Louis III (german: Ludwig III. der Ältere or der Bärtige) (23 January 1378 – 30 December 1436), was an

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 ...

of the Rhine from the

house of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

in 1410–1436.

Biography

Louis III was the third son of King

Rupert of Germany Rupert of the Palatinate (german: Ruprecht von der Pfalz; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410), sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Rupert III) and King of Germany from ...

and his wife

Elisabeth of Nuremberg Elisabeth of Nuremberg (135826 July 1411) was Queen of Germany and Electress Palatine as the wife of Rupert, King of the Romans. Life Elisabeth was born in 1358, the daughter of Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg and his wife Elisabeth of Me ...

. During his father's campaign in Italy 1401-1402 Louis served as imperial vicar. He succeeded his father in 1410 as Elector of the Palatinate but did not run for the German crown. The Palatinate was divided between the four of Rupert's surviving sons. As oldest surviving son and new

Prince-Elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

Louis III received the main part,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

received Palatinate-Neumarkt,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

received

Palatinate-Simmern The House of Palatinate-Simmern (german: Pfalz-Simmern) was a German- Bavarian cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. The house was one of the collateral lineages of the Palatinate. The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided i ...

and

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

received

Palatinate-Mosbach Palatinate-Mosbach was a state of the Holy Roman Empire centred on Mosbach and Eberbach in the north of modern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Palatinate-Mosbach was created in 1410 out of the partition of the Palatinate after the death of King ...

. Louis III was a member of 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 ...

and of the League of Constance. Highly cultured and religious he was a patron of the

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. Louis III acted as vicar for

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

and was his bearer during the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...

. As such Louis later also executed the sentences against

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1370 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspir ...

and

Jerome of Prague Jerome of Prague ( cs, Jeroným Pražský; la, Hieronymus Pragensis; 1379 – 30 May 1416) was a Czech scholastic philosopher, theologian, reformer, and professor. Jerome was one of the chief followers of Jan Hus and was burned for heresy at ...

. He also arrested

Antipope John XXIII Baldassarre Cossa (c. 1370 – 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church now recognizes as ...

in 1415. Louis III returned very sick from a pilgrimage in 1427 into the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

which he had organized after the death of his son Ruprecht. From 1430 onwards he was almost blind and in 1435 deprived of power by his wife and her advisors. In the following year he died, in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, and was succeeded by his son Louis IV.

Family and children

Louis III was married twice. Firstly, he married on 6 July 1402

Blanche of England Blanche of England, LG (spring 1392 – 22 May 1409), also known as Blanche of Lancaster, was a member of the House of Lancaster, the daughter of King Henry IV of England by his first wife Mary de Bohun. Family Born at Peterborough Castle ...

(1392 – 21 May 1409), daughter of King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of F ...

and

Mary de Bohun Mary de Bohun (c. 1369/70 – 4 June 1394) was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V. Mary was never queen, as she died before her husband came to the throne. Early life Mary was a daughter of Humphrey de Boh ...

. They had one son Ruprecht (22 May 1406 – 20 May 1426). This marriage brought the

Palatine Crown The Crown of Princess Blanche, also called the Palatine Crown or Bohemian Crown, is the oldest surviving royal crown known to have been in England, and probably dates to 1370–80. It is made of gold with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, ...

into the hands of the Wittelsbach. Secondly, he married on 30 November 1417

Matilda of Savoy Matilda (Mechtilde) of Savoy (1390–1438) was a daughter of Amadeo, Prince of Achaea (also known as Amadeus of Piedmont or Amadeus of Savoy) and Catherine of Geneva. She was the second wife of the Elector Palatine Louis III, whom she married o ...

, daughter of

Amadeo, Prince of Achaea Amadeus or Amedeo of Savoy (1363 – 7 May 1402) was the son of James of Piedmont and his third wife Marguerite de Beaujeu. By James' will of 16 May 1366, he was declared his firstborn (his elder half-brother was considered a traitor by their ...

. They had five children: # Mathilde (7 March 1419 – 1 October 1482), married: ## in 1434 to Count Louis I of Württemberg ## in 1452 to Duke Albrecht VI of Austria #

Louis IV, Elector Palatine Louis IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine (1 January 1424, Heidelberg – 13 August 1449, Worms) was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the House of Wittelsbach in 1436 - 1449. Biography Louis IV was the son of Louis III, Elector Palatine an ...

(1 January 1424 – 13 August 1449) #

Frederick I, Elector Palatine Frederick I, the Victorious (''der Siegreiche'') (1 August 1425, Heidelberg – 12 December 1476, Heidelberg) was a Count Palatine of the Rhine and Elector Palatine from the House of Wittelsbach in 1451–1476. Biography He was a son of Louis II ...

(1 August 1425 – 12 December 1476) # Rupprecht (27 February 1427 – 26 July 1480),

Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

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 ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

# Margarete (ca. 1428 – 23 November 1466), a nun at

Liebenau monastery The Liebenau monastery was a Dominican monastery. It was located outside the city gates of Worms in today's Worms-Hochheim district. Location Liebenau was located in the east of Hochheim district, close to the border with the Neuhausen distric ...

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

*
genealogie-mittelalter.de
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 03 Elector Palatine Wittelsbach, Louis III, Elector Palatine of the Rhine Wittelsbach, Louis III, Elector Palatine of the Rhin House of Wittelsbach Prince-electors of the Palatinate Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg Sons of kings