Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria
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Rudolf I of Bavaria, called "the Stammerer" (german: link=no, Rudolf der Stammler; 4 October 1274 – 12 August 1319), a member of the
Wittelsbach dynasty 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 ...
, was Duke of Upper Bavaria and
Count Palatine of the Rhine 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 ...
from 1294 until 1317.


Life

Rudolf was born in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
, the son of Duke Louis II, Duke of Upper Bavaria and his third wife
Matilda of Habsburg Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...
, a daughter of King
Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...
. Since the 1255 partition of the Wittelsbach territories, his father ruled over the
Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
and
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 o ...
with his residence at
Alter Hof The Alter Hof (''Old Court'') in the center of Munich is the former imperial residence of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and consists of five wings: Burgstock, Zwingerstock, Lorenzistock, Pfisterstock and Brunnenstock. Like most of the old town, it w ...
in Munich and
Heidelberg Castle Heidelberg Castle (german: Heidelberger Schloss) is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demoli ...
, while his younger brother Duke Henry XIII ruled over the lands of
Lower Bavaria Lower Bavaria (german: Niederbayern, Bavarian: ''Niedabayern'') is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of the state. Geography Lower Bavaria is subdivided into two regions () – Landshut and Donau-W ...
. As the eldest surviving son, Rudolf succeeded his father as Duke of Upper Bavaria upon his death in February 1294. In September he married
Mechtild of Nassau Mechtild of Nassau, german ''Mechthild von Nassau'', (before 1280 – 19 June 1323) was the youngest child of Adolf, King of the Romans and his wife Imagina of Isenburg-Limburg. Mechtild is also known as ''Matilda of Nassau''. She was List of Bavari ...
, daughter of King
Adolf of Germany Adolf (c. 1255 – 2 July 1298) was the count of Nassau from about 1276 and the elected king of Germany from 1292 until his deposition by the prince-electors in 1298. He was never crowned by the pope, which would have secured him the imperial ...
, thereby continuing the marriage politics of his father. However, King Adolf dashed the
Princes A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
' expectations and in 1298 was declared deposed in favour of late King Rudolf's son and heir Duke Albert of Austria. In the
Battle of Göllheim The Battle of Göllheim was fought on 2 July 1298 between the forces of duke Albert I of Habsburg (German: Albrecht) and king Adolf of Nassau over the prince electors' decision, without electoral act, to dethrone Adolf and proclaim Albert the ...
, Rudolf supported his father-in-law Adolf against his maternal uncle Albert. The Habsburg duke won the fight, while the king was killed in battle. Albert was elected on 27 July 1298 and Rudolf then joined the Habsburg party, however, the strong dynastic policy of the new king caused led to a resurgence of the Wittelsbach dynastic conflicts. In 1301 King Albert put pressure on Rudolf to accept his ambitious younger brother Louis IV, the future
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 ...
, as co-regent. He broke Rudolf's remaining resistance by laying siege to his
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 ...
residence in 1301. After Albert's assassination in 1308, both Rudolf and Louis hoped to become his successor. Nevertheless, the Princes around the mighty Archbishop of Mainz,
Peter von Aspelt Peter of Aspelt (aka ''Peter von Aichspelt, Peter von Basel, Peter von Mainz''; born 1240/45, died 5 June 1320 in Mainz) was Archbishop of Mainz from 1306 to 1320, and an influential political figure of the period. He brought the archbishopric to ...
, arranged the candidacy of the
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
count Henry VII. In the election on 27 November Rudolf voted for Henry. In 1310 he accompanied the new king on his campaign to
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. However, he had to terminate his participation when upon the death of Duke Stephen I of Bavaria new disputes on the partition of the Wittelsbach lands and the
electoral An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
dignity between Rudolf and Louis IV culminated in a civil war. Finally on 21 June 1313, peace between the brothers was made at Munich: while Rudolf retained the Electoral Palatinate, the treaty provided Louis with the opportunity to secure his election as German king when Henry of Luxembourg died on 24 August. Much to the annoyance of his brother, Louis was able to defeat his Habsburg rival
Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair (german: Friedrich der Schöne) or the Handsome (c. 1289 – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king ...
at the
Battle of Gammelsdorf The Battle of Gammelsdorf (german: Schlacht von Gammelsdorf) took place in November 1313. The cause of the skirmish was the guardianship of the underage duke of Lower Bavaria. This was sought by both Duke Louis the Bavarian and Duke Frederick I o ...
on 9 November. After the renunciation of Henry's son King
John of Bohemia John the Blind or John of Luxembourg ( lb, Jang de Blannen; german: link=no, Johann der Blinde; cz, Jan Lucemburský; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of ...
, he finally was elected King of the Romans in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
on 20 October 1314 – against the vote of his envious brother Rudolf, who supported Frederick of Habsburg. In the following throne quarrel with the Habsburgs, Rudolf was attacked by his brother in both Bavaria and the Palatinate. Put on the defensive, Rudolf in 1317 agreed to give up his rule in favour of Louis, until the conflict with the Habsburg rival was ended. According to the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
historian
Johannes Aventinus Johann Georg Turmair (or Thurmayr) (4 July 1477 – 9 January 1534), known by the pen name Johannes Aventinus (Latin for "John of Abensberg") or Aventin, was a Bavarian Renaissance humanist historian and philologist. He authored the 152 ...
(1477–1534), Rudolf proceeded to
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
where he died two years later. He later received the epithet "the Stammerer" due to his many desperate fights against his capable younger brother. Louis IV, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1328, by the 1329 Treaty of Pavia granted the Electoral Palatinate to late Rudolf's sons Rudolf II the Blind and Rupert I and Rudolf's grandson Rupert II, a son of
Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...
. This way finally Rudolf I and his grandson Rupert II became the ancestors of the elder (Palatinate) line of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which returned to power also in Bavaria in 1777 after the extinction of the younger (Bavarian) line, the descendants of Louis IV.


