Misplaced Pages

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

Louis IV (German: Ludwig ; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian ( Ludwig der Bayer , Latin : Ludovicus Bavarus ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347.

#895104

42-649: Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was controversial, as his Habsburg cousin Frederick the Fair was simultaneously elected king by a separate set of electors. Louis defeated Frederick in the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322, and the two eventually reconciled. Louis was opposed and excommunicated by the French Pope John XXII ; Louis in turn attempted to depose the pope and install an anti-pope. Louis IV

84-580: A civil war inside the Holy Roman Empire, fought between pro-Luxembourg and pro-Habsburg parties. Louis was successfully crowned at Aachen - the customary site of coronations - by the Archbishop of Mainz, while Henry II of Virneburg , who as the Archbishop of Cologne had the customary right to crown the new " King of the Romans ," crowned Frederick at Bonn . In the following conflict between

126-594: A few years later submitted to Pope John XXII. In the meantime, Robert, King of Naples had sent both a fleet and an army against Louis and his ally Frederick II of Sicily . Louis spent the winter 1328/29 in Pisa and stayed then in Northern Italy. When his co-ruler Frederick of Habsburg died in 1330, Louis returned from Italy. In fulfillment of an oath, Louis founded Ettal Abbey on 28 April 1330. Franciscan theologians Michael of Cesena and William of Ockham , and

168-736: A stroke suffered during a bear-hunt in Puch near Fürstenfeldbruck . He is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich. The sons of Louis supported Günther von Schwarzburg as new rival king to Charles but finally joined the Luxemburg party after Günther's early death in 1349 and divided the Wittelsbach possessions amongst themselves again. In continuance of the conflict of the House of Wittelsbach with

210-528: The Ampfing Heath, where Frederick and 1300 nobles from Austria and Salzburg were captured. Louis held Frederick captive in Trausnitz Castle ( Schwandorf ) for three years, but the determined resistance by Frederick's brother Leopold, the retreat of John of Bohemia from his alliance, and a ban by Pope John XXII , who excommunicated Louis in 1324, induced Louis to release Frederick in

252-501: The Archbishopric of Trier , Peter entered the service of Wenceslaus II , King of Bohemia, in 1289, serving him as prothonotary , and as chancellor from 1296 onwards. In March 1297, Peter was appointed Bishop of Basel by Pope Boniface VIII . He remained in that position until 1306, when he was made Archbishop of Mainz by Pope Clement V succeeding Gerhard II  [ de ] of Eppstein (1286–1305) who had died in

294-626: The Imperial Free Cities and the knights and successfully resisted Charles, who was widely regarded as a papal puppet ("rex clericorum" as William of Ockham called him). Also the Habsburg dukes stayed loyal to Louis. In the Battle of Crécy Charles' father John of Luxemburg was killed; Charles himself also took part in the battle but escaped. But then Louis' sudden death avoided a longer civil war. Louis died in October 1347 from

336-511: The Palatinate to his nephews Rudolf and Rupert . After the death of Henry of Bohemia , the duchy of Carinthia was released as an imperial fief on 2 May 1335 in Linz to his Habsburg cousins Albert II, Duke of Austria , and Otto, Duke of Austria , while Tyrol was first placed into Luxemburg hands. With the death of duke John I in 1340 Louis inherited Lower Bavaria and then reunited

378-522: The Treaty of Trausnitz of 13 March 1325. In this agreement, Frederick recognized Louis as legitimate ruler and undertook to return to captivity should he not succeed in convincing his brothers to submit to Louis. As he did not manage to overcome Leopold's obstinacy, Frederick returned to Munich as a prisoner, even though the Pope had released him from his oath. Louis, who was impressed by such nobility, renewed

420-663: The Bohemian realm during the minority of Henry's son, John of Bohemia , also known as John the Blind. whom he helped become King of Bohemia , crowning him on 7 February 1311. However, after the death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII in 1313, the Luxemburg party among the prince electors set aside Henry's son, King John of Bohemia, because of his youth and chose Louis the Bavarian from the House of Wittelsbach as rival king to Frederick

