Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Spouse(s)	Sophie of Pomarania Margaret of Hesse
Noble family	House of Guelph
Father	Magnus with the Necklace, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Mother	Catherine of Anhalt-Bernburg
Born	c.  1355
Died	14 October 1416

Henry of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Latin Henricus, died 14 October 1416), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called Henry the Mild, was prince of Lüneburg from 1388 to 1409 jointly with his brother Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, from 1400 to 1409 also of Wolfenbüttel, and from 1409 until his death sole prince of Lüneburg.

Henry was the fourth son of Magnus with the Necklace, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He participated in the prosecution of the murderers of his brother Frederick, elected King of the Romans, after 1400. Henry ravaged the Eichsfeld, a possession of the archbishop of Mainz, who was suspected to be involved in the murder. Only in 1405, a peace was ratified between Brunswick-Lüneburg and the Archbishopric.

In 1404, Henry was kidnapped by Bernard VI, Count of Lippe; when he paid a ransom, he was released, and later, with the support of King Rupert, took revenge on Bernard.

After the death of Gerhard, Count of Schleswig, Henry's sister's husband, Queen Margaret I of Denmark tried to take control of Schleswig, but Henry, together with Holstein, successfully defended Schleswig.

Family

Henry married Sophie (died 1406), daughter of Wartislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania, in 1388. Children were:

• William (c. 1392–1482)
• Catherine (1395–1442), married Frederick I, Elector of Saxony

Henry married Margaret (c. 1389–1471), daughter of Hermann II, Landgrave of Hesse, in 1409. They had one known child:

• Henry (c. 1411–1473)

Ancestry

Ancestors of Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

16. Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               8. Albert the Fat, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                       17. Adelheid of Montferrat               4. Magnus the Pious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                             18. Henry I, Prince of Mecklenburg-Güstrow               9. Rixa of Mecklenburg-Werle                       19. Rikissa Birgersdotter               2. Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   20. John I, Margrave of Brandenburg               10. Henry I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal                       21. Jutta of Saxony               5. Sophie of Brandenburg-Stendal                             22. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria               11. Agnes of Bavaria                       23. Matilda of Habsburg               1. Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                         24. Bernhard I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg               12. Bernhard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg                       25. Sophie of Denmark               6. Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg                             26. Wizlaw II, Prince of Rügen               13. Helene of Rügen                       27. Agnes of Brunswick-Lüneburg               3. Catherine of Anhalt-Bernburg                                   28. Albert II, Duke of Saxony               14. Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg                       29. Agnes of Habsburg               7. Agnes of Saxony                             30. Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel               15. Jutta of Brandenburg                       31. Jutta of Henneberg

References

• (German) Zedlers Universal-Lexicon, vol. 12, p. 775-776
• (German) Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 11, p. 486-488