| Albert I | |
|---|---|
 Seal of Albert I, inscribed in Latin:Albertus Dei gratia Romanorum rex semper augustus ('Albert by the grace of God King of the Romans, ever majestic') | |
| King of Germany (formallyKing of the Romans) | |
| Reign | 27 July 1298 – 1 May 1308 |
| Coronation | 24 August 1298 Aachen Cathedral |
| Predecessor | Adolf |
| Successor | Henry VII |
| Born | July 1255 Imperial City ofRheinfelden |
| Died | 1 May 1308(1308-05-01) (aged 52) Windisch,Further Austria |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Elizabeth of Carinthia |
| Issue |
|
| House | House of Habsburg |
| Father | Rudolph I of Germany |
| Mother | Gertrude of Hohenberg |
Albert I of Habsburg (German:Albrecht I.) (July 1255 – 1 May 1308) was aDuke of Austria andStyria from 1282 andKing of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of KingRudolf I of Germany[1] and his first wifeGertrude of Hohenberg. Sometimes referred to as 'Albert the One-eyed' because of a battle injury that left him with a hollow eye socket and a permanent snarl.[2]
From 1273 Albert ruled as alandgrave over his father'sSwabian (Further Austrian) possessions inAlsace. In 1282 his father, the first German monarch from theHouse of Habsburg, invested him and his younger brotherRudolf II with the duchies ofAustria andStyria,[3] which he had seized from late KingOttokar II of Bohemia and defended in the 1278Battle on the Marchfeld. By the 1283Treaty of Rheinfelden his father entrusted Albert with their sole government, while Rudolf II ought to be compensated by the Further Austrian Habsburg home territories – which, however, never happened until his death in 1290. Albert and his Swabianministeriales appear to have ruled the Austrian and Styrian duchies with conspicuous success, overcoming the resistance by local nobles.
King Rudolf I was unable to secure the succession to the German throne for his son, especially due to the objections raised by Ottokar's son KingWenceslaus II of Bohemia, and the plans to install Albert as successor of the assassinated KingLadislaus IV of Hungary in 1290 also failed. Upon Rudolf's death in 1291, thePrince-electors, fearing Albert's power and the implementation of ahereditary monarchy, chose CountAdolf of Nassau-Weilburg asKing of the Romans. An uprising among his Styrian dependents compelled Albert to recognize the sovereignty of his rival and to confine himself for a time to the government of the Habsburg lands atVienna.[3]
He did not abandon his hopes of the throne, however, which were eventually realised: In 1298, he was chosen German king by some of the princes, who were bothered about Adolf's attempts to gain his own power bases in the lands ofThuringia andMeissen, again led by the Bohemian king Wenceslaus II. The armies of the rival kings met at theBattle of Göllheim nearWorms, where Adolf was defeated and slain.[4]
Submitting to a new election but securing the support of several influential princes by making extensive promises, he was chosen at theImperial City ofFrankfurt on 27 July 1298, and crowned atAachen Cathedral on 24 August.[5]
Although a hard, stern man, Albert had a keen sense of justice when his own interests were not involved, and few of the German kings possessed so practical an intelligence. He encouraged the cities, and not content with issuing proclamations against private war, formed alliances with the princes in order to enforce his decrees. The serfs, whose wrongs seldom attracted notice in an age indifferent to the claims of common humanity, found a friend in this severe monarch, and he protected even the despised and persecuted Jews. Stories of his cruelty and oppression in theSwiss cantons (cf.William Tell) did not appear until the 16th century, and are now regarded as legendary.[3]
Albert sought to play an important part in European affairs. He seemed at first inclined to press a quarrel with theKingdom of France over theBurgundian frontier, but the refusal ofPope Boniface VIII to recognize his election led him to change his policy, and, in 1299, he made a treaty with KingPhilip IV, by which his son Rudolph was to marry Blanche, the King's half-sister. He afterwards became estranged from Philip, but in 1303, Boniface recognized him as German king and future emperor; in return, Albert recognized the authority of the pope alone to bestow theImperial crown, and promised that none of his sons should be elected German king without papal consent.[3]
Albert had failed in his attempt to seize the counties ofHolland andZeeland, as vacant fiefs of theHoly Roman Empire, on the death of CountJohn I in 1299, but in 1306 he secured the crown ofBohemia for his sonRudolph III on the death of KingWenceslaus III. He also renewed the claim made by his predecessor, Adolf, on Thuringia, and interfered in a quarrel over the succession to theHungarian throne. The Thuringian attack ended in Albert's defeat at theBattle of Lucka in 1307 and, in the same year, the death of his son Rudolph weakened his position in eastern Europe. His action in abolishing all tolls established on theRhine since 1250 led the Rhenish prince-archbishops and theElector of the Palatinate to form a league against him. Aided by theImperial cities, however, he soon crushed the rising.[3]
Albert was on the way to suppress a revolt inSwabia when he was murdered on 1 May 1308, atWindisch on the Reuss, by his nephew DukeJohn, afterwards called "the Parricide" or "John Parricida".[6]
His full name and titles were:Albert, by the grace of God, King of the Romans, Duke of Austria and Styria, Lord ofCarniola, over theWendish Mark and ofPort Naon, Count ofHabsburg andKyburg, Landgrave ofAlsace.
In 1274, Albert had marriedElizabeth,[7] daughter of CountMeinhard II ofTyrol, who was a descendant of theBabenberg margraves of Austria who predated the Habsburgs' rule. The baptismal name Leopold, patronsaint margrave of Austria, was given to one of their sons. Queen Elizabeth was in fact better connected to mighty German rulers than her husband: she was a descendant of earlier German kings, including EmperorHenry IV; she was also a niece of theWittelsbach dukes ofBavaria, Austria's important neighbor.
Albert and Elizabeth had twelve children:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Albert I.".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 496.
The poem
A Monarch's Death-bed., byFelicia Hemans recalls the scene of Albert's death, where he was supposedly comforted by a passing peasant woman. From Friendship's Offering annual, 1826.
Albert I of Germany Born: 1255 Died: 1308 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Count of Habsburg 1291–1308 withRudolph VI (1298–1307) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King of Germany 1298–1308 | Succeeded by |
| Margrave of Meissen 1298–1307 withTheodoric II (1291–1307) Frederick I (1291–1323) | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Duke of Austria andStyria 1282–1308 withRudolph II (1282–83) Rudolph III (1298–1307) | Succeeded by |
