Theodoric I (11 March 1162 – 18 February 1221), called the Oppressed (''Dietrich der Bedrängte''), was the

Margrave of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Margraviate of Meissen, Meissen, a March (territorial entity), march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928–29 campaign against the S ...

from 1198 until his death. He was the second son of

Otto II, Margrave of Meissen Otto II, the Rich (; 1125 – 18 February 1190), a member of the House of Wettin, was Margrave of Meissen from 1156 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen and Lusatia. When his father, under pressure ...

and Hedwig of Brandenburg.

Biography

Theodoric, called in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Dietrich, the younger son of

, fell out with his brother, Albert the Proud, after his mother persuaded his father to change the succession so that Theodoric was given the

Margraviate of Meissen The Margravate or Margraviate of Meissen () was a medieval principality in the area of the modern German state of Saxony. It originally was a frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, created out of the vast ''Marca Geronis'' ( Saxon Eastern March ...

and Albrecht (although the older son) the margraviate of Weissenfels. Albert took his father prisoner to try to make him return the succession to the way it had been. After Otto obtained his release by an order of the emperor

Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I ...

, he had only just renewed the war when he died in 1190. Albert then took back the Meissen margraviate from his brother. Theodoric attempted to regain the margraviate, supported by ''Landgraf'' Hermann I of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, his father-in-law. In 1195, however, Theodoric left on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

.Heinrich Theodor Flathe: ''Dietrich der Bedrängte''. In: ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

'' (ADB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, p. 186-187

Albrecht's Death

After Albrecht's death in 1195, leaving no children, Meissen, with its rich mines, was seized by the emperor Henry VI as a vacant fief of the empire. Dietrich finally came into possession of his inheritance two years later on Henry's death. At the time of the struggle between the two rival kings

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

and

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 ...

, Phillip gave Dietrich the tenure of the

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

of Meißen again. After that time, Dietrich was on Phillip's side and remained true to the

Staufer 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 List of German monarchs, royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 ...

even after Phillip was murdered in 1208. Dietrich became caught up in dangerous disagreements with the city of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and the Meißen nobility. After a fruitless

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

of Leipzig, in 1217 he agreed to a settlement but then took over the city by trickery, had the city walls taken down and built three castles of his own within the city, full of his own men.

Death

Margrave Dietrich died on 18 February 1221, possibly poisoned by his doctor, instigated into doing so by the people of Leipzig and the dissatisfied nobility. He left behind a widow,

Jutta of Thuringia Jutta of Thuringia (1184 – 6 August 1235) was the eldest daughter of Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia and his first wife, Sophia of Sommerschenburg, a daughter of Fredrick II of Sommerschenburg. Before 1197, she married Margrave Dietrich I of ...

, daughter of

Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia Hermann I (died 25 April 1217), Landgrave of Thuringia and (as Hermann III) Count Palatine of Saxony, called ''the Hard'', was the second son of Louis II, Landgrave of Thuringia (''the Iron''), and Judith of Hohenstaufen, the sister of Emperor ...

. Some of his children had already died.

Marriages and issue

Children from his marriage to

, daughter of

: # Hedwig (d. 1249) married Count Dietrich V of Cleves (1185–1260) # Otto (d. before 1215) # Sophia (d. 1280) married Count Henry of

Henneberg-Schleusingen The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310. U ...

(d. 1262) # Jutta married

Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania Mestwin II ( or ''Mszczuj II'') ( 1220 – December 25, 1294) was a Pomeranian duchies and dukes, Duke of Pomerelia, member of the Samborides dynasty. He ruled Pomerelia as a sole ruler from 1273 to 1294. Early life Mestwin II was the son of Swie ...

Henry the Illustrious Henry III, called Henry the Illustrious (''Heinrich der Erlauchte'') (c. 1215 – 15 February 1288) from the House of Wettin was List of Margraves of Meissen, Margrave of Meissen and last March of Lusatia, Margrave of Lusatia (as Henry IV) from ...

(1218–1288) Margrave of Meissen Children from extramarital liaisons: # Konrad # Dietrich, (d. 1272), bishop of Naumburg # Heinrich

References

Sources

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Margrave Of Meissen, Dietrich 1162 births 1221 deaths Margraves of Meissen Place of birth unknown Place of death unknown Christians of the Crusade of 1197