Bernhard, Count of Anhalt (c. 1140 –
2 February 1212) was a member of the
House of Ascania and by paternal inheritance, Count of
Anhalt and
Ballenstedt and Lord of
Bernburg. Since 1180 he was also Duke of Saxony as
Bernhard III.
Life
Early years
Bernhard was the youngest of the seven sons of
Albert the Bear, Margrave of Brandenburg and Duke of Saxony by his wife
Sophie of Winzenburg. In 1157 he was present together with his father and brothers at the funeral
Conrad the Great, member of the House of Wettin and Margrave of Meissen. In 1159 Bernhard, with his brother
Otto, follow the emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa on his trip to
Italy. After the death of his father in 1170, Bernhard inherited the states of Anhalt and the district of Ascaria (
Aschersleben) as well as the former
Gau Serimunt between
Saalde,
Mulde and the
Elbe.
After the death of his brother
Albert in 1172 without male issue, Bernhard also inherited his County of Ballenstedt. In the same year he solicited to the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the
Reichstag of
Goslar the possession of
Plötzkau, which passed to him in 1173. The County of Plötzkau was disputed to him by
Henry the Lion in a war, where he destroyed Aschersleben and
Gröningen and almost had the same with
Halberstadt. Nevertheless, Bernhard could assert his dominion over Plötzkau.
Fall of Henry the Lion
When
Henry the Lion was outlawed by the Emperor in 1180, the Reichstag also took under his control his fiefs (Würzburg and the Duchies of Bavaria and Saxony). Thereupon Bernhard, on
13 April 1180 in
Gelnhausen, was granted the eastern part of the Welf lands, the
Archbishopric of Bremen-Hamburg, which was passed on to his elder brother
Siegfried I, Count of Anhalt, and the
Duchy of Saxony. However, this award was without real value, since this Duchy was a radically belittled territory consisting of three unconnected territories along the river Elbe, from north west to south east, (1)
Hadeln around
Otterndorf, (2) around
Lauenburg upon Elbe and (3) around
Wittenberg upon Elbe. Previously the Duchy had been divided, so that he could only receive the region between
Meissen and the
Mark of Brandenburg as his formal possession. Besides, he received small lands: the towns of
Aken and
Wittenberg and the Burgraviate of
Magdeburg. The dignity of
Duke of Saxony, Angria and Westphalia was only an empty title. The rich lands of
Engern and
Westphalia, in addition to the ducal Highness rights, were conferred to the
Archbishopric-Electorate of Cologne. The counts of
Holstein were released from the homage of the Saxon dukes, the
County of Stade was taken by the Archbishop of Bremen,
Lübeck became an
Imperial City, the Saxon Palatinate was bestowed to Count
Hermann of Thuringia and, in addition, the Saxon bishops took back their fiefs. Nevertheless, Bernhard was forced to support the Emperor in his renewed war against Henry the Lion in 1181. But, despite his defeat, Henry the Lion could save his
Allodial title from which later the
Duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg was formed.
Ruling as Duke of Saxony
In
Nordalbingien and the areas between the Elbe and the
Baltic Sea, the vassals soon rebelled against him and gave their support to Henry the Lion. Bernhard tried to put through his claims, thanks to the support of his brothers, first of all Otto I of Brandenburg and Siegfried, now Archbishop of Bremen. At first the vassals of
Artlenburg swore the oath of fidelity. After them, the counts of
Ratzeburg,
Danneberg,
Luckow and
Schwerin also swore. However, the most powerful of these vassals, Count
Adolf of Holstein, didn't accept the lordship of Bernhard and became in his adversary. Quarrels broke out around
Dithmarschen, in western Holstein, but without success.
After his defeat
Lauenburg (Polabenburg), on the lower Elbe, became in the firm point of opposition to his rule. Determined, to eliminate the hostility against him in his lands, he loaded them with high taxes, by which it came to an attack against Lauenburg and destroyed him in 1182.
In 1183 another of his brothers, Count
Dietrich of Werben died without surviving male issue. His possessions fell mostly to Bernhard.
Now the quarrel also expanded on the Slavic countries.
Henry Borwin I, the son of
Pribislav, was like his father a supporter of Heinry the Lion; moreover, he was also the husband of his illegitimate daughter Mathilde, and remained as one of Bernhard's opponents. His cousin
Nicholas I (Niklot), granted by Henry the Lion with the Burg Malchow in 1164, lost part of it in behalf of Bernhard. Borwin allied with the Duke
Bogislaw I of Pomerania and Niklot with the Prince
Jaromir I of Rügen, which was a faithful vassal of Denmark. But shortly after Bogislaw had to punish Borwin -by a secret order of the emperor- with the help of King
Canute VI of Denmark for his refusal to homage, by which his lands were split between the Elbe and Or to the Empire and Denmark. Borwin got in captivity by King Canute and was forced, like Niklot, to accept his lands of the king as fief. After incursions of the Danes in Pomerania in 1184 and 1185, Bogislaw share the same destiny.
By the success of the Danes, in 1184 the Emperor pressed to a balance between Bernhard and his vassal. Count Adolf of Holstein should keep the disputed regions; however, had to pay for it 700 marks to Bernhard and perform the refused oath of fidelity. Counts
Bernhard of Ratzeburg and
Gunzelin of Schwerin were also obliged to payments. The destroyed Lauenburg should be rebuilt.
However, after Henry's return in 1188 it came again to discussions with Bernhard, who finally lost the town of
Bardowick.
As Duke of Saxony, Bernhard became at the same time in Marshal of the Holy Roman empire. He could hold this important post for the first time in 1190 in the coronation of Emperor
Henry VI; but he broke his good terms with the Emperor by his opposition to made the German crown hereditary into the House of Hohenstaufen. In 1198 he chose
Philipp of Swabia as Emperor. However, he was killed on the
21 June 1208 by Otto of Wittelsbach on Altenburg in
Bamberg. Thereupon a new emperor's choice was fixed in Halberstadt and (with the vote of Bernhard included) was elected
Otto of Brunswick on
22 September, who was crowned immediately in
Frankfurt.
By the acquired Saxon estates Bernhard moved his residence and court to
Wittenberg. In 1260 (with effect as from 1296 on) his grandsons split the
Duchy into the Duchies of
Saxe-Wittenberg (German:
Herzogtum Sachsen-Wittenberg) and
Saxe-Lauenburg (German:
Herzogtum Sachsen-Lauenburg), the latter holding the unconnected two northern territories. Wittenberg remained a residence of the
House of Ascania until the extinction of this line in 1422. On his death, aged seventy-two, he was buried besides his father Albert and several of his brothers in the Church of the Benedictine's monastery in
Ballenstedt.
Marriage and Issue
Bernhard married Brigitte (or Jutta), a daughter of
Canute V of Denmark first, in second marriage Sophia, daughter of
Louis II, the Iron,
Landgrave of Thuringia and in third marriage Judith (b. bef. 1154 – d. aft.
12 December 1201), daughter of
Mieszko III the Old, Duke of
Greater Poland and High Duke of all
Poland.
Category:Dukes of SaxonyCategory:Rulers of AnhaltCategory:House of AscaniaCategory:1140 birthsCategory:1212 deathsde:Bernhard III. (Sachsen)nl:Bernhard III van Saksensv:Bernhard III av Sachsen
