein Hirschstein is a municipality in the district of Meißen, in Saxony, Germany. The following villages belong to Hirschstein: Althirschstein, Bahra, Böhla, Boritz, Heyda, Kobeln, Mehltheuer, Neuhirschstein, Pahrenz, Prausitz and Schänitz. Leop ...

Castle – allegedly due to eating poisoned cherries offered to him by Bishop Withego of

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

. As he did not have a male heir, his possessions were divided after his death. His cousins Frederick the Bitten and Theodoric IV took Meissen and Lusatia; while the Margraviate of Landsberg was sold to the

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

margraves of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

Marriage and issue

Frederick married Catherine (d. 1310), a daughter of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

duke

Henry XIII of Bavaria Henry XIII (19 November 1235 – 3 February 1290 in Burghausen), member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Lower Bavaria. Family He was the younger son of Otto II and Agnes of Brunswick. Biography In 1254, he succeeded his father toge ...

. They had one daughter, Elisabeth.

Ancestors

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick Tuta Margraves of Lusatia Margraves of Meissen House of Wettin 13th-century German nobility 1269 births 1291 deaths