Duke of Bavaria
For the Duke in Swabia from the Elder House of Welf, see
Welf I
.
Welf I
(c. 1035/1040 – 6 November 1101) was
Duke of Bavaria
from 1070 to 1077 and from 1096 to his death. He was the first member of the
Welf
branch of the
House of Este
. In the genealogy of the
Elder House of Welf
, he is counted as
Welf IV
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Welf was the son of
Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan
, and
Kunigunde of Altdorf
.
When Welf's maternal uncle,
Welf, Duke of Carinthia
(also known as Welf III), died childless in 1055, Welf inherited his property. In 1062 Welf married
Ethelinde of Northeim
, daughter of
Otto, Duke of Bavaria
.
Although Azzo II of Este continued firm in the interests of
Pope Gregory VII
, Welf's marriage, and his inheritance of property in Germany, meant that he was more concerned with German affairs and he supported
Emperor Henry IV
.
When his father-in-law, Duke Otto, had become an enemy of Emperor Henry IV and forfeited his duchy, Welf remained loyal to Henry IV. In compliance with Henry's commands, he repudiated and divorced his wife, Ethelinde,
and soon thereafter (in 1070) he was rewarded for his fidelity by being appointed Duke of Bavaria in Otto's stead.
[4]
This event took place at
Goslar
in 1070, when the
Duchy of Bavaria
submitted quietly to the newly made duke, who was the representative of one of the most ancient families in the province. His repudiation of Ethelinde, which could have been considered an act of injustice, does not seem to have been held against him.
However, during the
Investiture Controversy
, Welf changed sides turning against the Emperor, supporting
Pope Gregory VII
as well as lending his support for the election of
Rudolf of Rheinfelden
in March 1077. Pope and Emperor were superficially reconciled in 1076, but the following year saw them again engaged in active hostilities. Henry, in consequence of these repeated acts of rebellion, declared Welf deposed in his newly acquired duchy. However, supported by his faithful Bavarians and aided by his father in
Italy
, Welf was able to maintain his place, and openly defy the ban of the Empire in May 1077.
Welf joined the discontented princes who supported the standard of Rudolph, at a time when any who refused to follow the pope's direction could expect to be excommunicated by the church?a potent and effective threat in the social and political conditions of the time. However, Gregory died in 1085 and his successors took a less intensive part in the affairs of Germany. Welf, though still adhering to the party of the church, began to relax in his exertions to support Rudolf of Rheinfelden.
After his divorce from his first wife in 1070, Welf married
Judith of Flanders
,
daughter of
Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
and widow of
Tostig Godwinson
,
Earl of Northumbria
.
In 1089, Welf's son
Welf
married
Matilda of Tuscany
, thus strengthening relationships with the pope. However, after the younger Welf divorced Matilda in 1095, Welf made amends with Henry IV and was reconfirmed in his position as Duke of Bavaria.
After the death of his father Azzo in 1097, Welf tried to acquire his father's property south of the Alps, but did not succeed against his younger half-brother
Fulco
.
In 1099, Welf joined what would become known as the
Crusade of 1101
, along with
William IX of Aquitaine
,
Hugh of Vermandois
and
Ida of Austria
. His main success was to prevent a clash between fellow Crusaders, who had been pillaging Byzantine territory on their way to
Constantinople
and the Byzantine emperor's
Pecheneg
mercenaries
.
The Crusade itself, entering
Anatolia
, ended disastrously; after passing
Heraclea
in September, Welf's Bavarians?like other crusader contingents?were ambushed and massacred by the Turkish troops of
Kilij Arslan I
, the
Seljuq Sultan of Rum
.
Welf himself escaped the fiasco, but died on his way back in
Paphos
,
Cyprus
, in 1101 and was buried in
Weingarten Abbey
. He was succeeded as Duke of Bavaria by his son
Welf II
.
Children
[
edit
]
Welf had the following children from his marriage with
Judith of Flanders
,
daughter of
Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders
:
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Schneidmuller,
Die Welfen
, pp. 132f.
Sources
[
edit
]
- Dockray-Miller, Mary (2015).
The Books and the Life of Judith of Flanders
. Ashgate Publishing.
- Luscombe, David; Riley-Smith, Jonathan, eds. (2006).
The New Cambridge Medieval History
. Cambridge University Press.
- Robinson, I. S. (1999).
Henry IV of Germany 1056-1106
. Cambridge University Press.
- B. Schneidmuller,
Die Welfen. Herrschaft und Erinnerung
(Stuttgart, 2000).
- Creber, Alison (22 April 2019). "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do: Dissolving Royal and Noble Marriages in Eleventh-Century Germany".
German History
.
37
(2): 149?171.
doi
:
10.1093/gerhis/ghy108
.
ISSN
0266-3554
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Welf IV
.
