Albert I (; 1175 – 7 October 1260) was a Duke of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, Angria, and

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

; Lord of Nordalbingia; Count of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

; and

Prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

and Archmarshal of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Even though his grandfather

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Ballenstedt, and Eilika of Sa ...

had held the Saxon dukedom between 1138 and 1142, this Albert is counted as the first.

Biography

A member of the

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

, Albert was a younger son of

Bernard III, Duke of Saxony Bernhard ( 1140– 2 February 1212), a member of the House of Ascania, was Count of Anhalt and Ballenstedt, and Lord of Bernburg through his paternal inheritance. From 1180 he was also Duke of Saxony (as Bernhard III or Bernhard I). Life Early ...

, and Judith (Jutta) of Poland, daughter of

Mieszko III the Old Mieszko III ( 1122/25 – 13 March 1202), sometimes called the Old, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1138 and High Duke of Poland, with interruptions, from 1173 until his death. He was the fourth and second surviving son of Duke Bolesław III W ...

. After his father's death in 1212, the surviving sons of the late duke divided his lands according to the laws of the House of Ascania: The elder

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

received Anhalt and the younger Albert the Saxon duchy. Albert supported

Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor 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 ...

, in his wars against the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

. In 1218, Albert's maternal uncle Prince-Archbishop Valdemar of Denmark, who had been deposed from his

Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen The Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality (787–1566/1648) of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church that after its definitive secularization in 1648 became the hereditary Bremen-Verden, Duchy of ...

, found refuge in Saxony, before he joined the

Loccum Abbey Loccum Abbey () is a Lutheran monastery, formerly a Cistercian abbey, in the town of Rehburg-Loccum, near Lake Steinhude, Lower Saxony, Germany. History A Roman Catholic monastery run by the Cistercians, Loccum Abbey originated as a foundatio ...

as a monk. On 22 July 1227, Albert I asserted as fellow victor in the Battle of Bornhöved, commanding the Holy Roman left flank, his earlier disputed rank as

liege lord Homage (/ˈhɒmɪdʒ/ or ) (from Medieval Latin , lit. "pertaining to a man") in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title t ...

of the

Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein The Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein were titles of the Holy Roman Empire. The dynastic family came from the County of Schauenburg near Rinteln (district Schaumburg) on the Weser in Germany. Together with its ancestral possessions in Bückebur ...

, a privilege, however, lost by his successor

John V John V may refer to: * Patriarch John V of Alexandria or John the Merciful (died by 620), Patriarch of Alexandria from 606 to 616 * John V of Constantinople, Patriarch from 669 to 675 * Pope John V (685–686), Pope from 685 to his death in 686 ...

in 1474. After Bornhöved Albert reinforced and extended his fortress and castle in Lauenburg upon Elbe, which his father Bernard had erected in 1182. Albert came into conflict with Ludolph I,

Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg The Diocese of Ratzeburg (, ) is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected from the Prince-bishopric of Lübeck, Diocese of Oldenburg c. 1050 and was suppressed in 1554. The diocese was originally a suffragan of the Prince-Archbishopr ...

, and duly imprisoned Ludolph, where he was badly beaten, and later sent into exile. After Albert's death at Lehnin Abbey, his sons, the elder

John I John I may refer to: People Religious figures * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John I of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I of Alexandria, Coptic Pope from 496 to 505 * Pope John I, P ...

and the younger Albert II, ruled together as Dukes of Saxony, with John succeeded by his three sons Albert III, Eric I and John II, until before 20 September 1296 they split Saxony into

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (, ), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district of Herz ...

and

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 until ...

, with the brothers jointly ruling the former, and Albert II ruling the latter.Cordula Bornefeld, "Die Herzöge von Sachsen-Lauenburg", in: ''Die Fürsten des Landes: Herzöge und Grafen von Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg'' e slevigske hertuger; German Carsten Porskrog Rasmussen (ed.) on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Neumünster: Wachholtz, 2008, pp. 373-389, here p. 375.

Marriages and issue

In 1222, Albert married Agnes of Austria daughter of 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 ...

. They had: * Bernard (d. after 1238) * Judith of Saxony, (1) ∞ 17 November 1239 King Eric IV of Denmark (*1216–1250*); and (2) ∞ Burchard VIII of Querfurt- Rosenburg, Burgrave of Magdeburg (1273–1313 recorded) * Ann Mary (Anna Marie; d. 7 January 1252), ∞ Duke

Barnim I Barnim I the Good ( 1217/1219 – 13 November 1278), from the Griffin dynasty, was a Duke of Pomerania (''ducis Slauorum et Cassubie'') from 1220 until his death. Life Son of Duke Bogislaw II and Miroslava of Pomerelia, he succeeded to the Duc ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

* Bridget (Brigitte Jutta) (d. 4 April 1266), fiancée of Otto of Brunswick and Lunenburg, ∞ before 1255 Margrave

of Brandenburg ounder of the Johannean line Brandenburg-Stendal* Mathilde (Mechthild) (d. 28 July 1266), ∞ ca. 1241 Count John I of Schauenburg and Holstein-Kiel In 1238, Albert married Agnes of Thuringia (*1205–1246*), daughter of Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia. They had: * Agnes, ∞ Duke Henry III of Silesia- Breslau * Jutta, ∞ m. 1255, John I, Margrave of Brandenburg; 2m: Burkhard VIII of Rosenburg, Burgrave of Magdeburg * Margaret (d. 1265), ∞ 1264 Count Helmold III of

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

In 1247, Albert married Helene of Brunswick-Lüneburg (*1231–6 September 1273*), daughter of Duke Otto the Child * Helene (*1247–12 June 1309*), (1) ∞ in 1266 Duke Henry III the White of Silesia- Breslau, and (2) ∞ in 1275 Burgrave Frederick III of Nuremberg * Elisabeth (d. before 2 February 1306), (1) ∞ in 1250 Count

of Schauenburg and Holstein-Kiel, (2) ∞ in 1265 Count Conrad I of

Brehna Brehna is a town and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Sandersdorf-Brehna. It is situated southwest of Bitterfeld. Important in this city is the churc ...

(* after 1248–30 July 1285*, in Wittenberg upon Elbe), co-ruling Duke of Saxony with his younger brother Albert II, resigned in 1282, John I married in 1257

Ingeborg Ingeborg is a Germanic feminine given name, mostly used in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, derived from Old Norse ''Ingiborg, Ingibjǫrg'', combining the theonym ''Ing'' with the element ''borg'' "stronghold, protection". Ingebjørg is the No ...

(*1247/or ca. 1253–1302*), daughter or grandchild of

Birger Jarl Birger Jarl or Birger Magnusson (21 October 1266) was a Swedish statesman and regent, ''Swedish jarls, jarl'', and a member of the House of Bjälbo, who played a pivotal role in consolidating Sweden after the civil wars between the House of Eri ...

* Albert (Albrecht) II (*1250–25 August 1298*), co-ruling Duke of Saxony with his elder brother John II (till 1282), then with the sons of the latter (till 1296), then as the sole duke of the partitioned branch duchy

, ∞ in 1273 Agnes (aka Hagne) (*c. 1257–11 October 1322*, in Wittenberg), daughter of King

Rudolph I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which had begun after the death of the Hohenstaufen Emperor ...

* Rudolf (d. after 1269), ∞ Anna, daughter of Count Palatine Louis of Bavaria

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert 01, Duke of Saxony Albert 01 1170s births 1260 deaths Year of birth uncertain Christians of the Fifth Crusade