Johann Frederick III, also known as Johann Frederick the Younger (16 January 1538 in

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies first met near ...

– 21 October 1565 in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

) was a German nobleman. He was a titular Duke of Saxony from the Ernestine branch 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 received

Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Gotha () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin, Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha (town), Gotha. History The duch ...

as an apanage, but left its administration to his eldest brother.

Life

John Frederick was the fourth and youngest son of Elector of Saxony Johann Frederick the Magnanimous (1503–1554) from his marriage with Sibylle (1512–1554), the daughter of Duke

John III, Duke of Cleves John III, Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark ( German: ''Johann III der Friedfertige''; 10 November 1490 – 6 February 1539), known as John the Peaceful, was the Lord of Ravensberg, Count of Mark, and founder of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cl ...

. Due to neglect during his childhood, he was always sickly and weak. He had been interested in theology from a young age, and studied theology at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

. After his father's death in 1554, he received

as an

apanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

. Because he was a

minor Minor may refer to: Common meanings * Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities. * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Mathematics * Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...

, he and his possessions were under the guardianship and

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of his eldest brother John Frederick II until 1557. From 1557, he was allowed to rule Saxe-Gotha alone. However, he concluded a contract with his eldest brother, who would administer the apanage for four years. In 1561, this contract was extended for another four years. John Frederick III died unmarried and childless in 1565, at the age of 27. He was buried in the City Church in Weimar. Due to his personality, he rarely acted alone, and was usually represented by his brothers.

References

* House of Wettin Dukes of Saxony 1538 births 1565 deaths 16th-century German nobility Sons of prince-electors {{Germany-duke-stub