462-589: The Fair . Louis was elected in October 1314 upon the instigation of Peter of Aspelt with five of the seven votes. Then Louis was hastily crowned German King of the Romans by Peter in Aachen, while Frederick was crowned in Bonn by the Prince-Elector of Cologne. A bloody conflict broke out between the two kings and lasted for years, while Pope John XXII tried to stay neutral in the first years. Finally, Frederick

SECTION 10

#1732776618896

504-530: The Habsburgs on the wider European stage. At that time, the Archbishopric of Mainz had strong ties with the realm of Bohemia. Not only did Bohemia form a part of the ecclesiastical province of Mainz , in addition, Count Siegfried II of Eppstein (1200–30) had received in 1228 the right to crown the King of Bohemia-a right retained by Mainz until 1343. Thus, after being rejected to join the cathedral chapter at

546-408: The House of Luxembourg – Margrave Waldemar of Brandenburg and Duke John II of Saxe-Lauenburg , who contested Rudolph of Wittenberg's claim to the electoral vote. This double election was quickly followed by two coronations: Louis was crowned at Aachen  – the customary site of coronations – by Archbishop Peter of Mainz, while the Archbishop of Cologne, who by custom had

588-467: The House of Luxemburg, the Wittelsbach family returned to power in the Holy Roman Empire in 1400 with King Rupert of Germany , a great-grandnephew of Louis. In 1308 Louis married his first wife, Beatrice of Silesia (1290–1322). Their children were: In 1324, Louis married his second wife, Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut and Holland (1308–1356). Their children were: 20 October 1314 imperial election The imperial election of 20 October 1314

630-700: The Palatinate , who objected to the election of his younger brother, Duke Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg , and Henry of Carinthia , whom the Luxembourgs had deposed as King of Bohemia . These four electors chose Frederick as King. The Luxembourg party did not accept this election and the next day a second election was held. Upon the instigation of Peter of Aspelt , Archbishop of Mainz , five different electors convened at Frankfurt and elected Louis as King. These electors were Archbishop Peter himself, Archbishop Baldwin of Trier and King John of Bohemia – both of

672-549: The Teutonic Order a privilege to conquer Lithuania and Russia, although the Order had only petitioned for three small territories. Later he forbade the Order to stand trial before foreign courts in their territorial conflicts with foreign rulers. Louis concentrated his energies also on the economic development of the cities of the empire, so his name can be found in many city chronicles for the privileges he granted. In 1330

714-551: The duchy of Bavaria. John's mother , a member of the Luxemburg dynasty, had to return to Bohemia. In 1342 Louis also acquired Tyrol for the Wittelsbach by voiding the first marriage of Margarete Maultasch with John Henry of Bohemia and marrying her to his own son Louis V, thus alienating the House of Luxemburg even more. In 1345 the emperor further antagonized the lay princes by conferring Hainaut , Holland , Zeeland , and Friesland upon his wife, Margaret II of Hainaut . The hereditary titles of Margaret's sisters, one of whom

756-644: The election of Henry VII as German King of the Romans . Henry was elected with six votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor under the title of Henry VII in 1312, but died already in August of the following year in Italy. A 1310 confrontation with the Knights Templar led in due course to his taking a protective line towards them. Peter administered the County of Luxemburg and

798-609: The election of a successor. Henry's son John , King of Bohemia since 1310, was considered by many prince-electors to be too young, and by others to be already too powerful. One alternative was Frederick the Fair, the son of Henry's predecessor, Albert I , of the House of Habsburg . In reaction, the pro- Luxembourg party among the prince electors settled on Louis as its candidate to prevent Frederick's election. On 19 October 1314, Archbishop Henry II of Cologne chaired an assembly of four electors at Sachsenhausen , south of Frankfurt . Participants were Louis' brother, Rudolph I of

840-636: The emperor for example permitted the Frankfurt Trade Fair , and in 1340 Lübeck , as the leading member of the Hanseatic League , received the coinage prerogative for golden gulden . In 1323 Louis gave Brandenburg as a fiefdom to his eldest son Louis V after the Brandenburg branch of the House of Ascania had died out. With the Treaty of Pavia in 1329 the emperor reconciled the sons of his late brother Rudolph and returned

