William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg

William of Lüneburg ( * April 11, 1184 in Winchester, † December 12, 1213 in Lüneburg ) from the family of the Guelph Duke was of Lüneburg.

William was the youngest son of Duke Henry the Lion and the Duchess Matilda of England. William was the younger brother of the Rhenish Palatinate Count Henry the Elder and Emperor Otto IV

William was born during his father's exile in England. In 1193 he was hostage to the captive King Richard the Lionheart to the Emperor Henry VI. given. He was held in Hungary in custody and held since 1195/1196 in Germany again on. In the years 1197 and 1198 he was a deputy of his brother Heinrich in Braunschweig.

In Paderborn contract from 1 May 1202, the Guelph allodial between him and his brothers Henry the Elder and Otto IV was divided. It was William Luneburg, Dannenberg, Lüchow and Blankenburg. When Duke he built his territory from the center of Lüneburg, which gained increasing importance due to the salt trade. In the Guelf - Ghibelline struggle for the throne of his brother Wilhelm was on Otto IV, for which he took part in several campaigns of the page.

William had since 1202 with Helena († 1233 ), daughter of King Valdemar I of Denmark married. Walked out of the marriage

After William's death in 1213 Otto IV took over control of Lüneburg, before William's son Otto the child left for this. The latter was used in 1223 by his uncle Henry the elder heir of Guelph Allodialbesitzes.

William of Lüneburg was buried in the Benedictine monastery of St. Michael in Lüneburg. He is the progenitor of all later Guelph.