ALBERT, or AminEcrrr. Five sovereign dukes of Austria (q.v.) bore this name, of whom two (I. and V.) were also emperors of Germany. A. I., duke of Austria and emperor of Germany, was the eldest son of Rudolph I., and born in the year 1248. Rudolph, about the close of his career, made an effort to have A. appointed his successor; but the electors, tired of his authority, and emboldened by his age and infirmities, refused to comply with his request. After Rudolph's death, Austria and Styria revolted; but A., having vigorously crushed the insurrection, had the audacity to assume the insignia of the empire without waiting for the decision of the diet. This violent measure induced the electors to choose, in preference to him, Adolphus of Nassau. Disturbances in Switzerland, and a disease which cost him an eye, now rendered him more humble; he delivered up the insignia which he had so rashly assumed, and took the oath of allegiance to the new emperor, who, however, after some years, so completely disgusted his subjects, that A. began to entertain hopes of recovering his imperial dignity.. In 1298, Adolphus was deposed, and A. elected; but the former having resolved to maintain his title, A. was obliged to fight for the crown. The rivals drew up their forces near Worms, where a battle ensued, in which Adolphus was defeated and slain A., feeling that he might now safely display mannanimity, voluntarily resigned the crown which had been recently conferred upon him; and, as he had anticipated, was unanimously re-elected. His coronation took place at Aix-la-Chapelle, in August, 1298. But the pope, Bonifaee VIII., denied the right of the princes to elect A., declared himself the only true emperor and legitimate king of the Romans, summoned the former before him, required him to ask pardon and do penance, forbade the princes to acknowledge him, and released them from their oath of allegiance. A., on the other hand, with his usual intrepidity, defied his holiness, formed an alliance with Philip the fair of France, secured the neutrality of Saxony and Brandenburg, invaded the electorate of Metz, and forced the archbishop to break off his alliance with Boniface and to form one with himself for the next five years. The pope was alarmed by his success, and entered into negotiations with him.
A., whose duplicity and unscrupulousness equaled his courage, suddenly broke off his alliance with Philip, admitted the western empire to be a papal grant, and declared that the electors derived their right of choosing from the holy see. Moreover he promised upon oath to defend the rights of the Romish court whenever he was called upon. As a reward, Boniface gave him the kingdom of France, excommunicating Philip, and declaring him to have forfeited the crown; but the latter severely chastised the pope for his insolence in daring to give away what was not his own. In the following year, A. made war unsuccessfully against Holland, Zealand, Friesland, Hungary, Bohemia, and Thuringia. Shortly afterwards, news reached him that a rebellion' had broken out amongst the Swiss in Unterwalden, Schweitz, and Uri, in Jan., 1308. A. had not only foreseen, but desired this, in order that he might find a pretext for completely subju gating the country. A new act of injustice, however, occasioned a crime 'which put an end to his ambition and life. His nephew, duke John, claimed Swabia as his rightful inheritance, and had set his claims before A., but in vain, When the latter was depart ing for Switzerland, the former renewed his demand. A. scoffingly refused; and duke John resolved to be revenged. Along with four others, he conspired against his uncle's life, and assassinated him on the way to Rheinfelden, while separated from his followers by the rivers Reuss. The emperor expired May 1, 1308, in the arms of a beggar-woman sitting by the wayside—a spectacle calculated to excite stern reflection on the vanity of human ambition. His daughter Agnes, queen of Hungary, frightfully revenged her father's death. See JOHN, mirE PARRICIDE. A. left five sons and five daughters, the children of his marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of the count of Tyrol.