Albert (Latin ''Albertus''; – 22 September 1318), called the Fat (''pinguis''), was a member of the

House of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...

, one of the oldest European noble families. He was born around 1268 and died on September 22, 1318. Albert II was the son of Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and Adelheid of Montferrat. The second son of Albert the Tall, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Albert was a boy when his father died in 1279. He was first under guardianship of his uncle,

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...

Prince-Bishop of Verden This is a list of bishops, prince-bishops, and administrators of Verden. The Catholic Church, Catholic Diocese of Verden (), was a suffragan of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz, Archdiocese of Mainz. From the 12th century, the Bishop of Verden ...

, and then of his elder brother,

Henry I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry I (August 1267 – 7 September 1322), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called the Admirable (, ), a member of the House of Welf, was the first ruler of the Principality of Grubenhagen from 1291 until his death. Life He was the eldest son of ...

. In 1286 the three brothers divided their father's

Principality of Wolfenbüttel A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...

; Albert received the areas around

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

Northeim Northeim (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, seat of the Northeim (district), district of Northeim, with a population of 30,118 as of 31 December 2023. It lies on the German Half-Timbered House Road. History Northeim is first mentioned in ...

Calenberg The Calenberg is a hill in central Germany in the Leine depression near Pattensen in the municipality of Schulenburg. It lies 13 km west of the city of Hildesheim in south Lower Saxony on the edge of the Central Uplands. It is made from a ...

, and

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. He made Göttingen his residence, thus

Principality of Göttingen The Principality of Göttingen () was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire, with Göttingen as its capital. It was split off from the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in 1286 in the course of an estate ...

. In 1292, the third brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, died childless, and Albert and Henry, who had received the

Principality of Grubenhagen The Principality of Grubenhagen was a subdivision of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruled by the Grubenhagen line of the House of Welf from 1291. It is also known as Brunswick-Grubenhagen. The principality fell to the Brunswick Principality of L ...

, quarrelled about William's share, the remaining belittled areas around Brunswick and

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

; Albert finally prevailed.

Family

On 10 January 1284 Albert married Rixa, daughter of Henry I, Prince of Werle and Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and

Rikissa Birgersdotter Rikissa Birgersdotter, also known as ''Rixa'', ''Richeza'', ''Richilda'' and ''Regitze'', ( 1237 – after 1288) was Queen of Norway as the wife of the co-king Haakon Haakonson, and later Princess of Werle as wife of Henry I, Prince of Mecklenb ...

. They had four daughters and nine sons. Three of the sons, Bruno, Wilhelm and Johann, died young. The children who reached adulthood were: * Adelaide (1290–1311), married

John, Landgrave of Lower Hesse Landgrave John of Lower Hesse (c. 1278 – 14 February 1311) was a son of Landgrave Henry I of Hesse, from his second marriage with Mechthild of Cleves. John reigned from 1308 to 1311 as Landgrave in Lower Hesse. Inheritance dispute From 1292 ...

* Richenza, Abbess of Gandersheim (1298 – 26 April 1317) * Mechtild (1293 – 1 June 1356) * Jutta (1309–1332) *

Otto the Mild Otto the Mild (24 June 1292 – 30 August 1344), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruled over the Brunswick part of the duchy. Otto was the eldest son of Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Otto and his brothers succeeded on their father's death ...

, Prince of Wolfenbüttel (24 June 1292 – 30 August 1344) * Luder or Lothar, joined the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

, Bishop of Halberstadt (died 1358) *

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 ...

, Bishop of Hildesheim (died 1362) * Magnus I, Prince of Wolfenbüttel (died 1369) * Ernest I, Prince of Gettingen (died 1367)

References

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 1, p. 261-263
*Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon, Appelhans 2006, , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert 02, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg Princes of Göttingen Princes of Wolfenbüttel Medieval child monarchs 1260s births 1318 deaths Year of birth uncertain Old House of Brunswick Burials at Brunswick Cathedral