Otto III ( – 25 May 1310), a member 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 ...

(''Meinhardiner'' dynasty), was

Duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchy, stem duc ...

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 ...

from 1295 until his death. He ruled jointly with his younger brothers Louis and Henry VI.

Life

Otto was a son of Duke Meinhard of Carinthia and his wife

Elisabeth of Bavaria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austria on 24 April 1854 until h ...

, widow of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

king

Conrad IV of Germany Conrad (25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of Emperor Frederick II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) u ...

. His father was enfeoffed with the Carinthian duchy by King

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's imperial election of 1273, election marked the end of the Interregnum (Holy Roman Empire), Great Interregnum whic ...

in 1286, in turn for his support of the

Habsburgs 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 ...

against King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...

. Otto's sister Elizabeth was married to Rudolf's son Albert of Habsburg and became German queen in 1298. When Duke Meinhard died in 1295, his sons inherited a well-organized country, as their father had laid the foundation for an efficient administration by fostering

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

and creating the Tyrolean ''Raitbuch'' (internal record book). Otto signed a border treaty with the neighbouring

Bishopric of Brixen The Prince-Bishopric of Brixen () was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the present-day northern Italian province of South Tyrol. It should not be confused with the larger Catholic diocese, over which the prince-bisho ...

, establishing the confluence of the

Adige The Adige is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the province of South Tyrol, near the Italian border with Austria and Switzerland, and flows through most of northeastern Italy ...

and the Avisio as the border between Tyrol and Brixen. Otto's brothers Albert (d. 1292), Louis and Henry VI were appointed ''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

s'' of the Bishops of Trent. Otto's brother-in-law Albert of Habsburg, elected

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

in 1298, granted him several tolls. However, Otto's lavish court was a burden on his finances. Most notable of his economic policies was the expansion and securing of the market in Gries (now part of

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

) in 1305 competing with the market in the central town of Bolzano, which was dominated by the bishop. Otto died in 1310 without a male heir. As his brothers Albert and Louis had already died in 1292 and 1305, respectively, he was succeeded by his youngest brother, Duke Henry VI.

Seal

Otto's

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

shows a horseman and bears the subsequent inscription in

uncial script Uncial is a majuscule script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to 8th centuries AD by Latin and Greek scribes. Uncial letters were used to write Greek and Latin, as well as Gothic, and are the current style for ...

: OTTO DEI GRACIA DUX KARINTHIE TIROLIS ET GORICIE COMES AQUILEGENSIS / TRIDENTINE BRISINENSIS ECLESIARU ADVOCATUS.

Marriage and issue

In 1297 Otto married Duchess Euphemia (1281–1347), a daughter of the Silesian duke Henry V of Legnica. They had four daughters: * Anna ( – 1331 or 35), married Count Palatine

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

; * Elisabeth (d. ), married King Peter II of Sicily; * Ursula (d. 1327) and * Euphemia (d. 1329 or 39).

Sources

* * *

Life

Seal

Marriage and issue

Sources

References

Further reading