Dedi III (), nicknamed ''the Fat'' ( – 16 August 1190), a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

, was Margrave of Lusatia from 1185 until his death.

Life

Dedi was a younger son of the Wettin margrave

Conrad I of Meissen Conrad I ( – 5 February 1157), called the Great (), a member of the House of Wettin, was List of Margraves of Meissen, Margrave of Meissen from 1123 and March of Lusatia, Margrave of Lusatia from 1136 until his retirement in 1156. Initially a D ...

and his wife Luitgard of Ravenstein. From 1144, he administered the lordship of

Groitzsch Groitzsch () is a town in the Leipzig district, in Saxony, Germany. Geography and transport The town is situated at the southern edge of the Leipzig Bay east of the White Elster river on the confluence of Schwennigke and Schnauder rivers, 20 ...

as heir apparent of the late Count

Henry of Groitzsch Henry of Groitzsch (died 31 December 1135) was the second son of Wiprecht of Groitzsch and Judith, daughter of Vratislaus II of Bohemia. He succeeded his father as burggrave of Magdeburg in 1124. In 1128, he was appointed Margrave of the Saxon ...

(d. 1135), and also as an adopted son of his aunt Bertha (d. 1143), Henry's sister and Groitzsch heiress. When Margrave Conrad retired in 1156, the extended Wettin estates were divided and Dedi formally received the County of Groitzsch and the Lordship of

Rochlitz Rochlitz (; , ) is a major district town (Große Kreisstadt) in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Rochlitz is the head of the "municipal partnership Rochlitz" (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Rochlitz) with its other members being the mu ...

, with jurisdiction over the Bishopric of Naumburg. Dedi participated in five campaigns of 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 ...

emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 1177, he served as Frederick's envoy to

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

and swore, on Frederick's behalf, to uphold the

Treaty of Venice The Treaty or Peace of Venice, 1177, was a peace treaty between the papacy and its allies, the north Italian city-states of the Lombard League, and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Norman Kingdom of Sicily also took part in negotiations and ...

, which ended the schism between pope and emperor. Back in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Dedi appears to have spent most of his life in Rochlitz. Like his elder brother Margrave

Otto II of Meissen Otto II, the Rich (; 1125 – 18 February 1190), a member of the House of Wettin, was List of margraves of Meissen, Margrave of Meissen from 1156 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen and March of Lu ...

, he encouraged the settlement of ethnic Germans in his territory. He founded

Wechselburg Priory Wechselburg Priory, formerly Wechselburg Abbey (Kloster Wechselburg) is a Benedictine priory in Wechselburg in Saxony, dissolved in the 16th century and re-founded in 1993. First foundation Dedo V of Wettin founded the monastery, dedicated in ...

as a private monastery, where he and his descendants were buried. Together with his elder brothers Margrave Otto II of Meissen and Margrave Theodoric I of Lusatia, he was a loyal supporter of Emperor Frederick in his conflict with the Welf duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

. When his brother Theodoric I, who also styled himself a "Margrave of Landsberg", died in 1185, Dedi inherited his Lusatian possessions and by appointment of Emperor Frederick succeeded him as margrave. In the succession dispute in Meissen upon the death of Margrave Otto II in 1190, Dedi and his sons sided with their cousin Albert the Proud. In order to get into shape for participating in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

, Dedi had his doctors attempt a

liposuction Liposuction, or simply lipo, is a type of fat-removal procedure used in plastic surgery. Evidence does not support an effect on weight beyond a couple of months and does not appear to affect obesity-related problems. In the United States, lip ...

. The operation was botched, and as a result, Dedi died on 16 August 1190.

Marriage and issue

Dedi married Matilda of

Heinsberg Heinsberg (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Sittard and 30 km south-west ...

, and they had: * Dietrich (before 13 September 1159; – 13 June 1207), Count of Sommerschenburg and Groitzsch and later provost of Magdeburg * Philip, provost of Xanten (1182-1190) * Conrad II (after 13 September 1159 – 6 May 1210), Margrave of Lusatia * Henry (d. 1174) * Goswin (d. 1174) * Agnes ( – 24/26 March 1195)

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dedi 03 of Lusatia Margraves of Lusatia House of Wettin People from Eilenburg 12th-century births 1190 deaths Year of birth unknown 12th-century German nobility