Otto III. (Carinthia)

Coat of arms of the Meinhardiner as Count of Gorizia

Coat of arms of the Meinhardins as dukes of Carinthia

Otto III. (* around 1265 ; † May 25, 1310 ) from the Meinhardiner family was Count of Gorizia and Tyrol and as Otto III. Duke of Carinthia and Carniola (1295–1310).

origin

Otto was the son of Duke Meinhard II and Elisabeth of Bavaria . He succeeded his father in his offices after his death in 1295, together with his brothers Albert, Ludwig and Heinrich .

Domination

Otto took over a well-organized rulership; his father had laid the foundation for efficient administration by promoting the ministerial and creating the Tyrolean Raitbuch . Otto initially reached an agreement with the Bishop of Brixen on the border between the Tyrolean and the diocese, which was then established at the confluence of the Avisio and the Adige, north of Trento. Otto's brothers became bailiffs of the Trent bishops . Although Otto obtained some Tyrolean customs rights through King Albrecht I , Otto's lavish courtship placed a heavy burden on the household. Among Otto's political measures, the expansion and fortification of the market in Gries (1305) against the central town of Bolzano , which was still dominated by the bishopric, stand out.

seal

Duke Otto's seal shows a rider bursting to the right with an inserted lance (with the Tyrolean eagle looking to the right on a racing flag) and the shield (divided, Carinthian coat of arms , three armed lions on top of each other on the right, a bar on the left); the two-line inscription between bars reads: OTTO DEI GRACIA DUX KARINTHIE TIROLIS ET GORICIE COMES AQUILEGENSIS / TRIDENTINE BRISINENSIS ECLESIARU (m) ADUOCATUS; the letters have uncial shapes.

family

In 1297 Otto married Duchess Euphemia (1281–1347), daughter of Duke Heinrich V of Silesia . With her he had four daughters:

• Anna, * 1300, who married Count Palatine Rudolf II ;
• Elisabeth, later wife of King Peter II of Sicily ;
• Ursula and
• Euphemia.

Since Otto died without sons, his younger brother Heinrich of Carinthia succeeded him in 1310 ; the brothers Albert and Ludwig had died in 1292 and 1305 respectively.

literature

• Wilhelm Baum : The Counts of Görz in the European politics of the Middle Ages. Kitab-Verlag, Klagenfurt 2000, ISBN 3-902005-04-1 .
• Christoph Haidacher: The administrative organization Meinhard II and his successors. In: A Prince's Dream. Meinhard II. - The becoming of Tyrol. Exhibition catalog, Schloss Tirol / Stams 1995, DNB 946016402 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Hannes Obermair : Bozen Süd - Bolzano Nord. Written form and documentary tradition of the city of Bozen up to 1500 . tape 2 . City of Bozen, Bozen 2008, ISBN 978-88-901870-1-8 , p. 249, no.223 (specimen from 1308) .
2. ^ Genealogy.eu - The Piast family

predecessor	Office	successor
Meinhard II.	Duke of Carinthia 1295–1310	Heinrich VI./II.
Meinhard II.	Count of Tyrol 1295–1310	Heinrich VI./II.