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| Albrecht III Achilles | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait of Albrecht Achilles, St. Gumbertus, Ansbach (1484) | |
| Elector of Brandenburg | |
| Reign | 10 February 1471 – 11 March 1486 |
| Predecessor | Frederick II |
| Successor | John Cicero |
| Born | (1414-11-09)9 November 1414 Tangermünde,Brandenburg |
| Died | 11 March 1486(1486-03-11) (aged 71) Imperial City of Frankfurt |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue Detail | |
| House | Hohenzollern |
| Father | Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg |
| Mother | Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut |
| Signature |  |
Albrecht III (9 November 1414 – 11 March 1486) wasElector of Brandenburg from 1471 until his death, the third from theHouse of Hohenzollern. A member of theOrder of the Swan, he received thecognomenAchilles because of hisknightly qualities and virtues. He also ruled in theFranconian principalities ofAnsbach from 1440 andKulmbach from 1464 (as Albrecht I).
Albrecht was born at theBrandenburg residence ofTangermünde as the third son of theNuremberg burgraveFrederick I and his wife, theWittelsbach princessElisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut. His father served as governor in Brandenburg; a few months after Albrecht's birth, he was enfeoffed with theelectorate at theCouncil of Constance by theLuxembourg emperorSigismund.
After passing some time at the court of Emperor Sigismund, Albrecht took part in theHussite Wars, and afterwards distinguished himself whilst assisting Sigismund's successor, theHabsburg kingAlbert II of Germany, against the Hussites and theirPolish allies.[1] In 1435, he and his eldest brotherJohn went on a pilgrimage toJerusalem.
On the division of territory which followed his father's death in 1440, Albrecht received the Principality of Ansbach, while John took over the rule of Brandenburg as its elector. Although Albrecht's resources were meager, he soon took a leading place among the Germanprinces and was especially prominent in resisting the attempts of the towns to obtain self-government.[1]
Nevertheless, Albrecht's plans to re-unite the formerDuchy of Franconia under his rule failed: in 1443, he formed a league directed mainly against theImperial City of Nuremberg, over which his late father had formerly exercised the rights of burgrave. It was not until 1448, however, that he found a pretext for attack. After initial military successes in theFirst Margrave War, he was defeated at the Battle of Pillenreuther Weiher, resulting in the Treaty of Bamberg (22 June 1450), which forced Albrecht to return all of the conquered territory and to recognize the independence of Nuremberg and its associated towns.[1]
Albrecht supported the Habsburg emperorFrederick III in his struggle with the princes who desired reforms in theHoly Roman Empire, and in return for this loyalty received many marks of favour from Frederick, including extensive judicial rights which aroused considerable irritation among neighbouring rulers.[1]
In 1457, Albrecht arranged a marriage between his eldest son John, and Margaret, daughter ofWilliam III, Landgrave ofThuringia, who inherited the claims uponHungary andBohemia of her mother, a granddaughter of EmperorSigismund. The attempt to secure these thrones for the Hohenzollerns through this marriage failed, and a similar fate befell Albrecht's efforts to revive in his own favour the disused title of duke ofFranconia.[1]
The sharp dissensions which existed among the princes over the question of reform culminated in theBavarian War from 1459 to 1463, when Albrecht was confronted with a league under the leadership of Elector PalatineFrederick I and hisWittelsbach cousin DukeLouis IX of Bavaria-Landshut. Though defeated in the struggle, Albrecht continued fighting against Prince-bishopRudolf II of Würzburg and even forged an alliance with his former enemy, theBohemian kingGeorge of Poděbrady, a step which causedPope Paul II to place him under the ban.[1]
Albrecht permanently resided atAnsbach from 1460; he also inherited the Principality of Kulmbach upon the death of his brother John in 1464.
In 1471, Albrecht became Elector of Brandenburg, owing to the abdication of his remaining brother, ElectorFrederick II, the year before. Now sole ruler over the entire Hohenzollern estates, he was soon actively engaged in their administration. By the 1472Treaty of Prenzlau he ended theWar of the Succession of Stettin, bringing theDuchy of Pomerania also under his supremacy.
Having established his right to levy a tonnage on wines in the mark, he issued in February 1473 theDispositio Achillea, which decreed that the Margraviate of Brandenburg should descend in its entirety to the eldest son, while the younger sons should receive the Franconian possessions of the family.[1] After treating in vain for a marriage between one of his sons andMary of Burgundy, daughter and heiress of DukeCharles the Bold, Albrecht handed over the government of Brandenburg to his eldest sonJohn Cicero, and returned to his Franconian possessions.[1]
Albrecht's main attention afterwards was claimed by the business of the empire. Seriously ill, he took part in theimperial election of 1486 which selectedMaximilian of Austria asKing of the Romans atFrankfurt Cathedral. A few weeks later, in March, Albrecht died while still staying inFrankfurt; he was buried in theHeilsbronn Abbey church near Ansbach. He left a considerable amount of treasure.[1]
Albrecht was married twice. First, he married 12 November 1446Margaret of Baden, daughter of MargraveJakob I of Baden andCatherine of Lorraine. From this marriage he had following children:
Margaret died 24 October 1457 and in 1458 Albrecht marriedAnna, daughter ofFrederick II, Elector of Saxony and Margarete of Austria. Their children were:
In 1474, Albrecht married his daughterBarbara to DukeHenry XI of Głogów, who left his possessions on his death in 1476 to his widow with reversion to her family, an arrangement which was resisted by Henry's kinsman, DukeJan II of Żagań. Aided by KingMatthias Corvinus of Hungary, Jan of Żagań invaded Brandenburg, and thePomeranians seized the opportunity to revolt. Under these circumstances Albrecht returned to Brandenburg in 1478, compelled the Pomeranians to recognize his supremacy, and, after a stubborn struggle, secured a part of Duke Henry's lands for his daughter in 1482.[1]
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Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Albert III.".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 494–495. Endnote: See
Albrecht III Achilles Born: 9 November 1414 Died: 11 March 1486 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1440–1486 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 1457–1486 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Elector of Brandenburg 1471–1486 | Succeeded by |
