Ludwig the Bearded

This article deals with the progenitor of the Ludowingers. For the Bavarian duke of the same name, see Ludwig VII. (Bavaria) .

Certificate of Heinrich III. for Ludwig the Bearded, August 28, 1044. Weimar State Archives

Ludwig the bearded or Ludwig with the beard (Latin Ludovicus cum barba ; † 1056 or 1080 ) is the progenitor of the Ludowinger , the landgrave dynasty in medieval Thuringia and Hesse .

Ludwig, who had a brother Hugo, comes from an aristocratic family that cannot be specified, was closely related to the Archdiocese of Mainz and (also ) was wealthy on the Middle Main (where Ludwig's sons founded the Schönrain Monastery ). According to Armin Wolf (historian) , a descent from Ludwig von Mousson comes into question.

Around 1040 Ludwig received a fiefdom north of the Thuringian Forest and built the now ruined Schauenburg near Friedrichroda , from which he dominated the road from Gotha to Schmalkalden .

Ludwig married to Cecilia 1,039 of Sangerhausen, the heiress among other Sangerhausen , which also a granddaughter of the Empress Gisela , wife of Emperor Conrad II. , Said to have been. She is said to have brought 7000 Hufen land into the marriage.

According to the unbelievable Reinhardsbrunner Chronik (see Ludowinger ), children of Ludwig and Cäcilie are :

• Ludwig the Springer
• Beringer, Count of Sangerhausen, * 1056/57, † before July 25, 1110
• Hildegard; ∞ I Poppo I., Count von Henneberg , X August 7, 1078 in the battle of Mellrichstadt ; ∞ II Thimo Graf von Nordeck
• Uta; ∞ Dietrich Graf von Lindenbach
• Adelheid; ∞ Ludwig I, Count of Wippra
• Dietrich von Lora

Ludwig was buried in St. Alban near Mainz .

literature

• Steffen Raßloff , Lutz Gebhardt : The Thuringian Landgraves. History and legends . Rhino, Ilmenau 2017, ISBN 978-3-95560-055-6 .
• Wilfried Warsitzka: The Thuringian Landgraves. Bussert & Stadeler, Jena 2004, ISBN 3-932906-22-5 .
• Karl Robert Wenck:  Ludwig the Bearded . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 588 f.
• Hilmar Schwarz: The Ludowingers. The rise and fall of the first Thuringian landgrave family , Wartburg Foundation Eisenach 1993.