Magnus I (1304–1369), called the Pious (Latin ''Pius''), was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The son of Albert the Fat, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Magnus was still a minor when his father died in 1318; he and his brother

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

were put under the guardianship of their elder brother

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

, who continued as sole ruler even after his brothers came of age. After marrying Sophia, a niece of

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV (german: Ludwig; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328. Louis' election as king of Germany in ...

, Magnus was appointed margrave of Landsberg and count palatine of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

by the Emperor in 1333. Magnus took residence at

Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen (2 ...

. When Otto died in 1344, Magnus and Ernest jointly took over government of the state; but already on 17 April 1345, they agreed to divide the territory. Magnus received the

Principality of Wolfenbüttel A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

. In 1346, a border war between Wolfenbüttel and the

Archbishop of Magdeburg The Archbishopric of Magdeburg was a Roman Catholic archdiocese (969–1552) and Prince-Archbishopric (1180–1680) of the Holy Roman Empire centered on the city of Magdeburg on the Elbe River. Planned since 955 and established in 968, the Roman ...

broke out. In exchange for help in this conflict, Magnus sold the Margraviate of Landsberg to

Frederick II, Margrave of Meißen Frederick II (; 30 November 1310 – 18 November 1349) was the margrave of Meissen from 1323 until his death. Early life Frederick was born on 30 November 1310 in Gotha. His parents were Margrave Frederick I of Meissen and Elisabeth von Lobd ...

. But the Archbishop conquered

Schöningen Schöningen is a town of about 11,000 inhabitants in the district of Helmstedt, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography The town is located on the southeastern rim of the Elm hill range, near the border with the state of Saxony-Anhalt. In its curren ...

in 1347, and Magnus had to cede

Hötensleben Hötensleben is a municipality in the Börde A ''börde'' (plural: ''börden'') is a region of highly fertile lowland in North Germany, a "fertile plain". These landscapes often cover great areas and are particularly important for arable farming ...

and some other possessions to the Archbishop. Financially ruined by the war, Magnus could not stop the cities in the state from acquiring more and more rights; especially the City of Brunswick was becoming more powerful. In 1348, the Emperor gave Landsberg and the Palatinate of Saxony to

Bernard, Prince of Anhalt Bernhard IV, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (died 28 June 1354) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the eldest son of Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, by his first wife Agnes, d ...

. The ensuing conflict over these territories between Magnus and Bernard ended amicably with a marriage between Magnus' son

Magnus Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

and Catherine, daughter of

Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (died 20 August 1348) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg. He was the eldest son of Bernhard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg, by his wife Helene, daug ...

. Magnus attempted to secure the

Principality of Lüneburg The Principality of Lüneburg (later also referred to as Celle) was a territorial division of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg within the Holy Roman Empire, immediately subordinate to the emperor. It existed from 1269 until 1705 and its territory ...

for his son Louis, so that it could be reunited with Wolfenbüttel. The prince of Lüneburg,

William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (about 1300 – 1369) was the Prince of Lüneburg from 1330 to 1369. Life Joint rule with Otto III William was born around the year 1300 as the fourth child of Otto the Strict and his wife, Matilda of Bava ...

, a member of the same house to which Magnus belonged, the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...

, did not have sons; however, he had already promised the principality to a son of his daughter, a relative of the Duke of

, before he agreed to Magnus' plan. Louis then married William's daughter Matilda. A lengthy conflict broke out that culminated in the

Lüneburg Succession War Lüneburg (officially the ''Hanseatic City of Lüneburg'', German: ''Hansestadt Lüneburg'', , Low German ''Lümborg'', Latin ''Luneburgum'' or ''Lunaburgum'', Old High German ''Luneburc'', Old Saxon ''Hliuni'', Polabian ''Glain''), also calle ...

, which was resolved only in 1388. In 1367, Magnus joined Dietrich, Archbishop of Magdeburg,

Albert, Bishop of Halberstadt Albert of Saxony (Latin: ''Albertus de Saxonia''; c. 1320 – 8 July 1390) was a German philosopher and mathematician known for his contributions to logic and physics. He was bishop of Halberstadt from 1366 until his death. Life Albert was born ...

, Valdemar, Prince of Anhalt, and others in a campaign against

Gerhard of Berg __NOTOC__ Gerhard vom Berge or von Berg, also known as Gerhard of Schalksberg (died 15 November 1398), was a member of the vom Berge family, seated at Minden, and until 1397 the holders of the ''Vogtei'' rights over the bishopric of Minden. He wa ...

Bishop of Hildesheim This list records the incumbents of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hildesheim (german: link=no, Bistum Hildesheim). Between 1235 and 1803 the bishops simultaneously officiating as rulers of princely rank (prince-bishop) in the Prince-Bishopric of ...

; they were defeated by Hildesheim in a battle near Farmsen and Dinklar on 3 September.( :de:Schlacht von Dinklar) Magnus was taken prisoner, and had to buy his freedom. He died in summer of 1369.

Family

Around 1327, Magnus married Sophia (died 1356), the daughter of

Henry I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal Margrave Henry I (nicknamed ''Henry Lackland''; 21 March 1256 – 14 February 1318) was a member of the House of Ascania and Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal and Landsberg. Life Henry was a son of Margrave John I of Brandenburg and his secon ...

. They had the following children that reached adulthood: *

(died 1373) * Louis (died 1367), married Matilda, daughter of

* Albert, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen (died 1395) * Henry, Provost of

Halberstadt Cathedral The Halberstadt Cathedral or Church of St Stephen and St Sixtus (german: Dom zu Halberstadt) is a Gothic church in Halberstadt in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was the episcopal see of the Bishopric of Halberstadt, established by Emperor Charlemagne ...

* Ernest * Matilda, married

* Agnes, married in 1360 to Count Henry of Hohnstein * Sophie, married Count Dietrich V of Hohnstein

References

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 20, pp. 62–64
* ttp://welfen.de/Magnus1.htm at the House of Welf site {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg Princes of Wolfenbüttel 14th-century births 1369 deaths Old House of Brunswick