Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Spouse(s)	Rixa of Werle
Noble family	House of Guelph
Father	Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Mother	Adelheid of Montferrat
Born	c. 1268
Died	22 September 1318

Albert (Latin Albertus; c. 1268 – 22 September 1318), called the Fat (pinguis), was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

The second son of Albert the Tall, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Albert was a boy when his father died in 1279. He was first under guardianship of his uncle, Conrad, Prince-Bishop of Verden, and then of his elder brother, Henry I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. In 1286 the three brothers divided their father's Principality of Wolfenbüttel; Albert received the areas around Göttingen, Minden, Northeim, Calenberg, and Hanover. He made Göttingen his residence, thus Principality of Göttingen. In 1292, the third brother, William, died childless, and Albert and Henry, who had received the Principality of Grubenhagen, quarrelled about William's share, the remaining belittled areas around Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel; Albert finally prevailed.

Family

Albert married Rixa, daughter of Henry I, Prince of Werle and Mecklenburg-Güstrow, and Rikissa Birgersdotter from Sweden, in 1284. They had the following children who reached adulthood:

• Adelaide, married John, Landgrave of Lower Hesse
• Richenza, Abbess of Gandersheim
• Mechtild
• Jutta
• Luder, joined the Teutonic Order
• Albert (died 1358)
• Henry, Bishop of Hildesheim (died 1362)
• Otto (died 1344)
• Magnus (died 1369)
• Ernest (died 1367)

Ancestry

Ancestors of Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

16. Henry the Lion               8. William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg                       17. Matilda of England               4. Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                             18. Valdemar I of Denmark               9. Helena of Denmark                       19. Sophia of Minsk               2. Albert I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   20. Otto I, Margrave of Brandenburg               10. Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg                       5. Matilda of Brandenburg                             22. Conrad II, Margrave of Lusatia               11. Matilda of Lusatia                       23. Elisabeth of Greater Poland               1. Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                         24. Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat               12. William VI, Marquess of Montferrat                       25. Helena del Bosco               6. Boniface II, Marquess of Montferrat                             26. Bonifacio di Clavesana, Count of Cortemiglia               13. Berta di Clavesana                       3. Adelheid of Montferrat                                   28. Thomas I, Count of Savoy               14. Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy                       29. Margaret of Geneva               7. Margaret of Savoy                             30. Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy               15. Marguerite of Burgundy                       31. Beatrice of Albon

References

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, vol. 1, p. 261-263
• At the House of Welf site
• Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon, Appelhans 2006, ISBN 3-937664-46-7