Rudolf IV (Austria)

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Portrait of Rudolf IV of Austria (around 1365), Cathedral and Diocesan Museum Vienna
The large equestrian seal in red wax of Rudolf the Fourth

Rudolf IV (born November 1, 1339 in Vienna , † July 27, 1365 in Milan ), named the founder , was Duke (from 1359 self-appointed Archduke ) of Austria and ruled over the duchies of Austria and Carinthia from 1358 until his death and Styria , from 1363 to 1365 also via the County of Tyrol and since 1364 also via the Duchy of Carniola . He is considered a far-sighted and creative politician who used every opportunity to raise and improve the position of his countries on various levels.

Origin and family

As the eldest son of Duke Albrecht II of Austria (* 1298, † 1358) and Countess Johanna von Pfirt , Rudolf was only born after 15 years of marriage. In July 1357 he married Catherine of Luxembourg , a daughter of Emperor Charles IV . The marriage remained childless.

In 1364 Rudolf signed the Brno Inheritance Treaty with his father-in-law Emperor Charles IV , which provided for the mutual succession of Habsburgs and Luxemburgers in the event of the extinction of one of the two dynasties. It was the first of a series of succession contracts that were signed between the Habsburgs and the Luxemburgers in the decades that followed.

Political activity

Privilege Maius

Probably the best known of Rudolf's activities is a forgery of documents from the years 1358/59, the Privilegium Maius (based on the Privilegium Minus of 1156), which de facto equated his dynasty with the electors in the Holy Roman Empire. (The Dukes of Austria were not included in the Golden Bull .) The Privilegium Maius was granted by his great-nephew Friedrich III. confirmed in 1442 (with the consent of the Electors of Mainz, Brandenburg and Saxony) and 1453. Through these confirmations, the Archduke title created with the Privilegium maius was recognized under imperial law.

In 1360 Rudolf IV was enfeoffed in Seefeld-Kadolz by his father-in-law Karl IV . The Privilegium maius was never confirmed as a whole by Charles IV. Charles IV, however, confirmed part of the original demands and a further part of the demands after he had changed them himself. The interpretation and evaluation of the events surrounding the Privilegium maius in its beginnings varies in historical research, with most of the more recent works essentially following the results of Eva Schlotheuber. This one-sided, pro-Luxembourg perspective was most recently relativized by Lukas Wolfinger in essential points.

Foundation of the metropolitan chapter St. Stephan

Even under the rule of the Babenbergs, attempts had been made to turn their royal seat, Vienna, into a bishopric, thereby releasing the Duchy of Austria from the dependency of the Bishop of Passau through its own regional bishopric . These efforts were taken up by Rudolf IV, but the establishment of a separate diocese in Vienna failed again due to the resistance of the Passau bishops. After all, Rudolf was able to take the first steps in this regard with the establishment of his own metropolitan chapter (which should be assigned to an archbishop in name) in St. Stephan in Vienna, for the establishment of which he also received papal approval in 1358. The provost of this cathedral chapter was given the title Arch Chancellor of Austria , and his canons - like cardinals - were allowed red clothes.

During Rudolf's reign, the expansion of the church of St. Stephan began and the high Gothic nave was built (first groundbreaking on March 11, 1359, laying of the foundation stone on April 7, 1359), on whose portal he immortalized himself as a church donor together with his wife Katharina . The model for this could have been the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague , but there is e.g. B. the representation of donor couples on church portals in the monastery churches built by Babenbergers in Klosterneuburg and Lilienfeld. His nickname Der Stifter or Fundator , which can be found in an inscription inside the church, is traced back to the expansion of the Church of St. Stephen .

Acquisition of the county of Tyrol

On September 29, 1363, Duke Rudolf grants the city of Bozen a city council privilege. Copy from the early 16th century. in the Bolzano city ​​book , fol. 76v

In 1363 Rudolf closed after the death of the Tyrolean Wittelsbacher Meinhard III. - Meinhard was married to Rudolf's sister Margarete - with his mother Margarete von Tirol an inheritance contract, after which Tirol fell under the rule of Austria . Through his contract with Margarethe (who was later given the nickname Maultasch ) Tyrol came to his family. In February 1364 Rudolf was enfeoffed by Charles IV in Prague with all Tyrolean imperial fiefs, which legitimized the transition of Tyrol to the House of Habsburg under imperial law. The dukes of Baiern, with whom there had been acts of war, did not renounce Tyrol until after Rudolf's death, and in 1369 the Treaty of Schärding was concluded with them .

