Dietrich, Margrave of Meissen

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Dietrich, known as The Oppressed (born 1162, died 1221-01-18) was the Margrave of Meißen from 1198 to 1221. He was the second son of Otto the Rich and Hedwig von Brandenburg.

Dietrich fell out with his brother, Albrecht the Proud as his mother persuaded his father to change the succession so that Dietrich was given the Margraviate of Meißen and Albrecht (although the older son) the Margraviate of Weißenfels. Albrecht took his father prisoner to try to make him return the succession to the way it had been. After Otto obtained his release by order of the emperor Frederick I, he had only just renewed the war when he died in 1190. Albrecht took back the Meißen margraviate from his brother.

Dietrich attempted to regain the margraviate, supported by Landgraf Hermann I of Thuringia, whose daughter he was married to. In 1195, however, he left on a pilgrimage to Palestine.

After Albrecht's death in 1195, leaving no children, Meissen, with its rich mines, was seized by the emperor Henry VI as a vacant fief of the empire. Dietrich finally came into possession of his inheritance two years later on Henry's death.

At the time of the struggle between the two rival kings Philip of Swabia and Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Phillip gave Dietrich the tenure of the march of Meißen again. After that time, Dietrich was on Phillip's side and remained true to the Staufer even after Phillip was murdered in 1208.

Dietrich became caught up in dangerous disagreements with the city of Leipzig and the Meißen nobility. After a fruitless siege of Leipzig, in 1217 he agreed to a settlement but then took over the city by trickery, had the city walls taken down and built three castles of his own within the city, full of his own men.

Margrave Dietrich died on 1211-02-18, possibly poisoned by his doctor, instigated into doing so by the people of Leipzig and the dissatisfied nobility. He left behind a widow, Jutta, daughter of Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia. Some of his children had already died. Eight children were definitely his:

1. Hedwig, married to Count Dietrich V of Cleves
2. Otto, died before 1215
3. Sophia, married to Count Heinrich of Henneberg
4. Konrad (illegitimate), monk in Erfurt
5. Jutta
6. Henry the Illustrious, born 1218, margrave
7. Dietrich II of Meißen (illegitimate son), Bishop of Naumburg
8. Heinrich (illegitimate son), provost of Meißen Cathedral

[edit] References

Much of this article was translated from the German article of 2006-03-26.

Preceded by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Margrave of Meissen 1198–1221

Succeeded by Henry III