Henry IV, Duke of Mecklenburg (1417 – 9 March 1477) was from 1422 to 1477 Duke of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...

Life

Henry IV of

, also called "Henry the Fat" because of his obesity and lavish lifestyle, was the son of the Duke John IV of Mecklenburg and

Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (''Katarina'' in Swedish; 24 September 1513 – 23 September 1535) was Queen of Sweden as the first wife of Gustav I from 1531 until her death in 1535. Life Catherine was born in Ratzeburg to Magnus I, Duke of Saxe ...

. He inherited Mecklenburg when his father died in 1422. His mother, Catherine, and his uncle,

Albert V Albert V may refer to: * Albert V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (ca. mid-1330s–1370) * Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1397–1423) *Albert II of Germany Albert the Magnanimous , elected King of the Romans as Albert II (10 August 139727 October 1439 ...

, acted as Regents until 1436. He then ruled jointly with his brother

John V John V may refer to: * Patriarch John V of Alexandria or John the Merciful (died by 620), Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 to 616 * John V of Constantinople, Patriarch from 669 to 675 * Pope John V (685–686), Pope from 685 to his death in 686 ...

, until his brothers death in 1442. In May 1432, he married Dorothea of Brandenburg, the daughter of Elector

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

of Brandenburg. With the death of Prince

William of Werle William of Werle (before 1393 or 1394 – 8 September 1436), was co-regent of Werle from 1418 to 1425, then the sole ruler from 1425 until his death. After 1426, he called himself "Prince of the Wends". He was a son of Lorenz of Werle-Güst ...

in 1436, the male line of the

Werle {{Infobox country , native_name = ''Herrschaft Werle'' (Standard German, de) , conventional_long_name = Lordship of Werle , common_name = Werle , era = Middle Ages , status = Vassal , em ...

branch of the

House of Mecklenburg The House of Mecklenburg, also known as Nikloting, is a North German dynasty of Polabian Slavs, Polabian origin that ruled German revolution, until 1918 in the Mecklenburg region, being among the longest-ruling families of Europe. Queen Juliana o ...

died out, and

Werle {{Infobox country , native_name = ''Herrschaft Werle'' (Standard German, de) , conventional_long_name = Lordship of Werle , common_name = Werle , era = Middle Ages , status = Vassal , em ...

fell to the

Duchy of Mecklenburg The Duchy of Mecklenburg was a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire, located in the region of Mecklenburg. It existed during the Late Middle Ages and the early modern period, from 1471 to 1520, as well as 1695 to 1701. Its capital was Schwerin. T ...

. After Duke Ulrich II of Mecklenburg-Stargard died in 1471, Mecklenburg was again united under one ruler. The Stettin War of Succession between the Pomeranian Dukes and the Brandenburg Electors ended in late May 1472 through Henry's mediation. At the end of his life, he gradually transferred his power to his sons Albert,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

. After Henry's death they ruled jointly, until John died in 1474 and Albert in 1483. After Albert's death, Magnus ruled alone. His younger brother Balthasar cared little about the business of government. Henry died in 1477 and was buried in

Doberan Abbey Doberan Abbey (''Kloster Doberan'') is a former Cistercian monastery in Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The Brick Gothic church continues in use as Doberan Minster (''Doberaner Münster''). After the conversion to Christianity o ...

Issue

* Albert VI († 1483), Duke of Mecklenburg * John VI († 1474), Duke of Mecklenburg * Magnus II, Duke of Mecklenburg * Balthasar Duke of Mecklenburg, coadjutor of the diocese of

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

until 1479.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry Iv, Duke Of Mecklenburg House of Mecklenburg 1417 births 1477 deaths Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin