Frederick IV, Duke of Austria
Frederick IV | |
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Duke of Austria | |
Born | 1382 |
Died | Innsbruck, Tyrol | 24 June 1439
Buried | Stams Abbey |
Noble family | House of Habsburg |
Spouse(s) | Elisabeth of the Palatinate Anna of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
Issue | Sigismund, Archduke of Austria |
Father | Leopold III |
Mother | Viridis Visconti |
Frederick IV (1382 – 24 June 1439), also known as Frederick of the Empty Pockets (German: Friedrich mit der leeren Tasche), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1402 until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian line, he ruled over Further Austria and the County of Tyrol from 1406 onwards.
Biography
Frederick was the youngest son of Duke
As an inheritance dispute arose upon Duke Albert's death in 1395, the young Leopoldian dukes insisted on their rights: the next year, William went on to rule the Inner Austrian lands and Leopold IV ascended as Count of Tyrol. When Frederick came of age in 1402, he was formally assigned to administer his father's inheritance in the scattered Habsburg territories in Swabia, referred to collectively as Further Austria (Vorderösterreich) and took his residence in Freiburg im Breisgau. Another division of the Leopoldian territories took place after William' death in 1406: Duke Leopold IV, now eldest heir, ceded Tyrol to Frederick; however, he did not become sole ruler in Further Austria until Leopold's death in 1411.
The early years of Frederick's reign were marked by external and internal conflicts. He had to overcome the opposition of Tyrolean nobles (who gave him the title "of the Empty Pockets") in 1406/1407 and a rebellion in the Bishopric of Trent. He also had to deal with the independence movement in the Swabian Appenzell lands, where the conflict with the Prince-Abbots of St Gall had escalated in 1401, sparking the Appenzell Wars. Frederick had to withstand in a series of longstanding military conflicts, until a peace was concluded in 1410. However, the Appenzell area became a protectorate of the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1411. Back in Tyrol, he had to face the invading forces of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria, whom he defeated in the Lower Inn Valley.
Upon the death of Duke Leopold IV in 1411, the surviving younger brothers Frederick and Ernest again divided the Leopoldian possessions. With Further Austria, Frederick became undisputed ruler over the Habsburg territories in the
Under the terms of the Western Schism, Duke Frederick sided with Antipope John XXIII, whom he helped on his flight from the Council of Constance in March 1415.[2] The Luxembourg king Sigismund had John arrested in Breisgau and placed Frederick under the Imperial ban. Thanks to the support of the local populace he managed to keep Tyrol, though he lost the western Aargau, the Freiamt and County of Baden estates, in the old homeland of the Habsburgs, to the Swiss.
In 1420, Frederick also moved his Tyrolean court from
Frederick died at his court in Innsbruck, despite his nickname a rich man. His son and heir Sigismund was called der Münzreiche ("Rich in Coin"). Frederick was buried in the Cistercian abbey of Stams, Tyrol.
Marriage and issue
On 24 December 1407, Frederick married Elizabeth of the
On 11 June 1411, Frederick married Anna (d. 1432),
Only Sigismund survived until adulthood. He succeeded his father in Tyrol and Further Austria.
Ancestors
Ancestors of Frederick IV, Duke of Austria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Male-line family tree
References
- ^ a b c d Wilson 2016, p. lix.
- ^ Berenger 2013, p. 62.
Sources
- Berenger, Jean (2013). A History of the Habsburg Empire 1273–1700. Translated by Simpson, C.A. Routledge.
- Wilson, Peter (2016). Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Harvard University Press.