Henry Raspe

Heinrich Raspe (1204 – February 16, 1247) became landgrave (Landgraf) of Thuringia in north-central Germany in 1227; he later was elected counter-king in 1246-1247 in opposition to Conrad IV.

In Thuringia, Heinrich initially was regent for his under-age nephew Hermann II, but he managed to expel his nephew and the boy's mother from the line of succession and in about 1231 formally succeeded his brother Ludwig IV, who had died on a crusade, as landgrave.

In 1242 Heinrich, together with King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, was selected by Emperor Friedrich II to be admistrator of Germany for Frederick's under-age son Konrad (Conrad IV). 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 monicer of "Pfaffenkönig" (parsons' king). In the battle of Nidda, in southern Hesse, in August 1246, Heinrich defeated Konrad, but he died several months later on Wartburg Castle near Eisenach in Thuringia.