Family and children

Rudolf was married on 1 September 1294 to
Mechtild of Nassau Mechtild of Nassau, german ''Mechthild von Nassau'', (before 1280 – 19 June 1323) was the youngest child of Adolf, King of the Romans and his wife Imagina of Isenburg-Limburg. Mechtild is also known as ''Matilda of Nassau''. She was List of Bavari ...
, daughter of King
Adolf of Germany Adolf (c. 1255 – 2 July 1298) was the count of Nassau from about 1276 and the elected king of Germany from 1292 until his deposition by the prince-electors in 1298. He was never crowned by the pope, which would have secured him the imperial ...
. The couple had the following children: # Ludwig (1297 – before 5 April 1311) # Adolf, Count Palatine of the Rhine (27 September 1300,
Wolfratshausen Wolfratshausen () is a town of the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, located in Bavaria, Germany. The town had a population of 19,033 as of 31 December 2019. History The first mention of "Wolveradeshusun" appears in documents from the year ...
– 29 January 1327), married Countess
Irmengard of Oettingen Irmengard of Oettingen ( – 6 November 1389 in Worms, Germany) was a princess of the Counts von Oettingen by birth, and by marriage, Countess Palatine of the Rhine and, as a widow, a Dominican nun. Life Countess Palatine Irmengard ...
(d. 1389) in 1320 # Rudolf II, Duke of Bavaria (8 August 1306, Wolfratshausen – 4 October 1353, Neustadt), married Anne of Gorizia-Tyrol (1300–1335), daughter of Duke
Otto III of Carinthia Otto III ( – 25 May 1310), a member of the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner'' dynasty), was Duke of Carinthia and Count of Tyrol from 1295 until his death. He ruled jointly with his younger brothers Louis and Henry VI. Life Otto was a son of ...
, in 1328; secondly married Margaret of Aragon (1331–1377), daughter of King
Frederick III of Sicily Frederick II (or III) (13 December 1272 – 25 June 1337) was the regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1291 until 1295 and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the W ...
, in 1348 #
Rupert I, Elector Palatine Rupert I "the Red", Elector Palatine (; 9 June 1309, Wolfratshausen – 16 February 1390, Neustadt an der Weinstraße) was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1353 to 1356, and Elector Palatine from 10 January 1356 to 16 February 1390. He was th ...
(9 June 1309, Wolfratshausen – 16 February 1390), married Elizabeth of Dampierre (1329–1382), daughter of Marquis John I of Namur, in 1328; secondly married Beatrice of Jülich (1360–1395), daughter of Duke William of Berg, in 1385 # Mathilde (1312 – 25 November 1375), married Count John III of Sponheim in 1330 # Anna (1318–1319).


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolf I, Duke of Upper Bavaria 1274 births 1319 deaths 13th-century dukes of Bavaria 14th-century dukes of Bavaria People from Basel-Landschaft Counts Palatine of the Rhine House of Wittelsbach