Matilda of Brandenburg (also called ''Mechthild''; – 10 June 1261), 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 ' ...

, was first Duchess consort of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1235 to 1252 by her marriage with the Welf duke Otto the Child. Matilda was the elder daughter of Margrave Albert II of Brandenburg and his wife Matilda (''Mechthild''), a daughter of the Wettin margrave Conrad II of Lusatia. Albert's uncle Count Bernhard of Anhalt had received the

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

after the deposition of 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 ...

in 1180 and Matilda's father, ruling the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

since 1205, initially had been a loyal supporter of the Imperial

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 ...

dynasty. However, upon the assassination of

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 ...

in 1208, he switched sides to the Welf rival King

Otto IV 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 ...

. Upon his death in 1220, he was succeeded by Matilda's brothers,

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 ...

and

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was the Holy Roman emperor and King of Italy from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was c ...

, who continued to support the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Welfs in the struggle for their

allod Allod, deriving from Frankish language, Frankish ''alōd'' meaning "full ownership" (from ''al'' "full, whole" and ''ōd'' "property, possession"; Medieval Latin ''allod'' or ''allodium''), also known as allodial land or proprietary property, was ...

ial lands around Brunswick. In the course of the reconciliation between the Welf and Ascanian dynasties, Matilda in 1228 was married to the Welf heir Otto I the Child, a nephew of the late Emperor Otto IV and grandson of Henry the Lion. As both were descendants of the

Billung The House of Billung was a dynasty of Saxon noblemen in the 9th through 12th centuries. The first known member of the house was Count Wichmann, mentioned as a Billung in 811. Oda, the wife of Count Liudolf, oldest known member of the Liudol ...

duke Magnus of Saxony, a dispensation had been obtained from

Pope Honorius III Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...

. At the same time, Matilda's younger sister Elisabeth married the Ludovingian landgrave Henry Raspe of Thuringia. The marriage of Matilda and Otto produced ten known children, the basis for a profound marriage policy: * Elisabeth (died 1266), married

William II of Holland William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards. Early life William was the eldest son and heir ...

* Helen (died 1273), married Hermann II, Landgrave of Thuringia and secondly

Albert I, Duke of Saxony Albert I (; 1175 – 7 October 1260) was a Duke of Saxony, Angria, and Westphalia; Lord of Nordalbingia; Count of Anhalt; and Prince-elector and Archmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire. Even though his grandfather Albert the Bear had held the Sax ...

* Adelaide (died 1274), married

Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse Henry I of Hesse "the Child" (German language, German: ''Heinrich das Kind'') (24 June 1244 – 21 December 1308) was the first Landgrave of Landgraviate of Hesse, Hesse. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant, Henry II, Duke of Duchy ...

* Matilda (died around 1295), married

Henry II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben Henry II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben (1215 – 12 June 1266) was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Aschersleben. He was the eldest son of Henry I, Count of Anhalt (who was raised to the rank of ...

, later Abbess of

Gernrode Gernrode () is a historic town and former municipality in the Harz (district), Harz District, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2014, it has been part of Quedlinburg.Vitslav II, Prince of Rügen Vitslav II (c. 1240 – 1302), variously called Vislav, Vizlav, Wislaw, Wizlaw and Witslaw in English sources () was a Principality of Rügen, prince of Rügen.Vitslav is the most common variant and also the closest in sound to the German ''Wizlaw ...

* Albert (died 1279) *

(died 1277) * Otto, Prince-Bishop of Hildesheim (died 1279) * Conrad,

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 ...

(died 1300). At the Imperial Diet of 1235 in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, Otto the Child came to terms with the Hohenstaufen emperor

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

II and was enfeoffed with the newly created

Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg The Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg (), commonly known as the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg or Brunswick-Lüneburg, was an imperial principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the territory of present day Lower Saxony. In 1235, Otto I, Duke of ...

. He took his residence at

Dankwarderode Castle Dankwarderode Castle () on the ''Burgplatz'' ("castle square") in Braunschweig (Brunswick) is a Saxon lowland castle. It was the residence of the Brunswick dukes for centuries and, today, is part of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum. Constructio ...

in Brunswick, erected under the rule of his grandfather Henry the Lion. Duke Otto died in 1252 and was succeeded by his eldest son Albert, who nevertheless in 1267 had to divide his Brunswick heritage with his younger brother

Literature

* Gudrun Pischke: ''Mechthild''. In: Horst-Rüdiger Jarck (Hrsg.): ''Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon. 8. bis 18. Jahrhundert'', Braunschweig 2006, S. 483

External links

genealogie-mittelalter.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matilda of Brandenburg 11th-century German women Matilda Duchesses of Brunswick-Lüneburg 1210s births 1261 deaths Daughters of monarchs Mothers of German monarchs