Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria
Encyclopedia
Duke Stephen II of Bavaria (1319 – 13 May 1375, Landshut
Landshut
Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...

) (German: Stephan II mit der Hafte, Herzog von Bayern), after 1347 Duke of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

. He was the second son of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian
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....

 by his first wife Beatrix of Świdnica and a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...

.

Biography

During the reign of Emperor Louis IV his son Stephen served as vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...

 of Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

 and Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...

. The Emperor had acquired Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

, Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...

, Holland and Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....

 for his House but he had also released the Upper Palatinate
Upper Palatinate
The Upper Palatinate is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany, located in the east of Bavaria.- History :The region took its name first in the early 16th century, because it was by the Treaty of Pavia one of the main portions of the territory of the Wittelsbach Elector...

 for the Palatinate branch of the Wittelsbach in 1329. When his father died in 1347, Stephen succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria and Count of Holland and Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....

 together with his five brothers. Louis IV had reunited Bavaria in 1340 but in 1349 the country was divided for the emperor's sons again into Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria
Upper Bavaria is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered around the city of Munich. It is subdivided into four regions : Ingolstadt, Munich, Bayerisches Oberland , and Südostoberbayern...

, Lower Bavaria-Landshut
Bavaria-Landshut
-History:The creation of the duchy was the result of the death of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. In the Treaty of Landsberg 1349, which divided up Louis's empire, his sons Stephen, William, and Albert were to receive jointly Lower Bavaria and the Netherlands. Four years later the inheritance was...

 and Bavaria-Straubing
Bavaria-Straubing
Bavaria-Straubing denotes the widely-scattered territorial inheritance in the Wittelsbach house of Bavaria that were governed by independent dukes of Bavaria-Straubing between 1353 and 1432; a map of these marches and outliers of the Holy Roman Empire, vividly demonstrates the fractionalisation of...

. Stephen II ruled from 1349 to 1353 together with his brothers William I and Albert I in Holland and Lower Bavaria-Landshut, since 1353 only in Lower Bavaria-Landshut.

After the temporary reconciliation of the Wittelsbach with Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

, who had finally confirmed all Wittelsbach possessions, Stephen joined Charles' expedition to Italy in 1354. But soon the Golden Bull of 1356
Golden Bull of 1356
The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by the Reichstag assembly in Nuremberg headed by the Luxembourg Emperor Charles IV that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire...

 caused a new conflict since only the Palatinate branch of the Wittelsbach and his brother Louis VI the Roman
Louis VI the Roman
Louis the Roman was the eldest son of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian by his second wife, Margaret II, Countess of Hainault, and a member of the House of Wittelsbach. Louis was Duke of Bavaria as Louis VI and Margrave of Brandenburg as Louis II...

 as margrave of Brandenburg were invested with the electoral dignity
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...

. Stephen II was the last son of Emperor Louis IV who was absolved from excommunication in 1362.

When Duke Meinhard
Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol
Meinhard III was Duke of Upper Bavaria and the last Count of Tyrol from the House of Wittelsbach.Meinhard was the son of Duke Louis V of Bavaria with Countess Margaret of Gorizia-Tyrol and as such also the last descendant of Meinhard I, Count of Gorizia .-Biography:Meinhard III was born in Landshut...

, the son of his older brother Louis V the Brandenburger died in 1363, Stephen II succeeded also in Upper Bavaria and invaded Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...

. To strengthen his position against Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
Rudolf IV der Stifter was a scion of the House of Habsburg and Duke of Austria and Duke of Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as Count of Tyrol from 1363 and first Duke of Carniola from 1364 until his death...

 he confederated with Bernabò Visconti
Bernabo Visconti
Bernabò Visconti was an Italian soldier and statesman, who was Lord of Milan.-Life:He was born in Milan, the son of Stefano Visconti and Valentina Doria. From 1346 to 1349 he lived in exile, until he was called back by his uncle Giovanni Visconti...

