Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia

Frederick III
Frederick III
	Frederick III of Thuringia, painting from Albrechtsburg in Meißen
Margrave of Meissen
Reign	1349–1381
Successor	(partitioned)
Landgrave of Thuringia
Reign	1349–1381
Predecessor	Frederick I
Successor	Balthasar
Born	14 December 1332; Dresden, Margravate of Meissen, Holy Roman Empire
Died	21 May 1381 (aged 48); Altenburg, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire
Burial	Altzella Abbey
Spouse	Catherine of Henneberg
Issue	Frederick I, Elector of Saxony; William II, Margrave of Meissen; George, Margrave of Meissen;
House	Wettin
Father	Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen
Mother	Mathilde of Bavaria

Frederick III the Strict (German: Friedrich III. der Strenge; 14 December 1332 – 21 May 1381) was Landgrave of Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen. A member of the House of Wettin, he strengthened the dynastic territories in central Germany during the mid-fourteenth century.^[1]

Born in Dresden, he assumed leadership in 1349 following the death of his father, Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen. He initially governed on behalf of his brothers, William, Balthasar, and Louis (Bishop of Bamberg). In 1350, the emperor confirmed the Margraviate of Meissen as a joint possession of the four brothers. From 1368 onward, they ruled collectively, with the exercise of authority rotating every two years. Their lands were permanently divided in 1379.

After Frederick's death in Altenburg in 1381, Meissen was partitioned among his three sons, while Thuringia passed to his brothers. It later went to his nephew Frederick IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, son of Balthasar, and was eventually inherited by Frederick's grandson, Frederick II, Elector of Saxony.

Family

Frederick married Catherine of Henneberg, heiress of the Henneberg estates of Coburg, Neustadt, Sonneberg, Neuhaus, Rodach and other territories. She was the daughter of Count Heinrich IV of Henneberg and died in Coburg on 15 July 1397. They had four sons: