confederation, and in the war of 1870–71 with France his troops fought with conspicuous courage. He died at Dresden on the 29th of October 1873.
See J. Petzholdt, “Zur Litteratur des Königs Johann,” Neuer Anzeiger für Bibliographie (1858,1859,1871,1873,1874); “Aphorismen über unsern König J.,” Bote von Geising (1866–1869); Das Büchlein vom König Johann (Leipzig, 1867); H. v. Treitschke, Preussische Jahrbücher 23 (1869); A. Reumont, “Elogio di Giovanni, Rè di Sassonia,” Dagli Atti della Accademia della Crusca (Florence, 1874); J. P. von Winterstein, Johann, König von Sachsen (Dresden, 1878), and in Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1881); H. Ermisch, Die Wettiner und die Landesgeschichte (Leipzig, 1902); O. Kaemmel, Sächsische Geschichte (Leipzig, 1899, Sammlung Göschen). (J. Hn.)
JOHN I. (d. 1294), duke of Brabant and Lorraine, surnamed
the Victorious, one of the most gifted and chivalrous princes of
his time, was the second son of Duke Henry III. and Aleidis of
Burgundy. In 1267 his elder brother Henry, being infirm of
mind and body, was deposed in his favour. In 1271 John married
Margaret, daughter of Louis IX. of France, and on her death
in childbirth he took as his second wife (1273) Margaret of Flanders,
daughter of Guy de Dampierre. His sister Marie was espoused
in 1275 to Philip III. (the Bold) of France, and during
the reign of Philip and his son Philip IV. there were close relations
of friendship and alliance between Brabant and France.
In 1285 John accompanied Philip III. in his expedition against
Peter III., king of Aragon, but the duchy of Limburg was the
scene of his chief activity and greatest successes. After the
death of Waleran IV. in 1279 the succession to this duchy was
disputed. His heiress, Ermengarde, had married Reinald I.
count of Gelderland. She died childless, but her husband continued
to rule in Limburg, although his rights were disputed
by Count Adolph of Berg, nephew to Waleran IV. (see Limburg).
Not being strong enough to eject his rival, Adolph sold his
rights to John of Brabant, and hostilities broke out in 1283.
Harassed by desultory warfare and endless negotiations, and
seeing no prospect of holding his own against the powerful duke
of Brabant, Reinald made over his rights to Henry III. count of
Luxemburg, who was a descendant of Waleran III. of Limburg.
Henry III. was sustained by the archbishop of Cologne and other
allies, as well as by Reinald of Gelderland. The duke of Brabant
at once invaded the Rhineland and laid siege to the castle of
Woeringen near Bonn. Here he was attacked by the forces
of the confederacy on the 5th of June 1288. After a bloody
struggle John of Brabant, though at the head of far inferior
numbers, was completely victorious. Limburg was henceforth
attached to the duchy of Brabant. John consolidated his
conquest by giving his daughter in marriage to Henry of Luxemburg
(1291). John the Victorious was a perfect model of a
feudal prince in the days of chivalry, brave, adventurous, excelling
in every form of active exercise, fond of display, generous
in temper. He delighted in tournaments, and was always eager
personally to take part in jousts. On the 3rd of May 1294, on
the occasion of some marriage festivities at Bar, he was wounded
in the arm in an encounter by Pierre de Bausner, and died from
the effects of the hurt.
Bibliography.—H. Barlandus, Rerum gestarum a Brabantiae ducibus historia usque in annum 1526 (Louvain, 1566); G. C. van der Berghe, Jean le Victorieux, duc de Brabant (1259–1294), (Louvain, 1857); K. F. Stallaert, Gesch. v. Jan I. van Braband en zijne tijdvak (Brussels, 1861); A. Wauters, Le Duc Jean I er et le Brabant sous le règne de ce prince (Brussels, 1859).
JOHN, or Hans (1513–1571), margrave of Brandenburg-Cüstrin,
was the younger son of Joachim I., elector of Brandenburg,
and was born at Tangermünde on the 3rd of August 1513.
