The Bavarian War from 1420 to 1422, also known as the Great War of the Lords, was a conflict between Louis VII the Bearded of Bayern-Ingolstadt and Henry XVI of Bavaria-Landshut. The conflict overshadowed Louis VII's reign, which lasted more than thirty years.

Background and history

Henry XVI already had a dispute with Louis VII's father Stephen III. On 17 April 1414, Henry and other enemies of Louis VII founded the

Parakeet Society The Parakeet Society was a union of the enemies of Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria, Louis VII the Bearded, duke of Bavaria-Ingolstadt. It was founded on April 17, 1414 by his cousin, duke Henry XVI of Bavaria, Henry XVI of Bavaria-Landshut. The other mem ...

. On 8 July 1415, the society was changed into the League of Constance, an alliance for mutual defense against Louis VII. In 1417 in Constance, Louis insulted Henry by calling him "the son of a cook". When Louis then accused Henry of having shed human blood, Henry and fifteen of his followers physically attacked Louis and injured him severely. After this attack, Louis described Henry as a ''pluethunt'' ("blood hound"), which did little to defuse the conflict. Henry XVI evaded punishment for the attack on Louis VII only through the intercession of Frederick of Brandenburg and his cousins Dukes

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest, ...

and William III in Munich and especially by paying 6000 guilders to King

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it '' Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

. Henry XVI wanted revenge. The conflict escalated into a war when an army from

Bavaria-Ingolstadt Bavaria-Ingolstadt ( or ') was a duchy which was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1447. History After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-Landshut. After seventeen year ...

burned down the castle of the

Burgrave of Nuremberg The Burgraviate of Nuremberg (german: Burggrafschaft Nürnberg) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from the early 12th to the late 15th centuries. As a burgraviate, it was a county seated in the town of Nuremberg; almost two centuries pas ...

. John III, who had succeeded his brother William II as Duke of

Bavaria-Straubing Bavaria-Straubing denotes the widely scattered territorial inheritance in the Wittelsbach house of Bavaria that were governed by independent dukes of Bavaria-Straubing between 1353 and 1432; a map (''illustration'') of these marches and outliers ...

in 1418, remained neutral.

Destruction

The village of Neidertshofen near

Gaimersheim Gaimersheim is a municipality in the Eichstätt (district), district of Eichstätt, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 7 km northwest of Ingolstadt. Mayors * 1946–1960: Sebastian Schiebel (CSU) * 1960–1984: Martin Meier (SPD) * 1984−20 ...

was probably destroyed during the Bavarian War. The village of Dettenheim was also burnt down. Among the ruined castles were the seat of the burgraves of Nuremberg, the castle of the Bavarian nobleman Kaspar Törring,

Guttenberg Castle There are several possible meanings for Guttenberg, Guttenburg or Gutenburg: People * David Guttenberg (born 1951), U.S. state politician (Alaska) * Enoch zu Guttenberg (1946–2018), German conductor, father of Karl-Theodor * Fred Guttenberg, Am ...

at Kraiburg am Inn in Upper Bavaria and Betzenstein Castle (at

Betzenstein Betzenstein () is a town in the district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Franconian Switzerland, 35 km northeast of Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nä ...

End of the war

The war ended when

was defeated in the Battle of Alling. At the instigation of King Sigismund, who intended to focus his forces on the

Hussite Wars The Hussite Wars, also called the Bohemian Wars or the Hussite Revolution, were a series of civil wars fought between the Hussites and the combined Catholic forces of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, the Papacy, European monarchs loyal to the Cat ...

, a four-year ceasefire between the warring parties was concluded on 2 October 1422 in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

under the mediation of John II of Heideck, the

bishop of Eichstätt A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

.Alfred Wendehorst: ''Das Bistum Eichstätt'', vol. 1: ''Die Bischofsreihe bis 1535'', in the series ''Germania Sacra'', New Series issue 45, Berlin, 2006, , p. 191 The Duchy of Bavaria-Ingolstadt would be governed by a royal

Landeshauptmann Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol an ...

, while Louis VII followed them to his court in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. Henry XVI was sent to the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...

to support the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

. Louis VII sued Henry XVI for the murder attempt at Constance and the destruction of Kaspar Törring's castle.

Footnotes

References and sources

* * Matthias von Lexer: ''Johannes Turmair's genannt Aventinus bayerische Chronik'', Verlag für Kunstreproduktionen Chr. Schmidt, Neustadt an der Aisch, 1996, {{DEFAULTSORT:Bavarian War (1420-1422) 1420s conflicts Wars involving Bavaria 1420s in the Holy Roman Empire