Johann III. (Bavaria)

Johann III. (from Michiel Vosmeer, Principes Hollandiae et Zelandiae , Antwerp 1578)

Johann III. Without mercy (as Elect of Liege John VI. * 1374 in Le Quesnoy , † 6. January 1425 in The Hague ), the third son of Duke I. Albrecht was 1390-1418 Fürstelekt of Liege and in 1417 until his death Herzog of the Wittelsbach sub- duchy of Straubing-Holland . Johann was a colorful personality who was praised for her political acumen as well as for her artistry. His unscrupulous actions against his opponents in Liège earned him the nickname “no mercy”.

Contemporary history background

Johann's grandfather Ludwig IV secured the Dutch counties for the Wittelsbach house (grave slab in the Frauenkirche in Munich ).

With Johann's grandfather Ludwig IV , the Wittelsbachers had established the Roman-German king for the first time in 1314. After the death of Ludwig IV in 1347, Bavaria was divided among his six sons. Wilhelm I and Albrecht I received the Duchy of Straubing-Holland in the Regensburg Treaty in 1353 . This consisted of the Straubinger Ländchen in today's Lower Bavaria and the Dutch counties of Holland , Zeeland , Friesland and Hainaut , which had come into the possession of the Wittelsbachers through Ludwig's wife Margarethe von Holland . After Wilhelm I was unable to rule due to a mental illness in 1358 , his brother took over the administration of the entire duchy until his death in 1404.

The year of death of Ludwig IV, 1347, marks a turning point in the history of Europe. The Black Death , a plague epidemic of unimagined proportions, spread across the continent and caused its population to shrink rapidly. The population decline lasted for over a century and only came to a standstill over thirty years after Johann's death. In addition to the devastating economic and demographic effects of the plague, the Hundred Years War broke out between England and France in 1337 . The influence of the church, which split for four decades in the Avignon Schism in 1378 , also declined. Because of this development one speaks of the time in which Johann was born, also of the crisis of the late Middle Ages .

Life

origin

Johann was born in 1374 as the youngest son of Duke Albrecht I and his wife Margarethe von Brieg at Le Quesnoy Castle in Hainaut . While his brother Wilhelm II. Was intended to succeed his father in the Netherlands and his brother Albrecht II. To succeed him in the Straubinger Ländchen , Johann was to embark on a church career. He was a canon in Cambrai and in 1389 cathedral provost in Cologne .

Fürstelekt von Liège

Johann promoted the painter Jan van Eyck (here a self-portrait), who entered his service in 1422 as a valet and court painter.

On November 14, 1389, the fifteen-year-old Johann was with the support of the Roman Pope Bonifatius IX. elected Bishop of Liège. Even as prince elect, Johann persistently refused to receive higher orders, probably in the hope of secular rule.

With his authoritarian politics in Liège, Johann soon encountered bitter resistance from the cities and the nobility, who ultimately even elected an opposing bishop. Driven several times since 1395, Johann von Bayern was able to restore his rule with the support of Burgundy and his relatives Wilhelm II and Ludwig VII in 1408 at the Battle of Othée . The subsequent confiscations and executions of his opponents earned Johann the nickname Sans Pitié (no grace). It was not until the Roman-German King Sigismund reached a final balance between the Elect and the diocese in 1417, in which Johann Lüttich recognized old rights.

Although he was born in Hainaut himself, Johann did not lose contact with Bavaria. At the end of 1400, Duke Stephan III was. from Bavaria-Ingolstadt as a guest on the way back from France. At the beginning of the following year, together with his father and brother Wilhelm, he informed the new Roman-German King Ruprecht that after the death of the French Dauphin, the situation in France could change to the detriment of the Wittelsbach family. On May 20, 1408, he concluded an alliance with Stephen's son Ludwig VII, to whom he assured help in the dispute with the dukes of Bavaria-Munich in return for his support against Liège .

Regent in Bavaria

The Straubing City Tower, which is the town's landmark today, was completed under Johann's reign.

