John Henry, Margrave of Moravia
Encyclopedia
John Henry of Luxembourg, Czech: Jan Jindřich, German: Johann Heinrich (12 February 1322, Mělník
– 12 November 1375), was Count
of Tyrol
from 1335 to 1341 and Margrave
of Moravia
from 1349 until his death.
He was born as the third surviving son of King John of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg
and Queen Elisabeth of Bohemia. John Henry therefore was the younger brother of Emperor Charles IV
.
His father John had made attempts to reconcile with his former rival Henry of Gorizia-Tyrol
, Duke of Carinthia
and Count of Tyrol, whom he had deposed as Bohemian King
in 1310. In 1327, his son, John Henry, and Henry's daughter, Margaret Maultasch, were betrothed. Henry had no male heirs and John the Blind expected a considerable enlargement of the Luxembourg lands. John Henry and Margaret married on September 16, 1330 at Innsbruck
. Nevertheless Emperor Louis IV
in the same year secretly promised the Carinthian duchy including the March of Carniola
and large parts of Tyrol to the Austrian
dukes Albert II
and Otto the Merry
from the House of Habsburg.
Thus, after Henry of Gorizia-Tyrol had died in 1335, Emperor Louis IV gave Carinthia and southern Tyrol including the overlordship of Trent
and Brixen
to the Habsburg dukes, who themselves could refer to their mother Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol, sister of deceased Henry. King John the Blind felt deprived, he put an end to his quarrels with Casimir III of Poland
and campaigned the Austrian duchy. A peace was concluded at the city of Enns
on October 9, 1336, when John the Blind renounced Carinthia, while Margaret Maultasch and John Henry could inherit Tyrol.
Charles IV acted as regent for his 14-year-old brother John Henry and soon came into conflict with the Tyrolian nobility. Furthermore John Henry and his reportedly ugly wife had developed a strong aversion to each other. Margaret finally took the lead of the insurgence against her husband, when she refused him the access to Castle Tyrol
on November 1, 1341. John Henry fled to the Patriarchal State of Aquileia, while his wife claimed that their marriage had never been consummated. Margaret was backed by Emperor Louis IV, who himself had plans to assure the Tyrolian heritage for the House of Wittelsbach. He had the scholars Marsilius of Padua
and William of Ockham
rendered an opinion that the marriage was not vaild. In 1342, Margaret took her inheritance of Tirol to her next husband, the Emperor's son and Bavarian duke Louis V
.
Humiliated John Henry returned to Bohemia. After his marriage was conclusively divorced according to canon law
in 1349, he married Margaret of Troppau, daughter of Nicholas II, Duke of Troppau. Charles IV gave him the March of Moravia
as appanage
. This marriage produced several sons (none of whom however was able to leave surviving children, so John Henry's line ended in 1411). The eldest was Margrave Jobst of Moravia
, the Elector of Brandenburg
from 1388 on, who in 1410 became elected King of the Romans
, but remained actually a rival king.
After Margaret of Troppau had died in 1363, John Henry married Margaret of Austria, the daughter of Duke Albert II of Austria and widow of Margaret Maultasch's son Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol
. John Henry's reign was a period of prosperity in Moravia. He is buried at St Thomas's Abbey
in Brno
.
Melník, Czech Republic
Mělník is a town in the Czech Republic, Central Bohemian Region. It lies at the confluence of the Labe and Vltava rivers, approximately 35 km north of Prague. The town is part of the Prague metropolitan area. The region belongs to the most important agricultural areas of the Czech Republic...
– 12 November 1375), was Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
from 1335 to 1341 and Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
of Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
from 1349 until his death.
He was born as the third surviving son of King John of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...
and Queen Elisabeth of Bohemia. John Henry therefore was the younger brother of Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
.
His father John had made attempts to reconcile with his former rival Henry of Gorizia-Tyrol
Henry I of Bohemia
Henry VI of Carinthia from the House of Meinhardin was King of Bohemia in 1306 and again from 1307 until 1310 as well as Count of Tyrol and Duke of Carinthia and Carniola from 1295 until his death.-Life:...
, Duke of Carinthia
Duchy of Carinthia
The Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
and Count of Tyrol, whom he had deposed as Bohemian King
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...
in 1310. In 1327, his son, John Henry, and Henry's daughter, Margaret Maultasch, were betrothed. Henry had no male heirs and John the Blind expected a considerable enlargement of the Luxembourg lands. John Henry and Margaret married on September 16, 1330 at Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
. Nevertheless Emperor Louis IV
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
in the same year secretly promised the Carinthian duchy including the March of Carniola
March of Carniola
The March of Carniola was a southeastern state of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages, the predecessor of the Duchy of Carniola. It corresponded roughly to the central Carniolan region of present-day Slovenia...
and large parts of Tyrol to the Austrian
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
dukes Albert II
Albert II, Duke of Austria
Albert II of Austria , known as the Wise or the Lame, was Duke of Austria.-Life:Albert II was born at Habsburg, the son of Albert I of Germany, Rex Romanorum, and Elisabeth of Tirol...
and Otto the Merry
Otto, Duke of Austria
Otto IV, the Merry was a Duke of Austria and the youngest son of Albert I of Germany and Elisabeth of Tirol.Otto was born in Vienna. He had two brothers, namely Frederick the Handsome and Albert II...
from the House of Habsburg.
