Otto I (c. 1180 – 7 May 1234), a member of the

House of Andechs The House of Andechs was a feudal line of Bavarian princes in the 12th and 13th centuries. The counts of Dießen-Andechs (1100 to 1180) obtained territories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ...

, was Duke of Merania from 1204 until his death. He was also

Count of Burgundy This is a list of the County of Burgundy, counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678. House of Ivrea (982–1184) House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231) ...

(as Otto II) from 1208 to 1231, by his marriage to Countess Beatrice II, and

Margrave of Istria 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 a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Empir ...

and

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

from 1228 until his death.

Life

He was born about 1180 the eldest son of Duke Berthold of Merania and his wife Agnes of Rochlitz. On the death of his father in 1204, he succeeded him as Duke of

Merania The Duchy of Merania was a fiefdom of the Holy Roman Empire from 1152 until 1248. The dukes of Merania were recognised as princes of the Empire enjoying imperial immediacy at a time when these concepts were just coming into use to distinguish the ...

, while the margravial titles in Istria and Carniola were inherited by his younger brother

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

. On 21 June 1208, Otto married Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy of House Hohenstaufen, daughter of late Count

Otto I of Burgundy Otto I (in French, ''Otton I'', between 1167 and 1171 – 13 January 1200) was Count of Burgundy from 1190 to his death and briefly Count of Luxembourg from 1196 to 1197. He was the fourth son of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, by his second ...

. At the wedding ceremony in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

, the Hohenstaufen king

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

was murdered, whereafter Otto approached his Welf rival

Otto IV Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

. However, the position of the Andechs dynasty was significantly weakened. Otto's brother Henry II was accused of having been involved in Philip's assassination and his estates were seized by Duke

Ludwig I of Bavaria Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...

. Otto assumed the rule in the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

, which was contested by the local Counts of

Auxonne Auxonne ( or ) is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Auxonne is one of the sites of the defensive structures of Vauban, clearly seen from the train bridge as it enters the train s ...

and in the long-time struggle, Otto even had to give the Burgundian lands in pawn to Count

Theobald IV of Champagne Theobald I (, ; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous as a trouvère, and was ...

. In 1217 Otto had joined the

Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria fr ...

duke

Leopold VI of Austria Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (The Simpsons), Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The ...

and his brother-in-law King

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II (, , , ; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 until 1189/1190, and again between 1208/1209 and ...

in the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (September 1217 - August 29, 1221) was a campaign in a series of Crusades by Western Europeans to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering Egypt, ruled by the powerful Ayyubid sultanate, led by al- ...

. In 1222, a dispute arose with Gerard I de Rougemont, the

Archbishop of Besançon In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

over the building of a castle which violated a vow taken by his predecessor,

(d.1200). When Otto failed to raze the castle or give an explanation for his actions, the archiepiscopal court excommunicated him and placed his lands under interdict. He immediately turned to his brother Ekbert, Bishop of Bamberg for help in

. On 20 October 1223, Otto issued five charters consisting of lavish donations to religious communities. In 1228 he inherited the Marches of Istria and Carniola, which his brother Henry II had regained shortly before. On Beatrice's death in 1231, he ceased to be Count and was succeeded by his son as Otto III. On his own death in 1234, he was further succeeded by his son as Otto II, Duke of Merania.

Marriage and children

Otto firstly married Beatrice of Hohenstaufen and produced the following children with her: * Otto III of Merania, (c. 1226 – 19 June 1248), succeeded his mother as

(as Otto III) in 1231, and his father as Duke of Merania as well as

and

in 1234. He married Elizabeth of Tyrol, daughter of

Albert IV, Count of Tyrol Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street ma ...

. With his death, the

became extinct in the male line. *

Agnes of Merania Agnes of Merania (1175 – July 1201) was Queen of France by marriage to King Philip II. She is called Marie by some of the French chroniclers. Biography Agnes Maria was the daughter of Berthold, Duke of Merania and Agnes of Rochlitz. In J ...

(d. 1260/63), married firstly,

Frederick II, Duke of Austria Frederick II (; 25 April 1211 – 15 June 1246), known as Frederick the Quarrelsome (''Friedrich der Streitbare''), was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 until his death. He was the fifth and last Austrian duke from the House of Babenberg, sin ...

, divorced, and married secondly,

Ulrich III, Duke of Carinthia Ulrich III ( – 27 October 1269) was the ruler in the March of Carniola from and Duke of Carinthia from 1256 until his death, the last ruler from the House of Sponheim. His rule had long-lasting consequences. In Carniola, he acquired the for ...

* Beatrix of Merania (d. after 1265), married

Herman II, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde Herman II, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde ( – 27 December 1247) was a member of the House of Ascania. He ruled the County of Weimar-Orlamünde from 1206 until his death. Life He was the youngest son of Count Siegfried III ( – 1206) and his w ...

. *Margaret of Merania (d. 1271), married firstly, Přemysl of Bohemia, a younger son of King

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I (; 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (as hereditary) from ...

, and married secondly, Frederick, Count of Truhendingen. * Adelaide of Merania (d. 1279), heiress of the County of Burgundy upon her brother's death in 1248, married firstly,

Hugh III, Count of Burgundy Hugh of Chalon (; 1220–1266) was count of Burgundy by his marriage to Adelaide, Countess of Burgundy, on 1 November 1236, when he was aged 16. He was the son of John, Count of Chalon, and his first wife, Mahat, daughter of Hugh III, Duke of ...

, married secondly,

Philip I, Count of Savoy Philip I (1207 – 16 August 1285) was Count of Savoy from 1268 to 1285. Before this, he was Bishop of Valence (1241–1267) and Archbishop of Lyon (1245–1267). Ecclesiastical career Philip was born in Aiguebelle, Savoy, as the eighth and las ...

. *Elisabeth of Merania, married

Frederick III, Burgrave of Nuremberg Frederick III of Nuremberg ( 1220 – 14 August 1297), Burgrave of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern, was the eldest son of Conrad I of Nuremberg and Adelheid of Frontenhausen. Life He owned the possessions of Hohenzollern on the wes ...

After Beatrice's death in 1231, Otto secondly married Sophia of Anhalt, daughter of

Henry I, Count of Anhalt Henry I ( 1170 – 1252), a member of the House of Ascania, was Count of Anhalt from 1212 and the first ruling Anhalt prince from 1218 until his death. Life He was the oldest son of Count Bernhard of Anhalt probably by his first wife Judith ...

. There was no issue from this marriage.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 01, Duke of Merania House of Andechs Counts of Burgundy 1180s births 1234 deaths Year of birth uncertain Dukes of Merania Margraves of Istria Christians of the Fifth Crusade Jure uxoris counts