Further acquisitions

In 1363 Rudolf bought from Hugo Thumb von Neuenburg and his brother Schwicker the dominion with the castle Neuburg am Rhein (document of April 8th 1363). With this acquisition, the Habsburgs for the first time gained a foothold on the area that would later become Vorarlberg . With the compacts of Trento concluded with the bishop of Trento Albert von Ortenburg in September 1363 , Rudolf also succeeded in bringing the empire-direct bishopric of Trento under the sphere of influence of the Habsburgs.

The foundation of the Vienna University

50 Schilling coin of the Republic of Austria for the 600th anniversary of the University of Vienna in 1965 with the portrait of the founder Rudolf IV.

The founding of the University of Vienna , which is still called Alma Mater Rudolphina today, was also intended to compete with (or perhaps only stimulated by the founding of the Charles University in Prague ) . It is considered to be the oldest university in the German-speaking area. It was founded in 1365, but it was not until 1384, after Rudolf's death, that a theological faculty could be founded, which at least in the eyes of many contemporaries made a complete university. (A parallel to the University of Cracow founded in 1364.)

Economic and social policy measures

Rudolf's economic policy is to be seen in connection with his efforts to expand the position of the sovereign within his sphere of influence, to intensify his rule and, above all, to improve the financial basis. It concentrated mainly on the cities, whereby his visits to Prague with his father-in-law and to Venice may have shaped his ideas of urbanity. At their request, he granted special rights to numerous rural towns under his rule, for example the municipality of Mürzzuschlag in 1360 with iron law . Many other measures served to boost the city's economy, such as the mayor's duty of supervision over all property purchases in order to prevent too large a proportion of the “ dead hand ” (the economically unproductive and tax-free church property ). He also succeeded in creating a relatively stable coin unit with the Viennese pfennig .

Death and burial

The coffin of Rudolf and his wife in the center of the duke's crypt under the central choir of the Stephandom , of which he was the founder.
Old engraving of the cenotaph for Duke Rudolf IV and his wife Katharina in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. Below is the secret inscription in alphabetum kaldeorum shown

At the beginning of May 1365 Rudolf IV traveled to Milan to deal with conflicts in Friuli . After having to interrupt this journey in Tyrol due to illness, he reached Milan in the second half of June, where he fell seriously ill again a little later. He died on July 27, 1365 in Milan.

After his death, the corpse was treated with red wine and sewn into a black cowhide, covered with a valuable shroud with Arabic inscriptions and then transported across the Alps to Vienna, where he was buried in a copper coffin in the ducal crypt of St. Stephen's Cathedral with great sympathy from his subjects . The cenotaph for Duke Rudolf IV. Was erected some time after his early demise due to the long construction time and was not used as a tomb.

presentation

Rudolf IV is considered to be one of the first princes to regularly sign their own documents. For simple documents he used the so-called small seal and the handwritten note + hoc est verum + , for celebratory documents and the confirmation of privileges he used a pomp seal and signed it with + We, the aforementioned Duke Ruodolf, sterken disobedient writing with this underscript our selbs Hant + . He also had particularly important documents signed by his chancellor, and his wife signed on special occasions. Rudolf's documents were usually issued in the presence of prominent witnesses, especially bishops and other imperial princes, a practice that was also found among the kings and emperors of the High Middle Ages, but which had almost disappeared in his time. In his documents Rudolf describes himself as the vierd or Ruodolfus quartus , usually he also gives his age and the year of his reign.

Representation in the visual arts

The importance of Rudolf's portrait for art history can hardly be overestimated. It is considered the first (half) frontal portrait in the West. It was hung over his grave in St. Stephen's Cathedral for a few decades and can now be seen in the Vienna Cathedral Museum . Apart from the archducal hat , the perspective of which the artist did not succeed in depicting, it is likely to be a “realistic” portrait that essentially corresponds to the anthropological findings of an examination of the bones carried out in spring 1933.

