Babenberg

House of Babenberg
House of Babenberg
Country	Margraviate of Austria; Duchy of Austria; Duchy of Styria; Duchy of Bavaria
Founded	c. 962
Founder	Leopold I
Final ruler	Frederick II
Titles	Duke, Margrave, Count
Dissolution	1246

TheHouse of Babenbergwas a noble dynasty ofAustrian Dukes and Margraves.Originally fromBambergin theDuchy of Franconia(present-dayBavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperialMargraviate of Austriafrom its creation in 976 AD until its elevation toa duchyin 1156, and from then until the extinction of the line in 1246, whereafter they were succeeded by theHouse of Habsburg.

Origin

One or two families

The Babenberg family can be broken down into two distinct groups: 1) TheFranconianBabenbergs, the so-called Elder House of Babenberg, whose name refers to Babenburg Castle, the present site ofBamberg Cathedral.Also calledPopponidsafter their progenitor CountPoppo of Grapfeld(d. 839-41), they were related to the FrankishRobertian dynastyand ancestors of the FranconianCounts of Hennebergand ofSchweinfurt.2) The Austrian Babenbergs, descendants of MargraveLeopold I,who ruled Austria from 976 onwards. This second group claimed to have originated from the first, however, scholars have not been able to verify that claim. Today, a direct lineal descent from theBavarianHouse ofLuitpoldingis assumed.

Popponids

Like the French royalCapetian dynasty,the Elder Babenbergs descended from theRobertians.The earliest known Babenberg count Poppo was first mentioned as a ruler in theGauofGrabfeld,a historic region in northeastern Franconia bordering onThuringia,in 819 AD. He may be a descendant of the Robertian countCancor of Hesbaye.

One of Poppo's sons,Henry,served asprinceps militiaeunder KingLouis the Youngerand was sometimes called margrave (marchio) and duke (dux) in Franconia under KingCharles the FatofEast Francia.He was killed fighting against theVikingsduring theSiege of Parisin 886. Another son,Poppo II,was margrave in Thuringia from 880 to 892, when he was deposed by King Charles' successorArnulf of Carinthia.The Popponids had been favoured by Charles the Fat, but Arnulf reversed this policy in favour of rivallingConrad the Elder,a member of theConradinedynasty from theLahngauinRhenish Franconia^[1]and relative of Arnulf's consortOta.

Babenberg Feud

The leaders of the Babenbergs were the sons of Duke Henry, who called themselves after their castle of Babenburg on the upperMain river,around which their possessions centred. The city of Bamberg was built around the ancestral castle of the family.^[1]The Conradines were led by Conrad the Elder and his brothersRudolfandGebhard,probably the sons of CountUdo of Neustria.

The rivalry between the Babenberg and Conradine families was intensified by their efforts to extend their authority in the region of the middle Main, and this quarrel, known as the "Babenberg feud", came to a first head in 892, when King Arnulf deposed Poppo II as Thuringian ruler, appointing Conrad the Elder instead, and installed Conrad's brother Rudolf asBishop of Würzburg.The struggle intensified at the beginning of the 10th century during the troubled reign of Arnulf's son KingLouis the Child.Clashes of arms occurred in 902, when the Conradine laid siege to Babenburg Castle and arrestedAdalhard of Babenberg.The next year, Adalhard was executed at theReichstagofForchheim;in return, the Babenbergs occupied the city ofWürzburgand expelled Bishop Rudolf.

Meanwhile, Rudolf's brother Gebhard was appointedDuke of Lotharingiain 903,^[2]and had to cope both with revolting nobles and the continuing attacks by Babenberg forces.^{[citation needed]}Both sides met in the battle ofFritzlaron 27 February 906, where the Conradines won a decisive victory, although Conrad the Elder fell in the battle.^[3]Two of the Babenberg brothers were also killed. The third,Adalbert,was summoned before the imperial court by the regent ArchbishopHatto I of Mainz,a partisan of the Conradines. He refused to appear, held his own for a time in his castle atTheresagainst the king's forces, but surrendered in 906, and in spite of a promise of safe-conduct by Hatto wasbeheaded.^[1]

Conrad the Youngerbecame Duke of Franconia in 906 andKing of East Francia(as Conrad I) in 911, while the Babenbergs lost their influence in Franconia.

