Charles I, Duke of Brandenburg (Merveilles des Morte)

Charles I
The Many Faces of the Ghost of Lechfeld, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (1550)
Duke of Brandenburg
Reign	1493-1531
Coronation	19 October 1493 in Berlin
Predecessor	Henry I
Successor	John III
Born	31 August 1449 Prague, Bohemia, Kingdom of Germany
Died	2 December 1531 Berlin, Brandenburg, Kingdom of Germany
Spouse	Maria of Thuringia Judith of Ansback Maria von Battenberg Anne of Ansbach
House	Přemyslid dynasty
Father	Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Unknown
Religion	Jungism (1506-) Roman Catholicism (-1506)

Charles I (31 August 1449 - 2 December 1531), known often as The Ghost of Lechfeld, was the first Duke of Brandenburg from 1493 to 1531. The son of Henry VIII, Holy Roman Emperor, who was also Margrave of Brandenburg, Charles inherited Brandenburg as a vassal of the Kingdom of Bohemia, ruled by his older brother, Ottokar I.

Prior to his ascension, Charles was most famous for his esoteric and occultist writings. His works came to light when one of his most infamous conspiracy theories, the Phantom Time Hypothesis, became the ire of Pope Innocent VII, and was condemned as heretical writing. This incident turned Charles to be highly distrustful and resentful toward the Catholic Church and papal authority, while also making him exceedingly paranoid. For most of his reign he would not venture from Brandenburg, even when Protestant conspirators in Prague even sought to grant him the crown of Bohemia. During the Protestant Reformation, Charles was immediately drawn to the ideas of Konrad Jung, becoming one of the first major princes of the Holy Roman Empire to formally convert to Jungism.

Charles' long tenure as Duke lasted through several Kings of Bohemia and into the reign of Jaromir, Holy Roman Emperor. Although he never fully broke from the oversight of his suzerains, Charles' reign saw Brandenburg gain increasing amounts of autonomy, becoming practically an independent country. This would be exemplified by his creation of the Wolfenbund with the Thin White Duke of Thuringia and Edmund Alwin of Saxony, an alliance that was often at odds with the Kings of Bohemia. After Charles an uneasy relationship would exist between Bohemia and Brandenburg, and the divide was widened by religious differences. Charles I died in 1531 and was succeeded as Duke by his son John III. Due to his polygamous relationships and numerous children, Charles' will stipulated that the Duchy of Brandenburg itself should remain undivided, becoming the basis of Brandenburg's future succession laws.