Wilhelm I (Bavaria)

Wilhelm I.

Wilhelm I of Bavaria (born May 12, 1330 in Frankfurt am Main , † April 1389 in Le Quesnoy ) was Duke of Bavaria-Straubing , as Wilhelm V, Count of Holland and Zeeland and as Wilhelm III. Count of Hainaut . He was the son of Emperor Ludwig IV of Bavaria and his second wife Margarethe of Holland .

Contemporary history background

With Wilhelm's father Ludwig IV, the Wittelsbachers established the Roman-German king for the first time in 1314. Ludwig, who only prevailed after a long struggle against his competitor Friedrich the Beautiful from the House of Habsburg , systematically expanded his family's domestic power : In addition to the ancestral properties in Bavaria and the Palatinate , he acquired Brandenburg and Tyrol as well as Holland, Zealand and the Hainaut. After his death in 1347 these areas fell to his six sons Ludwig the Brandenburger , Stephan II. , Ludwig the Römer , Wilhelm, Albrecht I and Otto V.

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. 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 these developments, one speaks of the time in which Wilhelm was born, also of the crisis of the late Middle Ages .

Life

Wilhelm's coat of arms

Early years and beginning of rule

Wilhelm was born in 1330 as the second son of Ludwig IV and his second wife Margarethe of Holland. In 1345 the mother's family had died out in the male line, so that they were enfeoffed with the counties. On September 7, 1346, Ludwig the Bavarian ordered that Margaret's second son Wilhelm should succeed his mother in the event of her death, and that after Wilhelm, if he died childless, Margaret's third son Albrecht would come next. Instead, Ludwig the Roman, as Margaret's eldest son, renounced the Dutch inheritance.

Ludwig IV died in October 1347 and Wilhelm and his brothers initially continued their father's imperial policy. It was not until February 1350 that the Wittelsbach family recognized Charles IV as the new king and undertook to deliver the imperial regalia to him .

From 1347 to 1349 Wilhelm ruled the Wittelsbach possessions in Bavaria and elsewhere together with his five brothers. After the first partition of the Wittelsbach country in Landsberger contract in 1349 he received along with Stephen II. And Albrecht I. Lower Bavaria . Since the next division in the Regensburg Treaty in 1353, Wilhelm and Albrecht I ruled the partial duchy of Straubing-Holland , which consisted of the Straubinger Ländchen in Lower Bavaria, Holland, Zealand, Hainaut and Friesland . Wilhelm administered the counties in the north, while his younger brother Albrecht initially stayed in Straubing . Margarethe had already handed over the government of the counties of Holland and Zeeland as well as the rule of Friesland to her son Wilhelm on January 5, 1348.

Hook-and-Cod War

Wilhelm had to fight in the areas under his control against rebel subjects and the Bishop of Utrecht, with whom he concluded an armistice. At the beginning of 1350 there was a profound and persistent dispute between him and his mother, as the income claimed by Margarethe from the territories ruled by her son did not arrive to the extent desired. Therefore, on May 25, 1350, Wilhelm allied himself with the party of cod , which was opposed to the policy of the imperial widow and was based on numerous cities such as Dordrecht, Delft, Leiden, Haarlem, Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Rotterdam and Vlaardingen. The cod were led by some nobles such as Jan IV. Van Arkel , Jan I. van Egmond and Gerard III. van Heemskerk . The counterparty of the Hoeken (fish hook), to which numerous nobles such as Willem van Duivenvoorde , Jan II. Van Polanen and Dirk III. van Brederode belonged, supported Margarethe. In 1350 the Dutch nobles wanted Countess Margarethe to return to Holland.

Because of her son's alliance with the cod lions, Margarethe demanded on May 27, 1350 to take over the government of Holland and Zeeland again. Wilhelm apparently gave in; On September 27, 1350, at a meeting of the estates in Geertruidenberg, he renounced the rule over the fiefs transferred to him and released his followers from the oath they had sworn. Instead, he contented himself with being the heir of the lands administered by Margarethe. But apparently he did not keep his promise, whereupon armed conflicts broke out between Margaret's followers and her son's party. This marked the beginning of the hook-and-cod war , which broke out again some time after the agreement between Margarethe and Wilhelm (1354) and which ultimately continued, with interruptions, until 1490.

Although Margarethe initially offered her son to avoid the continuation of the conflict on January 20, 1351, to leave the administration of Zeeland to him for an annual payment of 2,000 guilders, but this concession did not lead to an agreement. In the absence of sources, it cannot be determined how the personal relationship between the imperial widow and her son developed as a result of the political quarrel. According to the chronicler Johann von Beke , Margarethe was extremely angry. Wilhelm, on the other hand, continued to show her respect, according to other sources. When he found out about his mother's alleged remark that she would let him be dismembered if she got hold of him, he is said to have vowed to behave completely differently in the opposite case and to treat her appropriately.

In the fight against Wilhelm Margarethe had in the meantime received support from her eldest son, Ludwig the Roman. She was also able to win over most of the nobles of Zeeland and confirmed the citizens of Dordrecht to get them on their side, on March 17, 1351 the stacking right . Initially, King Edward III was also there. on your side. To reassure the French King John II , however, she declared on May 6, 1351 that she had not concluded an alliance with England directed against him. Although the fleet of the Hoeken with English support won a small naval battle near Veere against Wilhelm's supporters on June 10, 1351 , the cod lions won a decisive victory over the Hoeken on July 4, 1351 in a sea battle off the coast near 's-Gravenzande and their English and Hennegau auxiliaries. The leader of the English reinforcements was killed, as were several nobles of Margaret's party such as Constijn van Renesse, while others such as Dirk III van Brederode were taken prisoner. Within a year, Wilhelm also took 17 permanent places of his opponents in the alliance with the codfish or forced them to surrender.

