Albert I (1158 – 24 June 1195), called the Proud (german: Albrecht der Stolze), a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

, was the

Margrave of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Meissen, a march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928-29 campaign against the Slavic Glomacze tribes, had a fortress erected on a ...

from 1190 until his death.

Life

Albert was the eldest son of Margrave Otto the Rich (1156–1190) with his consort

Hedwig of Brandenburg Hedwig of Brandenburg, also called Hedwig of Ballenstedt ( – end of March 1203), a member of the House of Ascania, was List of Margravines of Meissen, Margravine of Meissen from 1156 until 1190 by her marriage with Margrave Otto II, Margrave ...

, a daughter of the

Ascanian The House of Ascania (german: Askanier) was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schlos ...

margrave

Albert the Bear Albert the Bear (german: Albrecht der Bär; 1100 – 18 November 1170) was the first margrave of Brandenburg from 1157 to his death and was briefly duke of Saxony between 1138 and 1142. Life Albert was the only son of Otto, Count of Bal ...

. In 1186 in

Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem (, , ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 92,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of its eponymous region and district. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway ju ...

he married the Přemyslid princess Sophia, a daughter of Duke Frederick of Bohemia. Dresden Fürstenzug 081

His father did not intend to let Albert succeed him in

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albre ...

, openly preferring his younger brother

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

. Albert did not accept this and started a war against his father and brother. In 1188, he even took his father prisoner. Under the orders of the

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 dynas ...

emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...

, he had to set him free but in 1190 he was able to obtain the margravial title upon Otto's death. Albert accompanied Barbarossa's son Henry VI on his campaign to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

; nevertheless, he quickly abandoned the Imperial forces and returned to Meissen when his brother tried to regain the margraviate.Heinrich Theodor Flathe: ''Albrecht I. der Stolze''. In: ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Ac ...

'' (ADB). Band 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig, 1875, p. 276 Theodoric, with the support of his father-in-law Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia, took up arms and defeated Albert's forces in a battle near Röblingen. The Margrave, in disguise as a monk, narrowly escaped to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and tried in vain to gain the support of furious Emperor Henry. The fratricidal war ended when Albert suddenly died in June 1195, presumably poisoned, with no children to succeed him. He was buried in the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

monastery of

Altzella Altzella Abbey, also Altzelle Abbey (german: Kloster Altzella or ''Altzelle'', previously ''Cella'' or ''Cella Sanctae Mariae''), is a former Cistercian monastery near Nossen in Saxony, Germany. The former abbey contains the tombs of the Wetti ...

, established by his father in 1162. Meissen, with its rich mines, was seized by Emperor Henry VI as a princeless

Imperial Estate An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

. Not until 1198, Theodoric finally came into possession of his inheritance, following Henry's death in 1197.

Ancestors

Notes and references

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albert 01 of Meissen, Margrave 1158 births 1195 deaths Margraves of Meissen House of Wettin Burials at Altzella Abbey

Life

Ancestors

See also

Notes and references

External links