| Frederick the Fair | |
|---|---|
 Frederick's effigy on his seal | |
| King of the Romans withLouis IV | |
| Reign | 19 October 1314 – 13 January 1330 |
| Coronation | 25 November 1314 (Bonn) |
| Predecessor | Henry VII |
| Successor | Louis IV |
| Duke of Austria andStyria until 1326 withLeopold I | |
| Reign | 1 May 1308 – 13 January 1330 |
| Predecessor | Albert I |
| Successor | Albert II Otto the Merry |
| Born | 1289 Vienna,Duchy of Austria,Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | (1330-01-13)13 January 1330 (aged 40–41) Gutenstein, Duchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire |
| Burial |
|
| Spouse | Isabella of Aragon |
| Issue | Anna, Duchess of Bavaria |
| House | House of Habsburg |
| Father | Albert I of Germany |
| Mother | Elizabeth of Carinthia |
Frederick the Fair (German:Friedrich der Schöne) orthe Handsome (c. 1289 – 13 January 1330), from theHouse of Habsburg, was theduke of Austria andStyria from 1308 as well as theanti-king ofGermany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death.
Frederick was born inVienna, the second son of KingAlbert I of Germany by his wifeElisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol, a scion of theMeinhardiner dynasty, and thereby a grandson of the firstHabsburg king of GermanyRudolph I.[1]
Still a minor, he and his elder brotherRudolph III had been vested with the duchies ofAustria andStyria by their father in 1298. Upon Rudolph's early death in 1307 and the assassination of his father in 1308, he became the ruler of the Austrian and Styrian duchies on behalf of himself and his younger brothers. The royal title held by his father and grandfather however passed to CountHenry VII of Luxembourg, who waselected by six of seven votes, contrived by the mighty ArchchancellorPeter of Aspelt, elector and prince-archbishop ofMainz, a fierce opponent of late King Albert. Frederick had to abjure all claims to the German crown and in turn received the official affirmation of his fiefs by King Henry.[2]
Originally, he was a friend of his cousinLouis IV of Bavaria, who also had been raised at the Austrian court inVienna. However, armed conflict arose between them whentutelage over the young sons of Louis' cousin, late DukeStephen I of Lower Bavaria was entrusted to Frederick by local nobles in 1313. Frederick took the occasion to enlarge his reach of power, invaded the Bavarian lands, but was beaten by Louis at theBattle of Gammelsdorf on 9 November 1313, and had to renounce the tutelage.[1][3]
Meanwhile, Henry VII had beencrowned emperor byPope Clement V on 29 June 1312, but he died in the following year. As his son KingJohn of Bohemia, seemed too powerful to the prince-electors, Frederick again became a candidate for the crown, while King John withdrew and backed Louis IV of Bavaria. On 19 October 1314 atFrankfurt-Sachsenhausen, Frederick received four out of seven votes, however two of them being contested, by ArchbishopHenry II ofCologne, by Louis' brother Elector PalatineRudolph I who did not want to support his younger brother, by the deposed Bohemian kingHenry of Carinthia, and DukeRudolph I ofSaxe-Wittenberg (whose right was contested by his Lauenburg cousin, head of the senior branch). The next day however (because the Luxemburg party did not accept this election), a second election was held upon the instigation of ArchbishopPeter von Aspelt, where Louis IV was elected with the five votes by the Mainz archbishop himself, by ArchbishopBaldwin ofTrier, MargraveWaldemar of Brandenburg as well as by DukeJohn II of Saxe-Lauenburg (he contested his Wittenberg cousin's claim to the electoral vote) and – again – the king of Bohemia, John. It is clear that at least three of the voters of Louis were uncontested electors.[4]
Louis made use of the conflict around the Bohemian throne and the rivalry over theSaxon electoral dignity between theAscanian duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg. Henry of Carinthia voting for Frederick actually only claimed the electoral power, as he had already been deposed in 1310 by John voting for Louis. Duke John II of Saxe-Lauenburg in turn sought to prevail against his cousin Duke Rudolph I of Saxe-Wittenberg – which ultimately failed as the 1338Declaration of Rhense and theGolden Bull of 1356 conclusively named the dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg as electors.[2][5]
Louis then was quickly crowned atAachen Cathedral by Archbishop Peter von Aspelt, while Frederick was forced to proceed toBonn Minster for his coronation on 25 November 1314 by the Cologne archbishopHeinrich von Virneburg. Both tried for the support by theImperial States; Frederick was enfeebled by the fact that he had been crowned at the wrong place and moreover struggled with the rebelliousSwiss Confederacy in theSwabian home territories of the Habsburgs, suffering a crushing defeat at the 1315Battle of Morgarten. He nevertheless was able to hold his ground against the Wittelsbach rival and after several years of bloody war, victory finally seemed to be within Frederick's grasp, as he was strongly supported by the forces of his younger brotherLeopold I. However, Frederick's army was in the end completely beaten nearMühldorf onAmpfing Heath on 28 September 1322, and Frederick and 1,300 nobles from Austria and the alliedArchbishopric of Salzburg were captured.[1]
Louis held Frederick captive at Trausnitz Castle in theUpper Palatinate for three years, but the persistent resistance by Frederick's brother Leopold, the retreat of King John of Bohemia from his alliance and aban byPope John XXII induced Louis to release him under theTreaty of Trausnitz of 13 March 1325. In this agreement, Frederick finally recognized Louis as legitimate ruler and undertook to return to captivity if he did not succeed in convincing his younger brothers to submit to Louis. As he did not manage to overcome Leopold's obstinacy, Frederick returned toMunich as a prisoner, even though the Pope had released him from hisoath. Impressed by Frederick's noble gesture, Louis renewed the old friendship with Frederick and they agreed to rule theHoly Roman Empire jointly. Since the Pope and the prince-electors strongly objected to this agreement,another treaty was signed atUlm on 7 January 1326, according to which Frederick would govern Germany as king, while Louis would be crowned emperor by the "people ofRome" underSciarra Colonna in 1328.[2][5]
After Leopold's death in 1326, Frederick withdrew from ruling Germany and returned to rule only in Austria and Styria. He died on 13 January 1330, atGutenstein Castle in theWienerwald range, and was buried atMauerbach Charterhouse, which he had founded. After the charterhouse was closed down in 1782, his remains were brought to theDucal Crypt atSt. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.
Frederick's gracious return to captivity inspiredFriedrich Schiller to write his poemDeutsche Treue ("German Loyalty") andUhland to his tragedyLudwig der Bayer ("Louis the Bavarian").[1][5]
On 11 May 1315 Frederick had marriedIsabella of Aragon, daughter of KingJames II of Aragon withBlanche of Anjou, an ambitious woman with an immensedowry. They had one son, who was born in 1316 but he died in 1322.[3]
Their daughters:
Frederick was succeeded in Austria and Styria by his younger brothersAlbert II andOtto. It took the Habsburgs more than a century to regain the royal crown, when Albert's II great-grandsonAlbert V of Austria ascended to the German throne in 1438.[1]
Frederick the Fair Born: c. 1289 Died: 13 January 1330 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Duke of Austria 1308–1330 withLeopold I (1308–1326) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | King of Germany 1314–1330 withLouis IV first as rival and then as co-king | Succeeded byas sole king |