Welf I, Duke of Bavaria
Died:
1101
|
Regnal titles
|
Preceded by
|
Duke of Bavaria
1070?1077
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
|
Duke of Bavaria
1096?1101
|
Succeeded by
|
|
---|
|
- Garibald I
(555?591)
- Tassilo I
(591?610)
- Garibald II
(610?625)
- Theodo
(c.680?716)
- Theodbert
(c.716?c.719)
- Theobald
(c.716?c.719)
- Tassilo II
(c.716?c.719)
- Grimoald
(715?725)
- Hugbert
(725?736)
- Odilo
(736?748)
- Grifo
(748)
- Tassilo III
(748?788)
- Louis II the German
(King: 817?843)
- Carloman
(King: 876?880)
- Louis III the Younger
(King: 880?882)
- Charles the Fat
(King: 882?887)
- Engeldeo
(Margrave: 890?895)
- Luitpold
(Margrave: 895?907)
- Arnulf
(907?937)
- Eberhard
(937?938)
- Berthold
(938?947)
- Henry I
(947?955)
- Henry II the Quarrelsome
(955?976, 985?995)
- Otto I
(976?982)
- Henry III the Younger
(983?985)
- Henry IV
(995?1004, 1009?1017)
- Henry V
(1004?1009, 1017?1026)
- Henry VI
(1026?1042)
- Henry VII
(1042?1047)
- Conrad I
(1049?1053)
- Henry VIII
(1053?1054, 1055?1061)
- Conrad II
(1054?1055)
- Otto of Nordheim
(1061?1070)
- Welf I
(1070?1077, 1096?1101)
- Henry VIII
(1077?1096)
- Welf II
(1101?1120)
- Henry IX the Black
(1120?1126)
- Henry X
(1126?1138)
- Leopold I
(1139?1141)
- Henry XI Jasomirgott
(1143?1156)
- Henry XII the Lion
(1156?1180)
- Otto the Redhead
(1180?1183)
- Agnes of Loon
(Regent: 1183?1191)
- Louis I
(1183?1231)
- Otto the Illustrious
(1231?1253)
- Louis II the Strict
(1253?1255; Upper: 1255?1294)
- Henry XIII
(Lower: 1253?1290)
- Louis III
(Lower: 1290?1296)
- Stephen I
(Lower: 1290?1310)
- Otto III
(Lower: 1290?1312)
- Matilda
(Upper: Regent: 1294?1302)
- Rudolph I
(Upper: 1294?1317)
- Henry XV the Natternberger
(Lower: 1312?1333)
- Otto VI
(Lower: 1310?1334)
- Henry XIV
(Lower: 1310?1339)
- John I the Child
(Lower: 1339?1340)
- Louis IV
(Upper: 1301?1340; 1340?1347)
- Otto V
,
(1347?1349; Upper: 1349?1351; Landshut: 1373?1379)
- Louis V the Brandenburger
,
(1347?1349; Upper: 1349?1361)
- Meinhard I
(Upper: 1361?1363)
- Louis VI
,
(1347?1365)
- Stephen II
,
(1347?1349; Lower: 1349?1353; Landshut: 1353?1375; Upper: 1363)
- William I
,
(1347?1349; Lower: 1349?1353; Straubing: 1353?1388)
- Albert I
,
(1347?1349; Lower: 1349?1353; Straubing: 1353?1404)
- Albert II
(Straubing: 1389?1397)
- William II
(Straubing: 1404?1417)
- Jacqueline
(Straubing: 1417-1429)
- John III the Pitiless
(Straubing: 1417-1425)
- William III
(Munich: 1397?1435; Straubing: 1429?1435)
- Ernest
(Munich: 1397?1438; Straubing: 1429?1438)
- Frederick I the Wise
(1375?1392; Landshut: 1392?1393)
- John II
(1375?1392; Munich: 1392?1397)
- Stephen III the Magnificent
(1375?1392; Ingolstadt: 1392?1413)
- Louis VII the Bearded
(Ingolstadt: 1413?1443)
- Louis VIII the Hunchback
(Ingolstadt: 1443?1445)
- Henry XVI the Rich
(Landshut: 1393?1450; Ingolstadt: 1447?1450)
- Albert III
(Munich: 1438?1460)
- John IV
(Munich: 1460?1463)
- Sigismund
(Munich: 1460?1467; Dachau: 1467?1501)
- Louis IX the Rich
(Landshut: 1450?1479)
- George I the Rich
(Landshut: 1479?1503)
- Albert IV the Wise
(Munich: 1465?1505; 1505?1508)
- William IV the Steadfast
(Munich: 1460?1508; Landshut: 1503?1508; 1508?1550)
- Louis X
, Duke
(1516?1545)
- Albert V the Magnanimous
(1550?1579)
- William V the Pious
(1579?1597)
- Maximilian I
(1597?1623)
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|