But Johann was also involved in French politics. In 1405 he accompanied Johann Ohnefurcht from Burgundy to Paris, in 1409 he joined the Wittelsbach-Burgundian alliance, which was concluded by Johann Ohnefurcht, Wilhelm II, Ludwig VII and his sister Isabeau . Also since 1409 he was a member of an arbitration committee that was supposed to mediate in the dispute between Burgundy and Straubing-Holland over the Hennegau Castle Écaillon . On December 27, 1410, Ludwig VII set him up for the period of his stay in France as regent in Bavaria-Ingolstadt and in the event of his death as governor. In 1413 John of Burgundy invited him to his court to persuade him personally to support his politics.

As early as 1397, Johann had taken over the office of governor in the Straubinger Ländchen as the successor to his brother Albrecht II, who died early. However, he rarely came to Bavaria and spent most of the time in Liege or in the Dutch part of the duchy. The government business in Straubing was taken care of by the caretaker and vice chairman, as did his treasurer Heinrich Nothaft , who was vice chairman from 1409 to 1424. Even if Johann himself rarely visited the Straubinger Ländchen, he took an active part in its development. He promoted the cities, had the Kastenhof built in Dingolfing and expanded the Straubing Ducal Palace .

The royal seat of Straubing in particular flourished under Johann's reign. The paving of the streets had already been initiated under his father in 1376, and in 1405 there was talk of a "stainen strass" for the first time, today's Steinergasse. Around 1400, the landmark of the city, which was the city tower , completed the construction of the Church of St. James and St. Vitus Church progressed and the Carmelite was nearing completion. Johann donated a magnificent high grave in the choir of the Carmelite Church for his brother Albrecht II, which is the only tomb of a Duke of Straubing-Holland that has been preserved to this day.

Duke of Straubing-Holland

The Duchy of Straubing-Holland under Johann III.

After the death of his brother Wilhelm II, Johann renounced the diocese of Liège in 1418 and, with the support of the Roman-German King Sigismund, took action against his daughter and heir Jacobäa , who had been recognized by the Dutch nobility as her father's successor. Jakobäa was supported by the party of the noble Hoeken , while the city party of the cod was on John's side. Both parties had been at war in the hook-and-cod war for decades .

On the advice of her mother Margarethe, Jakobäa initially wanted to fob her uncle with the title of guardian and defender of the country of Hainaut , but this really aroused his ambition. The Roman-German King Sigismund, who had already spoken out against Jakobäa in 1416, supported John from the beginning and enfeoffed him with the counties of his deceased brother. He also gave him his niece Elisabeth von Görlitz as his wife. Elisabeth was Duchess of Luxembourg and was previously married to Anton von Brabant , who died in 1415 at the Battle of Azincourt .

Jacobea also remarried, but proved less fortunate than her uncle. Her father is said to have chosen Johann IV von Brabant , a stepson of Elisabeth von Görlitz and as the successor of his father Anton Herzog von Brabant , as the second husband for his daughter. However, the more recent research assumes that the decision in favor of the offspring of the Brabant Duchy came under the leadership of her mother Margarethe and her uncle Johann von Burgund. In any case, John of Burgundy spoke out in favor of this marriage, which was intended to secure the existence of the duchy even if the estates spoke out against female succession. The engagement took place on July 31st, two months after Wilhelm's death. His marriage to Johann von Brabant in The Hague in March 1418 soon proved to be a failure. The close relationship of the two spouses made a papal dispensation necessary, which was granted in December 1417, but was revoked in January 1418, as Jacobea's opponents, including King Sigismund, spoke out against it at the Council of Constance . In addition, the young Duke Johann von Brabant, who also had to struggle with considerable financial worries, was by no means up to his older namesake.

John III, who could be sure of the support of Sigismund and the codfish, took up arms. In 1417 the troops of uncle and niece met in the battle of Gorkum . Jakobäa was initially victorious, but had to cope with the defection of the important trading city Dordrecht . In addition, their marriage has stood on feet of clay since the royal intervention in Constance initiated by her uncle. The marriage was possible thanks to the support of the Hennegau estates, which on May 11th explicitly opposed the claims of Johann III. expressed themselves, despite the lack of dispensation, but Jacobea's own concerns about the marriage became greater and greater. However, on May 29, 1418, against King Sigismund's express wish, her husband swore the oath of rulership in Mons, Hennegau . However, Johann von Brabant used the rights that he has officially been entitled to since then more to reorganize himself financially than to support his wife in her fight against uncle and king. In 1419 Jakobäa had to accept the settlement of Workum brokered by her cousin Philipps the Good , who later became Duke of Burgundy , who awarded Dordrecht, Gorkum and Rotterdam with the associated lordships to their opponent. Johann III. In return, he only had to recognize the legality of the marriage between Jacobea and John of Brabant and formally renounce his claims by returning letters to the Pope and King. This decision was made even easier by the fact that he not only received high financial compensation and the title of "Son of Holland, Hainaut and Zealand", but was also part of the government of the areas ruled by Jacobea and John of Brabant for five years. His military threats and intervention with the Pope had paid off. In May 1419, Pope Martin V also revoked the revocation of the dispensation.

