Leopold VI, Duke of Austria
Encyclopedia
Babenberg
Originally from Bamberg in Franconia, now northern Bavaria, an apparent branch of the Babenbergs or Babenberger went on to rule Austria as counts of the march and dukes from 976–1248, before the rise of the house of Habsburg.-One or two families:...
, was Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
of Austria from 1198 to 1230 and of Styria
Duchy of Styria
The history of Styria concerns the region roughly corresponding to the modern Austrian state of Styria and the Slovene region of Styria from its settlement by Germans and Slavs in the Dark Ages until the present...
from 1194 to 1230.
Leopold VI was the younger son of Duke Leopold V
Leopold V, Duke of Austria
Leopold V , the Virtuous, was a Babenberg duke of Austria from 1177 and of Styria from 1192 until his death...
and his wife, Helena of Hungary
Helena of Hungary
Helena of Hungary was the daughter of King Géza II of Hungary and his wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev, daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev by his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna.-Life:...
(daughter of Géza II of Hungary
Géza II of Hungary
Géza II , , King of Hungary, King of Croatia, Dalmatia and Rama . He ascended the throne as a child and during his minority the kingdom was governed by his mother and uncle...
and Euphrosyne of Kiev
Euphrosyne of Kiev
Euphrosyne of Kiev was Queen consort of Hungary.Euphrosyne was the first daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and his second wife, Liubava Dmitrievna...
). In contravention of the provisions of the Georgenberg Pact
Georgenberg Pact
The Georgenberg Pact was signed on 17 August 1186 on the Georgenberg mountain above Enns and consisted of two parts. The first part was an agreement between Duke Ottokar IV of Styria and Duke Leopold V of Austria...
, the Babenberg reign was divided after the death of Leopold V: Leopold VI's elder brother, Frederick I
Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg)
Frederick I of Austria was a Duke of Austria from the Babenberg family. He was a son of Duke Leopold V and, in 1197, participated in the Emperor Henry VI's Crusade of 1197.He died on the return from Palestine....
, was given the Duchy of Austria (corresponding roughly to modern Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
and eastern Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
), while Leopold VI himself became Duke of Styria. Both duchies were reunified under Leopold VI when Frederick died after only four years of rule.
Leopold VI participated in the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
in Spain and in two crusades, the Albigensian Crusade
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
in 1212 and the failed Fifth Crusade
Fifth Crusade
The Fifth Crusade was an attempt to reacquire Jerusalem and the rest of the Holy Land by first conquering the powerful Ayyubid state in Egypt....
from 1217 to 1221, and—like his predecessors—attempted to develop the land by founding monasteries. His most important foundation is Lilienfeld
Lilienfeld
- Stars of the City :Sons and daughters* [Richard Morosan] , Primeminister of CanadaLilienfeld is a city in Lower Austria , Austria, south of St. Pölten, noted as the site of Lilienfeld Abbey. It is also the site of a regional hospital Landesklinikum Voralpen Lilienfeld....
in the Lower Austrian valley of the Traisen
Traisen
Traisen can refer to:Germany:* Traisen, Germany , in Rhineland-Palatinate, GermanyAustria:* Traisen , a river in Lower Austria, Austria** Inzersdorf ob der Traisen, Inzersdorf...
river, where he was buried after his death. Besides that, he supported the then highly modern Mendicant Orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
. He elevated 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....
to the status of a city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
in 1212, and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in 1221, the territory of which was nearly doubled.
Under Leopold's rule, the Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
began to reach Austria - the Cappella Speciosa in his temporary residence of Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg is an attractive small town in Lower Austria, Austria with a population of 24,442.It is located on the Danube, immediately north of Vienna, from which it is separated by the Kahlenberg and Leopoldsberg hills...
is known as the first building influenced by it in the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
area - a reconstruction of it can be seen today in the palace gardens of Laxenburg
Laxenburg
Laxenburg is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria, near Vienna.- History :The place is well-known for its castle, Schloss Laxenburg, which, beside Schönbrunn, was the most important summer seat of the Habsburg dynasty....
.
