Albert II, Duke of Austria

For other people named Albert of Austria, see Albert of Austria (disambiguation).

Albert II (12 December 1298^{[dubious ]} – 16 August 1358), known as the Wise or the Lame, a member of the House of Habsburg, was duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as duke of Carinthia and margrave of Carniola from 1335 until his death.

Albert II
16th century portrait of duke Albert II by Anton Boys
Duke of Austria and Styria
Reign	13 January 1330 – 16 August 1358
Predecessor	Frederick the Fair
Successor	Rudolf IV
Duke of Carinthia
Reign	2 April 1335 – 16 August 1358
Predecessor	Henry of Bohemia
Successor	Rudolf IV
Born	12 December 1298 Habsburg Castle, Swabia
Died	16 August 1358(1358-08-16) (aged 59) Vienna, Austria
Spouse	Johanna of Pfirt
Issue	Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Catherine Margaret Frederick III, Duke of Austria Albert III, Duke of Austria Leopold III, Duke of Austria
House	House of Habsburg
Father	Albert I of Germany
Mother	Elizabeth of Carinthia

Biography

Albert II was born at Habsburg Castle in Swabia, a younger son of King Albert I of Germany and his wife Elizabeth of Carinthia,^[1] a member of the House of Gorizia (Meinhardiner). He initially prepared for an ecclesiastical career and, though still a minor, was elected Bishop of Passau in 1313. However, he had to rival with an opposing candidate and finally renounced the office in 1317.

After the death of their elder brother Frederick the Fair in 1330, the surviving sons Albert II and Otto the Merry became joint rulers of all Habsburg dominions in Austria and Styria. Albert was able to further increase his possessions by the inheritance of his wife Joanna of Pfirt, which was made up of the Alsatian county of Pfirt and several cities. Furthermore, upon the death of his maternal uncle Duke Henry of Carinthia in 1335, Albert succeeded in establishing his claims on the Duchy of Carinthia and the March of Carniola, when he reached his enfeoffment by Emperor Louis IV against the claims raised by his mighty Luxembourg rival King John of Bohemia.

Reflecting his high reputation among the secular and church leaders of Europe, in 1335 Pope Benedict XII asked him to mediate in the church's conflict with Emperor Louis. Two years later, King Philip VI of France 1337 asked him for help against the Wittelsbach emperor and King Edward III of England. Nevertheless, Albert remained faithful to the emperor until Louis' death in 1347; he also was a close ally of his son Duke Louis V of Bavaria. After the demolition of Rapperswil Castle by the forces of Rudolf Brun in 1350, the Austrian duke marched against the Swiss Confederacy and laid siege to the city of Zürich, though to no avail.

In Austria, Duke Albert had the construction of the Gothic Choir begun in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, known as the Albertinian Choir. He established the "Albertinian House Rule" (Albertinische Hausordnung) to predetermine the rules of succession in the Habsburg lands according to the principle of primogeniture. Although the rule was disregarded after his death, it was re-assumed under Emperor Maximilian. Adopted as part of the Pragmatic Sanction in 1713, the Albertinian House Rule effectively remained one of the basic laws of Austria until 1918. Styria owes him its (former) constitution, the so-called "Mountain Book" (Bergbüchel); the same is true for Carinthia.

It has been speculated that Albert had experienced temporal paralysis (explaining his nickname "Albert the Lame") caused by polyarthritis. If so, however, it did not prevent him from fathering numerous children, of whom six survived childhood.

Albert died at Vienna in 1358 and was buried in a monastery of his own foundation, Gaming Charterhouse in present-day Lower Austria. In 1782 the Gaming Charterhouse was secularized by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor; at that time Albert's remains were transferred to the local parish church. In April 1985 they were returned to the Gaming Charterhouse in a ceremony attended by Regina von Habsburg, wife of the Head of the House of Habsburg, Otto von Habsburg, as well as her son Karl von Habsburg.^[2]

According to his House Rule, Albert was succeeded by his eldest son Rudolf IV whose younger brothers acted as regents. However, after Rudolf's death in 1365, the Habsburg lands were divided among Albert's younger sons Albert III and Leopold III by the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg.

Family and children

On 15 February 1324, Albert married Countess Johanna of Pfirt,^[3] daughter of Count Ulrich III of Pfirt, in Vienna. The couple had the following children:

1. Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1 November 1339, Vienna – 27 July 1365, Milan), who succeeded his father as Duke of Austria, Styria and Carinthia. His marriage with Catherine of Luxembourg remained childless; upon his death, he was succeeded by his younger brothers Albert III and Leopold III.^[4]
2. Catherine (1342, Vienna – 10 January 1381, Vienna), Abbess of St. Klara in Vienna.
3. Margaret (1346, Vienna – 14 January 1366, Brno), married:
   1. in Passau 4 September 1359 Count Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol;^[4]
   2. in Vienna 1364 Margrave John Henry of Moravia.^[4]
4. Frederick III, Duke of Austria (1347, Vienna – 1362, Vienna). Died unmarried.^[4]
5. Albert III, Duke of Austria (9 September 1349, Vienna – 29 August 1395, Castle Laxenburg). His first marriage with Elisabeth of Bohemia, a daughter of the Luxembourg emperor Charles IV remained childless;^[3] secondly, he married Beatrix of Nuremberg, a daughter of the Hohenzollern burgrave Frederick V.^[3] Progenitor of the Habsburg Albertinian line.
6. Leopold III, Duke of Austria (1 November 1351, Vienna – 9 July 1386, Sempach). Married to Viridis Visconti, second daughter of Barnabò Visconti, Lord of Milan; progenitor of the Habsburg Leopoldian line.^[3]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Albert II, Duke of Austria

