Wenceslaus I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg

Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg

Born	c. 1337
Died	11 May 1388(1388-05-11) Celle
Noble family	House of Ascania
Spouse(s)	Cecilia of Carrara
Father	Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
Mother	Agnes of Lindow-Ruppin

Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg (c. 1337 – 15 May 1388 in Celle) from the House of Ascania ruled from 1370 to 1388 and was a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire as well as Prince of Lüneburg. 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 as King of Germany and in 1377 stood by Emperor Charles IV in the Altmark. 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, but the two of them were unsuccessful in claiming this right through the Lüneburg War of Succession. In 1388 Wenceslas finally lost his claim at the battle of Winsen an der Aller.

He was in conflict with the Duke of Brabant over the right to carry the Imperial Sword ahead of the emperor.

He made state peace treaties with Anhalt, Magdeburg and Meißen.

During the siege of Celle 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 (died 1426) who married Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Albert III (died 1422) Elector of Saxony
Margaret of Saxony who married Bernhard of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Ancestors

Ancestors of Wenceslaus I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg

16. Bernard III, Duke of Saxony

8. Albert I, Duke of Saxony

17. Brigitte of Denmark

4. Albert II, Duke of Saxony

18. Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

9. Helen of Brunswick-Lünenburg

19. Matilda of Brandenburg

2. Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg

20. Albert IV, Count of Habsburg

10. Rudolph I of Germany

21. Hedwig of Kyburg

5. Agnes of Habsburg

22. Burkhard V, Count of Hohenberg

11. Gertrude of Hohenberg

23. Mechtild of Tübingen

1. Wenceslas I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg

24. Gebhard I, Count of Lindow

12. Günther I, Count of Lindow

6. Ulrich I, Count of Lindow-Ruppin

13. Euphemia of Rügen

3. Agnes of Lindow-Ruppin

28. Henry the Elder, Count of Schladen

14. Meinher, Count of Schladen

29. Luckard

7. Adelaide of Schladen

30. Herman of Werberg

15. Adelaide of Werberg

31. Luckard of Dorstadt

References

Literature

Lorenz Friedrich Beck: Herrschaft and Territorium des Herzöge of Saxe-Wittenberg (1212–1422). Potsdam, 2000. ISBN 3-932981-63-4
Heinrich Kühne: Die Askanier. Drei Kastanien Verlag, 1999. ISBN 3-933028-14-0
Georg Hirschfeld: Geschichte der Sächsisch-Askanischen Prince-Electoren. Julius Sittenfeld, Berlin 1884.
W. of Sommerfeld (1896), "Wenceslas", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 41, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 735–736

External links

http://www.genealogie-mittelalter.de/Wenceslas Prince-Elector of Saxe-Wittenberg

German nobility
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg House of Ascania Born: about 1337 Died: 15 May 1388
Preceded by Rudolf II	Elector of Saxony 1370–1388	Succeeded by Rudolf III
Preceded by Magnus Torquatus	Prince of Lüneburg 1370–1388 with his nephew Albert (1370–1385)	Succeeded by Bernard I and Henry I

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