Count Frederick IV of Oettingen (d. 19 September 1415 in Eichstätt) was

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Eichstätt from 1383 until his death.

Background

Frederick IV of Oettingen was a member of the Swabian-Franconian

House of Oettingen The House of Oettingen was a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of p ...

. He was the son of Louis X of Oettingen and Imagina of Schaumberg. His brother Louis XI served as chamberlain of Emperor Sigismund. His relative Siegfried of Oettingen served briefly as Bishop of

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

in 1237.

Life

Frederick IV studied canon law and theology in Padua and Bologna.Kreitmeir, 1992, p. 58 He then served as canon in Eichstätt and Würzburg. He was elected bishop of Eichstätt in 1383. Since he was only 23 years old at the time, he needed a papal dispensation to take up his post. He received this dispensation from Pope Urban VI and was invested as bishop by Emperor Wenceslaus in February 1385. According to the

chronicle A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

written by Wilhelm Werner von Zimmern in 1550, Frederick loved beautiful horses and spent lavishly on his own court Kreitmeir, 2008, p. 30 and thrifty on other business. Early in his reign, his bishopric was dominated by

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

s, conflicts and robber barons. The upper end of the bishopric, around

Herrieden Herrieden is a town in the district of Ansbach and situated in the Middle Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It lies along the upper Altmühl river, about 9 km (6 mi) southwest of the city of Ansbach, 47 km southwest of the cit ...

was the hardest hit: it suffered from a war between the local princes and the

Swabian League of Cities The Swabian League of Cities (German: ''Schwäbischer Städtebund'') was a primarily military alliance between a number of free imperial cities in and around the area now defined as south-western Germany. Its objective was the maintenance of th ...

. Frederick joined the league in 1383. However, he later changed sides and supported the princes; the League responded by invading his bishopric. Frederick was successful against the robber barons and against local nobleman who incursed on the bishop's rights. He managed to end the feuds between the bishopric and the noble families of Absberg, Abensberg, Schwarzberg and Seckendorff and with the

Burgraviate 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 pass ...

. In 1408, he defeated William of Bebenburg and executed 22 prisoners. After that, there were no more invasions of Franconian noblemen into his bishopric.Kreitmer, 1992, p. 59 Frederick also fought heretics, in particular Waldensians. He executed ten of them in 1394 in Wemding, after a strenuous trial. The Gundekarianum repors that his financial and acquisition policy were quite successful. His purchases included Brunneck Castle in the

Anlauter Anlauter is a river of Bavaria, Germany. It flows into the Schwarzach near Kinding. See also *List of rivers of Bavaria A list of rivers of Bavaria, Germany: A * Aalbach *Abens * Ach * Afferbach * Affinger Bach * Ailsbach *Aisch * Aiterach * ...

valley, Sandsee Castle, Thannhausen Castle, a share of Wahrberg Castle and a number of

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

s. He spent on construction projects, most of it on building and expanding fortresses, such as

Willibaldsburg Castle The Willibaldsburg is a spur castle, built around the year 1353, in Eichstätt in Upper Bavaria. Until the middle of the 18th century, it was the representative castle and seat of Eichstätt's prince-bishops. Location This fortified palace ...

in Eichstätt, Reichenau Castle, Hirschberg Castle, Mörnsheim Castle, Nassenfeld Castle, Arberg Castle and

Kipfenberg Castle Kipfenberg is a town and municipality in the district of Eichstätt in Bavaria, Germany. It is known for its hillside castle and fortress, and for being the geographical centre of Bavaria. The river Altmühl flows through the municipality and its ...

. He also continued the work on the nave of the Cathedral in Eichstätt, which was consecrated on 13 October 1396. He also built an

iron works An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...

in Obereichstätt.Wendehorst, p. 184 Frederick attempted to reform his clergy. He provided strong leadership and financed the purchase of liturgical books. He held a diocesan synod every year. He reformed the collegiate canons in

Spalt Spalt (Northern Bavarian: ''Schbåld'') is a town in the Roth (district), district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 19 km southwest of Schwabach. Spalt is famous for growing hops for brewing beer. Geography Spalt is situated betw ...

. He promoted the worship of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

and to this end introduced a Corpus Christi procession in Eichstätt. He donated a

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...

to the cathedral and carried it himself in an annual procession.Kreitmeir, 1992, p.60 He died in 1415, at the age of 55. He was buried in the Willibald choir of the cathedral in Eichstätt, where he had donated an altar dedicated to Saint Barbara, whom he revered highly. His sister

Elisabeth of Oettingen Elisabeth of Oettingen also known as ''Elizabeth of Leuchtenberg'' (born: ; died: 9 July 1406) was a member of the House of Oettingen-Wallerstein by birth. She was a Landgravine of Leuchtenberg by marriage and a lady in waiting for the Elector P ...

(d. 9 July 1406) was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

at the court of

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

and later King Rupert III. Her grave, with a magnificent epitaph showing the coat of arms of the

, has been preserved in the Collegiate Church in

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''. Geography Location T ...

References

* Klaus Kreitmeir: ''Die Bischöfe von Eichstätt'', Eichstätt, 1992, Verlag der Kirchenzeitung. p. 58–60 * Alfred Wendehorst: ''Das Bistum Eichstätt, vol. 1: Die Bischofsreihe bis 1535'', in the series ''Germania Sacra'', new series, vol. 45, Berlin, 2006, , p. 179–188 * Klaus Kreitmeir: ''Er lehrte Raubritter das Fürchten'', in: ''Eichstätter Kirchenzeitung'', issue of 23 November 2008, p. 30

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 04 Oettingen Roman Catholic bishops of Eichstätt 14th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bavaria 15th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bavaria House of Oettingen 1360 births 1415 deaths