Leopold I, Margrave of Austria
Leopold I | |
---|---|
House of Babenberg | |
Spouse(s) | Richardis of Sualafeldgau |
Issue | |
Father | (?) Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria |
Leopold I (also Luitpold; c. 940 – 10 July 994), known as the Illustrious (
Biography
The origins of Leopold the Illustrious are not known. According to some sources, his father Berthold was count in the
Leopold is first mentioned in a document issued by Emperor
The resettlement of the east was a slow process that centered from the fortress of Pöchlarn down the Danube river. Leopold's margraviate originally coincided with the present-day Wachau valley, and whose eastern boundary was the Traisen river near Sankt Pölten east of Krems.[6] With the Magyar threat largely reduced following their defeat in 955, Leopold focused on securing his holdings from internal threats and dissensions.[6] In 984, he engaged in the reduction of the fortress at Melk, which was still controlled by supporters of the late margrave.[6] Once Melk was secured, Leopold most likely used it as his residence,[6] founding a monastery there for twelve secular priests.[1] By 987, Leopold extended the boundary of his margraviate to the east as far as the Wienerwald mountain range[7] and by 991, jointly with reinstated Duke Henry II of Bavaria, further down to the Fischa river.
In 994, Leopold travelled to Würzburg to mediate a dispute between his cousin Margrave Henry of Schweinfurt and the Würzburg bishop Bernward von Rothenburg, one of whose knights Henry had seized and blinded.[8][9] At a tournament held on 8 July, Leopold was hit in the eye by an arrow directed at his cousin. Two days later, on 10 July 994, he died from his injuries.[1][8][9][10] He was buried in Würzburg.[9] In 1015, his son Duke Ernest I of Swabia, was buried next to his father.[9] In the thirteenth century, their remains were returned to Melk Abbey.[7]
Historiography
Leopold ruled over the re-established Marcha orientalis for eighteen years. He organized and expanded it with great ability, and left behind a margravate that had assumed the character of "an ordered and civilized land".[8] The chronicler Thietmar wrote that no man was wiser that he in all his actions, or of a worthier nature.[11] Perhaps the highest testimony to Leopold's life and reputation came from the actions of Emperor Otto III, who immediately invested his son Henry I with his father's margravate.[8]
Although Leopold is not mentioned in the Babenberger Chronicle written by his descendant Otto of Freising—which only starts with Leopold's grandson Adalbert—he is known today as the progenitor of the Babenberg dynasty. Otto of Freising's claim of ancestry to the Franconian Babenbergs, who are remembered for the Babenberger insurgency of the early tenth century, has not been proven, but cannot be completely ruled out.
In 1976, the millennial anniversary of Leopold's appointment as margrave was celebrated as a "Thousand Years of Austria". Celebrations under the same title were held twenty years later at the anniversary of the famous 996 Ostarrîchi document first mentioning the Old German name of Austria.
Marriage
Leopold married
Their marriage produced eight children:- Henry I (died 1018), second Margrave of Austria[13]
- Judith
- Ernest I (died 1015), Duke of Swabia[13]
- Adalbert (985–1055), third Margrave of Austria[13]
- Trier[13]
- Kunigunda
- Hemma, married Count Rapoto of Dießen
- Christina, a nun at Trier
References
- Citations
- ^ a b c d e f Lingelbach 1913, p. 89.
- ^ Wegener 1965, p. 77.
- ^ Pohl 1995, p. 12.
- ^ Brooke 1938, p. 52.
- ^ Leeper 1940, p. 153.
- ^ a b c d Leeper 1940, p. 158.
- ^ a b Leeper 1940, p. 159.
- ^ a b c d Leeper 1940, p. 164.
- ^ a b c d Lechner 1976, p. 54.
- ^ Thietmar 2001, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Thietmar 2001, p. 21.
- ^ Lechner 1976, p. 45.
- ^ a b c d Jackman 2008, p. 33.
- Bibliography
- Beller, Steven (2007). A Concise History of Austria. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521478861.
- Brooke, Z. N. (1938). A History of Europe: From 911 to 1198. London: Methuen & Company Ltd. ISBN 978-1443740708.
- Jackman, Donald C. (2008). Ius hereditarium Encountered III: Ezzo's Chess Match. Editions Enplage.
- Lechner, Karl (1976). Die Babenberger: Markgrafen und Herzoge von Österreich 976–1246. Vienna: Böhlau. ISBN 978-3205085089.
- Leeper, Alexander W. (1941). History of Medieval Austria. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0404153472.
- Lingelbach, William E. (1913). The History of Nations: Austria-Hungary. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company. ASIN B000L3E368.
- Pohl, Walter (1995). Die Welt der Babenberger. Graz: Verlag Styria. ISBN 978-3222123344.
- Rickett, Richard (1985). A Brief Survey of Austrian History. Vienna: Prachner. ISBN 978-3853670019.
- ISBN 978-0719049262.
- Wegener, Wilhelm (1965). Genealogischen Tafeln zur mitteleuropäischen Geschichte. Vienna: Verlag Degener.
External links