TheTreaty of Pavia which divided the House ofWittelsbach into two branches, was signed inPavia in 1329.
Under the accord, EmperorLouis IV granted during his stay in Italy theElectorate of the Palatinate (including the BavarianUpper Palatinate) to his older brother DukeRudolph's descendants,[1]Rudolph II,Rupert I andRupert II. Louis himself keptUpper Bavaria (Oberbayern) and inherited alsoLower Bavaria in 1340. Rudolph I this way became the ancestor of the older (Palatinate) line of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which returned to power also in Bavaria in 1777 after the extinction of the younger (Bavarian) line, the descendants of Louis IV. It had been agreed with the Treaty of Pavia that with the extinction of one of the branches, the other branch would inherit their possessions. According to the treaty, theelectoral rights should alternate but with theGolden Bull of 1356 only the Palatinate line was invested with the electoral dignity.[2]