Margrave Henry I (nicknamed ''Henry Lackland''; 21 March 1256 – 14 February 1318) was 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 ' ...

and

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

-Stendal and Landsberg.

Life

Henry was a son of Margrave

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 ...

of Brandenburg and his second wife, Jutta, the daughter of Duke

Albert I Albert I may refer to: People Born before 1300 * Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987) * Albert I, Count of Namur () * Albert I of Moha *Albert I of Brandenburg (), first margrave of Brandenburg * Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195) *Al ...

of Saxony. The origin of his nickname "Lackland" is not known. Henry was more than fifteen years younger than his brothers

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–114 ...

, Otto IV "with the arrow" and Conrad I and was therefore likely to be excluded from governing when his brothers inherited the Margraviate. It was not until 1294 he began to participate in the government of the country. When he did, he received — according to an excerpt from the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

r Přibík Pulkava —

Delitzsch Delitzsch (; Slavic: ''delč'' or ''delcz'' for hill) is a town in Saxony in Germany, 20 km north of Leipzig and 30 km east of Halle (Saale). With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsach ...

as his seat. Delitzsch was located in the

Margraviate of Landsberg The Margraviate of Landsberg () was a march of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 13th to the 14th century under the rule of the Wettin dynasty. It was named after Landsberg Castle in present-day Saxony-Anhalt. Geography The territory ...

, which Margrave Albert II of Meissen had sold to the Margraves of Brandenburg. From then on, Henry used the title of ''Margrave of Landsberg'' in addition to ''Margrave of Brandenburg'' in almost all documents. As Margrave of Landsberg, he fought several

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

s with neighbouring princes. He was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Burchard II of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. In 1311, Henry lost a feud to Duke

Rudolf I Rudolf I may refer to: * Rudolf I (bishop of Würzburg) (died 908) * Rudolph I of Burgundy (859–912) * Rudolf I, Margrave of the Nordmark (d. 1124) * Rudolph I, Count Palatine of Tübingen (1160–1219) * Rudolph I, Bishop of Schwerin (died ...

of Saxony and had to hand over the County Palatine of Saxony with the castles Grillenberg Castle in

Sangerhausen Sangerhausen () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany, capital of the district of Mansfeld-Südharz. It is situated southeast of the Harz, approx. east of Nordhausen, and west of Halle (Saale). About 26,000 people live in Sangerhausen ( ...

and Raspenburg Castle in Rastenberg to Rudolf I. He also lost a feud to Margrave Dietrich IV of

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

. After Emperor Henry VII, Henry's nephew Margrave

Waldemar Waldemar, Valdemar, Valdimar, or Woldemar is an Old High German given name. It consists of the elements ''wald-'' "power", "brightness" and ''-mar'' "fame". The name is considered the equivalent of the Latvian name Valdemārs, the Estonian name ...

proposed to elect Henry I as

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

. Henry I appears to have declined the proposal, and his promised by deed to vote for Duke

Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death. Background Frederi ...

or his brother Leopold I. However, in the end, Henry voted for Duke

Louis IV of Bavaria Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was cont ...

. Henry died on 14 February 1318 at the age of 61 years.

Marriage and issue

Henry was married to Agnes, the daughter of

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

Louis II "the Strict" of Bavaria and widow of Landgrave Henry the Younger of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

. Henry and Agnes had three children: *

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

, Margrave of Brandenburg * Sophia (1300-1356), married Duke Magnus I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel * Judith (c. 1302-c. 1330), married in 1318 to Duke

of Brunswick-Grubenhagen

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 01 Brandenburg Margraves of Brandenburg-Stendal House of Ascania 1256 births 1318 deaths 13th-century German nobility 14th-century German nobility Sons of monarchs