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

House of Andechs The House of Andechs was a feudal line of German 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 ult ...

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

Count of Burgundy This is a list of the 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 (982–1190) House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231) House of Andechs ( ...

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

Margrave of Istria The March of Istria (or Margraviate of Istria ) was originally a Carolingian frontier march covering the Istrian peninsula and surrounding territory conquered by Charlemagne's son Pepin of Italy in 789. After 1364, it was the name of the Istria ...

and Carniola 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, it, Ducato di Merania, sl, Vojvodina Meranija, hr, Vojvodina Meranije 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 ...

, while the margravial titles in Istria and Carniola were inherited by his younger brother Henry II. On 21 June 1208, Otto married Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy of House Hohenstaufen, daughter of late Count

Otto I of Burgundy Otto 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 wife Beatrice I, Countes ...

. At the wedding ceremony in Bamberg, the Hohenstaufen king Philip of Swabia was murdered, whereafter Otto approached his

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

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 119 ...

. 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 en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...

. Otto assumed the rule in the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy or Franche-Comté (french: Franche Comté de Bourgogne; german: Freigrafschaft Burgund) was a medieval county (from 982 to 1678) of the Holy Roman Empire, predecessor to the modern region of Franche-Comté. The name ' ...

, 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. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Auxonnais'' or ''Auxonnaises''. Auxonne is one of the sites of the defensive struc ...

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

Theobald IV of Champagne Theobald I (french: Thibaut, es, Teobaldo; 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 ...

. In 1217 Otto had joined the Babenberg duke

Leopold VI of Austria Leopold VI (15 October 1176 – 28 July 1230), known as Leopold the Glorious, was Duke of Styria from 1194 and Duke of Austria from 1198 to his death in 1230. He was a member of the House of Babenberg. Biography Leopold VI was the younger son ...

and his brother-in-law King

Andrew II of Hungary Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 11 ...

in the

Fifth Crusade The Fifth Crusade (1217–1221) 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-Adil I, al-Adil, brothe ...

. In 1222, a dispute arose with Gerard I de Rougemont, the Archbishop of Besançon 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 Bamberg. 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 Carniola in 1234. He married Elizabeth of Tyrol, daughter of

Albert IV, Count of Tyrol Albert IV (or ''Albert III'', depending on the counting scheme; – 22 July 1253) was Count of Tyrol from 1202 until his death, the last from the original House of Tirol. He also served as ''Vogt'' of the bishoprics of Trent and Brixen. Lif ...

. 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, who was Count of Andechs, a castle ...

(d. 1260/63), married firstly, Frederick II, Duke of Austria, divorced, and married secondly,

Ulrich III, Duke of Carinthia Ulrich III ( – 27 October 1269) was the Lord 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 form ...

* 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 wi ...

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

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 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 ( ...

, 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 (french: Hugues; 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 I ...

, 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 la ...

. *Elisabeth of Merania, married Frederick III, Burgrave of Nuremberg 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 (o ...

. 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