When Ludwig IV died on crusade in 1227, his brother Henry Raspe took over the affairs of state on behalf of Louis' underage son Hermann II. Hermann II died in 1241 at the age of 19 and Henry Raspe officially became ruler. Since Henry Raspe also remained childless, he obtained the contingent mortgage of the Palatinate of Saxony for his Wettin nephew Henry the Illustrious along with the Landgraviate of Thuringia.