The Battle of Mühldorf (also known as the Battle of
Ampfing
Ampfing is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria in Germany, and a name of a small town of the same name.
History
The Battle of Mühldorf was fought on 28 September 1322 between Bavaria and Austria in Ampfing Heath. The Bavaria ...
) was fought near
Mühldorf am Inn
Mühldorf am Inn (Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the district Mühldorf on the river Inn. It is located at , and had a population of about 17,808 in 2005.
History
During the Middle Ages ...
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. The Bavarians were led by the German king Louis of Wittelsbach, while the Austrians were under the command of his cousin, the
anti-king
An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) 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 early 14th century had the powerful dynasties of
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 o ...
rivaling for the rule over the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, while the prince-electors were anxious not to allow one noble family to install a hereditary monarchy. After the death of Emperor
Henry VII of Luxembourg
Henry VII (German: ''Heinrich''; c. 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany (or ''Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emper ...
in 1313, the electoral college denied the succession of his son
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 ...
and instead accorded its favor to Louis of Wittelsbach and Frederick of Habsburg, but were split over the question of whom to choose.
Therefore, in 1314, a double election took place at
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 ...
.
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, the
Electorate of the 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 ...
,
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, 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 th ...
voted for Frederick as ''Rex Romanorum''.
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
,
Archbishopric of Trier
The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, 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 ar ...
and Elector
John II of Saxe-Lauenburg
John II of Saxe-Lauenburg (c. 1275 – 22 April 1322) was the eldest son of John I, Duke of Saxony, John I of Saxony and Ingeborg Birgersdotter of Småland (c. 1253–30 June 1302, Mölln), a daughter or grandchild of Birger jarl. He ruled Duchy ...
(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 State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...
. In addition, Louis had to settle the domestic dispute with his brother Count Palatine
Rudolf I
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 ...
(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.
The battle
In 1322, Frederick, encouraged by his previous expeditions, allied 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.Salzburg Archbishopric. Their armed forces met on September 24 near Mühldorf on the
Inn River
, image = UnterinntalWest.JPG
, image_caption = Lower Inn valley from Rattenberg castle
, source1_location = Swiss Alps (Lägh dal Lunghin)
, source1_elevation =
, source1_coordinates=
, mouth_location = Danube (Passau)
, mo ...
, where Frederick expected the arrival of further troops from
Further Austria
Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (german: Vorderösterreich, 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-we ...
, led by his brother
Leopold
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
.
The battle did not go well for the Austrians. Louis had forged an alliance with
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 ...
and Burggrave
Frederick IV of Nuremberg
Frederick IV of Nuremberg (1287–1332) from the House of Hohenzollern was Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1300 to 1332. He was the younger son of Burgrave Frederick III from his second marriage with the Ascanian princess Helene of Saxony.
Life
H ...
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 this unfavorable situation Frederick agreed to meet Louis' knights at once. His army was defeated by Louis' outnumbering forces under high losses on both sides. More than 1,000 noblemen from Austria and Salzburg were captured, as was Frederick himself and his younger brother,
Henry the Friendly
Henry of Austria, known as Henry the Friendly (15 May 1299-3 February 1327) 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 bei ...
.
Aftermath
Though Louis had prevailed, his royal title remained contested, especially by
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. 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 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, even offering 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 from the House of Luxembourg.
See also
*
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 ...