Elisabeth of Bavaria (1478 – 15 September 1504) was a member of the

House of 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, ...

and, by marriage, Electress of the Palatinate. After her father's death, she was also Duchess of

Bavaria-Landshut Bavaria-Landshut () was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire from 1353 to 1503. History The creation of the duchy was the result of the death of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. In the Treaty of Landsberg 1349, which divided up Louis's empire, his ...

. She was the daughter of Duke George the Rich and his wife Hedwig Jagiellonica. After the death of her brother Louis in 1496, the Duchy of Bavaria-Landshut was without a male heir. The Wittelsbach House Treaties of 1392 and 1450 prescribed that the territory of Bavaria-Landshut should be divided among the other Bavarian duchies, if the line should die out in the male line. Duke George ignored these treaties and left his territory to his daughter in a last will and testament dated 19 September 1496. In 1499 Elisabeth married Ruprecht of the Palatinate. She had twins, Rupert and George; they both died in 1504. Her other sons, Philip, Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg and

Otto Henry, Elector Palatine Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine, (; 10 April 1502, Amberg – 12 February 1559, Heidelberg) a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Count Palatine of Palatinate-Neuburg from 1505 to 1557 and prince elector of the Palatinate from 1556 to 1559 ...

survived into adulthood. In 1503 George appointed Ruprecht as governor of Lower Bavaria. George died on 1 December 1503 and she disbanded the Regency Council of the Estates. Her resolute approach contributed to the outbreak of the

Landshut War of Succession The War of the Succession of Landshut (''Landshuter Erbfolgekrieg'' in German) resulted from a dispute between the Duchies of Bavaria-Munich (''Bayern-München'' in German) and Bavaria-Landshut (''Bayern-Landshut''). Background George, Duk ...

. Her opponent Albrecht IV of

Bavaria-Munich Bavaria-Munich () was a duchy that was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1505. History After the death of Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria, Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria, Stephen III, Frederick, D ...

had stronger allies, and soon

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

joined his side. Her husband died of

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

on 20 August 1504. Elizabeth continued the war, and had her troops occupy the towns of Landshut,

Dingolfing Dingolfing () is a town in southern Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the Landkreis (district) Dingolfing-Landau. Dingolfing is home of a BMW assembly plant. History The area now called Dingolfing was first mentioned in ''Tinguluinga'' in th ...

and Moosburg an der Isar. She was declared an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

. Her Bohemian allies suffered a decisive defeat at Wenzenbach on 12 September 1504. Three days later, she, too, died of dysentery. She was interred in the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery of Seligenthal in

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

References and sources

* Nikolaus Orlop: ''Alle Herrscher Bayerns'', second edition, LangenMüller in der F. A. Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung GmbH, Munich, 2006, , pp. 346–349 House of Wittelsbach Countesses Palatine of the Holy Roman Empire 1478 births 1504 deaths 15th-century German people 16th-century German nobility Women of medieval Bavaria 16th-century women monarchs 15th-century German women 16th-century German women Daughters of dukes Mothers of German monarchs {{Germany-duchess-stub