Johann III. proceeded with determination and was finally able to take possession of the Dutch counties. On the mediation of Philip the Good of Burgundy, the son of his sister Margarete , Johann III. Although they had to share the rule with John of Brabant, Jacobean's husband, he soon withdrew. Because Jakobäa's heavily indebted husband pledged Johann III against her will on April 21, 1420 in the Treaty of St. Martinsdyk . for twelve years his share in the government of the duchy. The fact that her uncle renounced the repayment of the debts and the county of Hainaut was only little consolation for Jakobäa, whose husband had also appointed her uncle as heir and released her Dutch, Zeeland and Frisian subjects from their oath of loyalty. With the exception of Hainaut, Johann von Brabant had given up all his wife's possessions in order to improve his financial situation. Jakobea, who was not very enthusiastic about this, was now striving for separation. She therefore declared her marriage to Johann von Brabant invalid in February 1421 and fled to England on March 6th, after she had lost her last town with Leiden and her uncle had successfully warred the Hoeken.

Johann III. had now established itself in the counties and from then on developed a rich court life in The Hague. In 1422 he commissioned the painter Jan van Eyck to paint his residence . Through his marriage to Elisabeth von Görlitz, Johann meanwhile also ruled the Duchy of Luxembourg. Since he was still childless, however, he concluded an inheritance contract with his nephew Philip of Burgundy in 1424.

Although he was very busy with the events in the Netherlands, Johann did not neglect the Straubinger Ländchen either. In the Bavarian War from 1420, Johann behaved neutrally. Bayern-Straubing has been affected by the Hussite Wars since 1420 . Johann had to borrow money from his vicarage. In 1421 he sold Hilgartsberg and Hofkirchen for 10,193 guilders and in 1423 pledged the Wörth estate to Heinrich Nothaft for 10,700 guilders. It was therefore not inconvenient for the duke that in 1424 the Straubing estates complained to him about the vicarage. Johann made the allegations of the estates his own and deposed emergency cases.

Death and succession

Johann's reign, however, was not to last for long. After he died on January 6, 1425 as a result of an attempt at poisoning (his court marshal Jan van Vliet had allegedly coated the pages of the ducal prayer book with poison and was executed for it in 1424), the Duchy of Straubing-Holland fell apart because of the marriage Johanns and Elisabeths remained childless. After Johann's murder, Elisabeth received her widow's estate in Holland. However, she remained Duchess of Luxembourg and kept the bailiwick over Alsace. Since she was now heavily in debt, Elisabeth had to sell her widow's estate in Holland on March 14, 1427 to the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good.

Jakobäa and her new husband Humphrey of Gloucester , however, had returned to Hainaut with English troops at the end of 1424, where the estates paid homage to Humphrey on December 5, 1424. In the Hague Treaty of 1433, however, the Dutch territories finally fell to John's nephew Philip of Burgundy, as agreed in the inheritance treaty between John and Burgundy as early as 1424, who soon prevailed against the Jacobea who had returned home.

The Straubinger Ländchen, on the other hand, after a long struggle, was finally divided up among the other Wittelsbach partial duchies of Bavaria-Munich, Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Bavaria-Landshut in the Pressburg arbitration in 1429 .

reception

Except in the context of general presentations on the history of Wittelsbach or the Netherlands, Johann has rarely come into the focus of research. The standard work on his life and work is still Friedrich Schneider's biography, first published in 1913. Unlike his niece and opponent Jakobäa, he was not well received in literature either. In 2015, two streets in a new development area in the west of the city of Straubing were named after Johann and Jakobäa von Straubing-Holland.

swell

Seal of Johann III. (1422)

The source situation, especially for Johann's later years, is relatively good, as the land recorder's accounts of the Duchy of Straubing-Holland for the years 1421–1427 have been passed down throughout. The great distance between the Dutch parts of the country and the Straubinger Ländchen forced the administration to be extensively written down even earlier. The most important and probably best researched source for the administration of the duchy is the land clerk Hans Kastenmayr , who took over this office in October 1421. Kastenmayr's invoices were discovered by chance in the Regensburg city archive at the beginning of the 19th century and have been the subject of two academic papers in recent years. Unfortunately, the accounts for the years 1411–1421 have not been preserved, but they can be partially deduced from a list of claims made by his vicar Heinrich Nothaft to Johann.

