Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

For other people of the same name, see Albert of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Albert I the Tall
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
File:Herzog Albrecht I.jpg Albert I, lithograph, 1840
Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Reign	1269 – 15 August 1279
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth of Brabant Adelheid of Montferrat
Noble family	House of Welf
Father	Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Mother	Matilda of Brandenburg
Born	1236
Died	15 August 1279
Buried	Brunswick Cathedral

Albert the Tall (Latin: Albertus Longus, German: Albrecht der Große; 1236 – 15 August 1279), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg from 1252 and the first ruler of the newly created Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1269 until his death.

Life

Albert was the oldest surviving son of the first Brunswick duke Otto the Child and his wife, Matilda of Brandenburg. When his father died in 1252, he took over the rule of the duchy; later his younger brother John joined him.

Albert's rule was initially troubled by several armed conflicts as the Welf dukes still had to cope with the followers of the extinct Hohenstaufen dynasty within their dominions. In 1260/61 Albert's troops fought against the Danish duke Eric I of Schleswig on behalf of Queen Margaret Sambiria and her minor son King Eric V of Denmark. In 1263 the duke quite luckless interfered in the War of the Thuringian Succession to support the claims raised by his mother-in-law Sophie of Brabant.

On 31 May 1267, the brothers agreed to divide the Welf lands, which happened in 1269. Albert partitioned the territory while John obtained the right to choose his part. He took the northern half including the region of Lüneburg, Celle and the city of Hanover, while Albert received the southern part around the cities of Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel, stretching from the area around the Calenberg hill to the town of Helmstedt, the Harz mountain range, and Göttingen. The Brunswick residence itself was to remain common property of the brothers.

Albert then concentrated on the development of his hereditary lands. During the Imperial interregnum, he sided with the rising Bohemian king Ottokar II until his final defeat in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld. When his brother John died in 1277, he took over the guardianship for his minor nephew Otto II of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Albert died on 15 August 1279 and is buried at Brunswick Cathedral. He was succeeded by his elder three sons, the younger three joined the Church.

Marriage and children

In 1254, Albert married Elizabeth of Brabant (1243 – October 9, 1261), daughter of Duke Henry II of Brabant and Sophie of Thuringia. They had no children

After Elizabeth's death in 1261, Henry married Adelheid (Alessia) (1242 – February 6, 1284/85), daughter of Margrave Boniface II of Montferrat around 1263. Once widowed she married Gerhard I, Count of Holstein-Itzehoe. Albert and Adelheid had the following children:

• Henry I, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1267–1322)
• Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1268–1318)
• William I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1270–1292)
• Otto (died ca. 1346)
• Matilda of Brunswick-Lüneburg, married the Piast duke Henry III of Głogów, died 11 December 1310
• Luther von Braunschweig (died 1335), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from 1331
• Conrad (died ca. 1303)

Ancestry

Family of Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

16. Henry X, Duke of Bavaria               8. Henry the Lion                       17. Gertrude of Süpplingenburg               4. William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg                             18. Henry II of England               9. Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony                       19. Eleanor of Aquitaine               2. Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   20. Canute Lavard               10. Valdemar I of Denmark                       21. Ingeborg of Kiev               5. Helena of Denmark                             22. Volodar, Prince of Minsk and Hrodna               11. Sophia of Minsk                       23. Richeza of Poland               1. Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                         24. Albert the Bear               12. Otto I, Margrave of Brandenburg                       25. Sophie of Winzenburg               6. Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg                             26. Floris III, Count of Holland               13. Ada of Holland                       27. Ada of Huntingdon               3. Matilda of Brandenburg                                   28. Dedi III, Margrave of Lusatia               14. Conrad II, Margrave of Lusatia                       29. Mathilde of Heinsberg               7. Matilda of Lusatia                             30. Mieszko III the Old               15. Elisabeth of Greater Poland                       31. Elisabeth of Hungary

References

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 1, p. 257-261
• At the House of Welf site
• RootsWeb: Rulers of Brandenburg and their Czech Roots

Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg House of Welf Cadet branch of the House of Este Born: 1236 Died: 15 August 1279
German nobility
Preceded by Otto I	Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg jointly with John 1252–1269	Partitioning among the rulers
Principality of Wolfenbüttel partitioned from the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg	Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel 1269–1277	Succeeded by Henry I, Albert II, and William I