Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg & 2nd Elector of Saxony
Rudolf II, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
, nicknamed Rudolf the Blind, (
c.
1307
– 6 December 1370 in
Wittenberg
) was a member of the
House of Ascania
. He was Elector of Saxony and Duke of
Saxe-Wittenberg
from 1356 until his death. He was the eldest son of Duke
Rudolf I
of Saxe-Wittenberg and his wife, Judith of Brandenburg-Salzwedel.
Life
[
edit
]
Rudolf II acted in the diplomatic service of his father from an early age.
On 25 August 1345, he fought on the side of King
Philip VI of France
in the
Battle of Crecy
. After King
John of Bohemia
died, Rudolf II took over the leadership of the German auxiliary troops. Although the French lost the battle, Philip VI thanked Rudolf II and gave him a bloody thorn that was said to have been part of the
Crown of Thorns
. In those days, relics were deeply venerated and such a gift was very valuable. It was even valuable economically, as the place where such a relic was kept, drew large numbers of pilgrims, providing a steady stream of revenue. His father and stepmother had built a basilica chapel in the
All Saints' Church
in Wittenberg. Due to the acquisition of the relic, this chapel evolved into the seat of a provost. After his father's death, Rudolf II reaffirmed the Church's rights and expanded its possessions.
When Rudolf I felt he was too old to travel to the
Imperial Diet
, he gave Rudolf II the power to represent him at the Diet. After Rudolf I died on 12 March 1356, Rudolf II asked the imperial court in
Metz
on 27 December 1356 to reaffirm the rights of the
Saxe-Wittenberg
line of the
House of Ascania
, against opposing claims from the
Saxe-Lauenburg
line.
Rudolf II continued his father's policies. Like his father, he had to deal with claims on the Saxon electoral vote by the Saxe-Lauenburg line, and on the County of Brehna by the Margraves of
Meissen
of the
House of Wettin
, which had once held Brehna. When the Wettins also began to question his rights to
Herzberg
,
Prettin
,
Trebnitz
,
Kloden
,
Pretzsch
,
Schmiedeberg
and other possessions, he had to respond militarily. This conflict and other political activities drained his financial resources. In 1359, he sold the city of Allstedt to
Gebhard XIV of Querfurt
and exchanged Gatterslaben Castle with Archbishop
Dietrich
of
Magdeburg
for
Wiesenburg Castle
and Schweinitz.
Territorial acquisitions
[
edit
]
In 1360, he acquire the Lordship of
LIebenwerda
, which bounded his territory on the east side. In 1370, he acquired the County of Barby with Walternien Castle, which he gave to the Barby family as a
fief
.
In 1369,
William II
, the last Prince of Luneburg died and Emperor
Charles IV
ruled that the
Principality of Luneburg
was a completed fief and awarded it to
Albert
, who was a grandson of William II via his mother and a nephew of Rudolf II via his father. Duke
Magnus II
Torquatus
of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel disagreed with this outcome, which led to the
Luneburg War of Succession
, which lasted long after Rudolf II's death.
Domestic policies
[
edit
]
A major theme of his domestic political activities was his endeavour to secure his revenues. For example, he gave the city of
Herzberg
the right to mine salt and protected the salt route via
Halle
and
Bitterfeld
to
Torgau
. In order to combat
robber barons
, he outlawed such practices and concluded alliances with other cities. In 1358, during his reign, he destroyed Ließnitz castle, a den of robbers on the site where the city of
Kropstadt
would later be built. He arbitrated in a dispute between the Castle Church and the City Church of Wittenberg.
From 1370, he styled himself
Elector of Saxony
, a title he had been granted by the
Golden Bull
of 1356.
Towards the end of his life, he almost completely lost his eyesight, which earned him the nickname
Rudolf the Blind
.
Death
[
edit
]
Rudolf II died on 6 December 1370. As he had no sons or male-line grandsons, he was succeeded by his younger brother,
Wenceslas I
.
During excavations at the site of a former
Franciscan
monastery in Wittenberg in 2009, Rudolf's grave was discovered by archaeologists. He had been buried in a wooden coffin, next to his wife and daughter. His sword and his lead seal had been put in his grave.
