William III, Landgrave of Thuringia

William III, Landgrave of Thuringia
Wilhelm III of Thuringia by Anton Boys
Born	(1425-04-30)30 April 1425 Meissen, Germany
Died	17 September 1482(1482-09-17) (aged 57) Weimar, Germany
Noble family	House of Wettin
Spouse(s)	Anne of Luxembourg
Issue	Margaret of Thuringia
Father	Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
Mother	Catherine of Brunswick and Lunenburg

William III (30 April 1425 – 17 September 1482), called the Brave (in German Wilhelm der Tapfere), was landgrave of Thuringia (from 1445) and claimant duke of Luxemburg (from 1457). He is actually the second William to rule Thuringia, and in Luxembourg; he was the third Margrave of Meissen named William.

He was a younger son of Frederick I the Warlike, elector of Saxony, and Catherine of Brunswick and Lunenburg. On 2 June 1446 he married Anne of Luxembourg, daughter of Albert II, King of Germany, Bohemia and Hungary and Elizabeth of Luxembourg. On behalf of his wife, he became Duke of Luxembourg from 1457 to 1469. They had two daughters, Margaret of Thuringia (1449–1501) and Catherine of Thuringia (1453 – 10 July 1534), who married Duke Henry II of Münsterberg.

William minted a silver groschen known as the Judenkopf Groschen. Its obverse portrait shows a man with a pointed beard wearing a Jewish hat, which the populace took as depicting a typical Jew.

Ancestors