Other important sources are the documents stored in the Bavarian Main State Archives in Munich and the German Reichstag files published by Dietrich Kerle and Hermann Herre. Also of importance are the documents and regestas on Straubing's city history compiled by Johannes Mondschein , Fridolin Solleder and Adalbert Scherl, the Regesta Imperii and the Neuburg copial books . The works of the Augustinian canon Andreas von Regensburg , who is considered the most important Bavarian historian of his time, are of decisive importance for the history of the event .

literature

• Boris Blahak: The account book of the Straubing land clerk Hans Kastenmayr (1424/25) . Master's thesis, Regensburg 1997.
• Michaela Bleicher: The Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing in the Hussite Wars. Everyday life and warfare as reflected in the land clerk accounts . Dissertation, University of Regensburg 2006, p. 41-50 ( online ).
• Laetitia Boehm : The Wittelsbach House in the Netherlands . In: Journal for Bavarian State History . tape 44 , 1981, pp. 93-130 , especially 94, 115-123 ( online ).
• Alfons Huber, Johannes Prammer (ed.): 650 years of the Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing-Holland. Lecture series of the historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area . Historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area, Straubing 2005, ISBN 3-00-014600-8 , p. 321-375 .
• Dorit-Maria Krenn, Joachim Wild : “princes in the distance”. The Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing-Holland 1353–1425 (=  booklets on Bavarian history and culture . Volume 28 ). House of Bavarian History, Augsburg 2003, ISBN 3-927233-86-2 , p. 11-12, 22-36, 40-45 .
• Heinrich Neu:  Johann. Duke of Bavaria. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , p. 495 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Hans Patze : The Wittelsbacher in medieval politics in Europe . In: Journal for Bavarian State History . tape 44 , 1981, pp. 33-79 , especially 75-77 ( online ).
• Friedrich Schneider: Duke Johann von Baiern. Elected Bishop of Liège and Count of Holland (1373–1425). A prince of the church and statesman at the beginning of the XV. Century . Kraus, Vaduz 1965 (reprint of the Berlin 1913 edition).
• Karl Theodor Wenzelburger:  Johann von Baiern, Bishop of Liège . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1881, pp. 231-233.
• Joachim Wild : The dukes of Straubing and Ingolstadt. Temporary residence cities . In: Alois Schmid , Katharina Weigand (Hrsg.): The rulers of Bavaria. 25 historical portraits of Tassilo III. until Ludwig III. 2nd Edition. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54468-1 , p. 118-129 , especially 121-123 .
• Joachim Wild: Holland. The Wittelsbacher on the North Sea (1346–1436) . In: Alois Schmid, Katharina Weigand (Hrsg.): Bavaria in the middle of Europe. From the early Middle Ages to the 20th century . CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-52898-8 , p. 92-106 , 102-105 .

Web links

• Dorit-Maria Krenn: Lower Bavaria-Straubing-Holland, Duchy (1353-1425) . In: Historical Lexicon of Bavaria

