Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
| Louis II | |
|---|---|
Otto II | |
| Successor | Rudolf I |
| Born | 13 April 1229 Heidelberg |
| Died | 2 February 1294 (aged 64) Heidelberg |
| Spouse | |
| Issue Detail |
|
Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria | |
| Mother | Agnes of the Palatinate |
Louis the Strict (
Biography
In 1246, the young Louis supported his brother-in-law King
Louis succeeded his father Otto as Duke of Bavaria in 1253. When the
The main residences of Louis were at
Louis died at Heidelberg on 2 February 1294. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son Rudolf I who had Adolf of Nassau as his father-in-law a few months later. Louis was buried in the crypt of Fürstenfeld Abbey.
Family and children
Louis II was married three times.
The execution of Maria of Brabant
He had his first wife,
Different sources tell varying tales about how this happened: In 1256, Louis had been away from home for an extended time due to his responsibilities as a sovereign in the area of the Rhine. His wife wrote two letters, one to her husband, and another to the count of Kyburg at Hunsrück, a vassal of Louis. Details about the actual content of the second letter vary, but according to the chroniclers, the messenger who carried the letter to Louis had been given the wrong one, and Louis came to the conclusion that his wife had a secret love affair.
Over time a great many tales of folklore sprang up around Louis' deed, most of them written long after his death: Ballad-mongers embellished the tale into a murderous frenzy during which Louis allegedly not only killed his wife after having ridden home for five days and nights, but also stabbed the messenger who brought him the wrong letter; then upon entering his castle, stabbed his own castellan and a court lady and threw his wife's maid from the battlements, before he murdered his wife either by stabbing her or cutting off her head.
Several more restrained chronicles support the account of Marie's execution on 18 January 1256 at Mangoldstein Castle in Donauwörth by ducal decree for alleged adultery, but nothing beyond that.
Later marriages
Louis married his second wife, Anna of Glogau, in 1260.[2] They had the following children:
- Maria of Bavaria (b. 1261), became a nun in Marienberg abbey at Boppard.
- Agnes (1262 – 21 October 1269).
- Ludwig of Bavaria (13 September 1267 – 23 November 1290, killed at a tournament at Nuremberg).
He married his third wife,
- Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria (4 October 1274, Basel – 12 August 1319).[4]
- Matilda (Mechthild) of Bavaria, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1275 – 28 March 1319, Lüneburg), married 1288 to Duke Otto II of Brunswick-Lüneburg[2]
- Henry I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal[2]
- Anna of Bavaria (b. 1280), became a nun in Ulm.
- Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1 April 1282, Munich – 11 October 1347, Puch (now a district of Fürstenfeldbruck)) and King of Italy.[4]
Louis II was succeeded by his eldest surviving son Rudolf I.
References
- ^ Jeffery 2018, p. i.
- ^ a b c Jeffery 2018, p. ii.
- ^ Earenfight 2013, p. 173.
- ^ a b Thomas 2010, p. 387.
Sources
- Earenfight, Theresa (2013). Queenship in Medieval Europe. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Jeffery, Renée (2018). Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia: The Philosopher Princess. Lexington Books.
- Thomas, Andrew L. (2010). A House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire, c.1550-1650. Brill.
External links
