The Battle of Mühldorf (also known as the Battle of Ampfing) was fought near

Mühldorf am Inn Mühldorf am Inn (, ; Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Mühldorf (district), district Mühldorf on the river Inn (river), Inn. It is located at , and had a population of ab ...

on September 28, 1322 between the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria and the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

. The Bavarians were led by German King Louis of Wittelsbach, while the Austrians were under the command of his cousin,

Anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (; ) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, 2" The OED does not give "anti-king" its own entry ...

Frederick of Habsburg.

Background

The early 14th century had the powerful dynasties of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, and

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

rivaling for the rule over the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, and the

prince-electors The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

were anxious not to allow a noble family to install a hereditary monarchy. After the death of Emperor

Henry VII of Luxembourg Henry VII (German: ''Heinrich''; Vulgar Latin: ''Arrigo''; 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany ('' Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312 ...

in 1313, the electoral college denied the succession of his son

John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...

and instead accorded its favour to Louis of Wittelsbach and Frederick of Habsburg, but it was split over the question of whom to choose. Therefore, in 1314, a double election took place at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, and the Duchy of

Saxe-Wittenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity until ...

voted for Frederick as ''Rex Romanorum''.

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Archbishopric of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

and Elector

John II of Saxe-Lauenburg John II of Saxe-Lauenburg (c. 1275 – 22 April 1322) was the eldest son of John I of Saxony and Ingeborg (c. 1253–30 June 1302, Mölln), a daughter or grandchild of Birger Jarl. He ruled the Saxony jointly with his uncle Albert II and his ...

(whose electoral dignity was denied by their Saxe-Wittenberg cousins) adopted Louis. The draw resulted in a protracted conflict with violent fights in which both sides tried to gain the support of the

Imperial estates An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise significant rights and privileges and w ...

. In addition, Louis had to settle the domestic dispute with his brother Count Palatine Rudolf I, who had voted against him, which finally ended with Rudolf's death in 1319. Meanwhile, Frederick continued his campaigns into Bavaria, devastating Louis' duchy several times without meeting much resistance.

Battle

In 1322, Frederick, encouraged by his previous expeditions, allied with the

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau (; ) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Salzburg Archbishopric. Their armed forces met on September 24 near Mühldorf on the

Inn River The Inn (; ; ) is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The long river is a right tributary of the Danube, being the third largest tributary of the Danube by discharge. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Berni ...

, where Frederick expected the arrival of further troops from

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

, led by his brother

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

. The battle did not go well for the Austrians. Louis had forged an alliance with

and Burggrave Frederick IV of Nuremberg and on September 28 reached Mühldorf with a sizable army, including 1,800 knights and 500-600 mounted Hungarian archers.Delbruck, p. 541 Meanwhile, Leopold's relief troops were barred from reaching the battlefield in time. Despite the unfavorable situation, Frederick agreed to meet Louis's knights at once. Frederick's army was defeated by Louis' outnumbering forces with high losses on both sides. More than 1,000 noblemen from Austria and Salzburg were captured, as were Frederick himself and his younger brother,

Henry the Friendly Henry of Austria (15 May 1299 – 3 February 1327), known as Henry the Friendly, was the son of King Albert I of Germany and Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol. In 1305, Henry was betrothed to his stepniece, Elizabeth of Hungary, the engagement probably ...

Aftermath

Though Louis had prevailed, his royal title remained contested, especially by

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII (, , ; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death, in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Papacy, Avignon Pope, elected by ...

and Frederick's brother Leopold, who remained a fierce opponent. After three years Louis had to release Frederick from captivity and reconcile with him and even offered him a joint rule and the ''Rex Romanorum'' title in return for his support to receive the Imperial crown. Neither the House of Wittelsbach nor the Habsburgs were able to defend their claims to the royal title, which after Louis' death in 1347 again passed to Charles IV of the House of Luxembourg.

Notes

Sources

* Delbrück, Hans, trans. Walter Renfroe Jr. ''History of the Art of War, Volume III: Medieval Warfare'' (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982) {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Muhldorf Muhldorf 1322 Muhldorf 1322 14th century in Austria 1320s in the Holy Roman Empire 1322 in Europe Conflicts in 1322 Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Battles involving Bohemia

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

Notes

Sources