Austrian noble dynasty from c. 962 to 1246
The
House of Babenberg
was a noble dynasty of
Austrian Dukes and Margraves
. Originally from
Bamberg
in the
Duchy of Franconia
(present-day
Bavaria
), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial
Margraviate of Austria
from its creation in 976 AD until its elevation to
a duchy
in 1156, and from then until the extinction of the line in 1246, whereafter they were succeeded by the
House of Habsburg
, to which they were related.
Origin
[
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]
One or two families
[
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]
The Babenberg family can be broken down into two distinct groups: 1) The
Franconian
Babenbergs, the so-called Elder House of Babenberg, whose name refers to Babenburg Castle, the present site of
Bamberg Cathedral
. Also called
Popponids
after their progenitor Count
Poppo of Grapfeld
(d. 839-41), they were related to the Frankish
Robertian dynasty
and ancestors of the Franconian
Counts of Henneberg
and of
Schweinfurt
. 2) The Austrian Babenbergs, descendants of Margrave
Leopold I
, who ruled Austria from 976 onwards. This second group claimed to have originated from the first, however, scholars have not been able to verify that claim. Today, a direct lineal descent from the
Bavarian
House of
Luitpolding
is assumed.
Popponids
[
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]
Like the French royal
Capetian dynasty
, the Elder Babenbergs descended from the
Robertians
. The earliest known Babenberg count Poppo was first mentioned as a ruler in the
Gau
of
Grabfeld
, a historic region in northeastern Franconia bordering on
Thuringia
, in 819 AD. He may be a descendant of the Robertian count
Cancor of Hesbaye
.
One of Poppo's sons,
Henry
, served as
princeps militiae
under King
Louis the Younger
and was sometimes called margrave (
marchio
) and duke (
dux
) in Franconia under King
Charles the Fat
of
East Francia
. He was killed fighting against the
Vikings
during the
Siege of Paris
in 886. Another son,
Poppo II
, was margrave in Thuringia from 880 to 892, when he was deposed by King Charles' successor
Arnulf of Carinthia
. The Popponids had been favoured by Charles the Fat, but Arnulf reversed this policy in favour of rivalling
Conrad the Elder
, a member of the
Conradine
dynasty from the
Lahngau
in
Rhenish Franconia
[1]
and relative of Arnulf's consort
Ota
.
Babenberg Feud
[
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]
The leaders of the Babenbergs were the sons of Duke Henry, who called themselves after their castle of Babenburg on the upper
Main river
, around which their possessions centred. The city of Bamberg was built around the ancestral castle of the family.
[1]
The Conradines were led by Conrad the Elder and his brothers
Rudolf
and
Gebhard
, probably the sons of Count
Udo of Neustria
.
The rivalry between the Babenberg and Conradine families was intensified by their efforts to extend their authority in the region of the middle Main, and this quarrel, known as the "Babenberg feud", came to a first head in 892, when King Arnulf deposed Poppo II as Thuringian ruler, appointing Conrad the Elder instead, and installed Conrad's brother Rudolf as
Bishop of Wurzburg
. The struggle intensified at the beginning of the 10th century during the troubled reign of Arnulf's son King
Louis the Child
. Clashes of arms occurred in 902, when the Conradine laid siege to Babenburg Castle and arrested
Adalhard of Babenberg
. The next year, Adalhard was executed at the
Reichstag
of
Forchheim
; in return, the Babenbergs occupied the city of
Wurzburg
and expelled Bishop Rudolf.
Meanwhile, Rudolf's brother Gebhard was appointed
Duke of Lotharingia
in 903,
[2]
and had to cope both with revolting nobles and the continuing attacks by Babenberg forces.
[
citation needed
]
Both sides met in the battle of
Fritzlar
on 27 February 906, where the Conradines won a decisive victory, although Conrad the Elder fell in the battle.
[3]
Two of the Babenberg brothers were also killed. The third,
Adalbert
, was summoned before the imperial court by the regent Archbishop
Hatto I of Mainz
, a partisan of the Conradines. He refused to appear, held his own for a time in his castle at
Theres
against the king's forces, but surrendered in 906, and in spite of a promise of safe-conduct by Hatto was
beheaded
.
