Meinhard (9 February 1344 – 13 January 1363), 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, ...

, was duke of Upper Bavaria and

count of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an 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 the secularised ...

(as Meinhard III) from 1361 until his death. He was the son of Duke Louis V of Bavaria with Countess Margaret of Tyrol and as such also the last descendant of the Tyrolean branch of the

House of Gorizia The House of Gorizia, also called the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in Italy, on the border with Slovenia), they were originally "advocates" (''Vog ...

Biography

Meinhard was born 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 ...

during the reign of his Wittelsbach grandfather,

Emperor Louis IV Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. 20 October 1314 imperial election, Louis' election a ...

, who had prevailed against his

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

rival

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 ...

. His father Louis V, the eldest son of the emperor, in 1323 was enfeoffed with the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg () was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that, having electoral status although being quite poor, grew rapidly in importance after inheriting the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 and then came ...

upon the extinction of the

Ascanian The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ''Schloss Askanien'' in ...

margraves. He did however concentrate on his Bavarian heritage and in 1342 married Countess Margaret of Tyrol, whose first matrimony with John Henry of Luxembourg was not yet divorced. This marriage earned the couple not only the enmity 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 ...

, but also the

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

Pope Clement VI Pope Clement VI (; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death, in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Black Death (1 ...

. When Emperor Louis IV died in 1347, his son was not able to obtain the Imperial Crown, which passed from the Wittelsbach dynasty to the Luxembourg scion Charles IV. In the course of a rapprochement between the Wittelsbach and Habsburg families, Louis' son Meinhard was raised at the Habsburg court in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and when he came of age, he was married to Margaret of Austria (1346–1366) on June 1358 in

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

. Margaret was a daughter of his father's ally, the Habsburg duke

Albert II of Austria Albert II (; 12 December 1298 – 16 August 1358), known as ''the Wise'' () or ''the Lame'' (), a member of the House of Habsburg, was duke of Austria and duke of Styria, Styria from 1330, as well as duke of Carinthia and margrave of Carniola fro ...

, and on this occasion his parents were absolved from the excommunication. After the sudden death of Louis V in 1361, his seventeen-year-old son ascended to rule in Upper Bavaria and in the County of Tyrol, in which he was strongly influenced by the Bavarian nobility. Meinhard also had to fend off attacks by his Wittelsbach uncle Duke Stephen II of Bavaria-Landshut and his Palatinate cousins. He fled to the court of the Prince-Bishop of Eichstätt, was temporarily arrested in

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 ...

and finally retired to the Tyrolean home lands of his mother, possibly with the help of the Habsburg duke

Rudolf IV of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...

. Meinhard III died at

Tirol Castle Tyrol Castle, less commonly Tirol Castle (, ) is a castle in the ''comune'' (municipality) of Tirol near Merano, in the Burggrafenamt district of South Tyrol, Italy. It was the ancestral seat of the Counts of Tyrol and gave the whole Tyrol reg ...

near

Meran Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Va ...

in 1363. His early death induced his mother Margaret to deny the inheritance claims raised by Count

Meinhard VI of Gorizia Meinhard VI of Gorizia (died after 6 May 1385) a member of the Meinhardiner dynasty, an imperial prince and a count of Gorizia. Life His parents were Count Albert II of Gorizia and Euphemia of Mätsch. From 1338 to 1365, he ruled Gorizia join ...

and the House of Wittelsbach, when she ceded Tyrol to Duke Rudolf IV of Austria. Therefore, Meinhard's uncle Stephen II of Bavaria-Landshut, who had succeeded him in Upper Bavaria, invaded Tyrol but finally released the county in 1369, in return for a huge financial compensation. The unification of Tyrol with Austria was completed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meinhard 03 Of Gorz-Tyrol 1344 births 1363 deaths 14th-century dukes of Bavaria Counts of Tyrol House of Wittelsbach