Albert II of Germany
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- For other persons named Albert of Austria, see Albert of Austria (disambiguation).
Albert II of Habsburg (August 10, 1397 – October 27, 1439), German ruler, King of Bohemia and Hungary, and (as Albert V) Duke of Austria, was born on August 10, 1397, the son of Albert IV of Austria, Duke of Austria. From 1438 until his death in 1439 he was "King of the Romans" in the Holy Roman Empire.
Albert succeeded to the duchy of Austria on his father's death in 1404. After receiving a good education, he undertook the government of Austria in 1411, and succeeded, with the aid of his advisers, in ridding the duchy of the evils which had arisen during his minority. He assisted the German emperor Sigismund, who was also king of Hungary and Bohemia, in his campaigns against the Hussites, and in 1422 married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Sigismund, who designated him as his successor. (Note that she was not the daughter of Sigismund's first wife Mary of Hungary, and thus not descended from Angevin kings of Hungary, but in many ways, she descended from the old Arpád kings of Hungary.) Elisabeth was daughter of Emperor Sigismund and his second wife, the Slovenian noblewoman Barbara of Celje. Her paternal grandparents were Emperor Charles IV and Elisabeth of Pomerania. Her maternal grandfather was Count Herman II of Celje, whose parents were the Slovenian ruler Count Herman I of Celje and Catherine of Bosnia (who apparently descended also from Nemanjic kings of Serbia and from Catherine of Hungary, a daughter of Stephen V of Hungary). In right of the paternal grandparents, she was, through Emperor Charles, an heiress of Bohemia, and through Elisabeth of Pomerania, an heiress of Poland, of its Kujavian Piast branch of kings. Thus, Albert's marriage brought him claims to several Slavic kingdoms and principalities.
She was also a descendant of Arpads of Hungary, through her great-grandmother Elisabeth of Bohemia, who herself was granddaughter of Anna Rostislavna of Halicia, whose mother Constance was a daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary. Admittedly, this was not a very close Hungarian connection, but all the other descendants of Arpads were approximately as distant at that time. Additionally, she descended from Ottokar I of Bohemia's second wife Constance of Hungary, daughter of Bela III of Hungary.
Albert himself descended from Bela IV of Hungary through his daughter Ilona whose descendant was a princess of Brieg who became Albert's ancestress the countess of Hainaut and Holland, and from a younger sister of Queen Elisabeth of Bohemia, thus descending from both Constances of Hungary, and also from King Geza II of Hungary through his daughter Elisabeth who married Bedrich of Czech, their daughter being an ancestress of Albert's maternal Bavarian line.
When Sigismund died in 1437, Albert was crowned king of Hungary on January 1, 1438, and although crowned king of Bohemia six months later, he was unable to obtain possession of the country. He was engaged in warfare with the Bohemians and their Polish allies, when on March 18, 1438 he was chosen as German emperor at Frankfurt, an honour which he does not appear to have sought. He thus was "King of the Romans", but he was not crowned as Holy Roman Emperor.
Afterwards engaged in defending Hungary against the attacks of the Turks, he died on October 27, 1439 at Neszmély, and was buried at Székesfehérvár. Albert was an energetic and warlike prince, whose short reign gave great promise of usefulness for Germany.
His children, with Elisabeth II of Bohemia (of the House of Luxemburg), were:
- Ladislas V Posthumus of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Bohemia
- Anne of Austria, (1432-1462), who married William III, Duke of Saxony. William became (1357-69) Duke of Luxembourg, in right of his wife.
- Elisabeth (1438-1505), who married Casimir IV of Poland, and whose son Ladislas VI of Bohemia later became king of Bohemia and Hungary.
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| Preceded by: Sigismund |
King of Germany Also King of the Romans |
Succeeded by: Frederick III |
| King of Hungary | Succeeded by: Ulaszlo I of Hungary |
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| King of Bohemia | Ladislaus I Posthumus | |
| Albert IV | Archduke of Austria |
[edit] References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
