Albert II | |||||
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Margrave of Meissen Landgrave of Thuringia Count Palatine of Saxony |
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Margrave of Meissen | |||||
Reign | 1288–1292 | ||||
Predecessor | Henry III | ||||
Successor | Frederick Tuta | ||||
Landgrave of Thuringia | |||||
Reign | 1265–1294 | ||||
Predecessor | Henry III | ||||
Successor | Adolf | ||||
Count Palatine of Saxony | |||||
Reign | 1265–1292 | ||||
Predecessor | Henry III | ||||
Successor | Frederick I | ||||
Born | 1240 Meissen, Duchy of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
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Died | 20 November 1314 Erfurt, Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg, Holy Roman Empire |
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Spouse |
Margaret of Sicily Kunigunde of Eisenberg Elisabeth of Orlamünde |
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Issue |
Henry, Lord of Pleissner Frederick I, Margrave of Meissen Dietrich IV, Landgrave of Lusatial Margaret Agnes, Duchess of Brunswick-Grubenhagen Elisabeth Apitz |
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House | House of Wettin | ||||
Father | Henry III, Margrave of Meissen | ||||
Mother | Constantia of Austria |
Full name | |
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Albert the Degenerate |
Albert II, the Degenerate (de: Albrecht II der Entartete) (1240 – 20 November 1314) was a Margrave of Meissen, Landgrave of Thuringia and Count Palatine of Saxony. He was a member of the House of Wettin.
He was the eldest son of Henry III, Margrave of Meissen by his first wife, Constantia of Austria.
In 1265 Margrave Henry III granted the Landgraviate of Thuringia and the Palatinate to Albrecht and the Margraviate of Landsberg in the Osterland to his younger brother Dietrich. Henry III kept for himself the Margraviates of Meissen and Lusatia as a formal power over his sons.
In June 1255 Albert married Margaret of Sicily, the daughter of Emperor Frederick II, who was also King of Sicily, and Isabella of England. Margaret, also known as Margaret of Schwaben was a sister of Henry Otto, also known as Carlotto. As a dowry the Pleissnerland was pledged to the House of Wettin. Albert and Margaret had five children:
After what was at first a happy rule and marriage, Albert turned away from Margaret and began a passionate love affair with Kunigunde of Eisenberg. She bore him two children: a daughter, Elisabeth in 1269, and a son, Albert ("Apitz") in 1270.
When she discovered the adultery and the illegitimate births, Margaret left Wartburg on 24 June 1270 and went to Frankfurt am Main where she died on 8 August of the same year. The two younger sons, Frederick and Diezmann were looked after by their uncle, Theodoric of Landsberg. Henry, the oldest, disappeared in Silesia in 1282.