882-445: The kings, Louis recognized the independence of Switzerland from the Habsburg dynasty in 1316. After several years of bloody war, victory finally seemed within the grasp of Frederick, who was strongly supported by his brother Leopold . However, Frederick's army was decisively defeated in the Battle of Mühldorf on 28 September 1322 on the Ampfing Heath, where Frederick and 1300 nobles from Austria and Salzburg were captured. Louis

SECTION 20

#1732776618896

924-513: The new Pope Benedict XII in Avignon . King Philip VI had prevented any agreement between the Emperor and the Pope. Thus, the failure of negotiations with the papacy led to the declaration at Rhense in 1338 by six electors to the effect that election by all or the majority of the electors automatically conferred the royal title and rule over the empire, without papal confirmation. King Edward III

966-465: The old friendship with Frederick, and they agreed to rule the Empire jointly. Since the Pope and the electors strongly objected to this agreement, another treaty was signed at Ulm on 7 January 1326, according to which Frederick would administer Germany as King of the Romans , while Louis would be crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in Italy. However, after Leopold's death in 1326, Frederick withdrew from

1008-417: The partition of their lands was ended in 1313, when peace was made at Munich. In the same year, on November 9, Louis defeated his Habsburg cousin Frederick the Fair who was further aided by duke Leopold I . Originally, he was a friend of Frederick, with whom he had been raised. However, armed conflict arose when the guardianship over the young Dukes of Lower Bavaria ( Henry XIV , Otto IV , and Henry XV )

1050-540: The period. He brought the archbishopric to its peak of power. It is assumed that Peter of Aspelt was born between 1240 and 1245, either in Aspelt , a small village in the County of Luxembourg , about 50 km west of Trier , or in Trier. His father Gerhard worked as a servant at St. Maximin's Abbey in Trier. Peter attended school in Trier, continuing his studies of theology and philosophy, as well as law and medicine, at

1092-455: The philosopher Marsilius of Padua , who were all on bad terms with the Pope as well, joined Emperor Louis in Italy and accompanied him to his court at Alter Hof in Munich which became the first imperial residence of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1333, Emperor Louis sought to counter French influence in the southwest of the empire so he offered Humbert II of Viennois the Kingdom of Arles which

1134-574: The previous year. The Archbishop of Mainz not only was an influential ecclesiastic person, as Prince-elector of Mainz and Archchancellor of the Empire, he also was one of the mightiest secular persons in the Holy Roman Empire . Under Peter of Aspelt Mainz attained the pinnacle of its power. Peter not only supported Baldwin , a brother of Henry VII , Count of Luxemburg , in his election as Archbishop-Elector of Trier , but also instigated

1176-400: The pro- Luxembourg party. Of seven electors only five attended the meeting, one of whom was disputed: As a result of the election, Louis IV, Duke of Bavaria was elected Holy Roman Emperor . However, due to the unrecognized claim of John II of Lauenburg, the election was considered invalid by the electors who supported Frederick the Fair. The two contested elections caused the eruption of

1218-529: The regency of the Empire and returned to rule only Austria. He died on 13 January 1330. After the reconciliation with the Habsburgs in 1326, Louis marched to Italy and was crowned King of Italy in Milan in 1327. Already in 1323, Louis had sent an army to Italy to protect Milan against the Kingdom of Naples , which was together with France the strongest ally of the papacy. But now the Lord of Milan Galeazzo I Visconti

1260-438: The right to crown the new king, crowned Frederick at Bonn . In the following conflict between the kings, Louis recognized in 1316 the independence of Switzerland from the Habsburg dynasty. After several years of bloody war, victory finally seemed within the grasp of Frederick, who was strongly supported by his brother Leopold . However, Frederick's army was decisively defeated in the Battle of Mühldorf on 28 September 1322 on

1302-408: The seven electors had elected Frederick the Fair , son of the late German king Albert I , the result was claimed to be invalid, due to the absence of the other four electors and the presence as fourth elector of Henry of Carinthia , the deposed King-Elector of Bohemia who still claimed the title against John. The election was presided over by Peter of Aspelt , Archbishop of Mainz and member of

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor - Misplaced Pages Continue

