Albert VI, Archduke of Austria

For other people named Albert of Austria, see Albert of Austria (disambiguation).

Albert VI^[1] (German: Albrecht VI.; 18 December 1418 – 2 December 1463), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1424, elevated to Archduke in 1453. As a scion of the Leopoldian line, he ruled over the Inner Austrian duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola from 1424, from 1457 also over the Archduchy of Austria until his death, rivalling with his elder brother Emperor Frederick III. According to tradition, Albert, later known as the Prodigal, was the exact opposite of Frederick: energetic and inclined to thoughtlessness.

Albert VI
Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola
Reign	10 June 1424 – 2 December 1463
Predecessor	Ernest
Successor	Frederick V
Archduke of Austria
Reign	23 November 1457 – 2 December 1463
Predecessor	Ladislaus
Successor	Frederick V
Born	18 December 1418 Vienna, Duchy of Austria
Died	2 December 1463(1463-12-02) (aged 44) Vienna, Archduchy of Austria
Burial	St. Stephen's Cathedral
Spouse	Mechthild of the Palatinate
House	Habsburg
Father	Ernest, Duke of Austria
Mother	Cymburgis of Masovia

Biography

Albert was born in Vienna, the son of the Inner Austrian duke Ernest the Iron from his second marriage with the Piast princess Cymburgis of Masovia.^[2] Still minors upon the death of their father in 1424, he and his brother remained under the tutelage of their uncle Duke Frederick IV of the Empty Pockets,^[2] who ruled over Further Austria and the County of Tyrol.

Coming of age in 1436, Albert, though a junior heir of Inner Austria, received no full rulership anywhere for a long time, which caused friction in his relations with his elder brother Frederick V. When in 1439 both Duke Frederick IV of Further Austria and King Albert II of Germany, Duke of Austria died, Archduke Frederick assumed the guardianship over their minor sons Sigismund and Ladislaus the Posthumous. As Habsburg patriarch, heir of Inner Austria and regent of Further Austria, Tyrol and the Austria proper, he then ruled over all the dynasty's hereditary lands. At that stage, Albert began quarreling with his brother and in 1446 claimed the lands of Further Austria from him.

Albert VI of Austria

The conflict between the brothers escalated when Duke Ladislaus Posthumous of Austria died childless in 1457 and Frederick, Holy Roman Emperor since 1452, came into his inheritance. Albert rose up and in 1458 occupied the western part of the Austrian archduchy "above the Enns" (later known as Upper Austria), which he ruled at Linz as a separate principality (Fürstentum Österreich ob der Enns) and, quite small, his portion of Habsburg patrimony. After laying siege to Frederick in the Vienna Hofburg, he also took over the reign of Austria below the Enns (now Lower Austria) in 1462. Albert however died childless the next year and all his lands fell back to his elder brother.

In 1452 Albert had married Mechthild of the Palatinate, daughter of Count Palatine Louis III.^[3] Albert is credited for founding the University of Freiburg in 1457.^[4]

