Otto I. (Braunschweig-Göttingen)

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Tomb of Otto des Quaden in the Wiebrechtshausen monastery near Northeim. The head was heavily restored in 1860

Otto I. von Braunschweig-Göttingen , called Otto der Quade (* around 1330; † December 13, 1394 in Hardegsen ) from the Welfen family was nominal Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and from 1367 Prince in the Principality of Göttingen .

Life

His father was Ernst I (1305-1367), who had taken over the rule of the Principality of Göttingen in 1345. After a few years of co-reign, Otto took over the government in this small and economically weak Guelph principality in 1367. He initially resides in Göttingen , where he also organized several large knight tournaments. However, he fell out more and more with the citizens of the city.

Otto received the contemporary nickname "der Quade" (Low German about "the bad one"). This earned him his almost uninterrupted series of feuds, which he led during his reign. Otto is described as a prominent representative of the knighthood of that time. He often allied himself with the noble knights in battles against other princes or against the cities, whose burgeoning power was a thorn in his side. Otto often switched fronts in disputes and engaged in several feuds at the same time.

Among other things, he pursued inheritance claims to the Landgraviate of Hesse since 1367 and tried to enforce them militarily in alliance with the knights in the Star League. In addition, he took part in the Lüneburg War of Succession in parallel . First he fought alongside Magnus II against the Ascanians . In the further course he was able to secure the rule over Braunschweig for a short time between 1374 and 1381 . Both ventures ended unsuccessfully and Otto had to withdraw in exchange for financial compensation.

In 1387 he tried to enforce his influence in the city of Göttingen, but he had little success. In April the people of Göttingen stormed the ducal castle within the city walls; In return, Otto devastated villages and lands in the area. However, the citizens, under the leadership of the city governor Moritz von Uslar, were able to win a victory over the princely armed forces in an open field battle between Rosdorf and Grone in July. Otto then had to recognize the freedom of the Göttingen goods in the area in August 1387.

In the last years of his life, Otto mostly resided at Hardeg Castle

After he was expelled from Göttingen, Otto had to reside in Hardegsen, where he in 1379 by the Lords of Rosdorf the Hardeg Castle had acquired. He died there in 1394. At that time he was exempt from church because he devastated the church of St. Martin in Kirchgandern in 1392. For this reason he was buried in unconsecrated earth north of the monastery church of Wiebrechtshausen near Northeim . It was only later that he was posthumously removed from the church ban, whereupon a chapel later connected to the church was built over the grave.

Overall, Otto's rule is rated negatively because he overestimated his powers and splintered them into too many undertakings. To his only son Otto Cocles (the one-eyed) († 1463) he left a debt-ridden and politically disordered country.

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Otto I. (Braunschweig-Göttingen)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Village chronicle. Retrieved July 3, 2020 .
predecessor Office successor
Ernst I. Duke of Braunschweig-Lüneburg,
Prince of Göttingen
1367–1394 		Otto the one-eyed
personal data
SURNAME Otto I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Otto the Quade
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
DATE OF BIRTH around 1340
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 1394
Place of death Hardegsen