Individual Details
Ludwig IV "the Saint" Landgraf von Thüringen
(28 Oct 1200 - 11 Sep 1227)
Ludwig IV was born in Creuzburg on 28 October 1200, the son of Hermann I, Landgraf von Thüringen, and his second wife Sophie of Bavaria. Upon his father's death in 1216, Ludwig ascended the Thuringian throne at the age of sixteen. On the Feast of St. Kilian in 1218, at age eighteen, he was armed as a knight in the Church of Sankt Georg in Eisenach.
At Wartburg Castle in 1220, at age twenty, Ludwig married 14-year-old Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andras II, king of Hungary, and Gertrud von Meran. They had three children of whom only Sophie would have progeny. He set up court in Eisenach.
In 1226 Ludwig was called to the Diet in Cremona, where he promised Emperor Friedrich II to take up the Cross and accompany him to the Holy Land. He embarked for the Sixth Crusade in 1227, partly inspired by the tales of his uncle, who had been to the Levant with the Holy Roman Emperor. Fellow-travellers were five counts, Louis von Wartburg, Gunther von Kefernberg, Meinrad von Mühlberg, Heinrich von Stolberg, and Burkhard von Brandenberg. Ludwig's pregnant wife had a premonition that they would never meet again.
In August 1227 Ludwig crossed the mountains between Thuringia and Upper Franconia, through Swabia and Bavaria, crossing the Tyrolian Alps. He fell ill of a fever after reaching Brindisi and Otranto. He received Extreme Unction from the patriarch of Jerusalem and the bishop of Sante Croce. He died of a fever on a ship near Otranto on 11 September 1227. A few days after his death, his daughter Gertrud was born. Ludwig's remains were buried in Reinhardsbrunn in 1228.
Ludwig's wife Elisabeth died young only a few years later, at the age of 24, after spending the remainder of her life dedicated to a life of penance and serving the poor. She was officially proclaimed a saint only four years after her death. While Ludwig was never formally canonised, he became known among the German people as Ludwig 'der Heilige' (Ludwig the Saint).
Source: Leo van de Pas
At Wartburg Castle in 1220, at age twenty, Ludwig married 14-year-old Elisabeth of Hungary, daughter of Andras II, king of Hungary, and Gertrud von Meran. They had three children of whom only Sophie would have progeny. He set up court in Eisenach.
In 1226 Ludwig was called to the Diet in Cremona, where he promised Emperor Friedrich II to take up the Cross and accompany him to the Holy Land. He embarked for the Sixth Crusade in 1227, partly inspired by the tales of his uncle, who had been to the Levant with the Holy Roman Emperor. Fellow-travellers were five counts, Louis von Wartburg, Gunther von Kefernberg, Meinrad von Mühlberg, Heinrich von Stolberg, and Burkhard von Brandenberg. Ludwig's pregnant wife had a premonition that they would never meet again.
In August 1227 Ludwig crossed the mountains between Thuringia and Upper Franconia, through Swabia and Bavaria, crossing the Tyrolian Alps. He fell ill of a fever after reaching Brindisi and Otranto. He received Extreme Unction from the patriarch of Jerusalem and the bishop of Sante Croce. He died of a fever on a ship near Otranto on 11 September 1227. A few days after his death, his daughter Gertrud was born. Ludwig's remains were buried in Reinhardsbrunn in 1228.
Ludwig's wife Elisabeth died young only a few years later, at the age of 24, after spending the remainder of her life dedicated to a life of penance and serving the poor. She was officially proclaimed a saint only four years after her death. While Ludwig was never formally canonised, he became known among the German people as Ludwig 'der Heilige' (Ludwig the Saint).
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 28 Oct 1200 | ||||
| Marriage | 1221 | Eisenach - St. Elisabeth of Hungary (Erzsébet) | |||
| Death | 11 Sep 1227 |
Families
| Spouse | St. Elisabeth of Hungary (Erzsébet) (1207 - 1231) |
| Child | Sophia von Thüringen (1224 - 1275) |