After the construction of the New Vienna City Hall (1872 to 1883), a monument by the sculptor Josef Gasser was unveiled for Rudolf IV on the forecourt .

Rudolf's personality or Rudolf as a politician

As with most people of the Middle Ages, there is little tangible evidence of actual personality that can stand up to objective scrutiny. Contemporary judgments are limited to the political role.

For an indirect approach to the person Rudolf on the basis of what has been handed down as a fact, there is an additional complication with Rudolf that his work, depending on the perspective, is usually reduced to details up to the present day. While z. For example, the Republic of Austria Rudolf in the 20th century limited his work in today's Lower Austria and for Vienna, he is in the "pro-Prussian" historiography since the 19th century and in the German and Bohemian (pro-Luxembourgish) The history of the 20th century was reduced to his conflicts with his father-in-law (and from these only to using the title of Archduke). It is obvious that such perspectives fall short.

After taking over the rule over the duchies of Austria and Styria, which had also meant their rise to the imperial princehood, the Habsburgs called themselves dukes of Austria after their most important rule. Rudolf belonged to the third generation, but was the first Duke of Austria to be born in the Duchy of Austria. Since many of his measures were or were related to this, it was assumed in Austrian historiography that he also regarded it as his closer home. This later led to his popularity in Austrian history, where he was therefore seen as one of the most energetic and dedicated rulers of Austria in the late Middle Ages. The fact that many of his activities did not only affect what is now the federal state of Lower Austria was generously "overlooked".

In non-Austrian historiography, his character is usually reduced to competition with his father-in-law, who developed Prague into a brilliant cultural center. Karl's activities are likely to have been an important source of inspiration for Rudolf's actions and thoughts. Just like Karl the importance of Prague, he wanted to raise the importance of Vienna , which is also emphasized in many of his documents. To restrict him to a “wannabe Charles IV” is also too one-sided. Another aspect that has received far too little attention in research is that essential contemporary statements about Rudolf, especially for the years 1358-1361, which have received priority in research to this day, are by no means to be classified as objective, since they are based on Charles IV go back. His statements were a means of his policy, with which Charles IV tried to win the public for himself and against Rudolf. A comparison of Rudolf's work with that of other imperial princes, and an investigation of Karl's actual role model effect on them, which is still pending, would certainly be very informative here.

The title that Duke Rudolf IV. Of Austria - before the (forged) Privilegium maius - used in a document is usually regarded as evidence of his extraordinary ambition. The fact that the then only 17-year-old Duke cites subordinate titles from the areas ruled by his family in the then imperial landscape of Swabia also reveals that he was very well informed about them: “By God's grace, Duke of Austria , Styria and Carinthia , Herr zu Krain auf der Mark and Pordenone, Graf zu Habsburg and Kyburg , zu Pfirt , Veringen , Laax , Rapperswil , zu Lenzburg and on the Black Forest, to Glarus , Peilstein, Raabs, Rehberg and Neuburg am Inn , Landgrave in Alsace , Margrave of Burgau , Baden and Drosendorf, Lord of Freiburg im Üechtland, Lucerne , Wolhusen, Rotenburg, Schwyz , Unterwalden and Hinterlappen, Regensberg, Triberg, Hohengundelfingen, Ortenberg, Tattenried, Rosenfels, Masmünster, Achelant and Vicar of Upper Bavaria. " The fact that he wanted to be appointed "King of Lombardy" by his father-in-law Emperor Charles IV in 1358, which probably failed not only because of the resistance of the electors, is further evidence. Allegedly, Rudolf is said to have acted like a king even as a young man.

