Otto V, called the Victorious or the Magnanimous (1439 – 9 January 1471, german: Otto der Siegreiche, der Großmütige), was
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
and
Prince of Lüneburg
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
from 1457 to his death. He shared the principality with his brother,
Bernard
Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...
, until Bernard's death in 1464.
Otto and Bernard were the sons of
Frederick II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.), also known as Frederick the Pious (german: der Fromme) (1418–1478) was the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Prince of Lüneburg from 1434 to 1457 and from 1471 to 1478.
Life
After the death of his father ...
, and succeeded him as ruling princes when Frederick retired. After Otto's death, his father returned to rule.
Life
Otto was the son of
Frederick II of Brunswick-Lüneburg and
Magdalena of Brandenburg. After his brother died without issue, Otto took over 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 ...
in 1464. Otto's reign was marked by the monastic reform movements of his time which he tried to implement in the Lüneburg monasteries. He entered
Wienhausen Abbey
Wienhausen Abbey or Convent (german: Kloster Wienhausen) near Celle in Lower Saxony, Germany, is a community of Evangelical Lutheran women, which until the Protestant Reformation, Reformation was a Cistercians, Cistercian Catholic nunnery. The ab ...
, removed a number of art treasures which, in Otto's opinion were contrary to the ideal of monastic simplicity, and sent the
abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...
to be "re-educated in a monastery that was already reformed."
[Geckler, Christa (1986). ''Die Celler Herzöge – Leben und Wirken 1371–1705'', p. 73] According to a legend, Otto was killed at a tournament on the
Celle
Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about 71,000. Celle is the southern gateway to the Lü ...
jousting field. Today, a horseshoe in plaster marks the spot where Duke Otto the Magnanimous is supposed to have had the accident in 1471.
Family
Otto married
Anne of Nassau-Siegen in 1467. They had the following children:
* William (died 1470)
*
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
(c. 1467–1532)
Ancestors
References
Sources
* Geckler, Christa (1986). ''Die Celler Herzöge: Leben und Wirken 1371–1705''. Celle: Georg Ströher. . .
External links
Die Welfen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 05, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg
1439 births
1471 deaths
Princes of Lüneburg
Middle House of Lüneburg