Magnus (c. 1324 – 25 July 1373), called Magnus with the Necklace ( lat, Magnus Torquatus) or Magnus II, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruling the Brunswick-Lüneburg principalities of

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; nds, Wulfenbüddel) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District. It is best known as the location of the internationally renowned Herzog August Library and for having the largest ...

(colloquially also called Brunswick) and, temporarily,

Lüneburg 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 called ...

Biography

Magnus was the son of Magnus the Pious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Wolfenbüttel). In 1362 Magnus and his brother Louis I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg helped their brother Prince-Archbishop Albert II of

Bremen Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...

to assert himself against the incumbent

diocesan administrator :''See: Catholic Church hierarchy#Equivalents of diocesan bishops in law'' A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Roman Catholic particular church. Diocesan administrators in canon law The college of consultors elects an admin ...

Morris of Oldenburg, who claimed the see for himself. Magnus, Louis and the latter's father-in-law William II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Celle), and their troops beleaguered Morris in the prince-archiepiscopal castle in Vörde and forced him to sign his resignation. After the death of his brother Louis in 1367, Magnus became the designated heir of both ducal principalities, Wolfenbüttel and

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 ...

(colloquially also Lüneburg). When both his father and William II, who ruled over Celle, died in 1369, Magnus gained both ducal principalities. But already in 1370, he lost Celle to the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlos ...

dukes of

Saxe-Wittenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity unt ...

( Albert and his uncle Wenceslas, Elector of Saxe-Wittemberg), who had been given the principality by

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

, who had also banned Magnus. Several cities, including Lüneburg (Lunenburg),

Uelzen Uelzen (; officially the ''Hanseatic Town of Uelzen'', German: ''Hansestadt Uelzen'', , Low German ''Ülz’n'') is a town in northeast Lower Saxony, Germany, and capital of the county of Uelzen. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, a ...

, and

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

switched allegiance to the Ascanians; Magnus managed to keep the City of Braunschweig (Brunswick) among his allies only with difficulties. The

Lüneburg War of Succession 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 ...

continued for several years after Magnus died in the Battle of Leveste (a part of today's Gehrden), near the

Deister The Deister is a chain of hills in the German state of Lower Saxony, about 15 mi (25 km) southwest of the city of Hanover. It runs in a north-westerly direction from Springe in the south to Rodenberg in the north. The next in the chai ...

, on 25 July 1373.

Family

Magnus married 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 ...

, who married Magnus' enemy, Albert, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg, after his death. They had the following children: * Catherine Elizabeth married Gerhard II/VI, Duke of Schleswig/Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (ca. 1367 – 4 August 1404) * Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1357–1400), married

Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg (died: 18 April 1426) was a member of the House of Ascania and the wife of Duke Frederick I of Brunswick-Lüneburg, a German anti-king. Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg was the daughter of Duke Wenceslas I of Saxe-Wittenberg, Duke ...

(died 1440) *

Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Bernard (between 1358 and 1364 – 11 June 1434, in Celle), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruled over several principalities of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In the genealogy of the House of Welf, he is considered the first member of the Second House of Lü ...

(died 1434), married Margaret of Saxony (before 1370 – 1418) *Otto, Archbishop of

(ca. 1364–1406) *

Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Latin ''Henricus'', died 14 October 1416), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called Henry the Mild, was prince of Lüneburg from 1388 to 1409 jointly with his brother Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, from 1400 to 14 ...

(died 1416) *Agnes I (died 1410), married

Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Albert the Tall ( lat, Albertus Longus, german: Albrecht der Große; 1236 – 15 August 1279), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1252 and the first ruler of the newly created Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbütt ...

(1339–1383) *Helen, married Eric I, Count of Hoya *Elizabeth (died 1420), married Maurice IV, Count of Oldenburg (1380–1420) * Agnes II (before 1356 – ca. 1416), married first Busso IV, Count of Mansfeld, then Bogislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania, and finally King Albert of Sweden *Sophie (1358–by 28 May 1416), married Duke Eric IV of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (german: Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg, called ''Niedersachsen'' (Lower Saxony) between the 14th and 17th centuries), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296–1803 and again from 1814–1876 in the extreme sou ...

on 8 April 1373. *Maud (1370–??), married Otto III, Count of Hoya (died 1428)

References

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 20, pp. 64–66
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus 02, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg 1324 births 1373 deaths Military personnel killed in action Princes of Lüneburg Princes of Wolfenbüttel Old House of Brunswick