Frederick IV (1382 – 24 June 1439), also known as Frederick of the Empty Pockets (german: Friedrich mit der leeren Tasche), a member of the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, was
Duke of Austria
This is a list of people who have ruled either the Margraviate of Austria, the Duchy of Austria or the Archduchy of Austria. From 976 until 1246, the margraviate and its successor, the duchy, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, ...
from 1402 until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg
Leopoldian line
The Leopoldian line was a sequence of descent in the Habsburg dynasty begun by Duke Leopold III of Austria, who, after the death of his elder brother Rudolf IV, divided the Habsburg hereditary lands with his brother Albert III according to the ...
, he ruled over
Further Austria and the
County of Tyrol from 1406 onwards.
Biography
Frederick was the youngest son of Duke
Leopold III (1351–1386) and his wife
Viridis (d. 1414), a daughter of
Bernabò Visconti,
Lord of Milan. According to the 1379
Treaty of Neuberg, his father ruled over the Habsburg
Inner Austrian territories of
Styria,
Carinthia,
Carniola, as well as over Tyrol and the dynasty's original Further Austrian possessions in
Swabia
Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.
The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...
. After the early death of Duke Leopold in the 1386
Battle of Sempach
The Battle of Sempach was fought on 9 July 1386, between Leopold III, Duke of Austria and the Old Swiss Confederacy. The battle was a decisive Swiss victory in which Duke Leopold and numerous Austrian nobles died. The victory helped turn the loo ...
, Frederick and his elder brothers
William,
Leopold IV and
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, ...
initially remained under the tutelage of their uncle Duke
Albert III of Austria
Albert III of Austria (9 September 1349 – 29 August 1395), known as Albert with the Braid (Pigtail) (german: Albrecht mit dem Zopf), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1365 until his death.
Biography
Albert III was ...
.
As an inheritance dispute arose upon Duke Albert's death in 1395, the young Leopoldian dukes insisted on their rights: the next year, William went on to rule the Inner Austrian lands and Leopold IV ascended as Count of Tyrol. When Frederick came of age in 1402, he was formally assigned to administrate his father's inheritance in the scattered Habsburg territories in Swabia, referred to collectively as Further Austria (''Vorderösterreich'') and took his residence in
Freiburg im Breisgau. Another division of the Leopoldian territories took place after William' death in 1406: Duke Leopold IV, now eldest heir, ceded Tyrol to Frederick, however, he did not become sole ruler in Further Austria until Leopold's death in 1411.
The early years of Frederick's reign were marked by external and internal conflicts. He had to overcome the opposition of Tyrolean nobles (who gave him the title "of the Empty Pockets") in 1406/1407 and a rebellion in the
Bishopric of Trent. He also had to deal with the independence movement in the Swabian
Appenzell lands, where the conflict with the
Prince-Abbots of St Gall had escalated in 1401, sparking the
Appenzell Wars. Frederick had to withstand in a series of longstanding military conflicts, until a peace was concluded in 1410. However, the Appenzell area became a protectorate of the
Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411. Back in Tyrol, he had to face the invading forces of Duke
Stephen III of Bavaria, whom he defeated in the
Lower Inn Valley.
Upon the death of Duke Leopold IV in 1411, the surviving younger brothers Frederick and Ernest again divided the Leopoldian possessions. With Further Austria, Frederick became undisputed ruler over the Habsburg territories in the
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
region and of the
Burgau margraviate. In 1417 he also inherited the former
Kyburg estates from the extinct comital Habsburg-Laufenburg branch. Several border conflicts with the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
led to the loss of
Rovereto
Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River.
History
Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier b ...
in the
Lagarina Valley
Lagarina Valley ( it, Vallagarina, german: Lagertal) is a valley in northern Italy, used to define the lower mountain course of the Adige River. It is mostly included in the province of Trentino, with the lower section being part of the provinc ...
.
Under the terms of the
Western Schism, Duke Frederick sided with
Antipope John XXIII, whom he helped on his flight from the
Council of Constance in March 1415. The
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
king
Sigismund had John arrested in Breisgau and placed Frederick under the
Imperial ban. Thanks to the support of the local populace he managed to keep Tyrol, though he lost the western
Aargau, the
Freiamt and
County of Baden
The County of Baden (German: ''Grafschaft Baden'') was a condominium of the Old Swiss Confederacy and is now part of the Swiss Canton of Aargau. The county was established in 1415 after the Swiss conquest of the Aargau and was ruled as a shared c ...
estates, in the old homeland of the Habsburgs, to the Swiss.
In 1420, Frederick also moved his Tyrolean court from
Meran to
Innsbruck. After several rebellions by local nobles, his rule over Tyrol had stabilized, partially due to the successful beginning of
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
mining that brought an increase in prosperity to the region. After the death of his brother Ernest on 10 June 1424, Duke Frederick also took over the
regency over Inner Austria for his minor nephews
Frederick V (the later Emperor Frederick III) and
Albert VI. In his later years, however, he again had to cope with another rebellion against his Tyrolean rule, instigated by Prince-Bishop
Alexander of Trent.
Frederick died at his court in Innsbruck, despite his nickname a rich man. His son and heir
Sigismund was called ''der Münzreiche'' ("Rich in Coin"). Frederick was buried in the
Cistercian abbey of
Stams, Tyrol.
Marriage and issue
On 24 December 1407, Frederick married Elizabeth of the
Palatinate (1381–1408), daughter of King
Rupert of Germany, in Innsbruck. They had one daughter, Elizabeth, but both mother and child died shortly after the birth on 27 December 1408.
On 11 June 1411, Frederick married Anna (d. 1432), daughter of the
Welf duke
Frederick I of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel; they had:
* Margaret (14231424)
* Hedwig (14241427)
* Wolfgang (1426)
*
Sigismund (14271496).
Only Sigismund survived until adulthood. He succeeded his father in Tyrol and Further Austria.
Ancestors
References
Sources
*
*
External links
Encyclopedia of Austria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 04 Duke of Austria
Austria, Friedrich IV of
Austria, Friedrich IV of
15th-century dukes of Austria
Counts of Tyrol