William IV (german: Wilhelm IV; 13 November 1493 – 7 March 1550) was
Duke of Bavaria
The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...
from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother
Louis X, Duke of Bavaria
Louis X (German: Ludwig X, Herzog von Bayern), ( Grünwald, 18 September 1495 – 22 April 1545 in Landshut) was Duke of Bavaria (1516–1545), together with his older brother William IV, Duke of Bavaria. His parents were Albert IV and Kun ...
.
He was born in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
to
Albert IV and
Kunigunde of Austria
Kunigunde of Austria (16 March 1465 – 6 August 1520), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duchess of Bavaria from 1487 to 1508, by her marriage to the Wittelsbach duke Albert IV.
Biography Early life
Kunigunde was born in Wiener Neustadt, ...
, a daughter of Emperor
Frederick III.
Political activity
Though his father had determined the everlasting succession of the firstborn prince in 1506, his younger brother Louis refused a spiritual career with the argument that he was born before the edict became valid. With support of his mother and the States-General, Louis forced William to accept him as co-regent in 1516. Louis then ruled the districts of
Landshut
Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...
and
Straubing, in general in concord with his brother.
William initially sympathized with the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
but changed his mind as it grew more popular in Bavaria. In 1522 William issued the first Bavarian religion mandate, banning the promulgation of
Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
's works. After an agreement with
Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
in 1524 William became a political leader of the German
Counter reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
, although he remained in opposition to the Habsburgs since his brother Louis X claimed the Bohemian crown. Both dukes also suppressed the
peasant uprising
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
in South Germany in an alliance with the
archbishop of Salzburg
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of ...
in 1525.
The conflict with Habsburg ended in 1534 when both dukes reached an agreement with
Ferdinand I in
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
. William then supported
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
in his war against the
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century.
Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...
in 1546, but however did not succeed in preserving the Palatine
electoral dignity. William's chancellor for 35 years was the forceful Leonhard von Eck.
Cultural activity
On 23 April 1516, before a committee consisting of gentry and knights in
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
, William issued his famous
purity regulation for the brewing of Bavarian Beer, stating that only barley, hops, and water could be used. This regulation remained in force until it was abolished as a binding obligation in 1986 by Paneuropean regulations of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
In 1523 with the appointment of
Ludwig Senfl
Ludwig Senfl (born around 1486, died between December 2, 1542 and August 10, 1543) was a Swiss composer of the Renaissance, active in Germany. He was the most famous pupil of Heinrich Isaac, was music director to the court of Maximilian I, Holy R ...
began the rise of the
Bavarian State Orchestra
The Bavarian State Orchestra (german: Bayerisches Staatsorchester, italic=no) is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany. It has given its own series of concerts, the , since 1811.
Profile
On 9 December 2011, this ensemble c ...
. Of particular importance is the Eckbibel
Johann Eck
Johann Maier von Eck (13 November 1486 – 13 February 1543), often anglicized as John Eck, was a German Catholic theologian, scholastic, prelate, and a pioneer of the counter-reformation who was among Martin Luther's most important int ...
wrote on behalf of William, a biblical translation from 1537, which is theologically directly against Luther and therefore belongs to the Catholic ''correction bibles''. It is also significant in terms of linguistics because it is not written in the East German Saxon, but in Bavarian Upper German.
William was a significant collector and commissioner of art. Among other works he commissioned an important suite of paintings from various artists, including the ''
Battle of Issus
The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on November 5, 333 BC between the Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III. It was the second great battle of Alexander's conquest of ...
'' by
Albrecht Altdorfer
Albrecht Altdorfer (12 February 1538) was a German painter, engraver and architect of the Renaissance working in Regensburg, Bavaria. Along with Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is regarded to be the main representative of the Danube Sc ...
. This, like most of William's collection, is now housed in the
Alte Pinakothek
The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinak ...
in Munich. With his order to expand the ''Neuveste'' with the so-called ''Rundstubenbau'' and to set up the first Court Garden began the history of the
Munich Residenz
The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and displ ...
as a representative palace. To the history cycle of the garden pavilion belonged Albrecht Altdorfer's painting. In 1546, he and his son Albert V ordered the construction of
Dachau Palace
The Dachau Palace is a former residence of the rulers of Bavaria at Dachau, Bavaria, Dachau, southern Germany.
History
The castle was constructed around 1100 as a castle by the cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. In 1182, the last Count ...
from a Gothic ruin into a
Renaissance style
Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
four-winged palace with a court garden which later became the favored residence of the
rulers of Bavaria
The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of German ...
.
William died in 1550 in Munich and was succeeded by his son Albert. He is buried in the
Frauenkirche in Munich.
Family and children
In 1522 William married
Jakobaea of Baden (1507–1580), a daughter of
Margrave Philip I of Baden and his consort
Princess Elisabeth of Palatinate; they had four children:
# Theodor of Bavaria (10 February 1526 – 8 July 1534)
# Duke
Albert V of Bavaria
Albert V (German: ''Albrecht V.'') (29 February 1528 – 24 October 1579) was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Maria Jacobäa of Baden.
Early life
Albert was educated at Ingolstadt by Catholic ...
(1528–1579)
# Wilhelm of Bavaria (17 February 1529 – 22 October 1530)
#
Mechthild of Bavaria Mechthild is a female Germanic given name. It is an old form of the first name Mathilde and means "powerful in combat, powerful fighter". Bearers of this name include:
People
* Mechthild of Bavaria (1532–1565), German noblewoman
* Mechthild o ...
(12 July 1532 – 2 November 1565), married in 1557 Philibert of Baden (1536–1569)
Also he had two illegitimate children:
# Knight Georg von Hegnenberg (c.1509–1590) with Margarete Hausner von Stettberg
# Anna (died 1570) with an unknown woman
Ancestors
External links
*''Hofkleiderbuch (Abbildung und Beschreibung der Hof-Livreen) des Herzogs Wilhelm IV. und Albrecht V. 1508–1551.'' (Court and Coat of Arms Book of Bavarian Dukes: William IV and
Albert V Albert V may refer to:
*Albert V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (ca. mid-1330s–1370)
*Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1397–1423)
*Albert II of Germany (1397–1439), Albert V as Duke of Austria
*Albert V, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died c. 1469)
*Albert ...
) at th
Bavarian State Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:William Iv, Duke of Bavaria
William 4, Duke of Bavaria
William 4, Duke of Bavaria
16th-century dukes of Bavaria
William 4, Duke of Bavaria
William 4, Duke of Bavaria
Modern child rulers
William 4