John, Margrave Of Brandenburg-Kulmbach
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John, nicknamed the Alchemist (; 1406 – 16 November 1464) was a
Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...
of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and served as the peace-loving Margrave of
Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
after the abdication of his father, Frederick I, the first member of the
House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
to rule Brandenburg.


Biography

John was the eldest son of Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg (1371–1440), and Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut (1383–1442), daughter of
Frederick, Duke of Bavaria Frederick (1339 â€“ 4 December 1393) was Duke of Bavaria from 1375. He was the second son of Stephen II and Elizabeth of Sicily. Reign From 1375 to 1392 he ruled Bavaria-Landshut jointly with his brothers Stephen III and John II and manag ...
, and his second wife
Maddalena Visconti Maddalena Visconti (1366 – 17 July 1404) was a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala. Maddalena was Duchess of Bavaria-Landshut by her marriage to Frederick, Duke of Bavaria. Family Maddalena was born in M ...
. After marrying Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg (1405–1465), daughter of Rudolf III, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg, John hoped to eventually succeed to
Saxe-Wittenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity until ...
once its line of Ascanian dukes died out. When this happened in November 1422, however, Emperor
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
was on poorer terms with the Hohenzollerns and was only willing to compensate John with a monetary payment. John began participating in governmental affairs in Brandenburg in 1424. Frustrated by disputes with the feudal nobility, Frederick I retired to his castle at
Cadolzburg Cadolzburg (outdated also ''Kadolzburg'' , colloquially pronounced "Kalschbuʳch" or "Sporch" in the local dialect) is a municipality in the Middle Franconian Fürth (district), district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated west of Fà ...
in
Franconia Franconia ( ; ; ) is a geographical region of Germany, characterised by its culture and East Franconian dialect (). Franconia is made up of the three (governmental districts) of Lower Franconia, Lower, Middle Franconia, Middle and Upper Franco ...
in 1425, granting the regency of Brandenburg to John at a ''
Landtag A ''Landtag'' (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence ...
'' in
Rathenow Rathenow () is a town in the district of Havelland (district), Havelland in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020). Overview The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Go ...
on 13 January 1426, while retaining the
electoral dignity The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College (Holy Roman Empire), Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th cen ...
for himself. John was poorly received by the populace of Brandenburg, as his administration was incompetent, leading to unrest in the countryside. Rather than governing, John was more interested in artificially creating
gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
through
alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
, thereby receiving the
cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...
"the Alchemist". In 1433, a revised version of the alchemical treatise '' Buch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit'' of Ulmannus was prepared for John. Realizing the danger Brandenburg was in, Frederick I granted John Franconian lands in Brandenburg-Kulmbach on 7 June 1437, territory rich with mines that furnished materials for the Alchemist's hobby. The governance of Brandenburg passed to Frederick I's second-oldest son, Frederick II. After the death of Frederick I in 1440, John inherited all of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, including the castle of
Plassenburg Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were Ministerialis, ministerial of the counts of And ...
in
Kulmbach Kulmbach () is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town, once a stronghold of the Principality of Bayreuth, is renowned for its University of Life Sciences, a branch of the University of Bayreuth, the massive Plasse ...
. In his later years, he allowed
Christopher of Bavaria Christopher of Bavaria (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Christoffer''; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Kristofer''; 26 February 1416 – 5/6 January 1448) was King of Denmark (1440–48, as Christopher III), King of Sw ...
to administer his possessions in the
Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...
until Christopher's death in 1448. John ruled as Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach until abdicating in 1457, which allowed him to dedicate himself toward studying alchemy and the environs of Franconia. He died in Castle Scharfeneck near Baiersdorf in 1464.


Family and children

John of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Barbara of Saxe-Wittenberg had four children: * Rudolf of Brandenburg (born and died in 1424) * Barbara of Brandenburg (1423 – 7 November 1481), married on 12 November 1433 Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua. * Elisabeth of Brandenburg (1425 – after 13 January 1465); married, firstly, on 27 August 1440, Joachim, Duke of Pomerania. Married, secondly, on 5 March 1454, Wartislaw X, Duke of Pomerania. * Dorothea of Brandenburg (1431 – 10 November 1495); married, firstly, on 12 September 1445, King Christopher III of Denmark. Married, secondly, on 28 October 1449, King
Christian I of Denmark Christian I ''(Christiern I)'' (February 1426 â€“ 21 May 1481) was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), King of Norway, Norway (1450–1481) and King of Sweden, Sweden (1457 ...
.


Ancestors


References


Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie




* Eulenberg, Herbert. ''The Hohenzollerns''. Translated by M. M. Bozman. The Century Co. New York, 1929. {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach Margraves of Bayreuth House of Hohenzollern German alchemists 1406 births 1464 deaths Margraves of Brandenburg 15th-century alchemists Sons of prince-electors