8. Albert IV, Count of Habsburg 4. Rudolf I, King of the Romans 9. Hedwig of Kyburg 2. Albert I, King of the Romans 10. Burkhard V, Count of Hohenberg 5. Gertrude of Hohenberg 11. Matilda of Tübingen 1. Albert II, Duke of Austria 12. Meinhard I, Count of Gorizia-Tyrol 6. Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia 13. Adelaide of Tyrol 3. Elisabeth of Carinthia 14. Otto II, Duke of Bavaria 7. Elisabeth of Bavaria 15. Agnes of the Palatinate

Male-line family tree

v t e House of Habsburg^[n 1]
Original line Albert Count of Habsburg c. 1188–1239 Rudolf I of Germany c. 1218–1291 Albert I of Germany 1255–1308 Hartmann 1263–1281 Rudolf II Duke of Austria 1270–1290 Rudolf I of Bohemia 1281–1307 Frederick the Fair c. 1289–1330 Leopold I Duke of Austria 1290–1326 Albert II Duke of Austria 1298–1358 Henry the Friendly 1299–1327 Otto Duke of Austria 1301–1339 John Parricida c. 1290–1312/1313   Albertinian line   Leopoldian line Rudolf IV Duke of Austria 1339–1365 Frederick III Duke of Austria 1347–1362 Albert III Duke of Austria 1349–1395 Leopold III Duke of Austria 1351–1386 Frederick II Duke of Austria 1327–1344 Leopold II Duke of Austria 1328–1344 Albert IV Duke of Austria 1377–1404 William Duke of Austria c. 1370–1406 Leopold IV Duke of Austria 1371–1411 Ernest Duke of Austria 1377–1424 Frederick IV Duke of Austria 1382–1439 Albert II of Germany 1397–1439 Frederick III HRE 1415–1493 Albert VI Archduke of Austria 1418–1463 Sigismund Archduke of Austria 1427–1496 Ladislaus the Posthumous 1440–1457 Maximilian I HRE 1459–1519 Philip I of Castile 1478–1506   Spanish / Iberian line   Austrian / HRE line Charles V HRE 1500–1558 Ferdinand I HRE 1503–1564 Philip II of Spain 1527–1598 Maximilian II HRE 1527–1576 Ferdinand II Archduke of Austria 1529–1595 Charles II Archduke of Austria 1540–1590 Carlos Prince of Asturias 1545–1568 Philip III of Spain 1578–1621 Rudolf II HRE 1552–1612 Ernest of Austria 1553–1595 Matthias HRE 1557–1619 Maximilian III Archduke of Austria 1558–1618 Albert VII Archduke of Austria 1559–1621 Wenceslaus Archduke of Austria 1561–1578 Andrew Margrave of Burgau 1558–1600 Charles Margrave of Burgau 1560–1618 Ferdinand II HRE 1578–1637 Maximilian Ernest of Austria 1583–1616 Leopold V Archduke of Austria 1586–1632 Charles of Austria 1590–1624 Philip IV of Spain 1605–1665 Charles of Austria 1607–1632 Ferdinand of Austria 1609–1641 John-Charles of Austria 1605–1619 Ferdinand III HRE 1608–1657 Leopold Wilhelm of Austria 1614–1662 Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria 1628–1662 Sigismund Francis Archduke of Austria 1630–1665 Balthasar Charles Prince of Asturias 1629–1646 Charles II of Spain 1661–1700 Ferdinand IV King of the Romans 1633–1654 Leopold I HRE 1640–1705 Charles Joseph of Austria 1649–1664 Joseph I HRE 1678–1711 Charles VI HRE 1685–1740
Notes: "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.

Notes

References

Citations

1. Previte-Orton 1952, p. 796-797.
2. Cugnac, Sophie de (26 April 1985). "Transfert des cendres d'Albrecht II duc d'Autriche". Point de Vue, Images du Monde. 36 (1917): 20–22.
3. Previte-Orton 1952, p. 797.
4. Previte-Orton 1952, p. 796.

Sources

• Gabrielle Caerr-Stamm: Johanna von Pfirt, Gattin des Habsburgers Albrecht II. Herzog von Österreich oder das europäische Schicksal einer Elsässerin ("wife of Habsburg Albert II Duke of Austria or the European Fate of an Alsatian"). Sundgaugeschichtsverein, Riedisheim 1996, ISBN 2-908498-06-5.
• Franz Kurz: Österreich unter Herzog Albrecht dem Lahmen ("Austria under Duke Albert the Lame"), Haslinger, Linz 1819.
• Previte-Orton, C.W. (1952). The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History: The Twelfth Century to the Renaissance. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press.

External links

•   Media related to Albert II, Duke of Austria at Wikimedia Commons

Albert II, Duke of Austria House of Habsburg Born: 12 December 1298 Died: 16 August 1358
Preceded by Frederick the Fair	Duke of Austria and Styria 1330–1358 With: Otto the Merry 1330–1339	Succeeded by Rudolf IV
Preceded by Henry VI	Duke of Carinthia 1335–1358 With: Otto the Merry 1335–1339