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b} On van Eyck and Johann III. see above all Till-Holger Borchert, Jan van Eyck, Lambert van Eyck and the House of Bavaria-Straubing in Holland, in: Krenn / Wild, princes in the distance, pp. 40–45.
2. ↑ In addition Erich Wille, The Battle of Othée. September 23, 1408 , dissertation, Berlin 1908; Hans Agsteiner, "Defeated the Liège in one and a half hours ..." in the Straubinger Tagblatt from 24./25. September 2008, each p. 32.
3. ↑ German Reichstag Files IV, No. 296, Art. 1; No. 291.
4. ↑ Bavarian Main State Archives, Fürstensachen No. 148.
5. ^ Neuburger Kopialbuch 33, 96.
6. ^ Illustration of the tomb in the Bavarian Historical Lexicon . In detail on the grave of Rainer Alexander Gimmel, Eternal Dukes' Office - fleeting earthly life. The tomb of Duke Albrecht II of Straubing-Holland in the Straubing Carmelite Church, in: 650 Years of the Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing-Holland, pp. 277–319 and Rainer Alexander Gimmel: Masterpieces of late Gothic sepucral sculpture. Studies on the tumble tombs for Duke Albrecht II of Straubing-Holland in the Carmelite Church in Straubing and for Count Palatine Aribo I of Bavaria in the former Benedictine monastery church of Seeon . In: Annual report of the historical association for Straubing and the surrounding area . tape 106 , 2005, pp. 55-378 .
7. ^ Léopold Devillers: Cartulaire des Comtes de Hainaut de l'avènement de Guillaume II à la mort de Jacqueline de Bavière. Volume 4, Hayez, Brussels 1889, no.1157, p. 91.
8. ↑ Antheun Janse: Een voor een pion lady. P. 121 f.
9. ↑ Devillers, Vol. 4, No. 1173, pp. 109 ff .; No. 1174, p. 111 f.
10. ↑ Devillers, Vol. 4, No. 1199, pp. 158 ff.
11. ↑ Devillers, Vol. 4, No. 1228, pp. 187 f.
12. ↑ Devillers, Vol. 4, No. 1235, pp. 199 f.
13. ↑ Devillers, Vol. 4, No. 1251, p. 220; Frans van Mieris: Groot charterboek der Graaven van Holland, van Zeeland en heeren van Vriesland . tape 4 . van der Eyk, Leyden 1756, p. 545 .
14. ↑ Fürstensachen 1322 1/3, fol. 16r.
15. ↑ On Johann's death and his legacy Helga Czerny: The death of the Bavarian dukes in the late Middle Ages and in the early modern period 1347–1579. Preparations - dying - funeral ceremonies - burial - memoria (=  series of publications on Bavarian national history . Volume 146 ). CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-10742-7 , p. 107–111 (also dissertation, University of Munich 2004). Especially on the Straubing succession cf. the Dorit-Maria Krenn: Article . In: Historical Lexicon of Bavaria by Dorit-Maria Krenn.
16. ^ Friedrich Schneider: Duke Johann von Baiern. Elected Bishop of Liège and Count of Holland (1373–1425). A prince of the church and statesman at the beginning of the XV. Century . Kraus, Vaduz 1965 (reprint of the Berlin 1913 edition).
17. ↑ City council resolution of January 14, 2015 .
18. ↑ The accounting books are now in the Bavarian Main State Archives in Munich, where they are filed under the signature of Ämterrechnungen bis 1506, No. 3–10 . Boris Blahak dealt with the accounting books for the years 1424/25 in his master's thesis in 1997, Michaela Bleicher evaluated the accounting books in her dissertation published in 2006, particularly with regard to the Hussite Wars.
19. ↑ This is kept in the Bavarian Main State Archives under the signature Fürstensachen 1322 1/3 .
20. ↑ The German Reichstag files under Emperor Sigmund (reprint Göttingen 1956 f.) Are of particular importance here.
21. ↑ Johannes Mondschein, Princely Documents for the History of the City of Straubing , 1903; ders., Straubing documents 1. Documents of the Straubing Regional Court , 1907; Fridolin Solleder, Straubing document book , 1911–1918; Adalbert Scherl, Document and Regestenbuch der Stadt Straubing , undated
22. ↑ Friedrich J. Böhmer (ed.), Regesta Imperii XI. The documents of Emperor Sigmund (1410–37) , reprinted in Hildesheim 1968.
23. ↑ Georg Leidinger (ed.), Andreas von Regensburg. Complete works , Munich 1903.

predecessor	Office	successor
Arnold von Hoorn	Fürstelekt von Liège 1389–1418	Johann VII of Wallenrodt
Wilhelm II.	Duke of Straubing-Holland 1417–1425	Ernst , Wilhelm III. , Heinrich XVI. , Ludwig VII. (Bavaria) Jakobäa (Holland)
Pierre d'Ailly	Diocesan administrator of Cambrai 1411-1414	Jean V. de Saveren

This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 23, 2006 .