William the Victorious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

William the Victorious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Spouse(s)	Cecilia of Brandenburg Matilda of Holstein-Pinneburg
Noble family	House of Guelph
Father	Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Mother	Sophie of Pomarania
Born	c. 1392
Died	1482

William (German: Wilhelm) KG (c. 1392 – 1482), called the Victorious, was duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He is counted either as William III or William IV.

William was the eldest son of Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He inherited Lüneburg-Celle in 1416 and swapped it with his uncle Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, for Wolfenbüttel in 1428. While on a campaign in 1432, William was deposed by his brother Henry. William retained only the western part of Wolfenbüttel (to the west of the River Leine and separated from the rest by the Bishopric of Hildesheim), which was to become known as the Principality of Calenberg. After Henry died without son in 1473, William had control of both parts of Wolfenbüttel again.

Family

In Berlin between 30 May/6 June 1423, William married firstly Cecilia (born c. 1405 – died 4 January 1449), daughter of Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg. They had two sons:

• Frederick "the Turbulent" (c. 1424–1495)
• William "the Younger" (c. 1425–1503)

In 1466, William married secondly Matilda, daughter of Otto II, Count of Holstein-Schauenburg-Pinneburg. She died in Neustadt am Rübenberge on 22 July 1468, two days after giving birth a short-lived son, Otto (born Neustadt am Rübenberge 20 July 1468 – died 1471).

Ancestors

Ancestors of William the Victorious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

16. Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               8. Magnus the Pious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                       17. Rixa of Werle               4. Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                             18. Henry I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal               9. Sophie of Brandenburg-Stendal                       19. Agnes of Bavaria               2. Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   20. Bernhard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg               10. Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg                       21. Helene of Rügen               5. Catherine of Anhalt-Bernburg                             22. Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg               11. Agnes of Saxony                       23. Jutta of Brandenburg-Salzwedel               1. William the Victorious, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                         24. Wartislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania               12. Barnim IV, Duke of Pomerania                       25. Elisabeth of Lindow-Ruppin               6. Wartislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania                             26. John II of Werle               13. Sophie of Werle                       27. Mechtild of Brunswick-Grubenhagen               3. Sophie of Pomerania                                   28. Henry II of Mecklenburg               14. John I, Duke of Mecklenburg-Stargard                       29. Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg               7. Anne of Mecklenburg-Stargard                             30. Adolf VII, Count of Holstein-Pinneberg and Schauenburg               15. Anna of Holstein-Pinneberg and Schauenburg                       31. Hedwig of Lippe

References

• Zedlers Universal-Lexicon, vol. 56, p. 581-584
• William the Victorious of Lüneburg, Duke of Lüneburg at www3.dcs.hull.ac.uk.
• Wilhelm (William) "The Victorious" (1400–1482) at www.gwleibniz.com.