Henry I (August 1267 – 7 September 1322), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called the Admirable (, ), 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 ...

, was the first ruler of the Principality of Grubenhagen from 1291 until his death.

Life

He was the eldest son of the Brunswick duke Albert the Tall and his second wife Adelaide, daughter of Margrave

Boniface II of Montferrat Boniface II (July 1202 – 12 May 1253), called the Giant, was the eleventh Marquis of Montferrat from 1225 until his death. He became the titular King of Thessalonica in 1239. Boniface was the son of William VI and his second wife, Berta ...

. His father had ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg jointly with his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, until both divided their territory in 1269. Albert went on to rule the Principality of Wolfenbüttel until his death in 1279. Henry first ruled the Brunswick principality of Wolfenbüttel jointly with his younger brothers Albert II the Fat and

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 ...

. In 1291 they again divided the territory; Henry received the part that came to be known as Principality of Grubenhagen. It included the cities of

Einbeck Einbeck (; Eastphalian: ''Aimbeck'') is a town in the district Northeim, in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, on the German Timber-Frame Road. History Prehistory The area of the current city of Einbeck is inhabited since prehistoric times. Vario ...

, half of

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

Clausthal Clausthal-Zellerfeld () is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000. The town hosts the Clausthal University of Technology. The health resort is locat ...

, Amelungsborn,

Duderstadt Duderstadt () is a city in southern Lower Saxony, Germany, located in the district of Göttingen. It is the centre and the capital of the northern part of the Eichsfeld ("Untereichsfeld"). It was once the private wealth of the Roman Catholic ar ...

, Herzberg, and Osterode. Henry quarreled with his brother

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 ...

, who had received the

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 ...

, over 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 ...

, but Albert prevailed, and Henry retreated to Grubenhagen. He took Einbeck as his residence. In 1320, Henry was appointed Count Palatine of Saxony by the emperor. He died in 1322, and his three surviving sons who had not joined the Church divided his territory among each other.

Family

Henry married Agnes, daughter of

Albert the Degenerate, Margrave of Meissen Albert II, the Degenerate (de: ''Albrecht II der Entartete'') (1240 – 20 November 1314) was a Margrave of Meissen, Landgrave of Thuringia and Count Palatine of Saxony. He was a member of the House of Wettin. He was the eldest son of Henry III, ...

, in 1282. They had 16 children: * Elizabeth (born c. 1282), married Frederick, Count of Beichlingen * Otto (born c. 1283, died in or before 1309) * Albert (born c. 1284, died after 1341), 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 ...

* Adelaide (1285–1320), married King Henry I of Bohemia * Facie (daughter; born c. 1286, died before or in 1312) * Agnes, Abbess of Osterode (born c. 1287, died between 1332 and 1336) *

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 ...

(born c. 1289, died before or in 1351) * Frederick (c. 1291 – c. 1323) * Adelheid of Brunswick (c. 1293 – 17 August 1324), married

Andronikos III Palaiologos Andronikos III Palaiologos (; 25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed c ...

, Roman Emperor * Conrad (c. 1294 – c. 1320) * Mechtild (c. 1295 – between 24 October 1333 and 14 March 1344), married John II of Werle *

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

(c. 1297 – 11 March 1361) *

(c. 1298–1360) * Richardis, Abbess of Osterode (born c. 1300, died between 1332 and 1336) * Margaret (born c. 1300, died in or after 1312) *

, (born before 1322, died 23 May 1367), provost at

References

Sources

* * Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon, Appelhans 2006,
At the House of Welf site
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 01, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg 1267 births 1322 deaths Princes of Grubenhagen Princes of Wolfenbüttel Old House of Brunswick Burials at Brunswick Cathedral