So far, however, little attention has been paid to the fact that the numerous titles that Rudolf held, for example, can also be traced back to the fact that his family did not rule over a single state structure, but over a whole conglomerate of dominions, most of which are not even under a larger administrative unit (such as a county or a duchy) were united. The cohesion of his dominions resulted only from him as an individual or from the family. Rudolf's measures are likely to have aimed essentially at the creation of a unified rule that was necessary to facilitate the management of the family “free float”. With this policy, however, he was probably not an exception in his time, but rather corresponded to it, as something similar can also be observed in other contemporary ruling families of the Holy Roman Empire (and probably not only there).

evaluation

His plans were large-scale; he appropriately promoted or tried to promote the position of the dynasty, its countries and above all of Vienna, which was his royal seat. In the end, he was unable to realize many plans himself, many of his measures turned out to be short-lived, and perhaps not only because of his untimely death. His brothers Albrecht III had to do a lot . and Leopold III. take back or at least modify it. The fact that they shared their property in the Treaty of Neuberg in 1379 instead of governing together as provided for in the Rudolfinian House Rules (1364) is usually seen as a weakening (and in recent research also interpreted as an indication of a brotherly dispute) but also as an attempt to find a portable (administrative) solution for their numerous countries and rulers.

In addition to founding the University of Vienna, a lasting success for Rudolf, whose ultimately successful development was also due to his brother and successor Albrecht III. was gaining the county of Tyrol. In contrast to many other politicians or rulers, Rudolf was also lucky in that some of his goals (recognition of the Privilegium maius at the imperial level, elevation of Vienna to the diocese, etc.) were later passed on by other members of his family, especially those from the Leopoldine line of the Habsburgs Descendants of his brother Leopold III., Were successfully continued and enforced.

It is certainly difficult to do justice to him, on the one hand because of his personality, which must have been very multifaceted, on the other hand because of his thoroughly successful policy, which allows different judgments. In addition, his political activity only lasted a few years and he was therefore only able to begin or try a lot, but no longer carry it out or even finish it. It should not be overlooked, however, that in his very short life he succeeded just as much or even significantly more than most of his contemporaries, many of whom had a much longer lifetime available.

  • Thomas Ebendorfer , who later became the rector of the University of Vienna, ruled around 1450 that if Rudolf had lived longer he would have raised the dynasty to heaven or plunged it into the abyss.
  • Historians of the 19th and 20th centuries, who were already familiar with the methods of modern source criticism, still have problems with his forgeries.
  • For a partisan view of the “anti-Habsburg” “Prussian” and “Bohemian” historiography, which distorts the image of Rudolf IV outside of Austria to the present day and can even be found in more recent, serious research work, there is the same with Rudolf IV two reasons. He was not only a Habsburg, but also a (quite successful) opponent of Emperor Charles IV.
  • In the 1930s, Rudolf also had to be stylized as the creator of the “Austrian” national idea at the time, for example in the two-volume biography of Ernst Karl Winter.

A detailed overview of the older research work on Rudolf the founder can be found in the biography of Wilhelm Baum. A biographical presentation that does justice to his person and politics in all facets is still pending.

literature

  • Wilhelm Baum : Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time . Styria, Graz 1996, ISBN 3-222-12422-1
  • Alois Niederstätter : Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, especially pp. 145–171

Lexica articles and entries

Literature on partial aspects

  • Mark Mersiowsky : The way to the transition of Tyrol to Austria 1363 : Notes on politics in the 14th century. In: Christoph Haidacher, Mark Mersiowsky (Ed.): 1363–2013 . 650 years of Tyrol with Austria. Innsbruck: Universitätsverlag Wagner 2015, ISBN 978-3-7030-0851-1 , pp. 9–53, especially pp. 42–53
  • Lukas Wolfinger: The Privilegium maius and the Habsburg change of rule of 1358 . New observations on the context and function of well-known forgeries. In: Thomas Just - Kathrin Kininger - Andrea Sommerlechner - Herwig Weigl (eds.): Privilegium maius. Autopsy, context and career of the forgeries of Rudolf IV of Austria (= publications by the Institute for Austrian Historical Research. Vol. 69; also: Communications from the Austrian State Archives. Special Volume 15). Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar, 2018. ISBN 978-3-205-20049-9 . Pp. 145-172
  • Gertraud Zeindl: Duke Rudolf IV as a patron of the city of Innsbruck . In: Christoph Haidacher, Mark Mersiowsky (Ed.): 1363–2013 . 650 years of Tyrol with Austria. Innsbruck: Universitätsverlag Wagner 2015, ISBN 978-3-7030-0851-1 , pp. 175–194