1344-568: The universities in Padua , Bologna and Paris. In 1280, he became a pastor in Riol and Birtlingen . In 1286, he obtained the prebend of St. Martin in Bingen am Rhein which was annexed to a canonry of Mainz Cathedral . In the same year, he was appointed chaplain and personal physician to Rudolf of Habsburg , German King of the Romans since 1273. Peter of Aspelt later became an opponent of

1386-468: Was Duke of Upper Bavaria from 1294 to 1301 together with his elder brother Rudolf I , was Margrave of Brandenburg until 1323, and Count Palatine of the Rhine until 1329, and became Duke of Lower Bavaria in 1340. He was the last Bavarian to be a king of Germany until 1742. He became Count of Hainaut , Holland , Zeeland , and Friesland in 1345 when his wife Margaret inherited those domains. Louis

1428-505: Was an imperial election held to select the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire . It took place in Frankfurt . Like the previous day's election , the meeting was called to elect the successor of Emperor Henry VII , who had died while in Italy on 24 August 1313. Henry's son John , King of Bohemia since 1310, was considered by many prince-electors to be too young, and by others to be already too powerful. While one day before three of

1470-403: Was an opportunity to gain full authority over Savoy, Provence, and its surrounding territories. Humbert was reluctant to take the crown due to the conflict that would follow with all around him, so he declined, telling the emperor that he should make peace with the church first. Emperor Louis also allied with King Edward III of England in 1337 against King Philip VI of France, the protector of

1512-712: Was born in Munich , the son of Louis II , Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine, and Matilda , a daughter of King Rudolph I . Though Louis was partly educated in Vienna and became co-regent of his brother Rudolf I in Upper Bavaria in 1301 with the support of his Habsburg mother and her brother, King Albert I , he quarreled with the Habsburgs from 1307 over possessions in Lower Bavaria . A civil war against his brother Rudolf due to new disputes on

1554-434: Was decisively defeated in the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322. Louis IV became Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. Peter von Aspelt, however, did not live long enough to witness this. He had already died in 1320. Matthias von Buchegg succeeded him as Archbishop of Mainz in 1321. In his testament, dated 25 August 1319, Peter, Archbishop of Mainz, bequeathed property to the members of his widespread family, among them Johannes de Treveri,

1596-525: Was deposed since he was suspected of conspiring with the pope. In January 1328, Louis entered Rome and had himself crowned emperor by the aged senator Sciarra Colonna , called captain of the Roman people . Three months later, Louis published a decree declaring Pope John XXII ( Jacques Duèze ), who resided in Avignon , deposed on grounds of heresy . He then installed a Spiritual Franciscan , Pietro Rainalducci as antipope Nicholas V , who soon left Rome and

1638-474: Was entrusted to Frederick, even though the late Duke Otto III , the former King of Hungary, had chosen Louis. On 9 November 1313, Frederick was defeated by Louis in the Battle of Gammelsdorf and had to renounce the tutelage . This victory caused a stir within the Holy Roman Empire and increased the reputation of the Bavarian Duke. The death of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII in August 1313 necessitated

1680-564: Was finally crowned Emperor in Rome on 17 January 1328 by Senator Giacomo Colonna . At the time, the Pope resided in Avignon . This Holy Roman Empire –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Peter of Aspelt Peter of Aspelt (aka Peter von Aichspelt, Peter von Basel, Peter von Mainz ; born 1240/45, died 5 June 1320 in Mainz ) was Archbishop of Mainz from 1306 to 1320, and an influential political figure of

1722-637: Was the Emperor's guest at the Imperial Diet in the Kastorkirche at Coblence in 1338 and was named Vicar-General of the Holy Roman Empire. However in 1341, the Emperor deserted Edward III but came to terms with Philip VI only temporarily. For the expected English payments were missing and Louis intended to reach an agreement with the Pope one more time. Louis IV was a protector of the Teutonic Knights . In 1337 he allegedly bestowed upon

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor - Misplaced Pages Continue

1764-605: Was the queen of England, were ignored. Because of the dangerous hostility of the Luxemburgs, Louis had increased his power base ruthlessly. The acquisition of these territories and his restless foreign policy had earned Louis many enemies among the German princes. In the summer of 1346 the Luxemburg Charles IV was elected rival king, with the support of Pope Clement VI . Louis himself obtained much support from

#895104