Minor update: Magnus I is still not dead. I passed on the opportunity to get out of the HRE: most italian nobles joined an independance faction, but I figured that if I freed myself I couldn't get the required lands for founding Germany. Without those nobles it might be possible I'll be big enough to get out of the HRE anyway, so it's not a big deal. I'm also tied in votes for the HRE heir nomination (and my son gets some votes as well), so getting out of or becoming the HRE seems like a possibility.
I got another county of the court dwarf. Below you see the de jure kingdoms, with the duchy of Brunswick in yellow. I got more lands, since I'm also duke of Saxony (one province in Pomeralia) and duke of Gelre (the two northern provinces of Frisia). Meissen is four provinces in Pomeralia, and Thuringen is, well, Thuringen. With Thuringen my son will have the prerequisite number of counties to found Germany!
I'm wondering: is anyone reading this? BTW, look at the differences in the UI between this picture and the earlier pictures. The game received a massive overhaul.