Web links

Commons : Rudolf IV.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder . His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 338
  2. ↑ An engagement between the two of them is documented as early as September 20, 1344, but in the years that followed, both Rudolf and Katharina were engaged to children from other families. On June 5, 1348, another engagement of the two is documented, subsequently Katharina is said to have stayed in Vienna for education. In April 1353 the symbolic supplement was carried out between Rudolf and Katharina in Prague, the actual marriage only took place in July (probably on July 17) 1357, cf. Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder . His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 372f., Timetable
  3. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, p. 157
  4. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, p. 154
  5. ↑ cf. Eva Schlotheuber: The Privilegium maius - a Habsburg forgery in the struggle for rank and influence. In: The Birth of Austria. 850 years of privilege minus. Regensburg 2007. p. 143–165 ( Online [PDF; 5.2 MB ; accessed on April 9, 2020]).
  6. ↑ Lukas Wolfinger: The Privilegium maius and the Habsburg change of rule of 1358 . New observations on the context and function of well-known forgeries. In: Thomas Just - Kathrin Kininger - Andrea Sommerlechner - Herwig Weigl (eds.): Privilegium maius. Autopsy, context and career of the forgeries of Rudolf IV of Austria (= publications by the Institute for Austrian Historical Research. Vol. 69; also: Communications from the Austrian State Archives. Special Volume 15). Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar, 2018. ISBN 978-3-205-20049-9 . Pp. 145-172
  7. ↑ cf. Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 14f.
  8. ^ Parish sheet of the cathedral parish St. Stephan 56 / No. 2, December 2000
  9. ↑ Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 16
  10. ^ Hannes Obermair : The Bozen city book. Manuscript 140 - the official and privileges book of the city of Bolzano . Contributions to the international study conference, Bozen, Maretsch Castle, 16. – 18. October 1996. In: Bolzano from the Counts of Tyrol to the Habsburgs - Bolzano fra i Tirolo e gli Asburgo (=  research on the history of Bolzano / Studi di storia cittadina ). tape 1 . Athesia, Bozen 1999, ISBN 88-7014-986-2 , p. 399-432, here: p. 403 ff .
  11. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Verlag Ueberreuter, Vienna 2001, p. 155ff., A summary of this under Archived Copy ( Memento of the original from July 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at
  12. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, p. 158
  13. ↑ This classification, however, depends on what is counted as part of the German-speaking area today. If today's Czech Republic is also included in the German-speaking area, given that the former Kingdom of Bohemia belonged to the Holy Roman Empire and was also under the rule of a "German" dynasty, the Prague University, founded in 1348, is the oldest university.
  14. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, pp. 161f.
  15. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-8000-3526-X , p. 169. It is unclear whether it was actually a sudden death. The order from the "Habsburg House Rules" of November 18, 1364 that the second oldest should represent the elder in the event of illness could be an indication that his health was already in poor health at that time, see p. 168f.
  16. ↑ A method of corpse preservation common in Europe in the Middle Ages was to introduce aromatic wine into the abdomen and mouth of the corpse, put it in an alum-soda solution and finally in a cloth soaked in resin or pitch (the so-called "sparadrap", it could also be a linen soaked in wax and turpentine ) to cover (on the methods of embalming from antiquity to modern times see Magdalena Hawlik-van de Water: The beautiful death. Ceremonial structures of the Viennese court at death and burial between 1640 and 1740 , Freiburg / Vienna 1989, pp. 203-211). The repeatedly read statement that the corpse of Rudolf IV was supposedly cooked in red wine is likely to be due to a confusion between the preservation process using red wine and the process of " mos teutonicus ", the use of which was forbidden by Pope Boniface VIII as early as 1299 was.
  17. ↑ Annemarie Fenzl: 5th Catechesis 2004/05: Paths to prayer - images of grace and donors (see full text online ) writes: “Duke Rudolf IV., The donor died shortly afterwards, on July 27, 1365 in Milan and was, wrapped in a precious shroud and a black cowhide, brought across the Alps, to Vienna, to his St. Stephen's Cathedral, where he found his eternal resting place. "