. Stephen finally renounced Tyrol to the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

s with the Peace of Schärding for a huge financial compensation after the death of Margarete Maultasch
Margarete Maultasch
Margarete Maultasch was the last Countess of Tyrol from the Meinhardiner dynasty of Görz . Upon her death, Tyrol became united with the hereditary lands of the House of Habsburg.- Biography :...

 in 1369.

His conflict with his brother Louis VI the Roman on the Bavarian heritage of Meinhard finally caused also the loss of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....

 by the Wittelsbach
Wittelsbach
The Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...

 dynasty since Louis then made Charles IV his contracted heir. However Stephen accepted his brother Otto
Otto V, Duke of Bavaria
Otto V, Duke of Bavaria , was a duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg as Otto VII. Otto was the fourth son of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV by his second wife Margaret II of Avesnes, countess of Hainaut and Holland.-Biography:...

, the last Wittelsbach regent of Brandenburg, as his nominal co-regent when he returned to Bavaria in 1373. Due to the loss of Brandenburg the Bavarian dukes received a financial compensation one more time. Stephen was succeeded by his three sons.

He is buried in the Frauenkirche
Munich Frauenkirche
The Frauenkirche is a church in the Bavarian city of Munich that serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian capital city.The church towers are widely visible because of local height...

 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

.

Family and children

He was married twice. First, 27 June 1328 to Elizabetta of Sicily
Elisabeth of Sicily (1310–1349)
Elisabeth of Sicily was a daughter of Frederick III of Sicily and Eleanor of Anjou. Her siblings included: Peter II of Sicily and Manfred of Athens. She is also known as Isabel of Aragon....

, daughter of King Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick III of Sicily
Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...

 and Eleanor of Anjou
Eleanor of Anjou
Eleanor of Naples was the Queen consort of Frederick III of Sicily. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou by birth.-Family:She was the third daughter of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary....

. Second, he was married 14 February 1359 to Margarete of Nuremberg, daughter of John II of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Henneberg. All his children were from his first marriage, including three sons, who finally divided Bavaria among themselves in 1392 and one daughter:
  1. Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt
    Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria
    Duke Stephen III of Bavaria was a Duke of Bavaria since 1375. He was the eldest son of Stephen II and Elizabeth of Sicily.-Family:...

     (1337–September 26, 1413, Niederschönfeld).
  2. Frederick of Bavaria-Landshut
    Frederick, Duke of Bavaria
    Frederick was Duke of Bavaria from 1375. He was the second son of Stephen II and Elizabeth of Sicily.-Family:His maternal grandparents were Frederick III of Sicily and Eleanor of Anjou...

     (1339–December 4, 1393, Budweis).
  3. John II of Bavaria-Munich
    John II, Duke of Bavaria
    Duke John II of Bavaria-Munich , , since 1375 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was the third son of Stephen II and Elizabeth of Sicily.-Family:...

     (1341–1397).
  4. Agnes (b. 1338), married c. 1356 King James I of Cyprus
    James I of Cyprus
    James I of Cyprus was Regent of Cyprus for his infant nephew Peter from 1369. When Peter died in 1382, James became King of Cyprus that year...

    .


Two of Stephen's sons (Stephen III and Frederick) and one grandson (John's son Ernest
Ernest, Duke of Bavaria
Ernest of Bavaria-Munich , , from 1397 Duke of Bavaria-Munich.-Biography:Ernest was a son of John II and ruled the duchy of Bavaria-Munich together with his brother William III....

) were married to daughters of his ally Bernabò Visconti.

In 1447 Bavaria-Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...

 was united with Bavaria-Landshut
Landshut
Landshut is a city in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany, belonging to both Eastern and Southern Bavaria. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also the seat of the...

, which was seized by Bavaria-Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 in 1503.

Ancestors



External links

Map of the Holy Roman Empire in 1347
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