Margraves of Austria

In 962, the Bavarian countLeopold I(Liupo), possibly a descendant of the Luitpolding dukeArnulf of Bavaria,was first mentioned as a faithful follower of EmperorOtto I.He remained a loyal supporter of Otto's son and successorOtto IIand in 976 appears as count of the Bavarian Eastern March, then a district not more than 60 miles in breadth on the eastern frontier of the duchy, which grew into theMargraviate of Austria.Leopold, who received the territory as a reward for his fidelity to Emperor Otto II during the uprising of DukeHenry II of Bavaria,extended its area down theDanuberiver into what is todayLower Austriaat the expense of the retreatingMagyars.

Leopold was succeeded in 994 by his sonHenry I,who continued his father's policy, was followed in 1018 by his brotherAdalbert,whose marked loyalty to EmperorHenry IIand hisSaliansuccessorHenry IIIwas rewarded by many tokens of favour.^[1]Adalbert expanded the Austrian territory up to the present borders on theLeitha,MarchandThayarivers. He was succeeded in 1055 by his son,Ernest.

Leopold II,margrave from 1075, quarrelled with EmperorHenry IVduring theInvestiture Controversy,when he supported the papal side of BishopAltmann of Passau.Though Leopold had to cope with the invading troops of DukeVratislaus II of Bohemiaand was defeated at the 1082Battle of Mailberg,the emperor was unable to oust him from his march or to prevent the succession of his sonLeopold IIIin 1096. Between 1075 - 1095 the dynasty had its seat at Babenberg Castle ofGars am Kamp.^[4]

Leopold III supported Henry V, the son of Emperor Henry IV, in his rising against his father, but was soon drawn over to the emperor's side. In 1106 he married the daughter of Henry IV,Agnes,widow of DukeFrederick I of Swabia.In 1125 he declined theroyal crownin favour ofLothair of Supplinburg.His zeal in founding monasteries, such asKlosterneuburg Monastery,earned for him his surname "the Pious", and canonization byPope Innocent VIIIin 1485. He is regarded as the patron saint ofLowerandUpper Austria.^[1]

Dukes of Austria

One of Leopold's younger sons was BishopOtto of Freising.His eldest sonLeopold IVbecame margrave in 1136, and in 1139 received theDuchy of Bavariafrom the hands of KingConrad III,who hadbannedtheWelfdukeHenry the Proud.

Leopold's brotherHenry Jasomirgott(allegedly named after his favourite oath, "Yes, so [help] me God!" ) was madeCount Palatine of the Rhinein 1140, and became Margrave of Austria on Leopold's death in 1141. Having married Gertrude, the widow of Henry the Proud, he was invested in 1143 with the Duchy of Bavaria, and resigned his office as count palatine. In 1147 he participated in theSecond Crusade,and after his return, renounced Bavaria at the instance of the new kingFrederick Barbarossawho gave the duchy of Bavaria to Henry the Proud's son, DukeHenry the Lionof Saxony. As compensation for this, Austria, the capital of which had been transferred toViennaabout 1155, was elevated into a duchy according to thePrivilegium Minus.^[1]

Rise to power

The second duke was Henry's sonLeopold V,who succeeded him in 1177 and took part in the crusades of 1182 and 1190 as well as theThird Crusade.In Palestine, he quarrelled with KingRichard I of England,captured him on his homeward journey and handed him over to EmperorHenry VI.Leopold increased the territories of the Babenbergs by acquiring theDuchy of Styriaunder the will of his kinsman DukeOttokar IV.He died in 1194, and Austria fell to one son,Frederick,and Styria to another,Leopold;but on Frederick's death in 1198 they were again united by Leopold as Duke Leopold VI, surnamed "the Glorious".^[1]

The new duke fought in the crusades inSpain,Egypt,andPalestine,but is more celebrated as a lawgiver, a patron of letters, and a founder of many towns. Under him Vienna became the centre of culture inGermanyand the great school ofMinnesingers.His later years were spent in strife with his son Frederick, and he died in 1230 at San Germano, now renamedCassino,whither he had gone to arrange the peace between EmperorFrederick IIandPope Gregory IX.^[1]

Extinction

Frederick II,Leopold VI'sson byTheodora Angelina,succeeded his father as duke upon the elder man's death in 1230. Frederick II soon earned the epithet "the Quarrelsome" from his ongoing disputes with the kings ofHungaryandBohemiaand withHoly Roman Emperor Frederick II.Duke Frederick deprived his mother and sisters of their possessions, was hated by his subjects on account of his oppressive rule, and, in 1236, was placed under the imperial ban and driven from Austria.^[1]However, he was later restored to his duchy when Emperor Frederick II was excommunicated. Subsequently, Duke Frederick II treated with Emperor Frederick II in vain to make Austria a kingdom.

The male line of the Babenbergs became extinct in 1246, when Frederick II was killed in battle (theHenneberg branchof the Franconian Babenbergs lived on until 1583 when its lands were divided among the two branches of theWettin family).

