John I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard (1326 – between 9 August 1392 and 9 February 1393),
Duke of Mecklenburg from 1344 to 1352 and Duke of
Mecklenburg-Stargard from 1352 to 1392.
Life
John I was probably born in 1326 as the youngest child from the second marriage of Lord
Henry II "the Lion" of Mecklenburg and Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg, a daughter of Duke
Albert II of Saxe-Wittenberg.
[Zu Tafel III. Das Haus Meklenburg-Stargard. VIII. Generation.]
/ref>
His father died in 1329, John remained under guardianship until 1344, when he came of age and began to carry a seal as a participant in the governance of Mecklenburg. On 8 July 1348, Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
Charles IV raised John and his brother Albert II to the rank of 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 ...
in Prague. John, Albert and Charles initially supported the False Waldemar
The False Waldemar (died 1356), also known as the Wrong Waldemar, was an impostor who from 1348 to 1350 was invested with the Margraviate of Brandenburg by Charles IV.
Life
The legitimate Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal was buried i ...
in his claim against Margrave Louis V of Bavaria, but in 1350 both brothers reconciled with Louis after Emperor Charles IV withdrew his support for Waldemar.
Upon the division of Mecklenburg on 25 November 1352, John was awarded the Lordships of Stargard, Sternberg, Eldenbürg ( Lübz) and Ture. He supported his nephew Albert III of Mecklenburg in his attempts to be recognized as King of Sweden.
According to historian (d. 1525), John died sometime in the 1370s and was buried in the cathedral at Strelitz. However, this date is incorrect, as documentary evidence shows that John was still active into the early 1390s. The last known document bearing his signature is dated 9 August 1392. By 9 February 1393, his sons John II and Ulrich I were ruling in his stead.
Marriages and issue
John married three times. His first wife Rixa (background unknown) probably died soon after the wedding and the marriage remained childless.
His second wife Anna was a daughter of the Count Adolf VII of Pinneberg and Schauenburg. She probably died in 1358. John and Anna had a daughter Anna, who married Wartislaw VI of Pomerania-Wolgast on 4 April 1363.
John's third wife Agnes was the daughter of Ulrich II of Lindow-Ruppin and widow of Lord Nicholas IV of Werle. They probably married in 1358 and had five children together:
* John II (died between 6 July and 9 October 1416), co-regent, then Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard, from 1408 Lord of Sternberg, Friedland, Fürstenberg and Lychen
* Ulrich I (died 8 April 1417), co-regent, then Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard (1392–1417), from 1408 Lord of Neubrandenburg, Stargard, Strelitz and Wesenberg (with Lize)
* Rudolf (died after 28 July 1415), was initially Bishop of Skara and from 1390 as Rudolf III Bishop of Schwerin
* Albert I (died 1397), co-regent of Mecklenburg, from 1396 Coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence.
These include:
* Coadjutor bishop ...
of Dorpat
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...
* Contance (born c. 1373, died 1408)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:John 01 of Mecklenburg Stargard
Dukes of Mecklenburg-Stargard
1326 births
1390s deaths
Date of death unknown
14th-century German nobility