Theodoric I (german: Dietrich von Landsberg; – 9 February 1185), a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

, was Margrave of Lusatia from 1156 until his death.

Life

Theoderic was the second surviving son of the Wettin margrave Conrad of Meissen. His older brother Otto was born in 1125. Historians considered that between Otto and Theodoric two daughters of Conrad were born, so Theodoric was born no earlier than in 1128. According to Kazimierz Jasiński, a Polish historian, Theodoric was born probably around 1130. When his father retired in 1156 and was succeeded by his eldest son

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Ita ...

in Meissen, Theoderic received the Lusatian march (''Orientalis marchio'') formerly held by Henry of Groitzsch, including the castles of

Eilenburg Eilenburg (; hsb, Jiłow) is a town in Germany. It lies in the district of Nordsachsen in Saxony, approximately 20 km northeast of the city of Leipzig. Geography Eilenburg lies at the banks of the river Mulde at the southwestern edge ...

and Landsberg, from the hands of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

emperor Frederick Barbarossa. He married Dobroniega, daughter of the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

Duke

Bolesław III Wrymouth Bolesław III Wrymouth ( pl, Bolesław III Krzywousty; 20 August 1086 – 28 October 1138), also known as Boleslaus the Wry-mouthed, was the duke of Lesser Poland, Silesia and Sandomierz between 1102 and 1107 and over the whole of Poland between ...

and his second wife

Salomea of Berg Salomea of Berg (german: Salome von Berg, pl, Salomea z Bergu; – 27 July 1144) was a German noblewoman and, by marriage with Prince Bolesław III Wrymouth in 1115, High Duchess of Poland until her husband's death in 1138. Life Salomea was th ...

. She gave him a son, Conrad, who predeceased him, and a daughter, Gertruda, who became a nun. An illegitimate son

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

, by a mistress named Cunigunde, widowed Countess of

Plötzkau Plötzkau is a municipality in the district of Salzlandkreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Rus ...

, was legitimated on 12 May 1203 and became Bishop of

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a dioces ...

in 1204. Though Theodoric at times called himself a "Margrave of Landsberg", a corresponding political entity was not established before 1261 by the Wettin margrave

Henry III of Meissen Henry III, called Henry the Illustrious (''Heinrich der Erlauchte'') (c. 1215 – 15 February 1288) from the House of Wettin was Margrave of Meissen and last Margrave of Lusatia (as Henry IV) from 1221 until his death; from 1242 also Landgrav ...

. In 1165, Theodoric with the support of Bishop Werner of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

founded

Dobrilugk Abbey Dobrilugk Abbey (Kloster Dobrilugk) was a Cistercian monastery in Lower Lusatia in the territory of the present town of Doberlug-Kirchhain, Brandenburg, Germany. History The abbey was legally founded on 1 May 1165 by charter of Margrave Dietri ...

as a family monastery. He remained a firm supporter of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the 1157 campaign against High Duke

Bolesław IV the Curly Bolesław IV the Curly (; 1122 – 5 January 1173), a member of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Masovia from 1138 and High Duke of Poland from 1146 until his death. Early life Bolesław was the third son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Polan ...

of Poland and again accompanied him on his

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

campaign of 1176/77 against the cities of the Lombard League. In the conflict with

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

, he actively fought the Saxon duke together with Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg and his brothers Margrave Otto II and Dedi of Groitzsch. While staying at the emperor's court at Mainz in 1184, Theodoric fell seriously ill and died the next year. He was buried at Petersberg Abbey, as the construction of the Dobrilugk monastery was still not finished. Emperor Frederick enfeoffed his margraviate to his younger brother Dedi upon his death.

Footnotes

Sources

*Medieval Lands Project
Nobility of Meissen.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric 01 of Lusatia Margraves of Lusatia House of Wettin People from Eisenach 1130s births 1185 deaths