Marriage and issue
[
edit
]
Before 8 May 1336, Rudolf II married Elisabeth (d. 30 May 1373, buried at Wittenberg Franciscan monastery), the daughter of Landgrave
Otto of Hesse
. They had one daughter:
- Elisabeth (d. young 1353, buried at Wittenberg Franciscan Monastery).
Sources (including German Wikipedia) named a second marriage with Elisabeth (d. 15 November 1373), the daughter of Count Ulrich II of Lindow-Ruppin, and the existence of a son, Albert, who died soon after birth in 1371. However, this seems unlikely, because the findings at Wittenberg monastery on 2009 showed that Rudolf II was buried with his Hessian wife (presumably the only one because no trace of other grave from another consort was found) and one daughter (who also discarted the existence of a second daughter born from the "first" marriage, Beate, who died ca. 1373).
Ancestors
[
edit
]
Ancestors of Rudolf II, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
|
---|
| | | | | | | | | 16.
Bernard III, Duke of Saxony
| | | | | | | 8.
Albert I, Duke of Saxony
| | | | | | | | | | 17. Judith of Poland
| | | | | | | 4.
Albert II, Duke of Saxony
| | | | | | | | | | | | 18.
Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg
| | | | | | | 9. Helene of Brunswick-Luneburg
| | | | | | | | | | 19.
Matilda of Brandenburg
| | | | | | | 2.
Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 20.
Albert IV, Count of Habsburg
| | | | | | | 10.
Rudolf I of Germany
| | | | | | | | | | 21. Heilwig of Kyburg
| | | | | | | 5.
Agnes of Habsburg
| | | | | | | | | | | | 22. Burckhard V, Count of Hohenburg
| | | | | | | 11.
Gertrude of Hohenberg
| | | | | | | | | | 23. Matilda of Tubingen
| | | | | | | 1.
Rudolf II, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 24.
Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg
| | | | | | | 12.
Otto III, Margrave of Brandenburg
| | | | | | | | | | 25. Matilda of Lusatia
| | | | | | | 6.
Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
| | | | | | | | | | | | 26.
Wenceslaus I of Bohemia
| | | | | | | 13.
Beatrice of Bohemia
| | | | | | | | | | 27.
Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen
| | | | | | | 3. Jutta of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | 28. Poppo VII of Henneberg
| | | | | | | 14.
Herman I, Count of Henneberg
| | | | | | | | | | 29.
Jutta of Thuringia
| | | | | | | 7. Judith of Henneberg-Coburg
| | | | | | | | | | | | 30.
Floris IV, Count of Holland
| | | | | | | 15.
Margaret of Holland
| | | | | | | | | | 31.
Matilda of Brabant
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Paul Braun:
Von der Wittenberger Stiftskirche
, in:
Blatter fur Heimatgeschichte. Beilage der Wittenberger Zeitung
, January 1929
- Georg Hirschfeld:
Geschichte der Sachsisch-Askanischen Kurfursten
, Verlag Sittenfeld, Berlin, 1884
- Friedrich Israel:
Das Wittenberger Universitatsarchiv. Seine Geschichte und seine Bestande
, Gebauer-Schwetschke Verlag, Halle (Saale), 1913
- Heinrich Kuhne:
Die Askanier. Aus der Geschichte der sachsisch-askanischen Herzoge und Kurfursten von Sachsen-Wittenberg
, Drei-Kastanien-Verlag, Wittenberg, 1999,
ISBN
3-933028-14-0
- Helga Waß:
Form und Wahrnehmung mitteldeutscher Gedachtnisskulptur im 14. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zu mittelalterlichen Grabmonumenten, Epitaphen und Kuriosa in Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Thuringen, Nord-Hessen, Ost-Westfalen und Sudniedersachsen
, Edition Tenea, Berlin, 2006,
ISBN
3-86504-159-0
(two volumes; also thesis, University of Gottingen, 2001)
- Katalog ausgewahlter Objekte vom Hohen Mittelalter bis zum Anfang des 15. Jahrhunderts (zur Deckplatte der Doppeltumba Rudolfs II. und seiner Gemahlin Elisabeth
, p. 603 - 607.
- Otto von Heinemann (1889), "
Rudolf II.
",
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie
(in German), vol. 29, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, p. 555
External links
[
edit
]
Rudolf II, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg
Born:
c.
1307
Died:
6 December 1370
|
Regnal titles
|
Preceded by
|
Elector of Saxony
1356?1370
|
Succeeded by
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|