[1]
Conrad the Younger
became Duke of Franconia in 906 and
King of East Francia
(as Conrad I) in 911, while the Babenbergs lost their influence in Franconia.
Margraves of Austria
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]
In 962, the Bavarian count
Leopold I
(
Liupo
), possibly a descendant of the Luitpolding duke
Arnulf of Bavaria
, was first mentioned as a faithful follower of Emperor
Otto I
. He remained a loyal supporter of Otto's son and successor
Otto II
and in 976 appears as count of the Bavarian Eastern March, then a district not more than 60 miles in breadth on the eastern frontier of the duchy, which grew into the
Margraviate of Austria
. Leopold, who received the territory as a reward for his fidelity to Emperor Otto II during the uprising of Duke
Henry II of Bavaria
, extended its area down the
Danube
river into what is today
Lower Austria
at the expense of the retreating
Magyars
.
Leopold was succeeded in 994 by his son
Henry I
, who continued his father's policy, was followed in 1018 by his brother
Adalbert
, whose marked loyalty to Emperor
Henry II
and his
Salian
successor
Henry III
was rewarded by many tokens of favour.
[1]
Adalbert expanded the Austrian territory up to the present borders on the
Leitha
,
March
and
Thaya
rivers. He was succeeded in 1055 by his nephew,
Ernest
.
Leopold II
, margrave from 1075, quarrelled with Emperor
Henry IV
during the
Investiture Controversy
, when he supported the papal side of Bishop
Altmann of Passau
. Though Leopold had to cope with the invading troops of Duke
Vratislaus II of Bohemia
and was defeated at the 1082
Battle of Mailberg
, the emperor was unable to oust him from his march or to prevent the succession of his son
Leopold III
in 1096. Between 1075 - 1095 the dynasty had its seat at Babenberg Castle of
Gars am Kamp
.
[4]
Leopold III supported Henry V, the son of Emperor Henry IV, in his rising against his father, but was soon drawn over to the emperor's side. In 1106 he married the daughter of Henry IV,
Agnes
, widow of Duke
Frederick I of Swabia
. In 1125 he declined the
royal crown
in favour of
Lothair of Supplinburg
. His zeal in founding monasteries, such as
Klosterneuburg Monastery
, earned for him his surname "the Pious", and canonization by
Pope Innocent VIII
in 1485. He is regarded as the patron saint of
Lower
and
Upper Austria
.
[1]
Dukes of Austria
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]
One of Leopold's younger sons was Bishop
Otto of Freising
. His eldest son
Leopold IV
became margrave in 1136, and in 1139 received the
Duchy of Bavaria
from the hands of King
Conrad III
, who had
banned
the
Welf
duke
Henry the Proud
.
Leopold's brother
Henry Jasomirgott
(allegedly named after his favourite oath, "Yes, so [help] me God!") was made
Count Palatine of the Rhine
in 1140, and became Margrave of Austria on Leopold's death in 1141. Having married Gertrude, the widow of Henry the Proud, he was invested in 1143 with the Duchy of Bavaria, and resigned his office as count palatine. In 1147 he participated in the
Second Crusade
, and after his return, renounced Bavaria at the instance of the new king
Frederick Barbarossa
who gave the duchy of Bavaria to Henry the Proud's son, Duke
Henry the Lion
of Saxony. As compensation for this, Austria, the capital of which had been transferred to
Vienna
about 1155, was elevated into a duchy according to the
Privilegium Minus
.
[1]
Rise to power
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]
The second duke was Henry's son
Leopold V
, who succeeded him in 1177 and took part in the crusades of 1182 and 1190 as well as the
Third Crusade
. In Palestine, he quarrelled with King
Richard I of England
, captured him on his homeward journey and handed him over to Emperor
Henry VI
. Leopold increased the territories of the Babenbergs by acquiring the
Duchy of Styria
under the will of his kinsman Duke
Ottokar IV
. He died in 1194, and Austria fell to one son,
Frederick
, and Styria to another,
Leopold
; but on Frederick's death in 1198 they were again united by Leopold as Duke Leopold VI, surnamed "the Glorious".
