William I, Margrave of Meissen

William I, the one-eyed, ( born December 19, 1343 in Dresden, † February 9, 1407 at Schloss Grimsby ) was Margrave of Meissen. His surname is associated with the legend, the Holy Benno had appeared to him because of his disputes with the church in a dream and gouged out his eye.

Life

William was the son of Frederick the Serious and Mathilde of Bavaria. He owned and ruled the country until his father in 1382 with his older brothers together and in alternation. After his brother Frederick had died in 1381, he performed in 1382 with the other heirs of the so-called Chemnitz division, in which he received the Margraviate of Meissen as an inheritance. Since 1395 he managed as governor Jobst of Moravia and the Mark Brandenburg. William was one of the most active Wettin princes, worked wisely in the elimination of powers smaller noble lords free inside the Mark Meissen and in the defense of the Bohemian Luxembourg. He also acquired the dominion Colditz, brought the rich possessions of the viscount of Dohna, which he sold ( Dohnaische feud ), per se, and was a great patron of the cathedral of Meissen, whose exemption, he helped push through with success. In 1401 he acquired the first three vineyards in the Loessnitz from which for the next nearly 500 years, the Wettin Hofweingut Hoflößnitz arose. In 1404 William founded the Augustinian monastery in Dresden and equipped it with possession.

Due to the high expenditure of the Marquis that arose inter alia, by the conquest of the castle Dohna, but the country and its population was impacted to a great extent. In addition to special tax surveys, an increasing deterioration by considerably reducing the silver content of the coins yielded the Wettin Hauptmünzstätte was the inevitable result. It was only in 1412 succeeded Frederick the Belligerent to stabilize the currency again.

William's first wife was Elizabeth of Moravia († 1400), after whose death he married his second wife, Anna of Brunswick. Both marriages were childless, whereupon his heritage the peacemakers, Frederick the Belligerent and Wilhelm fell to his nephew Frederick the rich.