Louis V, Duke of Bavaria
Encyclopedia
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...
. Louis V was the eldest son of 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....
and his first wife Beatrix of Świdnica. He was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty.
Biography
Louis V was Margrave of Brandenburg from 1323 when he received the territory as a fiefdom from his father. As such, Louis contributed to the Declaration at Rhense in 1338. Wittelsbach rule in Brandenburg never earned much popular support. As a consequence of the murder of ProvostProvost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
Nikolaus von Bernau by Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
citizens in 1325, the town was punished with a papal interdict
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
. From 1328 onwards Louis was in war against the Duchy of Pomerania
Brandenburg-Pomeranian conflict
Starting in the 12th century, the Margraviate, later Electorate of Brandenburg was in conflict with the neighboring Duchy of Pomerania over frontier territories claimed by both Brandenburg and Pomerania, and over the status of the Pomeranian duchy, which Brandenburg claimed as a fief, whereas...
, which he claimed as a fiefdom. The conflict did not end before 1333, when he gave up his claims.
In order to acquire 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...
for the Wittelsbach family, Louis V married Margarete Maultasch
Margarete Maultasch
Margarete Maultasch was the last Countess of Tyrol from the Meinhardiner dynasty of Görz . Upon her death, Tyrol became united with the hereditary lands of the House of Habsburg.- Biography :...
in 1342 before she was divorced from her previous husband, John Henry of Luxembourg
John Henry, Margrave of Moravia
John Henry of Luxembourg, Czech: Jan Jindřich, German: Johann Heinrich , was Count of Tyrol from 1335 to 1341 and Margrave of Moravia from 1349 until his death....
. John Henry was a brother of 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...
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....
and son of John the Blind
John I of Bohemia
John the Blind was the Count of Luxembourg from 1309 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He was the eldest son of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII and his wife Margaret of Brabant...
, who had deposed Margarete's father, Henry of Gorizia-Tyrol as King of Bohemia in 1310. 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...
and 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...
defended this first "civil marriage
Civil marriage
Civil marriage is marriage performed by a government official and not a religious organization.-History:Every country maintaining a population registry of its residents keeps track of marital status, and most countries believe that it is their responsibility to register married couples. Most...
" in the Middle Ages. The Pope, however, excommunicated the couple and the scandal was known across Europe. Tyrol was punished with a papal interdict.
When his father died in 1347, Louis succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria and Count of Holland and Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
together with his five brothers. In 1349, Bavaria and the Wittelsbach possessions in the Netherlands were partitioned; he and his younger brothers Louis VI the Roman
Louis VI the Roman
Louis the Roman was the eldest son of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian by his second wife, Margaret II, Countess of Hainault, and a member of the House of Wittelsbach. Louis was Duke of Bavaria as Louis VI and Margrave of Brandenburg as Louis II...
and Otto V the Bavarian received Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...
. His brothers Stephen II
Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria
Duke Stephen II of Bavaria , after 1347 Duke of Bavaria. He was the second son of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian by his first wife Beatrix of Świdnica and a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty.-Biography:During the reign of Emperor Louis IV his son Stephen served as vogt of Swabia and Alsace...
, William I
William I, Duke of Bavaria
William I, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing , was the second son of the emperor Louis IV the Bavarian from his second wife Margaret of Holland and Hainaut...
and Albert I
Albert I, Duke of Bavaria
Duke Albert I or Albrecht KG was a feudal ruler of the counties of Holland, Hainaut, and Zeeland in the Low Countries...
received Lower Bavaria
Lower Bavaria
Lower Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state.- Geography :Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions - Landshut and Donau-Wald. Recent election results mark it as the most conservative part of Germany, generally giving huge...
, Holland and Hainaut.
The banned Louis could not apply for the German crown and his party tried to move Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen, to the acceptance of the German crown, however, he mistrusted the inconstancy of his voters and rejected the request. Louis then negotiated with his father's ally Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
to compete against the new German king 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....
