Dedi III, Margrave of Lusatia
| Dedi III | |
|---|---|
| Margrave of Lusatia | |
Tomb of Dedo, with his wife Matilda next to him, on the left
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| Reign | 1185–1190 |
| Predecessor | Theodoric I |
| Successor | Conrad II |
| Spouse(s) | Matilda of Heinsberg |
| Noble family | House of Wettin |
| Father | Conrad I, Margrave of Meissen |
| Mother | Luitgard of Elchingen Ravenstein |
| Born | c. 1130 |
| Died | 16 August 1190 |
| Buried | Wechselburg Priory |
Dedi III (German: Dedo), nicknamed the Fat (c. 1130 – 16 August 1190), a member of the House of Wettin, was Margrave of Lusatia from 1185 until his death.
Dedo was a younger son of the Wettin margrave Conrad I of Meissen and his wife Luitgard of Ravenstein. From 1144, he administered the lordship of Groitzsch as heir apparent of the late Count Henry of Groitzsch (d. 1135), and also as an adopted son of his aunt Bertha (d. 1143), Henry's sister and Groitzsch heiress. When Margrave Conrad retired in 1156, the extended Wettin estates were divided and Dedi formally received the County of Groitzsch and the Lordship of Rochlitz, with jurisdiction over the Bishopric of Naumburg.
Dedi participated in five campaigns of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick Barbarossa to Italy. In 1177, he served as Frederick's envoy to Pope Alexander III and swore, on Frederick's behalf, to uphold the Treaty of Venice, which ended the schism between pope and emperor.
Back in Germany, Dedi appears to have spent most of his life in Rochlitz. Like his elder brother Margrave Otto II of Meissen, he encouraged the settlement of ethnic Germans in his territory. He founded Wechselburg Priory as a private monastery, where he and his descendants were buried. Together with his elder brothers Margrave Otto II of Meissen and Margrave Theodoric I of Lusatia, he was a loyal supporter of Emperor Frederick in his conflict with the Welf duke Henry the Lion.
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