Frederick's heir general wasGertrude of Austria,the only child of his late elder brother,Henry of Austriaby that man's wife,Agnes of Thuringia.However, neither her husbands nor her son succeeded in settling the Babenberg inheritance under their power. Gertrude's only surviving child,Agnes of Baden,tried to reclaim at least part of her inheritance through her third husbandUlrich II of Heunburg,but was unsuccessful.

After some years of struggle known as theAustrian Interregnum[de;uk]or War of the Babenberg Succession (1246–1256/78/82), the Duchies of Austria and Styria fell toOttokar II of Bohemia,and subsequently toRudolph IofHabsburg,whose descendants were to rule Austria until 1918.

Genetic legacy

Byzantine blood

All the Babenberg dukes fromLeopold Vonward were descended fromByzantine emperors—Leopold's mother,Theodora Komnene,being a granddaughter of theEmperor,John II Komnenos.Subsequently,Leopold V's younger son,Leopold VI,also married aByzantineprincess (Theodora Angelina), as did his youngest son (byTheodora),Frederick II,who marriedSophia Laskarina.

The Babenbergs and the Habsburgs

The next dynasty in Austria—theHabsburgs—were originally not descendants of the Babenbergs. It was not until the children ofAlbert I of Germanythat the Babenberg blood was brought into the Habsburg line, though this blood was from the pre-ducal Babenbergs. A side effect of this marriage was the use of the Babenberg nameLeopoldby theHabsburgsfor one of their sons.

The Habsburgs did eventually gain descent from the Babenberg dukes, though at different times. The firstHabsburgline to be descended from the Babenbergs was theAlbertineline. This was achieved through the marriage ofAlbert III, Duke of AustriatoBeatrix of Nuremberg.As such, their son,Albert IV, Duke of Austria,was the first Habsburg duke who was descended from the Babenberg dukes. However, the male line of that branch of theHabsburgsdied out in 1457 withLadislas V Posthumus of Bohemia.

The nextHabsburgline to gain Babenberg blood was theStyrianline, which occurred with the children ofFerdinand I, Holy Roman EmperorandAnna of Bohemia and Hungary,the latter of whom descended from Babenberg dukes. It was actually fromElizabeth of Austria,the sister ofLadislas V Posthumus of Bohemia,that the Styrian line gained their Babenberg blood.

TheSpanishline was the last Habsburg line to gain Babenberg blood. Again it was via the previousHabsburgline to gain Babenberg blood (i.e. the Styrian) that the SpanishHabsburggained their descent from the Babenbergs —Anna of Austria,the wife ofPhilip II of Spainand mother ofPhilip(from whom all subsequent SpanishHabsburgswere descended), was a male-line granddaughter ofFerdinandandAnna.As a result, after 1598, allHabsburgscions descended from the Babenberg Dukes.

References

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Babenberg".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 91–92.
^Wickham, Chris (2009-07-30).The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000.Penguin.ISBN 9781101105184.
^Widukind (of Corvey) (2014).Deeds of the Saxons.CUA Press. p. 32.ISBN 9780813226934.
^"Wo Babenberger und Habsburger residierten", Styria books, p 17

Bibliography

Beller, Steven (2007).A Concise History of Austria.New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0521478861.
Lingelbach, William E. (1913).The History of Nations: Austria-Hungary.New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company.ASIN B000L3E368.
Pohl, Walter (1995).Die Welt der Babenberger.Graz: Verlag Styria.ISBN 978-3222123344.
Rickett, Richard (1985).A Brief Survey of Austrian History.Vienna: Prachner.ISBN 978-3853670019.
Agamov, Alexander (2017).Dynasties of Europe 400-2016: Complete Genealogy of Sovereign Houses(In Russian).Moscow: URSS.ISBN 978-5-9710-3935-8.

External links

Direct male descent of Babenberger from Robertiner (Capet) family in German Wikipedia
Early Babenberger Genealogy in German Wikipedia
BabenberginAustria-Forum(in German)(at AEIOU)
Entry aboutBabenbergin the databaseGedächtnis des Landeson the history of the state of Lower Austria (Lower Austria Museum)

[EB1911-1] ^^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Babenberg".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 91–92.

[2] Wickham, Chris (2009-07-30).The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000.Penguin.ISBN 9781101105184.

[3] Widukind (of Corvey) (2014).Deeds of the Saxons.CUA Press. p. 32.ISBN 9780813226934.

[4] "Wo Babenberger und Habsburger residierten", Styria books, p 17

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