Leopold (german: Luitpold, c. 1108 – 18 October 1141), known as Leopold the Generous (german: Luitpold der Freigiebige), was margrave of Austria (appearing in lists as Leopold IV) from 1136, and duke of Bavaria from 1139 until his death in 1141.Lingelbach 1913, pp. 90–91.
Biography
He was one of the younger sons of Margrave Leopold III, the Holy. It is not known why he was originally preferred to his brothers Adalbert and Henry Jasomirgott.
Through his mother Agnes, he was related to the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
. In the course of their struggle against the competing Welfen family, he was given the formerly Welfish
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
as a fief by Emperor
Conrad III
Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...
. He managed to maintain his position there, as his brother
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 ...
was
Bishop of Freising
The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria:
Bishops of Freising
* St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organ ...
there.
The most important measure of his short reign was the ''Exchange of Mautern'' entered into with the
Bishop of Passau
The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.St. Peter's Church in Vienna, while the Margrave received extended stretches of land from the bishop outside the city walls, with the notable exception of the territory where a new church was to be built, which was to become St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Leopold died unexpectedly at
Niederaltaich Abbey
Niederaltaich Abbey (Abtei or Kloster Niederaltaich) is a house of the Benedictine Order founded in 741, situated in the village of Niederalteich on the Danube in Bavaria.
Foundation and early history
After its foundation in 741 by Duke Odilo o ...
in Bavaria and was succeeded by his brother Henry.
See also
*
List of rulers 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, thos ...