Thus, after Henry of Gorizia-Tyrol had died in 1335, Emperor Louis IV gave Carinthia and southern Tyrol including the overlordship of Trent
Bishopric of Trent
The Bishopric of Trent is a former ecclesiastical territory roughly corresponding to the present-day Northern Italian autonomous province of Trentino. It was created in 1027 and existed until 1802, when it was secularised and absorbed into the County of Tyrol held by the House of Habsburg...
and Brixen
Bishopric of Brixen
The Bishopric of Brixen is a former Roman Catholic diocese and also a former ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire in the present province of South Tyrol. The bishopric in the Eisack/Isarco valley was established in the 6th century and gradually received more secular powers...
to the Habsburg dukes, who themselves could refer to their mother Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol, sister of deceased Henry. King John the Blind felt deprived, he put an end to his quarrels with Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
and campaigned the Austrian duchy. A peace was concluded at the city of Enns
Enns (city)
Enns is a city in the Austrian state of Upper Austria, located 281 m above sea level on the river Enns, which forms the border with the state of Lower Austria....
on October 9, 1336, when John the Blind renounced Carinthia, while Margaret Maultasch and John Henry could inherit Tyrol.
Charles IV acted as regent for his 14-year-old brother John Henry and soon came into conflict with the Tyrolian nobility. Furthermore John Henry and his reportedly ugly wife had developed a strong aversion to each other. Margaret finally took the lead of the insurgence against her husband, when she refused him the access to Castle Tyrol
Castle Tyrol
Tirol Castle or Castle Tyrol is a castle near Meran, Italy. It was the ancestral seat of the counts of Tyrol and gave the region of Tyrol its name.- History :...
on November 1, 1341. John Henry fled to the Patriarchal State of Aquileia, while his wife claimed that their marriage had never been consummated. Margaret was backed by Emperor Louis IV, who himself had plans to assure the Tyrolian heritage for the House of Wittelsbach. He had the scholars Marsilius of Padua
Marsilius of Padua
Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua (Italian Marsilio or Marsiglio da Padova; (circa 1275 – circa 1342) was an Italian scholar, trained in medicine who practiced a variety of professions. He was also an important 14th century political figure...
and William of Ockham
William of Ockham
William of Ockham was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of...
rendered an opinion that the marriage was not vaild. In 1342, Margaret took her inheritance of Tirol to her next husband, the Emperor's son and Bavarian duke Louis V
Louis V, Duke of Bavaria
Louis V, Duke of Bavaria, called the Brandenburger was Duke of Bavaria and as Louis I also Margrave of Brandenburg and Count of Tyrol. Louis V was the eldest son of Emperor Louis IV and his first wife Beatrix of Świdnica...
.
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
in 1349, he married Margaret of Troppau, daughter of Nicholas II, Duke of Troppau. Charles IV gave him the March of Moravia
March of Moravia
The March or Margraviate of Moravia, was a marcher state, sometimes de facto independent and varyingly within the power of the Duchy, later Kingdom of Bohemia...
as appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
. This marriage produced several sons (none of whom however was able to leave surviving children, so John Henry's line ended in 1411). The eldest was Margrave Jobst of Moravia
Jobst of Moravia
Jobst of Moravia, Jobst von Mähren from the House of Luxembourg was the eldest son of Margrave John Henry of Moravia, the younger brother of Emperor Charles IV....
, the Elector of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
from 1388 on, who in 1410 became elected King of the Romans
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
, but remained actually a rival king.
After Margaret of Troppau had died in 1363, John Henry married Margaret of Austria, the daughter of Duke Albert II of Austria and widow of Margaret Maultasch's son Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol
Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol
Meinhard III was Duke of Upper Bavaria and the last Count of Tyrol from the House of Wittelsbach.Meinhard was the son of Duke Louis V of Bavaria with Countess Margaret of Gorizia-Tyrol and as such also the last descendant of Meinhard I, Count of Gorizia .-Biography:Meinhard III was born in Landshut...
. John Henry's reign was a period of prosperity in Moravia. He is buried at St Thomas's Abbey
St Thomas's Abbey, Brno
St Thomas's Abbey in Brno a big austrian church]] located in the Czech Republic. The geneticist and Abbot Gregor Mendel was its most famous religious leader to date, and between 1856 and 1863 conducted his experiments on pea plants in the monastery garden...
in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
.