Otto II, Duke of Brunswick-Göttingen

Otto II the One-Eyed
Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Prince of Göttingen
Reign	1394–1463
Born	c. 1380
Died	6 February 1463 Uslar, Brunswick-Lüneburg
Noble family	House of Welf
Spouse(s)	Agnes of Hesse
Issue Margaret
Father	Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Göttingen
Mother	Margaret of Jülich

Otto II of Brunswick-Göttingen (nicknamed Otto Cocles or Otto the One-eyed; c. 1380 – 6 February 1463), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and, after the death of his father Otto the Evil in 1394, ruling Prince of Göttingen.

Still a minor when he succeeded to the throne, he initially had to accept the tutelage of his cousin Frederick I, ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, until he was declared to have reached majority by King Wenceslaus in 1398. His father had left him a financially and ruined politically country. Unlike his warlike father, Otto remained a peace-loving ruler. He managed to restore political order, but was not able to resolve the financial problems. For the maintenance of law and order, he allied with the cities in the region, such as Uslar, Seesen and Gandersheim, to fight against powerful robber barons. He succeeded in 1407, together with the citizens of Göttingen 1407, to storm the castle at Jühnde, and he also forced the Lords of Adelebsen, Hardenberg and Schwicheldt to respect the public peace.

Due to permanent financial constraints, he had to borrow money repeatedly from his Wolfenbüttel cousins and in exchange promised them the succession in Göttingen already in 1395. When Duke Frederick I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel died in 1400, Otto had to sign an inheritance treaty with his surviving brothers Bernard I and Henry the Mild. Nevertheless, Otto's financial situation became untenable. As early as 1435, he withdrew from the business of government and gave the cities and Estates a free rein.

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