William V (29 September 1548 – 7 February 1626), called ''the Pious'', (German: ''Wilhelm V., der Fromme, Herzog von Bayern'') was the
duke of Bavaria
The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...
from 1579 to 1597.
Education and early life
William V 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 ...
, the son of
Albert V and
Archduchess Anna of Austria.
He received a
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
education and showed keen attachment to the Jesuit
Counter Reformation tenets. His title 'the Pious' was given to him because he devoted his daily routine to Masses (when possible, several times a day), prayer, contemplation, and devotional reading. He took part in public devotions, processions, and pilgrimages.
William V's residence as crown prince was the ancient fortified Wittelsbach seat
Trausnitz Castle, which he renovated extensively between 1568 and 1578. His projects, including the construction of an arcaded inner court, changed the Gothic castle into a Renaissance palace complex.
Reign
Like his
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, ...
father and grandfather, William V was a strong supporter of the
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
. He secured the
archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
ric of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
for his brother Ernest with his campaign in 1583; his brother
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
commanded the Bavarian army in the first 18 months of the
Cologne War in an effort to secure the
Electorate
Electorate may refer to:
* The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate''
* The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
* An electoral district
...
. Eventually, the Spanish army, under the command of
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma expelled the Calvinist contender for the Electorate,
Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, and Ernst secured sole possession of both the Electorate and the Archdiocese of Cologne. This dignity remained in the possession of the family for nearly 200 years. Two of William V's sons also followed ecclesiastical careers:
Philipp Wilhelm of Bavaria became the
Bishop of Regensburg
The Bishops of Regensburg (; or ) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. and eventually a
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
, and
Ferdinand of Bavaria succeeded his uncle as
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 ...
. In 1591, Philipp Wilhelm expelled
Salzburg
Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
from the
Berchtesgaden Provostry, the future possession of his son Ferdinand.
During William V's reign, non-Catholics were forced to leave Bavaria, and the so-called
Geistlicher Rat, an ecclesiastical council, was formed to advise William V on theological affairs, independent of the traditional privy council or the treasury, which administered secular affairs. The Geistlicher Rat supervised and disciplined the duchy's Catholic clergy through regular visitations; it controlled the Catholicism of all the state officials by issuing certificates documenting their annual confession and communion; it funded new Catholic schools, new Catholic colleges, new houses of religious orders, especially the
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
and educational ones, such as the Jesuits and
Capuchins for men and the
Ursulines
The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of women that in 1572 branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula. The Ursulines trace their origins to th ...
for women. William V is responsible for numerous executions due to
witch-hunt
A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...
s in his duchy.
In 1582 William V gifted a Trumpeter Automaton with five trumpeters and one drummer to the
Habsburg Archduke of Tyrol Ferdinand II (1529-1595). The Automaton was crafted in the Free Imperial City of Augsburg by the jeweler
Valentin Drausch and the clockmaker
Hans Schlottheim.
The
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
St. Michael's Church and
college of the Jesuits were built in Munich between 1583 and 1597 as spiritual centers for the counter-reformation. William V's spending on Church-related projects, including funding missionaries outside Bavaria—as far away as Asia and the Americas—put tremendous strain on the Bavarian treasury. The Italian confidence man
Marco Bragadino who was promising to make copious amounts of gold to erase the Dukes's debts was called upon by William V in 1590, and executed after he had failed. William V abdicated on 15 October 1597 in favour of his son,
Maximilian I and retired into a monastery where he spent the remainder of his life in contemplation and prayer. He died in 1626 at the
Old Schleissheim Palace and was buried at St. Michael's Church, Munich.
Cultural activity
Already as crown prince in Landshut, William V patronised the arts. His court architect
Friedrich Sustris was in charge of the decoration and remodelling of Trausnitz Castle in Landshut. Later when he ascended to rule, Sustris also undertook the expansion of the ''
Munich Residenz
The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the House of Wittelsbach, Wittelsbach List of rulers of Bavaria, monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors ...
'', the construction of the adjoining college, the palace ''
Wilhelminische Veste'' (the so-called ''Maxburg'') in Munich, and ''St. Michael's Church''.
In 1589, William V built the ''
Hofbräu Brewery''.
The Old Schleissheim Palace was founded by William V in 1598 as a
renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
country house and hermitage located close to
Dachau Palace. The sculptors
Hans Krumpper and
Hubert Gerhard along with painters
Peter Candid and
Hans von Aachen
Hans von Aachen (1552 – 4 March 1615) was a German painter who was one of the leading representatives of Northern Mannerism.
Hans von Aachen was a versatile and productive artist who worked in many genres. He was successful as a painter of p ...
were engaged at his court.
Family and children
Married
Renata of Lorraine (1544–1602) 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 ...
on 22 February 1568. They had:
* Christoph (born and died 23 January 1570).
* Christine (23 September 1571 – 27 April 1580), died in childhood.
*
Maximilian I (1573–1651), future Duke and Elector of Bavaria
*
Maria Anna of Bavaria (Maria Anna v. Bayern), 1574–1616, married
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...
in 1600
*
Philipp Wilhelm (22 September 1576 – 18 May 1598), Bishop of
Regensburg
Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
from 1595,
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
from 1597
*
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
(6 October 1577 – 13 September 1650),
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
and
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- ...
of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
(1612–1650)
* Eleonore Magdalene (7 October 1578 – 18 April 1579), died in infancy.
* Karl (30 May 1580 – 27 October 1587), died in childhood.
*
Albert VI (1584–1666), in 1612 married Mechthilde v. Leuchtenberg (1588–1634)
*
Magdalene of Bavaria (4 July 1587 – 25 September 1628), married in 1613,
Wolfgang Wilhelm, Pfalzgraf von Neuburg (1578–1663)
References
Sources
*
External links
genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:William V, Duke Of Bavaria
Bavaria, William V, Duke of
Bavaria, William V, Duke of
16th-century dukes of Bavaria
People from Landshut
House of Wittelsbach
Burials at St. Michael's Church, Munich
16th-century German nobility
17th-century German people
German Roman Catholics