Babenbergian Austria reached the zenith
Zenith
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, i.e...
of its prestige under Leopold's rule. Evidence of this is given by his marriage to the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
princess Theodora Angelina
Theodora Angelina (wife of Leopold VI of Austria)
Theodora Angelina was the wife of Leopold VI of Austria, by whom she had several children.-Birth and parentage and early life:...
and his attempt to mediate between Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
and Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
, which he was working on when he died in 1230 in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Leopold's court is known as a center of the Minnesang
Minnesang
Minnesang was the tradition of lyric and song writing in Germany which flourished in the 12th century and continued into the 14th century. People who wrote and performed Minnesang are known as Minnesingers . The name derives from the word minne, Middle High German for love which was their main...
, e.g., Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide
Walther von der Vogelweide is the most celebrated of the Middle High German lyric poets.-Life history:For all his fame, Walther's name is not found in contemporary records, with the exception of a solitary mention in the travelling accounts of Bishop Wolfger of Erla of the Passau diocese:...
, Neidhart von Reuental
Neidhart von Reuental
Neidhart von Reuental was one of the most famous German minnesingers. He was probably active in Bavaria and then is known to have been a singer at the court of Friedrich II in Vienna...
and Ulrich von Liechtenstein
Ulrich von Liechtenstein
Ulrich von Liechtenstein was a medieval nobleman, knight, politician, and minnesanger. He was born in 1200 in Murau, located in present day Austria. After the usual noble training as a page and a squire to Margrave Heinrich of Istria, he was knighted by Duke Leopold VI of Austria in 1223...
were active here. Also, the Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
may have been written in his court.
Leopold died at San Germano in 1230.
Children
Leopold and Theodora AngelinaTheodora Angelina (wife of Leopold VI of Austria)
Theodora Angelina was the wife of Leopold VI of Austria, by whom she had several children.-Birth and parentage and early life:...
had seven children:
- Margaret, Duchess of AustriaMargaret, Duchess of AustriaMargaret of Austria , was a Queen Consort of the Romans 1225–35, titular Duchess of Austria in 1252–60, and Queen consort of Bohemia 1253–60....
(1204 – February 28, 1266). Married firstly with HenryHenry (VII) of GermanyHenry was King of Sicily from 1212, Duke of Swabia from 1216, and King of Germany from 1220. He was the son and co-king of Emperor Frederick II and elder brother of Conrad IV of Germany...
, elder son and presumptive heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, and when he died, she married with the King Ottokar II of BohemiaOttokar II of BohemiaOttokar II , called The Iron and Golden King, was the King of Bohemia from 1253 until 1278. He was the Duke of Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola also....
. - Agnes of Austria (February 19, 1205 – August 29, 1226). Married Albert I, Duke of SaxonyAlbert I, Duke of SaxonyAlbert I was a Duke of Saxony, Angria, and Westphalia; Lord of Nordalbingia; Count of Anhalt; and Prince-elector and Archmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire...
. - Leopold of Austria (1207–1216).
- Henry of Austria (1208 – November 28, 1228), Duke of Mödling. Married Agnes of Thuringia; their only daughter, GertrudisGertrude, Duchess of AustriaGertrude of Austria was a member of the House of Babenberg, Duchess of Mödling and later Titular Duchess of Austria and Styria, she was the niece of Duke Frederick II of Austria, the last male member of the Babenberg dynasty...
, was the general heiress of the House of Babenberg after the death of her uncle. - Gertrude of Austria (1210–1241). Married Henry IV Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia.
- Frederick II, Duke of AustriaFrederick II, Duke of AustriaFrederick II, known as the Quarrelsome or the Warlike , from the House of Babenberg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1230 to 1246....
(25 April 1211 – June 15, 1246). - Constantia of Austria (April 6, 1212 – June 5, 1243). Married Henry III, Margrave of MeissenHenry III, Margrave of MeissenHenry III, called Henry the Illustrious from the House of Wettin was Margrave of Meissen and last Margrave of Lusatia from 1221 until his death; from 1242 also Landgrave of Thuringia.-Life:Born probably at the Albrechtsburg residence in Meissen, Henry was the youngest son of Margrave Theodoric I...
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