Louis III () (23 January 1378 – 30 December 1436), was an

Elector Palatine This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...

of the Rhine from 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, ...

in 1410–1436.

Biography

Louis III was the third son of King

Rupert of Germany Rupert of the Palatinate (; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410), sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Rupert III) and King of Germany from 1400 until his death. Early ...

and his wife Elisabeth of Nuremberg. During his father's campaign in Italy 1401-1402 Louis served as imperial vicar. He succeeded his father in 1410 as Elector of the Palatinate but did not run for the German crown. The Palatinate was divided among the four of Rupert's surviving sons. As oldest surviving son and new

Prince-Elector 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- ...

Louis III received the main part,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

received Palatinate-Neumarkt,

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

received Palatinate-Simmern and

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

received

Palatinate-Mosbach Palatinate-Mosbach was a state of the Holy Roman Empire centred on Mosbach and Eberbach in the north of modern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Palatinate-Mosbach was created in 1410 out of the partition of the Palatinate after the death of King ...

. Louis III was a member of the Parakeet Society and of the League of Constance. Highly cultured and religious he was a patron of the

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

. Louis III acted as vicar for

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1437. He was elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) in 1410, and was also King of Bohemia from 1419, as well as prince-elect ...

and was his bearer during the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...

. As such Louis later also executed the sentences against

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 ...

and Jerome of Prague. He also arrested

Antipope John XXIII Baldassarre Cossa (died 22 December 1419) was Pisan antipope as John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church today regards him as an antipope in opposition to Pope Gregory XII, whom it recognizes as the rightful succ ...

in 1415. Louis III returned very sick from a pilgrimage in 1427 into the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

which he had organized after the death of his son Ruprecht. From 1430 onwards he was almost blind and in 1435 deprived of power by his wife and her advisors. In the following year he died, in

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 ...

, and was succeeded by his son Louis IV.

Family and children

Louis III was married twice. Firstly, he married on 6 July 1402

Blanche of Lancaster Blanche of Lancaster (25 March 1342 – 12 September 1368) was a member of the English-French royal House of Lancaster and the daughter of the kingdom's wealthiest and most powerful peer, Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster. She was the f ...

(1392 – 22 May 1409), eldest daughter of King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (a son of King Edward III), and Blanche of Lancaster. Henry was involved in the 1388 ...

and Mary de Bohun. This marriage brought the Palatine Crown into the hands of the Wittelsbach. They had one son: # Ruprecht (22 June 1406 – 20 May 1426). Secondly, he married on 30 November 1417 Matilda of Savoy, daughter of

Amadeo, Prince of Achaea Amadeus or Amedeo of Savoy (1363 – 7 May 1402) was the son of James of Piedmont and his third wife Marguerite de Beaujeu. By James' will of 16 May 1366, he was declared his firstborn (his elder half-brother was considered a traitor by their ...

. They had five children: # Mathilde (7 March 1419 – 1 October 1482), married: ## in 1434 to Count Louis I of Württemberg ## in 1452 to Duke Albrecht VI of Austria # Louis IV, Elector Palatine (1 January 1424 – 13 August 1449) # Frederick I, Elector Palatine (1 August 1425 – 12 December 1476) # Rupprecht (27 February 1427 – 26 July 1480),

Prince-elector 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- ...

archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

# Margarete (ca. 1428 – 23 November 1466), a nun at Liebenau monastery

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

*
genealogie-mittelalter.de
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 03 Elector Palatine Wittelsbach, Louis III, Elector Palatine of the Rhine Wittelsbach, Louis III, Elector Palatine of the Rhin 15th-century Prince-electors of the Palatinate House of Wittelsbach Burials at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Heidelberg Sons of kings