Henry the Evil, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
| Henry IV | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg | |
 |
|
| Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel | |
| Reign | 1491–1514 |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine of Pomerania |
| Issue | |
| Noble family | House of Welf |
| Father | William IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Mother | Elizabeth of Stolberg-Wernigerode |
| Born | 14 June 1463 |
| Died | 23 June 1514 (aged 51) Leerort, Leer |
Henry IV (14 June 1463 – 23 June 1514), called the Elder (German: Heinrich der Ältere), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Wolfenbüttel from 1491 until his death.
Henry's father, Duke William IV of Brunswick-Lüneburg retired in 1491, leaving government of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel with Caleneberg to his two sons Henry the Elder and Eric, and only kept the Principality of Göttingen for himself. In 1494, the brothers divided their territories between them: Henry received the eastern part of the state, with the cities of Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel, while Eric took over the Calenberg estates.
Starting in 1492, Henry laid siege to the City of Brunswick for a year and a half to enforce tax payments; the siege ended with a compromise. On 24 November 1498 Henry IV, Magnus and the latter's father John V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg allied in order to conquer the Land of Wursten, a de facto autonomous region of free Frisian peasants in a marsh at the Weser estuary, under the loose overlordship of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen. Henry obliged to send 3,000 lansquenets to the Land of Hadeln, the Lauenburgian exclave serving as beachhead, with the lansquenets meant to gain their payment by looting and plundering the free peasants of Wursten, once successfully subjected.
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