Rudolf III ( – 11 June 1419), a member of the

House of Ascania 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 ...

, was

Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast on ...

and

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

from 1388 until his death.

Life

He was probably born at the Saxon

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

residence, the eldest son of Duke Wenceslaus I of Saxe-Wittenberg and his wife Cecilia, daughter of

Francesco I da Carrara Francesco I da Carrara (29 September 1325, in Monza – 6 October 1393, in Padua), called il Vecchio, was Lord of Padua from 1350 to 1388. The son of the assassinated Giacomo II da Carrara, he succeeded him as lord of Padua by popular acclamation ...

, Lord of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

. Rudolf III took up government after his father's sudden death on 15 May 1388. Rudolf was involved in a long-running dispute with the

Archbishopric 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 R ...

. He donated numerous gifts to the Wittenberg All Saints' Church. Like his father, Rudolf was a loyal supporter of the Imperial

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg ( lb, D'Lëtzebuerger Haus; french: Maison de Luxembourg; german: Haus Luxemburg) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kin ...

. In 1419, Emperor

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

sent him to

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, in order to quash the Hussite uprising that had begun with the

Defenestration of Prague The Defenestrations of Prague ( cs, Pražská defenestrace, german: Prager Fenstersturz, la, Defenestratio Pragensis) were three incidents in the history of Bohemia in which people were defenestrated (thrown out of a window). Though already exi ...

. He died on his way there, probably after being poisoned. Rudolf was buried in the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery in Wittenberg. His coffin was moved to the crypt of the Wittenberg All Saints' Church in the 19th century, and to the family grave during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. As he had outlived his male heirs, he was succeeded by his younger brother Albert III.

Marriage and issue

About 1387/89 Rudolf married with Anna of Meissen (d. 4 July 1395), a daughter of the Wettin landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia and secondly in March 1396 with Barbara (d. 17 May 1435), daughter of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

duke

Rupert I of Legnica Rupert I of Legnica ( pl, Ruprecht I Legnicki) (27 March 1347 – by 12 January 1409) was a Duke of Legnica from 1364 until his death, and also regent over half of the Duchy of Głogów-Żagań during 1397–1401. He was the eldest son of Wenc ...

. He had five children: * Scholastica (1393–1463), married Duke

Jan I of Żagań Jan I of Żagań ( pl, Jan I żagański) ( – 12 April 1439 in Żagań) was a Duke of Żagań-Głogów, since 1397 (until 1412 with his brothers as co-rulers), since 1403 Duke of Żagań, Krosno Odrzańskie and Świebodzin (again, until 1412 with ...

* Rudolph (d. 1406), * Wenceslas (d. 1407), * Siegmund (d. 1407), * Barbara (1405–1465), married Margrave John of Brandenburg-Kulmbach

Ancestors

References

* *

External links

genealogie-mittelalter.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf 03 Saxe Wittenberg Prince-electors of Saxony Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg House of Ascania 1370s births Year of birth uncertain 1419 deaths 14th-century German nobility 15th-century German nobility