Rupert of Germany
Encyclopedia
King of the Romans
King of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
(rex Romanorum) from 1400 until his death. He was the son of Elector Palatine Rupert II and Princess Beatrix
Beatrice of Sicily (1326–1365)
Beatrice of Sicily was a Sicilian princess, daughter of Peter II of Sicily and his wife Elisabeth of Carinthia. She was born into the House of Aragon.-Family:...
, daughter of King Peter II of Sicily
Peter II of Sicily
Peter II was crowned King of Sicily in 1321 and gained full sovereignty when his father died in 1337....
, and a great-grandnephew of Emperor Louis IV
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
.
Life
Rupert was born at AmbergAmberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
, and from his early years took part in the government of the Palatinate to which he succeeded on his father's death in 1398. He was one of the four Prince-elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
s who met at Lahneck Castle
Lahneck Castle
Lahneck Castle is a medieval fortress located in the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, south of Koblenz. The 13th-century castle stands on a steep rock salient above the confluence of the Lahn River with the Rhine, opposite Castle Stolzenfels, in the district of Oberlahnstein...
in Oberlahnstein
Oberlahnstein
Oberlahnstein is a part of the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It lies on the right bank of the Rhine, at the confluence of the Lahn 4 m. above Koblenz, on the Right Rhine railway from Cologne to Frankfurt-on-Main...
on 20 August 1400 and declared King Wenceslaus of Luxembourg
Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...
deposed. On the next day the same four electors met at Rhense to ballot for Rupert as next German king, thus the majority of the college including the Elector Palatine's own vote. The election was followed by Rupert's coronation at Cologne on 6 January 1401.
Lacking a solid power base in the Empire, his rule remained contested by the mighty House of Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...
, though Wenceslaus himself did not take any action to regain his title. After Rupert had won some recognition in Southern Germany
Southern Germany
The term Southern Germany is used to describe a region in the south of Germany. There is no specific boundary to the region, but it usually includes all of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and the southern part of Hesse...
, Rupert made an expedition to the Italian kingdom
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
The Kingdom of Italy was a political entity under control of Carolingian dynasty of Francia first, after the defeat of the Lombards in 774. It was finally incorporated as a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 962....
, where he hoped to receive the Imperial crown
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
and to crush the rule of Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti , son of Galeazzo II Visconti and Bianca of Savoy, was the first Duke of Milan and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance...
over the thriving Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
. In the autumn of 1401 he crossed the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, but his troops, checked before Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...
, melted away and in 1402 Rupert, too poor to continue the campaign, had to return to Germany.
The news of this failure increased the disorder in Germany, but the king met with some success in his efforts to restore peace. He gained the support of England
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
by the marriage of his son Louis
Louis III, Elector Palatine
Louis III, Count Palatine of the Rhine , was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach in 1410–1436....
with Blanche
Blanche of England
Blanche of England, LG , also known as Blanche of Lancaster and Blanche Plantagenet, was an English princess of the House of Lancaster....
, daughter of King Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
in 1401 and in October 1403 he was recognized by Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX , born Piero Tomacelli, was the second Roman Pope of the Western Schism from November 2, 1389, until October 1, 1404...
. It was nevertheless only the indolence of Wenceslaus that prevented his overthrow, and after attempts to enlarge his allodium had caused conflicts with several estates led by the archbishop of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
in 1406, Rupert was compelled to make certain concessions. The quarrel was complicated by the Papal Schism
Western Schism
The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...
, but the king was just beginning to make some headway when he died at his castle of Landskrone near Oppenheim
Oppenheim
Oppenheim is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is well known as a wine town, the site of the German Winegrowing Museum and particularly for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbrunnen vineyards.- Location :...
on 18 May 1410 and was buried at the Church of the Holy Spirit
Church of the Holy Spirit (Heidelberg)
The Church of the Holy Spirit is the most famous church in Heidelberg, Germany. It stands in the middle of the market place in the old center of Heidelberg not far from the Heidelberg Castle. The steeple of the church, rising above the roofs, dominates the township.-Early history:The Church of...
in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
. His achievements earned him the surname clemens. He was succeeded as Count Palatine by his son Louis.
Family and children
He was married in AmbergAmberg
Amberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. Population: 44,756 .- History :...
on 27 June 1374 to Elisabeth of Nuremberg
Elisabeth of Nuremberg
-Source:*...
, daughter of Burgrave Frederick V of Hohenzollern
Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg
Frederick V of Nuremberg was a Burgrave of Nuremberg, of the House of Hohenzollern.-Life:He was the elder son of John II of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Henneberg...
and Elisabeth of Meissen
Elisabeth of Meissen
Elisabeth of Meissen, Burgravine of Nuremberg was the daughter of Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen and Mathilde of Bavaria and a member of the House of Wettin.-Marriage and children:...
. They had the following children:
- Rupert Pipan (20 February 1375, Amberg – 25 January 1397, Amberg)
- MargaretMargaret of the PalatinateMargaret of the Palatinate was the daughter of Rupert of Germany and his wife Elisabeth of Nuremberg. She married Charles II, Duke of Lorraine on 6 February 1393. Her maternal grandparents were Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Meissen...
(1376 – 27 August 1434, Nancy), married in 1394 to Charles II, Duke of LorraineCharles II, Duke of LorraineCharles II , called the Bold was the duke of Lorraine from 1390 to his death and constable of France from 1418 to 1425.... - Frederick (ca. 1377, Amberg – 7 March 1401, Amberg)
- Louis III, Elector PalatineLouis III, Elector PalatineLouis III, Count Palatine of the Rhine , was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach in 1410–1436....
(23 January 1378 – 30 December 1436, Heidelberg) - Agnes (1379 – 1401, Heidelberg), married in Heidelberg shortly before March 1400 to Duke Adolph I of ClevesAdolph I, Duke of ClevesAdolph I of Cleves was 2nd. Count of Cleves and 4th. Count of Mark.- Life :He was the son of Adolph III, Count of Mark, and Margaret of Julich ....
- Elisabeth (27 October 1381 – 31 December 1408, InnsbruckInnsbruck- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
), married in Innsbruck 24 December 1407 to Duke Frederick IV of Austria - Count Palatine John of Neumarkt (1383, Neunburg vorm WaldNeunburg vorm WaldNeunburg vorm Wald is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 21 km east of Schwandorf on the river Schwarzach, a tributary of the Naab....
– 13–14 March 1443) - Count Palatine Stephen of Simmern-Zweibrücken (23 June 1385 – 14 February 1459, SimmernSimmernSimmern is a town of 8,000 inhabitants in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde...
) - Count Palatine Otto I of MosbachOtto I, Count Palatine of MosbachOtto I was the Count Palatine of Mosbach from 1410 until 1448, and the Count Palatine of Mosbach-Neumarkt from 1448 until 1461.-Life:...
(24 August 1390, MosbachMosbachMosbach is the capital of the Neckar-Odenwald district in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 58 km east of Heidelberg. Its geographical position is 49.21'N 9.9'E....
– 5 July 1461)