Elisabeth of Austria (c. 1285 – 19 May 1353), also known as Isabelle, was Duchess of Lorraine as the wife of Duke Frederick IV, and regent of Lorraine during the minority of their son Rudolph from 1329 until 1331. She was also a member of the

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

Life

Elisabeth was the tenth of twelve children to King Albert I of Habsburg and his wife Queen

Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol Elisabeth of Carinthia (also known as Elisabeth of Tyrol; – 28 October 1312), was a List of Austrian consorts, Duchess of Austria from 1282 and Queen of Germany from 1298 until 1308, by marriage to King Albert I of Germany, Albert I of the Ho ...

. She was the sister of King

Rudolph I of Bohemia Rudolf I ( – 3/4 July 1307), also known as Rudolf of Habsburg, was a member of the House of Habsburg, the King of Bohemia and titular King of Poland from 1306 until his death. He was also Duke of Austria (as Rudolf III) and Styria from 1298. ...

, King

Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 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 until his death. Background Frederi ...

Leopold I, Duke of Austria Leopold I (c. 1290 – 28 February 1326), called The Glorious, was List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria and Duchy of Styria, Styria – as co-ruler with his elder brother Frederick the Fair – from 1308 until his death. A member of the Ho ...

, Albert II, Duke of Austria,

Otto, Duke of Austria Otto, known as the Merry (; 23 July 1301 – 17 February 1339), was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as Duke of Carinthia from 1335 until his death. A member of the House of Habsburg, he ruled jointly with his elder brother Duke Albe ...

, Agnes, Queen of Hungary and Anna, Margravine of Brandenburg.

Duchess of Lorraine

Elisabeth was betrothed at a young age to one of the sons of

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

, so her father could make stronger connections with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. On May 25, 1300, Elisabeth's eldest brother

married Blanche of France, a daughter of Philip III. After this marriage, Elisabeth's betrothal to one of Philip's sons was scrapped. Elisabeth was instead married to Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine. The contract was signed on 6 August 1306 and they married in 1307. From this marriage Elisabeth became Duchess of Lorraine and Frederick was able to support Elisabeth's brother

, to become

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. Elisabeth's husband was captured at the

Battle of Mühldorf The Battle of Mühldorf (also known as the Battle of Ampfing) was fought near Mühldorf am Inn on September 28, 1322 between the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria and the Archduchy of Austria. The Bavarians were led by German King Louis of Wittelsbach ...

, where he was fighting for Elisabeth's brother and was released by the King of France. Elisabeth became known as Isabelle in Lorraine.

Regency

Elisabeth outlived Frederick. Frederick left Lorriane to their young son Rudolph and Elisabeth became regent for her son. Her regency lasted from 1329 to 1331. Rudolph married aged only ten to Eleanor of Bar and made his father-in-law Edward I of Bar regent in place of Elisabeth. Elisabeth died in Nancy, capital of the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

, on 19 May 1353 and was buried in the cemetery of the

Poor Clare The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare (Latin: ''Ordo Sanctae Clarae''), originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and also known as the Clarisses or Clarissines, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Sec ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in Königsfelden in the

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

Children

Elisabeth and Frederick were married for twenty two years, in that time the couple had six children: *

Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine Rudolph (1320 – 26 August 1346), called the Valiant (''le Vaillant''), was the Duke of Lorraine from 1328 to his death. He was the son and successor of Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine and Elisabeth of Austria, the daughter of King Albert ...

(1320 – 26 August 1346), successor of his father *Frederick, Earl of Luneville *Margaret (died 9 August 1376), married Jean de Chalon, lord of Auberive (died 1350), then Conrad, count of Friburg, and lastly Ulrich (died 1377), lord of Rappoltstein *Agnes (died young) *Theobald (died young) *Albert (died young) Many of the couple's children died during childhood, only Rudolph and Margaret lived to adulthood.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth of Austria, Duchess Of Lorraine 1280s births 1353 deaths 14th-century House of Habsburg Nobility from Vienna Duchesses of Lorraine Regents of Lorraine 14th-century women rulers Year of birth uncertain Burials at Königsfelden Monastery 13th-century French nobility 13th-century French women 14th-century French nobility 14th-century French women Daughters of kings Mothers of French monarchs Daughters of dukes