Albertine branch

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Coat of arms of the House of Wettin, Albertine line Coat of arms of Wettin House Albert Line.png
Coat of arms of the House of Wettin, Albertine line

The Albertine branch is a German princely line of the House of Wettin. It is named after its founder, Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500). It emerged from the dynastic division between duke Albert and his older brother Ernest, Elector of Saxony (d. 1486), founder of the elder Ernestine branch. Regulated by the Treaty of Leipzig (1485), the division of domains and titles between two brothers led to the creation of separate Wettin branches and their distinctive states within the Holy Roman Empire. From 1485 to 1918, the Albertines ruled various parts of Saxony as dukes (from 1485), electors (1547), and kings (from 1806). In time, the Alberines branched further, thus creating several distinctive duchies for secondary lines, while members of the main (electoral) line also ruled as Kings of Poland and Grand Dukes of Lithuania (1697-1763). [1]

Contents

History

Albert III, Duke of Saxony, the first Albertine Dresden Fuerstenzug Albert der Beherzte.jpg
Albert III, Duke of Saxony, the first Albertine

Upon death of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony in 1464, his sons Ernest and Albert initially ruled their inherited lands jointly, with Ernest, the elder brother, holding the electoral title. In 1485, the brothers concluded the Treaty of Leipzig and divided lands and titles: Ernest kept the Saxon electoral office (attached to the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg) and various domains in southern parts of Thuringia, while Albert received ducal title and rule over the old Margraviate of Meissen, together with several domains in northern parts of Thuringia. [2]

Thus, the Albertines ruled over their domains as Saxon dukes, from 1485 to 1547. [3]

Acquisition of the electoral dignity

During the early Reformation, the Wettin branches were divided in their stances. While Ernestine Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525) supported the movement, his Albertine cousin George, Duke of Saxony (d. 1539) attempted to prevent its spread in his domains. The Reformation was only introduced in the Albertine lands under George's brother and successor Henry IV, Duke of Saxony (d. 1541). Although the Albertine duke Maurice (d. 1553) was also a Protestant, in 1546 he sided with Emperor Charles V against the Protestant princes of the Schmalkaldic League under the leadership of his Ernestine cousin John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony. After the defeat of the Protestants in the Schmalkaldic War, the Capitulation of Wittenberg was concluded in 1547, forcing John Frederick I to renounce the Saxon electoral office, that was transferred to Maurice, together with large parts of the Ernestine lands. That resulted in a radical territorial recomposition of the Electorate of Saxony, and since then, the Albertine branch became the more powerful line of the House of Wettin. [4]

The common minting agreed between the Ernestine and Albertine branch in the main division of Leipzig in 1485 was finally abandoned after 1547, and the new Albertine Elector Moritz issued coins in his own name (Saxon coin separation). [5]

Family tree of the Albertine branch

House of Wettin
Margaret of Austria Frederick II
Sidonie of Poděbrady Albert III Ernestine
Catherine of Mecklenburg Henry IV George, Duke of Saxony Barbara Jagiellon
Anne of Denmark Augustus, Elector of Saxony Maurice, Elector of Saxony
Sophie of Brandenburg Christian I, Elector of Saxony
Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia John George I Christian II
Margravine Magdalene Sibylle of Brandenburg-Bayreuth John George II Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels
(Founder of the Weißenfels branch, died out in 1746)		 Christian I
(Founder of the Merseburg branch, died out in 1738)		 Maurice
(Founder of the Zeitz branch, died out in 1718)
Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark John George III
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth Augustus II the Strong
(born as August II, King of Poland)		 John George IV Eleonore Erdmuthe of Saxe-Eisenach
Maria Josepha of Austria Augustus III of Poland
(born as August III, King of Poland)
Duchess Maria Antonia of Bavaria Frederick Christian
Princess Carolina of Parma Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Saxony
(renounces the throne in 1830)		 Frederick Augustus I of Saxony
(since 1806 as Friedrich August I. King of Saxony)		 Anthony of Saxony
Amalie Auguste of Bavaria John of Saxony Frederick Augustus II of Saxony
Infanta Maria Anna of Portugal George, King of Saxony Albert of Saxony
Archduchess Louise of Austria Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony Friedrich Christian, Margrave of Meissen Prince Ernst Heinrich of Saxony Margarete Carola WilhelmineMaria Alix LuitpoldaAnna Pia Monika

References

  1. ↑ Groß 2007.
  2. ↑ Wilson 2016, p. 374.
  3. ↑ Groß 2007, p. 92-119.
  4. ↑ Wilson 2016, p. 410, 560, 739.
  5. ↑ Paul Arnold: Kurfürst August (1553–1586) und das sächsische Münzwesen. In Numismatische Hefte. Nr. 20, Dresden 1986, P. 13. (German)

Sources

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