In spite of the dispositio Achillea which decreed the indivisibility
of the electorate, John inherited the new mark of Brandenburg
on his father’s death in July 1535. He had been brought up
as a strict Catholic, but soon wavered in his allegiance, and in
1538 ranged himself definitely on the side of the Reformers.
About the same time he joined the league of Schmalkalden;
but before the war broke out between the league and the emperor
Charles V. the promises of the emperor had won him over
to the imperial side. After the conclusion of the war, the relations
between John and Charles became somewhat strained.
The margrave opposed the Interim, issued from Augsburg in
May 1548; and he was the leader of the princes who formed a
league for the defence of the Lutheran doctrines in February
1550. The alliance of these princes, however, with Henry II.,
king of France, does not appear to have commended itself to
him and after some differences of opinion with Maurice, elector
of Saxony, he returned to the emperor’s side. His remaining
years were mainly spent in the new mark, which he ruled carefully
and economically. He added to its extent by the purchase
of Beeskow and Storkow, and fortified the towns of Cüstrin and
Peitz. He died at Cüstrin on the 13th of January 1571. His
wife Catherine was a daughter of Henry II., duke of Brunswick,
and as he left no sons the new mark passed on his death to his
nephew John George, elector of Brandenburg.
See Berg, Beiträge zur Geschichte des Markgrafen Johann von Küstrin (Landsberg, 1903).
JOHN (1371–1419), called the Fearless (Sans Peur), duke of
Burgundy, son of Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, and Margaret
of Flanders, was born at Dijon on the 28th of May 1371.
On the death of his maternal grandfather in 1384 he received the
title of count of Nevers, which he bore until his father’s death.
Though originally destined to be the husband of Catherine,
sister of Charles VI. of France, he married in 1385 Margaret,
daughter of Duke Albert of Bavaria, an alliance which consolidated
his position in the Netherlands. In the spring of
1396 he took arms for Hungary against the Turks and on the
28th of September was taken prisoner by the Sultan Bayezid I.
at the bloody battle of Nicopolis, where he earned his surname
of “the Fearless.” He did not recover his liberty until 1397,
and then only by paying an enormous ransom. He succeeded
his father in 1404, and immediately found himself in conflict
with Louis of Orleans, the young brother of Charles VI. The
history of the following years is filled with the struggles between
these two princes and with their attempts to seize the authority
in the name of the demented king. John endeavoured to
strengthen his position by marrying his daughter Margaret to
the dauphin Louis, and by betrothing his son Philip to a daughter
of Charles VI. Like his father, he looked for support to
the popular party, to the tradesmen, particularly the powerful
gild of the butchers, and also to the university of Paris. In 1405
he opposed in the royal council a scheme of taxation proposed
by the duke of Orleans, which was nevertheless adopted.
Louis retaliated by refusing to sanction the duke of Burgundy’s
projected expedition against Calais, whereupon John quitted
the court in chagrin on the pretext of taking up his mother’s
heritage. He was, however, called back to the council to find
that the duke of Orleans and the queen had carried off the
dauphin. John succeeded in bringing back the dauphin to
Paris, and open war seemed imminent between the two princes.
But an arrangement was effected in October 1405, and in 1406
John was made by royal decree guardian of the dauphin and the
king’s children.
The struggle, however, soon revived with increased force. Hostilities had been resumed with England; the duke of Orleans had squandered the money raised for John’s expedition against Calais; and the two rivals broke out into open threats. On the 20th of November 1407 their uncle, the duke of Berry, brought about a solemn reconciliation, but three days later Louis was assassinated by John’s orders in the Rue Barbette, Paris. John at first sought to conceal his share in the murder, but ultimately decided to confess to his uncles, and abruptly left Paris. His vassals, however, showed themselves determined to support him in his struggle against the avengers of the duke of Orleans. The court decided to negotiate, and called upon the duke to return. John entered Paris in triumph, and instructed the Franciscan theologian Jean Petit (d. 1411) to pronounce an apology for the murder. But he was soon called back to his estates by a rising of the people of Liége against his brother-in-law, the bishop of that town. The queen and the Orleans party took every advantage of his absence and had Petit’s discourse solemnly refuted. John’s victory over the Liégeois at Hasbain on the 23rd of September 1408, enabled him to return to Paris, where he
