Wenceslas I, Duke of

Saxe-Wittenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity until ...

( – 15 May 1388, in

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

) from 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 ' ...

ruled from 1370 to 1388 and was a

prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

of the Holy Roman Empire as well as

Prince of Lüneburg A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fem ...

. He was the son of Rudolf I and his 3rd wife, Agnes of Lindow-Ruppin.

Life

In 1370 Wenceslas succeeded his brother Rudolf II. In 1376 he took part, as a prince-elector, in the election of

Wenceslas IV of Bohemia Wenceslaus IV (also ''Wenceslas''; ; , nicknamed "the Idle"; 26 February 136116 August 1419), also known as Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was King of Bohemia from 1378 until his death and King of Germany from 1376 until he was deposed in 1400. As he ...

as King of Germany and in 1377 stood by Emperor Charles IV in the

Altmark :''See German tanker Altmark for the ship named after Altmark and Stary Targ for the Polish village named Altmark in German.'' The Altmark (; English: Old MarchHansard, ''The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time ...'', Vo ...

. He was frequently active in the affairs of the empire on the side of the emperor. Charles IV granted Albert of Saxe-Wittenberg and his uncle Wenceslas I - and their house - the underlying entitlement to

Brunswick and Lüneburg Brunswick is the historical English name for the German city of Braunschweig (Low German: ''Brunswiek'', Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek''). Brunswick may also refer to: Places and other topographs Australia *Brunswick, Victoria, a suburb of ...

, but the two of them were unsuccessful in claiming this right through the

Lüneburg War of Succession Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic city, Hamburg, and belongs to that city's wider met ...

. In 1388 Wenceslas finally lost his claim at the battle of

Winsen an der Aller Winsen an der Aller () or Winsen (Aller) is a town in the district of Celle in the German state of Lower Saxony. Geography Winsen has around 12,900 inhabitants and lies on the southern perimeter of the Lüneburg Heath, on the banks of the Aller, ...

. He was in conflict with the Duke of Brabant over the right to carry the

Imperial Sword The Imperial Sword (, ) is one of the four most important parts of the Imperial Regalia (''Reichskleinodien'') of the Holy Roman Empire. During a coronation, it was given to the emperor along with the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, Imp ...

ahead of the emperor. He made state peace treaties with

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

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 ...

and

Meißen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...

. During the siege of

Wenceslas died suddenly of a serious illness. Even his contemporaries suspected that he had been administered poison and that that was the cause of death. According to other traditional accounts, he died on 18 August 1402 which has however caused confusion over his grave.

Descendants

On 23 January 1376 Wenceslas married ''Cecilia of Carrara'' (d. 1435), daughter of Francis of Carrara (born 29 September 1325 in Padua – died 6 October 1393 in Monza), Count of Padua. They had the following children: * Rudolf III, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg * Wenceslas (died 1402) * Erich (died as child) *

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

(died 1426) who married

Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 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 from ...

* Albert III (died 1422) Elector of Saxony * Margaret of Saxony who married Bernhard of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Ancestors

References

Literature

* Lorenz Friedrich Beck: ''Herrschaft and Territorium des Herzöge of Saxe-Wittenberg (1212–1422)''. Potsdam, 2000. * Heinrich Kühne: ''Die Askanier''. Drei Kastanien Verlag, 1999. * Georg Hirschfeld: ''Geschichte der Sächsisch-Askanischen Prince-Electoren''. Julius Sittenfeld, Berlin 1884. *

External links

http://www.genealogie-mittelalter.de/Wenceslas Prince-Elector of Saxe-Wittenberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenceslas 01 of Saxe-Wittenberg Prince-electors of Saxony Princes of Lüneburg Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg House of Ascania 1388 deaths Year of birth unknown