Wilhelm of Lueneburg

Wilhelm von Lüneburg, oil painting by Georg Friedrich Reichmann around 1835

Wilhelm von Lüneburg (born April 11, 1184 in Winchester , † December 12, 1213 in Lüneburg ) was one of the heirs of the Guelph allodial property in the former Duchy of Saxony. He held the title of Duke of Lüneburg, but his position under imperial law was controversial.

Wilhelm was born in 1184 as the youngest son of Duke Henry the Lion and Duchess Mathilde of England and was the younger brother of the Rhineland Count Palatine Heinrich the Elder and Emperor Otto IV. Wilhelm was born during his father's exile in England. In 1193 he was held hostage for the captured King Richard the Lionheart to Emperor Henry VI. given. He was held in Hungary and had been back in Germany since 1195/1196. In 1197 and 1198 he was his brother Heinrich's deputy in Braunschweig.

In the Paderborn Treaty of May 1, 1202, the Guelph allodial property was divided between him and his brothers Heinrich the Elder and Otto IV. Wilhelm received Lüneburg, Dannenberg, Lüchow and Blankenburg. He expanded his territory with the center of Lüneburg, which gained increasing importance through the salt trade . In the Welfisch-Hohenstaufen throne dispute, Wilhelm stood on the side of his brother Otto IV, for whom he took part in several campaigns.

Wilhelm was married to Helena († 1233), the daughter of King Waldemar I of Denmark , from 1202 . Out of marriage went

1204 Otto produces the child .

After Wilhelm's death in 1213, Otto IV took control of Lüneburg before Wilhelm’s son Otto the child took over. The latter was appointed in 1223 by his uncle Heinrich the Elder to inherit the Guelph allodial property.

Wilhelm von Lüneburg was buried in the Benedictine monastery of St. Michael in Lüneburg. He is the progenitor of all later Guelphs.

literature

Paul Zimmermann : Wilhelm (Duke of Lüneburg) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 42, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1897, pp. 727-729.
Bernd Schneidmüller : The Guelphs. Reign and memory (819–1252). Stuttgart u. a. 2000, ISBN 3-17-014999-7 .

Individual evidence

↑ On the position of the Guelphs under imperial law see: Ernst Schubert: History of Lower Saxony from the 9th to the end of the 15th century. In: Ernst Schubert (Ed.): History of Lower Saxony. Volume 2. Part 1. Politics, constitution, economy from the 9th to the end of the 15th century. Hannover 1997, ISBN 3-7752-5900-7 , pp. 3–904, here: pp. 500–504; Egon Boshof : The emergence of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. In: Wolf-Dieter Mohrmann (Hrsg.): Heinrich the lion. Vandenhoeck & Ruperecht, Göttingen 1980, ISBN 3-525-35520-3 , pp. 264-265.

personal data
SURNAME	Wilhelm of Lueneburg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	William the Fat
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Duke of Lueneburg
DATE OF BIRTH	April 11, 1184
PLACE OF BIRTH	Winchester
DATE OF DEATH	December 12, 1213
Place of death	Luneburg

[1] On the position of the Guelphs under imperial law see: Ernst Schubert: History of Lower Saxony from the 9th to the end of the 15th century. In: Ernst Schubert (Ed.): History of Lower Saxony. Volume 2. Part 1. Politics, constitution, economy from the 9th to the end of the 15th century. Hannover 1997, ISBN 3-7752-5900-7 , pp. 3–904, here: pp. 500–504; Egon Boshof : The emergence of the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg. In: Wolf-Dieter Mohrmann (Hrsg.): Heinrich the lion. Vandenhoeck & Ruperecht, Göttingen 1980, ISBN 3-525-35520-3 , pp. 264-265.