John, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

John (1242–1277) reigned jointly with his brother, Albert, as the second Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg until the partition of the duchy. John was also the first ruler of the newly created Principality of Lüneburg in 1269.

Life

John's father, Otto the Child, was the first Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. After his death in 1252, John ruled the duchy jointly with his elder brother Albert. As the brothers could not agree who should govern the duchy, in 1267 they decided to divide their possession. In 1269 John received the right to choose his part. He chose the Lüneburg Land and the city of Hanover, forming the Principality of Lüneburg. Albert receive the land around Brunswick and Wolfenbüttel as well as parts of the Principality of Calenberg and around Göttingen. John thus founded the Old Line of Lüneburg^[1] and his brother the Old Line of Brunswick.

John died on 13 December 1277 and was buried in the cloister of St. Michael's Church in Lüneburg.

Family and children

In 1265 John married Liutgard of Holstein-Itzehoe (d. after 28 February 1289), daughter of Gerhard I, Count of Holstein-Itzehoe, and had five children:

1. Otto II the Strict (1266–1330) married in 1288 to Princess Matilda of Bavaria (d. 1319)
2. Matilde (d. after 1308), married in 1291 to Henry I, Prince of Mecklenburg-Güstrow (d. 1291)
3. Elisabeth (d. 1294/1298), married to John II, Count of Oldenburg (d. 1316)
4. Agnes (d. around 1314) married c. 1283 to Count Werner I of Hadmersleben (d. 1292)
5. Helene, married in 1315 to Count Conrad III of Wernigerode

His illegitimate son, Henry of Brunswick (d. 23 August 1324), was a canon in Walsrode.

Ancestry

Ancestors of John, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

16. Henry X, Duke of Bavaria               8. Henry the Lion                       17. Gertrude of Süpplingenburg               4. William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg                             18. Henry II of England               9. Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony                       19. Eleanor of Aquitaine               2. Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   20. Canute Lavard               10. Valdemar I of Denmark                       21. Ingeborg of Kiev               5. Helena of Denmark                             22. Volodar, Prince of Minsk and Hrodna               11. Sophia of Minsk                       23. Richeza of Poland               1. John, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                         24. Albert the Bear               12. Otto I, Margrave of Brandenburg                       25. Sophie of Winzenburg               6. Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg                             3. Matilda of Brandenburg                                   28. Dedi III, Margrave of Lusatia               14. Conrad II, Margrave of Lusatia                       29. Mathilde of Heinsberg               7. Matilda of Lusatia                             30. Mieszko III the Old               15. Elisabeth of Greater Poland                       31. Elisabeth of Hungary

Footnotes and references

1. Variously called the First or Old or Elder House or Line of Lüneburg, etc.

External links

• (German) genealogie-mittelalter.de Genealogy of the Lüneburg families