. Edward was elected 10 January 1348 at Lahnstein
Lahnstein
Lahnstein is a verband-free town of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the Lahn River with the Rhine, approximately south of Koblenz...
, but resigned just four months later. Finally the Wittelsbach party elected Günther von Schwarzburg
Günther von Schwarzburg
Günther XXI von Schwarzburg , German king, was a descendant of the counts of Schwarzburg and the younger son of Henry VII, count of Blankenburg....
as anti-king in 1349. Louis V successfully resisted Charles IV even though Günther von Schwarzburg's kingship failed. He managed to keep all possessions for the Wittelsbach dynasty
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
until his death.
First Louis successfully repulsed an attack of Charles IV against Tyrol in 1347. In alliance with Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Pomerania, he then drove back a revolt in 1348 - 1350 caused by the "False Waldemar
False Waldemar
The False Waldemar, also known as the Wrong Woldemar was an impostor who from 1348 to 1350 was invested with the Mark Brandenburg by Charles IV.- Life :The legitimate Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal was buried in 1319...
," an imposter who claimed Brandenburg and got support from several cities and Charles IV. The civil war caused a huge devastation in Brandenburg. In march of 1350 Louis came to terms with Charles IV and the conflict ended.
In 1349 and 1351 Louis issued two decrees to relieve the consequences of the plague
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
.
Louis released Brandenburg in December 1351 to his brothers Louis VI the Roman
Louis VI the Roman
Louis the Roman was the eldest son of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian by his second wife, Margaret II, Countess of Hainault, and a member of the House of Wittelsbach. Louis was Duke of Bavaria as Louis VI and Margrave of Brandenburg as Louis II...
and Otto V the Bavarian in exchange for the sole rule of Upper Bavaria. Louis then combined the administration of Upper Bavaria and Tyrol.
With the Golden Bull of 1356
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...
only the Palatinate branch of the Wittelsbach family and Louis VI the Roman as Margrave of Brandenburg were invested with the electoral dignity
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
, which caused a new conflict between Louis and Charles IV.
Louis had good relations with his Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
relatives and helped arbitrate conflicts of Albert II, Duke of Austria
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...
, with Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. With the support of the Habsburg family, Louis and his consort Margarete were absolved from their excommunication in 1359. Louis suddenly died in September of 1361 in Zorneding
Zorneding
Zorneding is a community in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. It lies some 20 km east of Munich, Bavaria’s capital.-Neighbouring communities:...
near Munich during a ride from Tyrol to Munich and was succeeded by his son Meinhard
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...
.
He is buried at the Frauenkirche
Munich Frauenkirche
The Frauenkirche is a church in the Bavarian city of Munich that serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian capital city.The church towers are widely visible because of local height...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
Family and children
He was married two times.- 1324: Margrete of Denmark (1305–1340), daughter of King Christopher II of DenmarkChristopher II of DenmarkChristopher II was king of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.-Biography:Being the brother of King Eric VI, Christopher was a...
- Elisabeth of Bavaria (1326?-1345?)
- 1342: Margarete MaultaschMargarete MaultaschMargarete Maultasch was the last Countess of Tyrol from the Meinhardiner dynasty of Görz . Upon her death, Tyrol became united with the hereditary lands of the House of Habsburg.- Biography :...
(1318–1369), daughter of Henry I of BohemiaHenry I of BohemiaHenry 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:...
- Hermann of Bavaria (Mar 1343-1360)
- Meinhard IIIMeinhard III of Gorizia-TyrolMeinhard 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...
(9 February 1344 in LandshutLandshutLandshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...
-13 January 1363 Castle TyrolCastle TyrolTirol 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 :...
), married 1359 with Margarete of Habsburg (1346–1366), daughter of Duke Albert II of AustriaAlbert II, Duke of AustriaAlbert 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... - daughter
- daughter