[1]
The new duke fought in the crusades in
Spain
,
Egypt
, and
Palestine
, but is more celebrated as a lawgiver, a patron of letters, and a founder of many towns. Under him Vienna became the centre of culture in
Germany
and the great school of
Minnesingers
. His later years were spent in strife with his son Frederick, and he died in 1230 at San Germano, now renamed
Cassino
, whither he had gone to arrange the peace between Emperor
Frederick II
and
Pope Gregory IX
.
[1]
Extinction
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]
Frederick II
,
Leopold VI's
son by
Theodora Angelina
, succeeded his father as duke upon the elder man's death in 1230. Frederick II soon earned the epithet "the Quarrelsome" from his ongoing disputes with the kings of
Hungary
and
Bohemia
and with
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II
. Duke Frederick deprived his mother and sisters of their possessions, was hated by his subjects on account of his oppressive rule, and, in 1236, was placed under the imperial ban and driven from Austria.
[1]
However, he was later restored to his duchy when Emperor Frederick II was excommunicated. Subsequently, Duke Frederick II treated with Emperor Frederick II in vain to make Austria a kingdom.
The male line of the Babenbergs became extinct in 1246, when Frederick II was killed in battle (the
Henneberg branch
of the Franconian Babenbergs lived on until 1583 when its lands were divided among the two branches of the
Wettin family
).
Frederick's heir general was
Gertrude of Austria
, the only child of his late elder brother,
Henry of Austria
by that man's wife,
Agnes of Thuringia
. However, neither her husbands nor her son succeeded in settling the Babenberg inheritance under their power. Gertrude's only surviving child,
Agnes of Baden
, tried to reclaim at least part of her inheritance through her third husband
Ulrich II of Heunburg
, but was unsuccessful.
After some years of struggle known as the
Austrian Interregnum
[
de
;
uk
]
or War of the Babenberg Succession (1246?1256/78/82), the Duchies of Austria and Styria fell to
Ottokar II of Bohemia
, and subsequently to
Rudolph I
of
Habsburg
, whose descendants were to rule Austria until 1918.
Genetic legacy
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Byzantine blood
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]
All the Babenberg dukes from
Leopold V
onward were descended from
Byzantine emperors
?
Leopold
's mother,
Theodora Komnene
, being a granddaughter of the
Emperor
,
John II Komnenos
. Subsequently,
Leopold V
's younger son,
Leopold VI
, also married a
Byzantine
princess (
Theodora Angelina
), as did his youngest son (by
Theodora
),
Frederick II
, who married
Sophia Laskarina
.
The Babenbergs and the Habsburgs
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]
The next dynasty in Austria?the
Habsburgs
?were originally not descendants of the Babenbergs. It was not until the children of
Albert I of Germany
that the Babenberg blood was brought into the Habsburg line, though this blood was from the pre-ducal Babenbergs. A side effect of this marriage was the use of the Babenberg name
Leopold
by the
Habsburgs
for one of their sons.
The Habsburgs did eventually gain descent from the Babenberg dukes, though at different times. The first
Habsburg
line to be descended from the Babenbergs was the
Albertine
line. This was achieved through the marriage of
Albert III, Duke of Austria
to
Beatrix of Nuremberg
. As such, their son,
Albert IV, Duke of Austria
, was the first Habsburg duke who was descended from the Babenberg dukes. However, the male line of that branch of the
Habsburgs
died out in 1457 with
Ladislas V Posthumus of Bohemia
.
The next
Habsburg
line to gain Babenberg blood was the
Styrian
line, which occurred with the children of
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
and
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary
, the latter of whom descended from Babenberg dukes. It was actually from
Elizabeth of Austria
, the sister of
Ladislas V Posthumus of Bohemia
, that the Styrian line gained their Babenberg blood.
The
Spanish
line was the last Habsburg line to gain Babenberg blood. Again it was via the previous
Habsburg
line to gain Babenberg blood (i.e. the Styrian) that the Spanish
Habsburg
gained their descent from the Babenbergs ?
Anna of Austria
, the wife of
Philip II of Spain
and mother of
Philip
(from whom all subsequent Spanish
Habsburgs
were descended), was a male-line granddaughter of
Ferdinand
and
Anna
. As a result, after 1598, all
Habsburg
scions descended from the Babenberg Dukes.
See also
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References
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]
- Bibliography
External links
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