William V (29 September 1548 – 7 February 1626), called ''the Pious'', (German: ''Wilhelm V., der Fromme, Herzog von Bayern'') was
Duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597.
Education and early life
William V was born in
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 ...
, the son of
Albert V and
Archduchess Anna of Austria.
He received a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
education and showed keen attachment to the Jesuit
Counter Reformation tenets. His title 'the Pious' was given to him because he devoted his daily routine to masses (when possible, several times a day), prayer, contemplation, and devotional reading. He took part in public devotions, processions, and pilgrimages.
William V's residence as crown prince was the ancient fortified Wittelsbach seat
Trausnitz Castle, which he renovated extensively between 1568 and 1578. His projects, including the construction of an arcaded inner court, changed the Gothic castle into a Renaissance palace complex.
Reign
Like his
Wittelsbach father and grandfather, William V was a strong supporter of the
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 ...
. He secured the
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 ...
ric of
Cologne for his brother Ernest with his campaign in 1583; his brother
Ferdinand commanded the Bavarian army in the first 18 months of the
Cologne War
The Cologne War (german: Kölner Krieg, Kölnischer Krieg, Truchsessischer Krieg; 1583–88) was a conflict between Protestant and Catholic factions that devastated the Electorate of Cologne, a historical ecclesiastical principality of the Holy ...
in an effort to secure the
Electorate. Eventually, the Spanish army, under the command of
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese ( it, Alessandro Farnese, es, Alejandro Farnesio; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and condottiero and later a general of the Spanish army, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592 ...
expelled the Calvinist contender for the Electorate,
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, and Ernst secured sole possession of both the Electorate and the Archdiocese of Cologne. This dignity remained in the possession of the family for nearly 200 years. Two of William V's sons also followed ecclesiastical careers:
Philipp Wilhelm of Bavaria became the
Bishop of Regensburg and eventually a
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
, and
Ferdinand of Bavaria succeeded his uncle as
Archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...
. In 1591, Philipp Wilhelm expelled
Salzburg from the
Berchtesgaden Provostry, the future possession of his son Ferdinand.
During William V's reign, non-Catholics were forced to leave Bavaria, and the so-called
Geistlicher Rat, an ecclesiastical council, was formed to advise William V on theological affairs, independent of the traditional privy council or the treasury, which administered secular affairs. The Geistlicher Rat supervised and disciplined the duchy's Catholic clergy through regular visitations; it controlled the Catholicism of all the state officials by issuing certificates documenting their annual confession and communion; it funded new Catholic schools, new Catholic colleges, new houses of religious orders, especially the
missionary and educational ones, such as the Jesuits and
Capuchins for men and the
Ursulines for women. William V is responsible for numerous executions due to
witch-hunts in his duchy.
The
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
St. Michael's Church and
college of the Jesuits were built in Munich between 1583 and 1597 as spiritual centers for the counter-reformation. William V's spending on Church-related projects, including funding missionaries outside Bavaria—as far away as Asia and the Americas—put tremendous strain on the Bavarian treasury. The Italian confidence man
Marco Bragadino
Marco Bragadino or Marco Bragadini (c. 1545 – 26 April 1591) was a Venetian confidence man who claimed to be an alchemist. His name at birth is said to have been Mamugna but he impersonated the son of the dead military officer Marco Antoni ...
who was promising to make copious amounts of gold to erase the Dukes's debts was called upon by William V in 1590, and executed after he had failed. William V abdicated on 15 October 1597 in favour of his son,
Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to:
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519
*Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651
*Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689)
*Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795†...
and retired into a monastery where he spent the remainder of his life in contemplation and prayer. He died in 1626 at the
Old Schleissheim Palace and was buried at St. Michael's Church, Munich.
Cultural activity
Already as crown prince in Landshut, William V patronised the arts. His court architect
Friedrich Sustris
Friedrich Sustris (c. 1540, in Padua – 1599, in Munich) was an Italian-Dutch painter, decorator and architect. He was a son of the artist Lambert Sustris, who worked in Italy.
Sustris got his training from his father Lambert in Venice and Padu ...
was in charge of the decoration and remodelling of Trausnitz Castle in Landshut. Later when he ascended to rule, Sustris also undertook the expansion 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 ...
'', the construction of the adjoining ''college'', the palace ''Wilhelminische Veste'' (the so-called ''Maxburg'') in Munich, and ''St. Michael's Church''.
In 1589, William V built the ''
Hofbräu Brewery''.
The Old Schleissheim Palace was founded by William V in 1598 as a
renaissance country house and hermitage located close to
Dachau Palace. The sculptors
Hans Krumpper and
Hubert Gerhard
Hubert Gerhards (c. 1540/1550–1620; born 's-Hertogenbosch) was a Dutch sculptor. Like many of his contemporaries, he may have left the Netherlands in order to escape the religious conflicts and iconoclasm of the 1566–1567 era. He trained in Flo ...
along with painters
Peter Candid and
Hans von Aachen
Hans von Aachen (1552 – 4 March 1615) was a German painter who was one of the leading representatives of Northern Mannerism.
Hans von Aachen was a versatile and productive artist who worked in many genres. He was successful as a painter of pr ...
were engaged at his court.
Family and children
Married
Renata of Lorraine (1544–1602) in
Munich on 22 February 1568. They had:
* Christoph (born and died 23 January 1570).
* Christine (23 September 1571 – 27 April 1580).
*
Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to:
*Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519
*Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651
*Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689)
*Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795†...
(1573–1651), future Duke and Elector of Bavaria
*
Maria Anna of Bavaria (Maria Anna v. Bayern), 1574–1616, married
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, Archd ...
in 1600
*
Philipp Wilhelm (22 September 1576 – 18 May 1598), Bishop of
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 ...
from 1595,
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
from 1597
*
Ferdinand (6 October 1577 – 13 September 1650),
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 ...
and
prince-elector of
Cologne (1612–1650)
* Eleonore Magdalene (7 October 1578 – 18 April 1579).
* Karl (30 May 1580 – 27 October 1587).
*
Albert VI (1584–1666), in 1612 married Mechthilde v. Leuchtenberg (1588–1634)
*
Magdalene of Bavaria
Magdalene of Bavaria (4 July 1587 – 25 September 1628) was a princess member of the House of Wittelsbach by birth and Countess Palatine of Neuburg and Duchess of Jülich-Berg by marriage.
She was born in Munich, Bavaria, the tenth and younges ...
(4 July 1587 – 25 September 1628). Her tomb is in Hofkirche Neuburg a.d.Donau), in 1613 married
Wolfgang Wilhelm, Pfalzgraf von Neuburg
Wolfgang Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (4 November 1578 in Neuburg an der Donau – 14 September 1653 in Düsseldorf) was a German Prince. He was Count palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich and Berg.
Life
Wolfgang Wilhelm's parents were Phi ...
(1578–1663)
Ancestors
References
Sources
*
External links
genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:William V, Duke Of Bavaria
Bavaria, William V, Duke of
Bavaria, William V, Duke of
16th-century dukes of Bavaria
People from Landshut
House of Wittelsbach
Burials at St. Michael's Church, Munich