Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia

Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia
File:Ludwig III. (Thüringen).jpg Grave plate of Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia
Spouse(s)	Margaret of Cleves Sophia of Minsk
Noble family	Ludowingians
Father	Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia
Mother	Judith of Hohenstaufen
Born	1151 or 1152
Died	16 October 1190(1190-10-16) Eastern Mediterranean Sea, near Cyprus
Buried	Reinhardsbrunn

Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia, nicknamed Louis the Pious or Louis the Mild (1151/2 – 16 October 1190, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, near Cyprus) was a German nobleman. He was a member of the Ludowingians dynasty and was the ruling Landgrave of Thuringia from 1172 until his death.

Life

He was the eldest son of Landgrave Louis II and his wife Judith of Hohenstaufen. In 1172, he succeeded his father as Landgrave of Thuringia. His younger brother Henry Raspe III (not to be confused with the later anti-king Henry Raspe IV) inherited Hesse and the possessions on the Rhine.

Louis III by and large continued his father's policies. He fought feuds with the noble families in Thuringia and the rulers of neighbouring territories (including the House of Schwarzburg and the House of Ascania) and with the Archbishopric of Mainz. He was a nephew of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and supported his policies. He stood initially on the side of Henry the Lion of the House of Welf. When Henry fell out with the Hohenstaufens in 1179, Louis sided with Henry's Saxon opponents. In 1180, he received the County Palatine of Saxony as a reward for this from the emperor. However, he gave the County Palatine to his brother Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia in 1181.

Louis III was wounded in the Erfurt latrine disaster of 1184. Unlike most of the victims, he survived.

He participated in the Third Crusade. When the main army took the land route via the Balkans and Asia Minor, Louis III and his contingent embarked in Brindisi and sailed to Tyre. After arriving in the Holy Land, he participated in the siege of Acre. However, before Barbarossa arrived with the main army, Louis III fell ill and decided to return home. He died on a ship sailing to Cyprus. His entrails were buried on the island; his bones were transferred to the Reinhardsbrunn monastery. In the 14th century, his bones were reburied in the Church of St. George in Eisenach.

Ancestry

Family of Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia

16. Louis the Bearded               8. Louis the Springer                       17. Cecilia of Sangerhausen               4. Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia                             18. Lothair Udo II, Margrave of the Nordmark               9. Adelheid of Stade                       19. Oda of Werl               2. Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia                                   20. Either Giso II or Giso III               10. Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg                       21. Mathilde               5. Hedwig of Gudensberg                             22. Rugger II, Count of Bilstein               11. Kunigunde of Bilstein                       1. Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia                                         24. Frederick of Büren               12. Frederick I, Duke of Swabia                       25. Hildegard of Egisheim               6. Frederick II, Duke of Swabia                             26. Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor               13. Agnes of Germany                       27. Bertha of Savoy               3. Judith of Hohenstaufen                                   28. Sigebert I, Count of Saarbrücken               14. Frederick I, Count of Saarbrücken                       7. Agnes of Saarbrücken                             30. Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine               15. Gisela of Lorraine                       31. Gertrude of Flanders

References

• Helga Wäß: Die Figurengrabplatte für Landgraf Ludwig III. Form und Wahrnehmung mitteldeutscher Gedächtnisskulptur im 14. Jahrhundert, vol. 2: Katalog ausgewählter Objekte vom Hohen Mittelalter bis zum Anfang des 15. Jahrhunderts, Tenea Verlag, Berlin, 2006, ISBN 3-86504-159-0. Luois' grave plate is described in vol.2, p 531-542 and fig. 798
• Friedrich Heinrich von der Hagen: Des Landgrafen Ludwig's des Frommen Kreuzfahrt. Heldengedicht der Belagerung von Akkon am Ende des zwölften Jahrhunderts, F.A. Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1854, reprinted: Elibron Classics, 2005, ISBN 1-4212-0687-0

External links

Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia Ludowingians Born: 1151 or 1152 Died: 16 October 1190
Preceded by Louis II	Landgrave of Thuringia 1172-1190	Succeeded by Herman I
Preceded by Adalbert	Count Palatine of Saxony 1180-1181