Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia
| Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia | |
|---|---|
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| Spouse(s) | Judith of Hohenstaufen |
| Noble family | Ludowingians |
| Father | Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia |
| Mother | Hedwig of Gudensberg |
| Born | 1128 |
| Died | 14 October 1172 Neuenburg Castle in Freyburg |
| Buried | Monastery in Reinhardsbrunn |
Ludwig II, Landgrave of Thuringia, nicknamed Louis the Iron (1128 – 14 October 1172 at Neuenburg Castle in Freyburg).
He was born in 1128, the son of Louis I, who in 1131 became the first Landgrave of Thuringia, and his wife, Hedwig of Gudensberg. When Louis I died in 1140, King Conrad III of Germany enfeoffed the 12-year-old Louis II with the Landgraviate. The Ludowingians had a good relationship with the Hohenstaufen, because Louis I had supported the election of Conrad III in 1138. The relationship was so good that it was arranged that Louis II should marry Judith, who was a niece of Conrad III and a half-sister of his successor Frederick Barbarossa. Until Conrad's death, Louis II stayed at the royal court, where he was given an education by the Archbishop of Mainz and the Bishop of Merseburg. He married Judith in 1150, and a year later his son and successor Louis III was born.
During Louis II's reign, the population of Thuringia was frequently bullied and harassed by the nobility. Louis began to intervene against these practises, earning him his nickname "Louis the Iron". According to a legend, which was recorded by Johannes Rothe in 1421, Louis II was travelling anonymously and one night, he found shelter with a blacksmith in Ruhla. The blacksmith, as he worked the iron in his forge, complained about the people's plight and cursed the nobility, lamenting that their lord was too soft towards them, and addressed the iron as if it were the landgrave himself: "Landgraf, werde hart!" (German: "Landgrave, become hard!" or "Landgrave, take a stance!") These words spurred Louis into action against the robber barons. According to the legend, after the offenders had been arrested, they were harnessed to a plough and forced to plough a field.
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