Albert, Duke of Saxony
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- Several rulers of Saxony bore the name Albert. See Rulers of Saxony for possible disambiguation.
Albert Wettin, Elector of Saxony (January 27, 1443 – September 12, 1500), Duke of Saxony, surnamed the Bold or the Courageous, was the younger son of Frederick II the Gentle.
Albert was a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
After escaping from the hands of Kunz von Kaufungen, who had abducted him together with his brother Ernest, he passed some time at the court of the emperor Frederick III in Vienna.
In 1464 he married Zedena, or Sidonia, daughter of George of Podebrady, king of Bohemia, but failed to obtain the Bohemian Crown on the death of George in 1471.
After the death of the elector Frederick in 1464, Albert and Ernest ruled their lands together, but in 1485 a division was made by the treaty of Leipzig, and Albert received Meissen, together with some adjoining districts, and founded the Albertine branch of the family of Wettin.
Regarded as a capable soldier by the emperor, Albert, in 1475, took a prominent part in the campaign against Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, and in 1487 led an expedition against Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary, which failed owing to lack of support on the part of the emperor.
In 1488 he marched with the imperial forces to free the Roman king Maximilian from his imprisonment at Bruges, and when, in 1489, the king returned to Germany, Albert was left as his representative to prosecute the war against the rebels. He was successful in restoring the authority of Maximilian in Holland, Flanders and Brabant, but failed to obtain any repayment of the large sums of money which he had spent in these campaigns.
His services were rewarded in 1498 when Maximilian bestowed upon him the title of hereditary governor (potestat) of Friesland, but he had to make good his claim by force of arms. He had to a great extent succeeded, and was paying a visit to Saxony, when he was recalled by news of a fresh rising. Groningen was captured, but soon afterwards the duke died at Emden. He was buried at Meissen.
Albert, who was a man of great strength and considerable skill in feats of arms, delighted in tournaments and knightly exercises. His loyalty to the emperor Frederick, and the expenses incurred in this connection, aroused some irritation among his subjects, but his rule was a period of prosperity in Saxony.
[edit] Family and children
With Zedena of Bohemia he had the following children:
- Katharina (24 July 1468, Meissen–10 February 1524, Göttingen), married to:
- 24 February 1484 in Innsbruck to Duke Sigismund of Austria;
- 1497 to Duke Erich I of Braunschweig-Kalenberg.
- Georg "der Bärtige" (27 August 1471–17 April 1539).
- Heinrich V "der Fromme" (16 March 1473, Dresden–18 August 1541, Dresden).
- Friedrich (Torgau 26 October 1473 - Rochlitz 14 December 1510), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.
- Anna (3 August 1478–1479, Dresden).
- Ludwig (1481, Torgau–young after 1498).
- Johann born and died in Torgau 24 June 1484.
- Johann, born 2 December 1498, Torgau and died young in September of the same year as his brother Ludwig.
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
