LOUIS IV., or V. (c. 1287-1347), surnamed the Bavarian, Roman emperor
and duke of Upper Bavaria, was the second son of Louis II., duke of
Upper Bavaria and count palatine of the Rhine, and Matilda, daughter of
the German king Rudolph I. Having lost his father in 1294 he inherited,
jointly with his elder brother Rudolph, Upper Bavaria and the
Palatinate, but passed his time mainly at the court of the Habsburgs in
Vienna, while his early experiences of warfare were gained in the
campaigns of his uncle, the German king Albert I. He was soon at
variance with his brother over their joint possessions. Albert taking
the part of Louis in this quarrel, Rudolph promised in 1301 to admit his
brother to a share in the government of Bavaria and the Palatinate. When
Albert was murdered in May 1308, Louis became a candidate for the German
throne; but his claim was not strongly supported. The new king, Henry
VII., was very friendly with Rudolph, and as the promise of 1301 had not
been carried out, Louis demanded a partition of their lands. Upper
Bavaria was accordingly divided in 1310, and Louis received the
north-western part of the duchy; but Rudolph refused to surrender any
part of the Palatinate. In 1310, on the death of Stephen I., duke of
Lower Bavaria, Louis undertook the guardianship of his two young sons.
This led to a war between the brothers, which lasted till June 1313,
when peace was made at Munich. Many of the nobles in Lower Bavaria,
however, angered at Louis, called in the aid of Frederick I. (the Fair),
duke of Austria; but he was defeated at Gammelsdorf on the 9th of
November 1313, a victory which not only led to peace, but conferred
considerable renown on Louis.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account