Ernest of Bavaria-Munich (), (

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, 1373 – 2 July 1438 in Munich), from 1397 Duke 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 ...

Biography

Ernest was a son of John II and ruled the duchy of Bavaria-Munich together with his brother William III. He restrained uprisings of the citizenry of Munich in 1396 and 1410 and forced his uncle Stephen III to confine his reign to

Bavaria-Ingolstadt Bavaria-Ingolstadt ( or ') was a sub-duchy which was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1447. History After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria-Landshut. After seventeen ...

in 1402. Afterwards Ernest still fought several times successfully against the dukes of Bavaria-

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

Stephen III and his son Louis VII the Bearded as ally of Henry XVI of Bavaria-

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 ...

. He was a member of the Parakeet Society and of the League of Constance. After the extinction of the

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, ...

dukes of

Bavaria-Straubing Bavaria-Straubing denotes the widely scattered territorial inheritance in the Wittelsbach house of Bavaria that were governed by independent dukes of Bavaria-Straubing between 1353 and 1432; a map (''illustration'') of these marches and outlier ...

, counts of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

and Hainaut, Ernest and his brother William struggled with Henry and Louis but finally received half of Bavaria-Straubing including the city of Straubing in 1429. As ally of the

House of Luxembourg The House of Luxembourg (; ; ) or Luxembourg dynasty was a royal family of the Holy Roman Empire in the Late Middle Ages, whose members between 1308 and 1437 ruled as kings of Germany and Holy Roman emperors as well as kings of Bohemia, List of r ...

Ernest backed his deposed brother in law

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Slavic names#In Slovakia and Czech_Republic, Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are , , , , , , among others. It origina ...

against the new king Rupert of the older branch of his own

dynasty as well as Wenceslaus' brother

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

in his wars against the supporters of

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

. This led to devastations in Northern Bavaria until 1434. When his son Albert III married secretly the maid

Agnes Bernauer Agnes Bernauer (c. 1410 – 12 October 1435) was the mistress and perhaps also the first wife of Albert, later Albert III, Duke of Bavaria. Because his father, Ernest, ruling Duke of Bavaria at the time, considered this liaison with a commone ...

in 1432, Ernest ordered her murdered. She was accused of witchcraft and thrown into the River

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and drowned. The civil war with his son finally ended with a reconciliation. He is buried in the Frauenkirche in

Family and children

Ernest married, in

Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm (, ; Central Bavarian: ''Pfahofa an da Uim'') is a municipality in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the district Pfaffenhofen. It is located on the river Ilm, and had a population of 23,282 in 2004. As of a press release in ...

, on 26 January 1395 to

Elisabetta Visconti Elisabetta Visconti (1374 – 2 February 1432), also known as ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'', was a younger child of Bernabò Visconti and his wife, Beatrice Regina della Scala. Elisabetta was a member of the House of Visconti. Family Elisa ...

, daughter of

Bernabò Visconti Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti (1323 – 19 December 1385) was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan. Along with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo II, he inherited the lordship of Milan from his uncle Giovanni. Later in 1355, he ...

and had the following children: #

Albert III, Duke of Bavaria Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (; 27 March 1401 – 29 February 1460), since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was the son of Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti. Life Albert was first enga ...

(23 March 1401, Munich–29 February 1460, Munich) # Beatrix (c. 1403–12 March 1447, Neumarkt), married to: ## 1424 in Ortenburg Count Hermann III of Cilli; ## 1428 in Riedenburg Count Palatine

John of Neumarkt John of Neumarkt also Johannes von Neumarkt (, ; 1310 in Neumarkt in Schlesien, Neumarkt – 24 December 1380 in Modřice, Moravia) was Chancellor of Emperor Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV, appointed Bishop of Naumburg, Bishop of Li ...

. # Elisabeth (c. 1406–5 March 1468,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

), married to: ## 1430 in

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 ...

Adolf, Duke of Jülich-Berg; ## 1440 in

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

Count Hesso of Leiningen. # Amalie (1408–1432), a nun in St. Klara Monastery in Munich.

References

Sources

External links

Bayern-München after the Straubingen Inheritance
* {{Authority control 1373 births 1438 deaths 14th-century dukes of Bavaria 15th-century dukes of Bavaria Nobility from Munich House of Wittelsbach Burials at Munich Frauenkirche