ALBERT III. ( 1443-1500), duke of Saxony, surnamed ANIMOSUS
or THE COURAGEOUS, younger son of Frederick II., the Mild,
elector and duke of Saxony, was born on the 27th of January
1443, and after escaping from the hands of Kunz von Kaufungen,
who had abducted him together with his brother Ernest, passed
some time at the court of the emperor Frederick III. in
Vienna. In 1464 he married Zedena, or Sidonia, daughter of
George Podebrad, king of Bohemia, but failed to obtain the
Bohemian Crown on the death of George in 1471. After the
death of the elector Frederick in 1464, Albert and Ernest ruled
their lands together, but in 1485 a division was made by the
treaty of Leipzig, and Albert received Meissen, together,with
some adjoining districts, and founded the Albertine branch of
the family of Wettin. Regarded as a capable soldier by the
emperor, Albert, in 1475, took a prominent part in the campaign
against Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, and in 1487 led
an expedition against Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary,
which failed owing to lack of support on the part of the
emperor. In 1488 he marched with the imperial forces to free
the Roman king Maximilian from his imprisonment at Bruges, and
when, in 1489, the king returned to Germany, Albert was left
as his representative to prosecute the war against the rebels.
He was successful in restoring the authority of Maximilian
in Holland, Flanders and Brabant, but failed to obtain any
repayment of the large sums of money which he had spent in these
campaigns. His services were rewarded in 1498 when Maximilian
bestowed upon him the title of hereditary governor (potestat)
of Friesland, but he had to make good his claim by force of
arms. He had to a great extent succeeded, and was paying
a visit to Saxony, when he was recalled by news of a fresh
rising. Groningen was captured, but soon afterwards the duke
died at Emden, on the 12th of September 1500. He was buried at
Meissen. Albert, who was a man of great strength and considerable
skill in feats of arms, delighted in tournaments and knightly
exercises. His loyalty to the emperor Frederick, and the expenses
incurred in this connexion, aroused some irritation among his
subjects, but his rule was a period of prosperity in Saxony.
See
F. A. von Langenn, Herzog Albrecht der Beherzte,
Stammvater des koniglichen IIauses Sachsen (Leipzig,
1838)
O. Sperling, Herzog Albrecht der Beherzte
von Sachsen als Gubernator Frieslands (Leipzig, 1892).
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