(Redirected from Henry Raspe)'Henry Raspe' (;
1204 –
February 16,
1247) succeeded
Hermann II as
Landgrave of
Thuringia in central
Germany in
1241; he later was elected
anti-king in
1246-
1247 in opposition to
Conrad IV of Germany.
In 1226, Henry's brother
Ludwig IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, died en route to the
Sixth Crusade, and Henry became regent for his under-age nephew Hermann II. He managed to expel his nephew and the boy's young mother, St.
Elisabeth of Hungary, from the line of succession and ca.
1231 formally succeeded his brother as landgrave.
In
1242 Henry, together with King
Wenceslaus I of
Bohemia, was selected by Emperor
Frederick II to be administrator of Germany for Frederick's under-age son Conrad.
After the papal ban on Frederick imposed by
Pope Innocent IV in
1245, Raspe changed sides, and on
22 May 1246 he was elected
counter-king in opposition to Conrad. The strong papal prodding that led to his election earned Raspe the derogatory moniker of "''Pfaffenkönig''" (parsons' king). Henry defeated Conrad in the Battle of
Nidda in southern
Hesse in August
1246, but he died several months later in
Wartburg Castle near
Eisenach in Thuringia.