Supplemental 7: Grand Dukes of the Center Part 2 – The House of Wittelsbach

Posted byJosh ZuckerPosted inUncategorized
The two Wittelsbach medieval Kings of Germany, Ludwig IV the Bavarian (Left) and Rupert of the Palatinate (Right). Both Kings had tumultuous reigns, in large part due to their conflicts with the House of Luxembourg.

In the later middle ages, the House of Wittelsbach, rulers of Bavaria and the Palatinate, competed with the Houses of Luxembourg and Habsburg for land, power, and the Imperial Throne.

Time Period Covered: 1273 – 1410

Notable People: Ludwig IV the Bavarian, Rupert of the Palatinate, Rudolph I of Bavaria, Frederick the Fair, Pope John XXII, Pope Clement VI, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, Emperor Charles IV

This map shows the Holy Roman Empire in 1356 when Emperor Charles IV issued his famous Golden Bull. The colors show the territories controlled by the Houses that I will be covering in this mini-series. The House of Luxembourg controlled the Purple Territories, the Wittelsbach House of Bavaria controlled the Green Territories, and the Habsburg House of Austria controlled the Orange Territories. We can see the gains and losses of the House of Wittelsbach under Ludwig the Bavarian with Tyrol going to the Habsburgs and Brandenburg going to the Luxembourgs.

Sources

The Empire: From Adolf of Nassau to Lewis of Bavaria by Peter Herde in The New Cambridge Medieval History Volume VI

The Empire: The Luxemburgs and Rupert of the Palatinate by Ivan Hlavacek in The New Cambridge Medieval History Volume VI

The Origins of the German Principalities, 1100-1350 Edited by Graham A. Loud and Jochen Schenk

Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire by Peter H. Wilson

German Histories in the Age of Reformations, 1400-1650 by Thomas A. Brady Jr

A House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire by Andrew L. Thomas

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