Male-line family tree

v t e House of Habsburg[n 1]
Original line Albert Count of Habsburg c. 1188–1239 Rudolf I of Germany c. 1218–1291 Albert I of Germany 1255–1308 Hartmann 1263–1281 Rudolf II Duke of Austria 1270–1290 Rudolf I of Bohemia 1281–1307 Frederick the Fair c. 1289–1330 Leopold I Duke of Austria 1290–1326 Albert II Duke of Austria 1298–1358 Henry the Friendly 1299–1327 Otto Duke of Austria 1301–1339 John Parricida c. 1290–1312/1313   Albertinian line   Leopoldian line Rudolf IV Duke of Austria 1339–1365 Frederick III 1347–1362 Albert III Duke of Austria 1349–1395 Leopold III Duke of Austria 1351–1386 Frederick II Duke of Austria 1327–1344 Leopold II Duke of Austria 1328–1344 Albert IV Duke of Austria 1377–1404 William Duke of Austria c. 1370–1406 Leopold IV Duke of Austria 1371–1411 Ernest Duke of Austria 1377–1424 Frederick IV Duke of Austria 1382–1439 Albert II of Germany 1397–1439 Frederick III HRE 1415–1493 Albert VI Archduke of Austria 1418–1463 Sigismund Archduke of Austria 1427–1496 Ladislaus the Posthumous 1440–1457 Maximilian I HRE 1459–1519 Philip I of Castile 1478–1506   Spanish / Iberian line   Austrian / HRE line Charles V HRE 1500–1558 Ferdinand I HRE 1503–1564 Philip II of Spain 1527–1598 Maximilian II HRE 1527–1576 Ferdinand II Archduke of Austria 1529–1595 Charles II Archduke of Austria 1540–1590 Carlos Prince of Asturias 1545–1568 Philip III of Spain 1578–1621 Rudolf II HRE 1552–1612 Ernest of Austria 1553–1595 Matthias HRE 1557–1619 Maximilian III Archduke of Austria 1558–1618 Albert VII Archduke of Austria 1559–1621 Wenceslaus Archduke of Austria 1561–1578 Andrew Margrave of Burgau 1558–1600 Charles Margrave of Burgau 1560–1618 Ferdinand II HRE 1578–1637 Maximilian Ernest of Austria 1583–1616 Leopold V Archduke of Austria 1586–1632 Charles of Austria 1590–1624 Philip IV of Spain 1605–1665 Charles of Austria 1607–1632 Ferdinand of Austria 1609–1641 John-Charles of Austria 1605–1619 Ferdinand III HRE 1608–1657 Leopold Wilhelm of Austria 1614–1662 Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria 1628–1662 Sigismund Francis Archduke of Austria 1630–1665 Balthasar Charles Prince of Asturias 1629–1646 Charles II of Spain 1661–1700 Ferdinand IV King of the Romans 1633–1654 Leopold I HRE 1640–1705 Charles Joseph of Austria 1649–1664 Joseph I HRE 1678–1711 Charles VI HRE 1685–1740
Notes: "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.

Notes

1. Konstantin Moritz A. Langmaier: Erzherzog Albrecht VI. von Österreich (1418–1463). Ein Fürst im Spannungsfeld von Dynastie, Regionen und Reich (= Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters. Bd. 38). Böhlau, Köln u.a. 2015, ISBN 978-3-412-50139-6. Cf. http://www.regesta-imperii.de/fileadmin/user_upload/downloads/Regesta_Imperii_Beiheft_38_Druckv.pdf
2. Watanabe 2011, p. 132.
3. Watanabe 2011, p. 106.
4. Holtkamp 1998, p. 14.

References

• Holtkamp, Wolfgang (1998). "Albert Ludwigs University". In Devine, Mary Elizabeth; Summerfield, Carol (eds.). International Dictionary of University Histories. FitzRoy Dearborn Publishers. pp. 14–17.
• Watanabe, Morimichi (2011). Nicholas of Cusa: A Companion to His Life and His Times. Ashgate Publishing.
• Langmaier, Konstantin M. Erzherzog Albrecht VI. von Österreich (1418–1463), Ein Fürst im Spannungsfeld von Dynastie, Regionen und Reich (Forschungen zur Kaiser- und Papstgeschichte des Mittelalters, Beihefte zu J. F. Böhmer, Regesta Imperii 38, Köln, Weimar, Wien 2015. Cf. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337656429_Whaley_Review_Albrecht_VI_701202

Albert VI, Archduke of Austria House of Habsburg Born: 18 December 1418 Died: 2 December 1463
Preceded by: Ernest	Duke of Inner Austria (Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola) 1424–1463 with Frederick V	Succeeded by: Frederick V
Preceded by: Ladislaus	Archduke of Austria 1457–1463 with Frederick V