Albert II (german: Albrecht; 28 March 15228 January 1557) was the

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the E ...

of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Brandenburg-Bayreuth) from 1527 to 1553. He was a member of the

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...

n branch of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

. Because of his bellicose nature, Albert was given the cognomen ''Bellator'' ("the Warlike") during his lifetime. Posthumously, he became known as ''

Alcibiades Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in ...

''.

Biography

Albert was born in

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rez ...

and, losing his father

Casimir Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')." List of variations *Belarusian: Казі ...

in 1527, he came under the guardianship of his uncle

George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach George of Brandenburg-Ansbach (German: ''Georg''; 4 March 1484 – 27 December 1543), known as George the Pious (''Georg der Fromme''), was a Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from the House of Hohenzollern. Biography Early life He was bo ...

, a strong adherent of

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. In 1541, he received Bayreuth as his share of the family lands, but as the chief town of his principality was

Kulmbach Kulmbach () is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town is famous for Plassenburg Castle, which houses the largest tin soldier museum in the world, and for its sausages, or ''Bratwürste''. Geography Location K ...

, he is sometimes referred to as the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. His restless and turbulent nature marked him out for a military career; and having collected a small band of soldiers, he assisted Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infant ...

in his war with France in 1543. The Peace of Crépy in September 1544 deprived him of this employment, but he won a considerable reputation, and when Charles was preparing to attack the

Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...

, he took pains to win Albert's assistance. Sharing in the attack on the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charl ...

, Albert was taken prisoner at

Rochlitz Rochlitz (; hsb, Rochlica) is a major district town (Große Kreisstadt) in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Rochlitz is the head of the "municipal partnership Rochlitz" (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Rochlitz) with its other members ...

in March 1547 by Elector John Frederick of Saxony, but was released as a result of the Emperor's victory at the

Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schma ...

in the succeeding April. He then followed the fortunes of his friend Elector Maurice of Saxony, deserted Charles, and joined the league which proposed to overthrow the Emperor by an alliance with King

Henry II of France Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder broth ...

. He took part in the subsequent campaign, but when the

Peace of Passau Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had won a victory against Protestantism, Protestant forces in the Schmalkaldic War of 1547. Many Protestant princes were unhappy with the religious terms of the Augsburg Interim imposed af ...

was signed in August 1552 he separated himself from his allies and began a crusade of plunder in

, which led to the Second Margrave War. Having extorted a large sum of money from the citizens of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, he quarrelled with his supporter, the French King, and offered his services to the Emperor. Charles, anxious to secure such a famous fighter, gladly assented to Albert's demands and gave the imperial sanction to his possession of the lands taken from the bishops of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the '' Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzbur ...

and

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...

; and his conspicuous bravery was of great value to the Emperor on the retreat from the Siege of Metz in January 1553. When Charles left Germany a few weeks later, Albert renewed his depredations in Franconia. These soon became so serious that a league was formed to crush him, and Maurice of Saxony led an army against his former comrade. The rival forces met at Sievershausen on 9 July 1553, and after a combat of unusual ferocity Albert was put to flight. Henry, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, then took command of the troops of the league, and after Albert had been placed under the imperial ban in December 1553 he was defeated by Duke Henry, and compelled to flee to France. He there entered the service of Henry II of France and had undertaken a campaign to regain his lands when he died at

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

on 8 January 1557. He is defined by

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, ...

as "a failure of a Fritz," with "features" of a

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

in him, "but who burnt away his splendid qualities as a mere temporary shine for the able editors, and never came to anything, full of fire, too much of it wildfire, not in the least like an Alcibiades except in the change of fortune he underwent". He had early two children: Frederick and Anna. He was buried at Heilsbronn Münster. His hymn "Was mein Got will, das g'scheh allzeit" was translated as "The will of God is always best".it is #477 in ''

Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary The ''Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary'' (''ELH'') is a hymnal created by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in 1996. The Norwegian heritage of the ELS is evident in this hymnal, although a broader ethnicity is clearly represented. From the indexes l ...

'', #758 in ''

Lutheran Service Book ''Lutheran Service Book'' (''LSB'') is the newest official hymnal of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC). It was prepared by the LCMS Commission on Worship and published by Concordia Publishing Hou ...

'', and #435 in '' Christian Worship: A Lutheran Hymnal'', see also th
entry for the hymn on hymnary.org
/ref>

References

Citations

Works cited

* Endnote: See J. Voigt, ''Markgraf Albrecht Alcibiades von Brandenburg-Kulmbach'' (Berlin, 1852). {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcibiades, Albert, Margrave Of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 1522 births 1557 deaths House of Hohenzollern People from Ansbach People from the Principality of Ansbach Margraves of Bayreuth