| Ernest I | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Austria | |
 Portrait byAnton Boys,c. 1580 | |
| Duke of Styria,Carinthia andCarniola | |
| Reign | 15 July 1406 – 10 June 1424 |
| Predecessor | William |
| Successor | Frederick V andAlbert VI |
| Born | 1377 Bruck an der Mur,Duchy of Styria |
| Died | (1424-06-10)10 June 1424 Bruck an der Mur, Duchy of Styria |
| Spouse | Margaret of Pomerania Cymburgis of Masovia |
| Issue | Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Margaret of Austria Albert VI, Archduke of Austria Alexander of Austria Rudolf of Austria Catherine of Austria Leopold of Austria Anna of Austria Ernest of Austria |
| House | Habsburg |
| Father | Leopold III, Duke of Austria |
| Mother | Viridis Visconti |
Ernest the Iron-Willed (German:Ernst der Eiserne; 1377 – 10 June 1424), a member of theHouse of Habsburg, ruled over theInner Austrian duchies ofStyria,Carinthia andCarniola from 1406 until his death. He was head of the HabsburgLeopoldian line from 1411.
Ernest was born inBruck an der Mur in Styria, the third son of DukeLeopold III of Austria (1351–1386) and his consortViridis Visconti (d. 1414),[1] a daughter ofBernabò Visconti, Lord ofMilan. Shortly after his birth, his father and his uncleAlbert III divided the Habsburg lands by the 1379Treaty of Neuberg: while Albert and hisAlbertinian descendants would rule over theDuchy of Austria proper, the Leopoldian line received the Inner Austrianstates of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola with the remainingMarch of Istria, as well asTyrol and theFurther Austrian possessions. After Leopold's death in the 1386Battle of Sempach, young Ernest and his brothersWilliam,Leopold IV andFrederick IV remained under the guardianship of their uncle Albert III.
In 1401 Ernest accompanied KingRupert of Germany on his campaign toItaly. When their elder brother William died in 1406, the remaining three sons of Leopold III agreed about the partition of their patrimony: In the separation agreement of 1406, Ernest received Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, and jointly with his elder brother Leopold IV (the current head of the Leopoldian line) held the guardianship over their minor nephewAlbert V of Austria, grandson of Duke Albert III. Tyrol and Further Austria passed to the youngest brother Frederick IV.
In 1407, however, conflicts between Leopold and Ernest resulted in a civil war that lasted until May 1409. When Leopold died without male heirs in 1411, Ernest finally became the uncontested head of the Leopoldian branch. In 1414, he became the last Duke to be enthroned according toCarantanian traditional rite at thePrince's Stone in Carinthia, and from that time on called himself 'archduke'. He was the first Habsburg to actually use this title, which had been invented by his uncle DukeRudolf IV.
Ernest was made a member of theOrder of the Dragon and of theEquestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1414, however, he became bitter with theLuxembourg kingSigismund from 1412 onwards. When his brother Frederick IV, a supporter ofAntipope John XXIII at theCouncil of Constance, was banned by the king in 1417, Ernest first attempted to gain control over Frederick's territories himself, but then came to an agreement with him and successfully defended Tyrol against Sigismund's pretensions. Ernest turned out to be a capable ruler of the Inner Austrian lands; his eldest sonFrederick V would become sole heir of all Habsburg lines, electedKing of the Romans in 1440 and crownedHoly Roman Emperor in 1452.
Ernest died at Bruck an der Mur, and was buried in theCistercian monastery ofRein nearGraz. His nicknamethe Iron only came into use after his death.
On 14 January 1392, Ernest married his first wife, Margaret of Pomerania. She was a daughter of theGriffin dukeBogislaw V of Pomerania and his second wife, Adelheid ofBrunswick-Grubenhagen. They had no children. She died in either 1407 or 1410, according to contradictorynecrologies.
On 25 January 1412, Ernest married his second wife, thePiast princessCymburgis of Masovia.[2] They had:
As the ruler of Inner Austria and founder of the older Styrian line of the Habsburgs, which, by their son, Frederick III survived the Albertinian (Austrian) and Tyrolean lines, Ernest and Cymburgis became the ancestors of all later emperors of theHabsburg monarchy.
Ernest, Duke of Austria Born: 1377 Died: 10 June 1424 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Duke of Styria,Carinthia andCarniola 1406–1424 | Succeeded by |
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