Leopold I, Duke of Austria

IssueCatherine of Austria
Agnes of AustriaFatherAlbert I of GermanyMotherElisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol

Leopold I (c. 1290 – 28 February 1326),^[1] called The Glorious, was Duke of Austria and Styria – as co-ruler with his elder brother Frederick the Fair – from 1308 until his death. A member of the House of Habsburg, he was the third son of Albert I of Germany and Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol, a scion of the Meinhardiner dynasty.

Biography

After the death of his eldest brother Duke Rudolph III in 1307 and the assassination of King Albert in 1308, Leopold became administrator of Further Austria, where he started a retaliation campaign against his father's murderers.^[1] He converged with the royal House of Luxembourg and accompanied King Henry VII on his Italian campaign. In 1311, he helped to suppress a Guelph uprising in Milan under Guido della Torre, and to lay siege to the city of Brescia.

Upon Emperor Henry's death, he strongly supported his brother Frederick in the 1314 election as King of the Romans.^[1] Despite all efforts, the Habsburgs only gained the votes of four prince-electors, while Louis IV of Bavaria, with support of the Luxembourgs, was elected by five. In the following armed conflict between the rivals, the forces of Leopold were supportive of his brother's claims.^[1] In his ancestral homeland however, he incurred a decisive defeat by the Swiss Confederacy at the 1315 Battle of Morgarten.^[1]

When Frederick and their younger brother Henry had been captured at the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322, Leopold struggled for their release. He entered into negotiations with King Louis IV and even surrendered the Imperial Regalia he had kept at Kyburg Castle. The parleys failed and Leopold continued to attack the Bavarian forces of Louis, who unsuccessfully laid siege to the Swabian town of Burgau in 1324. After the king had failed to reach the approval of his election by Pope John XXII and was even banned, he released Frederick in 1325. The captive however had to promise to swear his brother to acknowledge Louis as his suzerain, which Leopold refused.^[1] Frederick voluntarily returned to the Bavarian court, where he and Louis finally agreed upon a joint rule.

Leopold died in Strasbourg shortly afterwards, on 28 February 1326.^[1] His remains were buried at Königsfelden Monastery in Windisch.

Marriage and issue

In 1315, Leopold married Catherine of Savoy (1284–1336), daughter of Amadeus V, Count of Savoy by his second wife, Marie of Brabant. They had two daughters:

1. Catherine of Austria (1320–1349), who married Enguerrand VI, Lord of Coucy.
2. Agnes of Austria (1322–1392), who married Bolko II, Duke of Świdnica.

Male-line family tree

v t e House of Habsburg[n 1]
Original line Albert Count of Habsburg c. 1188–1239 Rudolf I of Germany c. 1218–1291 Albert I of Germany 1255–1308 Hartmann 1263–1281 Rudolf II Duke of Austria 1270–1290 Rudolf I of Bohemia 1281–1307 Frederick the Fair c. 1289–1330 Leopold I Duke of Austria 1290–1326 Albert II Duke of Austria 1298–1358 Henry the Friendly 1299–1327 Otto Duke of Austria 1301–1339 John Parricida c. 1290–1312/1313   Albertinian line   Leopoldian line Rudolf IV Duke of Austria 1339–1365 Frederick III Duke of Austria 1347–1362 Albert III Duke of Austria 1349–1395 Leopold III Duke of Austria 1351–1386 Frederick II Duke of Austria 1327–1344 Leopold II Duke of Austria 1328–1344 Albert IV Duke of Austria 1377–1404 William Duke of Austria c. 1370–1406 Leopold IV Duke of Austria 1371–1411 Ernest Duke of Austria 1377–1424 Frederick IV Duke of Austria 1382–1439 Albert II of Germany 1397–1439 Frederick III HRE 1415–1493 Albert VI Archduke of Austria 1418–1463 Sigismund Archduke of Austria 1427–1496 Ladislaus the Posthumous 1440–1457 Maximilian I HRE 1459–1519 Philip I of Castile 1478–1506   Spanish / Iberian line   Austrian / HRE line Charles V HRE 1500–1558 Ferdinand I HRE 1503–1564 Philip II of Spain 1527–1598 Maximilian II HRE 1527–1576 Ferdinand II Archduke of Austria 1529–1595 Charles II Archduke of Austria 1540–1590 Carlos Prince of Asturias 1545–1568 Philip III of Spain 1578–1621 Rudolf II HRE 1552–1612 Ernest of Austria 1553–1595 Matthias HRE 1557–1619 Maximilian III Archduke of Austria 1558–1618 Albert VII Archduke of Austria 1559–1621 Wenceslaus Archduke of Austria 1561–1578 Andrew Margrave of Burgau 1558–1600 Charles Margrave of Burgau 1560–1618 Ferdinand II HRE 1578–1637 Maximilian Ernest of Austria 1583–1616 Leopold V Archduke of Austria 1586–1632 Charles of Austria 1590–1624 Philip IV of Spain 1605–1665 Charles of Austria 1607–1632 Ferdinand of Austria 1609–1641 John-Charles of Austria 1605–1619 Ferdinand III HRE 1608–1657 Leopold Wilhelm of Austria 1614–1662 Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria 1628–1662 Sigismund Francis Archduke of Austria 1630–1665 Balthasar Charles Prince of Asturias 1629–1646 Charles II of Spain 1661–1700 Ferdinand IV King of the Romans 1633–1654 Leopold I HRE 1640–1705 Charles Joseph of Austria 1649–1664 Joseph I HRE 1678–1711 Charles VI HRE 1685–1740
Notes: ^ "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.

References

Bibliography

• Wurzbach, Constantin von (1860). "Habsburg, Leopold I. der Glorreiche". In Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich. 6. Vienna: Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, p. 409.
• ——— (1860). "Habsburg, Elisabeth von Savoyen". In Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich. 6. Vienna: Kaiserlich-königliche Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, p. 165.

Leopold I, Duke of Austria House of Habsburg Born: 1290 Died: 1326
Regnal titles
Preceded by Albert I Rudolf II Rudolf III	Duke of Austria and Styria 1308–1326 With: Frederick the Fair	Succeeded by Frederick the Fair as sole duke