In September 1351 Wilhelm's mother Margarethe went to London to meet Eduard III. to seek new support against her son. The English king supposedly wanted to act as a mediator in the conflict and on November 6, 1351 ordered that three permanent places in the county of Holland, which were still held by the Hoeken, should no longer be besieged, but his two confidants William Stury and to be handed over to William Burton. But apparently Edward III. At that time already changed sides and tried to bind Margarethes son Wilhelm by his marriage to Maud of Lancaster (Matilda Plantagenet) in 1352 . Thus Margarethe was finally inferior in the fight against her son. More than 500 important nobles from the Hoeken party only had the option of going into exile in neighboring countries.

Peace treaty and sole government of the counties

In 1353/54 Wilhelm went on a trip to Prussia . The controversy between Margarethe and Wilhelm was only officially ended by the mediation efforts of their uncle Johann von Hennegau and their cousin Walram von Luxemburg, Herr von Ligny. On December 7, 1354, in addition to mother and son, several clergymen and nobles from Hainaut and the sea counts met in Mons, whereupon the reconciliation between the two conflicting parties was certified. Margarethe was obliged to forgive Wilhelm, but the son first had to seek this approval. Margarethe also accepted the sovereign rule of her son over Holland, Zeeland and Friesland, for which Wilhelm recognized Margarethes possession of the Hainaut and also promised to pay his mother a one-off settlement of 40,000 guilders and an annual pension of 7,000 guilders. After Margaret's death, he was to succeed her in Hainaut.

Wilhelm had a daughter, Maud of Lancaster, who died in childhood. He also had two illegitimate children, a son Wilhelm and a daughter Elisabeth, who both reached adulthood and married.

In June 1356 Wilhelm's mother Margarethe died and he followed her in Hainaut and immediately began to secure this part of the country against the neighboring Duchy of Brabant , initially staying out of the conflict between Brabant and Flanders . In June 1357 he brokered the Peace of Ath, which was disadvantageous for Brabant , in the Brabant War of Succession . In addition, Wilhelm won Heusden for Holland.

Sickness and death

In the autumn of 1357 Wilhelm made a trip to England; shortly after his return he showed unmistakable symptoms of a serious mental illness that could not be concealed from the public. Among other things, Wilhelm had previously killed one of his knights in the madness of Gerard van Wateringe. When the mental illness, which could have been the result of a stroke, did not prove to be temporary, his wife and the estates asked Wilhelm's brother Albrecht to take control of the three counties as regent. In February 1358 Duke Albrecht came to Holland and on March 7, 1358 he accepted the reign. Since then, Wilhelm was considered incapable of governing, which is why Albrecht took over government power for him permanently. In Holland, Wilhelm is known by the nickname “de dolle hertog”.

Wilhelm was first taken into custody in The Hague , then in 1358 in Ath Castle and the following year in Le Quesnoy Castle , where a wing overhanging an enclosed garden was reserved for him. In 1361 his wife, who was meanwhile in dispute with Albrecht, went to England to take up her inheritance there, where she died the following year. Through the Lancaster inheritance, Wilhelm was 1361–62 Earl of Leicester per Iure uxoris despite his illness .

Wilhelm died in Le Quesnoy in April 1389 and, like his mother, was buried in the Minorite Church in Valenciennes . It was only after Wilhelm's death that Albrecht took on the title of count, previously he was referred to as “Ruwaard” (“peace keeper” / regent).

literature

• Michaela Bleicher: The Duchy of Lower Bavaria-Straubing in the Hussite Wars. Everyday life and warfare as reflected in the land clerk accounts . Dissertation, Regensburg 2006, p. 31-32, 39-40 (on- line ).
• Laetitia Boehm : The Wittelsbach House in the Netherlands . In: Journal for Bavarian State History . tape 44 , 1981, pp. 93-130 , especially 110-113 ( 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. 7-39 .
• 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. 5-9 .
• Pieter Lodewijk Muller :  Wilhelm, Duke in Baiern, Count of Hainaut, Holland and Zealand . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 43, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1898, pp. 88-90.
• Hans Patze : The Wittelsbacher in medieval politics in Europe . In: Journal for Bavarian State History . tape 44 , 1981, pp. 33-79 , especially 68-70 ( online ).
• 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 119-121 .
• 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 , especially 94-99 .

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm I. (Bavaria)  - Collection of images

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

Remarks

1. ↑ From Michiel Vosmeer: Principes Hollandiae et Zelandiae. Antwerp 1578.
2. ^ Werner Paravicini: The Prussian journeys of the European nobility . Part 1 (=  supplements of the Francia . Volume 17/1 ). Thorbecke, Sigmaringen 1989, ISBN 3-7995-7317-8 , pp. 148 ( digitized version ).
3. ^ Heinz Thomas, in: Women of the Middle Ages in Life Pictures , pp. 293–296; Alphonse Wauters, in: Biographie Nationale de Belgique , Vol. 13, Sp. 641–644.
4. ↑ On Wilhelm's death and burial place of 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. 101 (also dissertation, University of Munich 2004). According to the count at that time (beginning of the year at Easter) he died in 1388.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ludwig IV. (Niederbayern-Straubing) Margaret of Holland (Holland and Hainaut)	Duke of Straubing-Holland 1347 / 1353–1389	Albrecht I.