Louis the Roman () (7 May 1328 – 17 May 1365) was the eldest son of

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

, Louis IV the Bavarian, by his second wife,

Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut Margaret II of Avesnes (1311 – 23 June 1356) was Countess of Hainaut and Countess of Holland (as Margaret I) from 1345 to 1356. She was Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Germany by marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. ...

, and a member of 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 ...

. Louis was Duke of

Upper Bavaria Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany. Geography Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat ...

as Louis VI (1347–1365) and Margrave of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 squ ...

(1351–1365) as Louis II. As of 1356, he also served as

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 princ ...

of Brandenburg.

Biography

Louis was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

when his parents travelled there for his father's coronation as

, hence his nickname "the Roman". When his father died in 1347, Louis succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria (as Louis VI) and Count of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

and Hainaut together with his five brothers. Louis released

and Hainaut for his brothers

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

and

Albert I Albert I may refer to: People Born before 1300 *Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987) *Albert I, Count of Namur () * Albert I of Moha *Albert I of Brandenburg (), first margrave of Brandenburg *Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195) *Alber ...

in 1349, since he expected to acquire the Polish crown by his in 1345 marriage with Cunigunde of Poland, a daughter of Casimir III and Aldona Ona of Lithuania. Later claims against William and Albert were not successful. Hence Louis supported his mother during her war with William. In December 1351 Louis VI received Brandenburg from his older half-brother Louis V of Bavaria in exchange for the sole rule of Upper Bavaria. Less experienced than Louis V, he was also challenged by the "

False Waldemar The False Waldemar (died 1356), also known as the Wrong Waldemar, was an impostor who from 1348 to 1350 was invested with the Margraviate of Brandenburg by Charles IV. Life The legitimate Waldemar, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal was buried in 13 ...

", an impostor who claimed Brandenburg and got support from several cities and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV until the Wittelsbachs came to terms with Charles. Louis also had to abandon claims on fiefdoms in

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label= Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schweri ...

and

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

. With the

Golden Bull of 1356 The Golden Bull of 1356 (, , , , ) was a decree issued by the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg and Metz ( Diet of Metz, 1356/57) headed by the Emperor Charles IV which fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the con ...

, Louis secured the

electoral dignity 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 princ ...

. In 1358 Louis was absolved from the papal

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

. After Cunigunde's death in 1357, Louis married

Ingeborg of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Ingeborg of Mecklenburg (1343/45 – 25 July 1395) was a daughter of Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg and his wife, Euphemia of Sweden. Euphemia was a daughter of Ingeborg of Norway, who was the only legitimate child of King Haakon V of Norway. ...

. She was a daughter of Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg, and

Euphemia of Sweden Euphemia of Sweden ( Swedish: ''Eufemia Eriksdotter''; 1317 – 16 June 1370) was a Swedish princess. She was Duchess consort of Mecklenburg, heiress of Sweden and of Norway, and mother of King Albert of Sweden. (c. 1338-1412) . Biography E ...

. Louis had no children with her, either, thus his younger brother Otto V succeeded him in Brandenburg. The childless dukes Louis and Otto had already promised Charles IV the succession in Brandenburg in 1364 as revenge for a conflict with their brother Stephen II over the Bavarian succession after the death of their nephew

Meinhard Meinhard is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The community lies in the North Hesse Low Mountain Range landscape on the edge of the Werra valley, 3 km from the district seat of Eschwege. Near ...

, the son of Louis V. Louis the Roman died in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

in 1365.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman, Louis Vi The 1328 births 1365 deaths 14th-century dukes of Bavaria Louis Louis Sons of emperors Children of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Sons of kings