  18. ↑ Markus Ritter: Art with a message: The gold-silk fabric for the Ilchan Abu Sa'id of Iran (Rudolf IV's grave robe in Vienna) - reconstruction, type, medium of representation. , in Contributions to Islamic Art and Archeology , Vol. 2, Ed. M. Ritter and L. Korn, Wiesbaden: Reichert, 2010, pp. 105–135, has worked out that the precious shroud of Duke Rudolf IV was a precious gold-silk fabric with Arabic inscriptions that was originally in Iran 1319–1335 was made for the ruling Muslim Ilchan Sultan there and is now exhibited in the Cathedral and Diocesan Museum (Vienna) .
  19. ↑ Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 16f., The quotations are also given there.
  20. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-8000-3526-X , p. 169
  21. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-8000-3526-X , p. 170
  22. ↑ cf. on this Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. the founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 338
  23. ↑ An overview of this in Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 317f.
  24. ↑ Indications that the role of Charles IV or his court as an essential role model for Rudolf IV may even be overestimated can be found in Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV the founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 336. He refers to more recent research work by Nikolaus Grass, according to which French models may have reached Vienna without the detour via Prague and to a work by Gerhard Schmidt on the Viennese "Herzogswerkstätte", as well on personal relations between the University of Vienna and the Sorbonne.
  25. ↑ cf. Lukas Wolfinger: The Privilegium maius and the Habsburg change of rule of 1358 . New observations on the context and function of well-known forgeries. In: Thomas Just - Kathrin Kininger - Andrea Sommerlechner - Herwig Weigl (eds.): Privilegium maius. Autopsy, context and career of the forgeries of Rudolf IV of Austria (= publications by the Institute for Austrian Historical Research. Vol. 69; also: Communications from the Austrian State Archives. Special Volume 15). Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar, 2018. ISBN 978-3-205-20049-9 . P. 172
  26. ↑ Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 14
  27. ↑ Alois Niederstätter in "Austrian History 1278-1411". The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Page 146; Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna, 2001, ISBN 3-8000-3526-X
  28. ↑ Peilstein, Drosendorf (correct: Pernegg), Rehberg and Raabs are former counties that were incorporated into the Duchy of Austria. The fact that they are still explicitly mentioned by Rudolf IV is, however, an indication that their membership of the Duchy of Austria was still controversial at the time. However, there never was a margraviate of Drosendorf, at least not in today's Lower Austria. Since the Lower Austrian Drosendorf is not the only Drosendorf, there are other places with names such as For example, a Drosendorf on the Aufseß (today part of Hollfeld ), Eggolsheim-Drosendorf or Memmelsdorf-Drosendorf , it is not certain whether this margraviate actually meant the city of Drosendorf in today's Lower Austria or maybe another. In any case, it is noticeable that the Margraviate Drosendorf can be found in Rudolf's signature between the Margraviate of Baden and the city of Friborg in Üechtland, both of which belong to Switzerland today. That would suggest a situation there or perhaps in the southwest of today's Germany.
  29. ↑ Alois Niederstätter, op. Cit. Page 146
  30. ↑ cf. Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 319f.
  31. ↑ cf. Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, pp. 338f.
  32. ↑ cf. Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, p. 335
  33. ↑ Wilhelm Baum: Rudolf IV. The founder. His world and his time. Styria, Graz 1996, pp. 317-337
  34. ^ Alois Niederstätter: Austrian History 1278-1411. The rule of Austria. Prince and country in the late Middle Ages. Ueberreuter Verlag, Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-8000-3526-X , pp. 170f.
predecessor Office successor
Albrecht II. Duke of Austria
1358–1365 		Albrecht III. and Leopold III.
Albrecht II. Duke of Steier (mark)
1358–1365 		Albrecht III. and Leopold III.
Albrecht II. Duke of Carinthia
1358–1365 		Albrecht III. and Leopold III.
Meinhard III. or Margarete Count of Tyrol
1363–1365 		Albrecht III. and Leopold III.
personal data
SURNAME Rudolf IV.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rudolf the founder
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Austria
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1339
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH July 27, 1365
Place of death Milan