Ernest, Duke of Austria
| Ernest I | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Austria | |
Portrait by Anton Boys, c. 1580
| |
| Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola | |
| Reign | 15 July 1406 – 10 June 1424 |
| Predecessor | William |
| Successor | Frederick V and Albert VI |
| Born | 1377 Bruck an der Mur, Duchy of Styria |
| Died | 10 June 1424 Bruck an der Mur, Duchy of Styria |
| Spouse | Margarethe of Pomerania (m. 1392; died 1407) Cymburgis of Masovia (m. 1412) |
| Issue Detail |
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Margaret, Electress of Saxony Albert VI, Archduke of Austria Catherine, Margravine of Baden-Baden |
| House | Habsburg |
| Father | Leopold III, Duke of Austria |
| Mother | Viridis Visconti |
Ernest the Iron-Willed (German: Ernst der Eiserne; 1377 – 10 June 1424), a member of the House of Habsburg, ruled over the Inner Austrian duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola from 1406 until his death. He was head of the Habsburg Leopoldian line from 1411.
Biography
Ernest was born in Bruck an der Mur in Styria, the third son of Duke Leopold III of Austria (1351–1386) and his consort Viridis Visconti (d. 1414),[1] a daughter of Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan. Shortly after his birth, his father and his uncle Albert III divided the Habsburg lands by the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg: while Albert and his Albertinian descendants would rule over the Duchy of Austria proper, the Leopoldian line received the Inner Austrian states of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola with the remaining March of Istria, as well as Tyrol and the Further Austrian possessions. After Leopold's death in the 1386 Battle of Sempach, young Ernest and his brothers William, Leopold IV and Frederick IV remained under the guardianship of their uncle Albert III.
In 1401 Ernest accompanied King Rupert of Germany on his campaign to Italy. When their elder brother William died in 1406, the remaining three sons of Leopold III agreed about the partition of their patrimony: In the separation agreement of 1406, Ernest received Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, and jointly with his elder brother Leopold IV (the current head of the Leopoldian line) held the guardianship over their minor nephew Albert V of Austria, grandson of Duke Albert III. Tyrol and Further Austria passed to the youngest brother Frederick IV.
In 1407, however, conflicts between Leopold and Ernest resulted in a civil war that lasted until May 1409. When Leopold died without male heirs in 1411, Ernest finally became the uncontested head of the Leopoldian branch. In 1414, he became the last Duke to be enthroned according to Carantanian traditional rite at the Prince's Stone in Carinthia, and from that time on called himself 'archduke'. He was the first Habsburg to actually use this title, which had been invented by his uncle Duke Rudolf IV.
Ernest was made a member of the Order of the Dragon and of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1414, however, he became bitter with the Luxembourg king Sigismund from 1412 onwards. When his brother Frederick IV, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII at the Council of Constance, was banned by the king in 1417, Ernest first attempted to gain control over Frederick's territories himself, but then came to an agreement with him and successfully defended Tyrol against Sigismund's pretensions. Ernest turned out to be a capable ruler of the Inner Austrian lands; his eldest son Frederick V would become sole heir of all Habsburg lines, elected King of the Romans in 1440 and crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1452.
Ernest died at Bruck an der Mur, and was buried in the Cistercian monastery of Rein near Graz. His nickname the Iron only came into use after his death.
Family and children
On 14 January 1392, Ernest married his first wife, Margaret of Pomerania. She was a daughter of the Griffin duke Bogislaw V of Pomerania and Adelheid of Brunswick-Grubenhagen. They had no children. She died in either 1407 or 1410, according to contradictory necrologies.
On 25 January 1412, Ernest married the Piast princess Cymburgis of Masovia.[2] They had:
- Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493)[1]
- Margaret of Austria (1416/17 – 12 February 1486), married on 3 June 1431 to Frederick II, Elector of Saxony[2]
- Albert VI, Archduke of Austria (18 December 1418 – 2 December 1463)
- Alexander of Austria (died 1420)
- Rudolf of Austria (died before 1424)
- Catherine of Austria (1420 – 11 September 1493), married on 15 July 1447 to Charles I, Margrave of Baden-Baden[2]
- Leopold of Austria (died before 1424)
- Anna of Austria (died 11 November 1429)
- Ernest of Austria (died 10 August 1432)
As the ruler of Inner Austria and founder of the older Styrian line of the Habsburgs, which, by their son, Frederick III survived the Albertinian (Austrian) and Tyrolean lines, Ernest and Cymburgis became the ancestors of all later emperors of the Habsburg monarchy.
Male-line family tree
- v
t
e
House of Habsburg[3] - Original line
- Albert
Count of Habsburg
c. 1188–1239 - Rudolf I
of Germany
c. 1218–1291 - Albert I
of Germany
1255–1308 — Hartmann
1263–1281 — Rudolf II
Duke of Austria
1270–1290 - Rudolf I
of Bohemia
1281–1307 — Frederick
the Fair
c. 1289–1330 — Leopold I
Duke of Austria
1290–1326 — Albert II
Duke of Austria
1298–1358 — Henry
the Friendly
1299–1327 — Otto
Duke of Austria
1301–1339 — John
Parricida
c. 1290–1312/1313 - Albertinian line — Leopoldian line
- Rudolf IV
Duke of Austria
1339–1365 — Frederick III
1347–1362 — Albert III
Duke of Austria
1349–1395 — Leopold III
Duke of Austria
1351–1386 — Frederick II
Duke of Austria
1327–1344 — Leopold II
Duke of Austria
1328–1344 - Albert IV
Duke of Austria
1377–1404 — William
Duke of Austria
c. 1370–1406 — Leopold IV
Duke of Austria
1371–1411 — Ernest
Duke of Austria
1377–1424 — Frederick IV
Duke of Austria
1382–1439 - Albert II
of Germany
1397–1439 — Frederick III
HRE
1415–1493 — Albert VI
Archduke of Austria
1418–1463 — Sigismund
Archduke of Austria
1427–1496 - Ladislaus
the Posthumous
1440–1457 — Maximilian I
HRE
1459–1519 - Philip I
of Castile
1478–1506 - Spanish / Iberian line — Austrian / HRE line
- Charles V
HRE
1500–1558 — Ferdinand I
HRE
1503–1564 - Philip II
of Spain
1527–1598 — Maximilian II
HRE
1527–1576 — Ferdinand II
Archduke of Austria
1529–1595 — Charles II
Archduke of Austria
1540–1590 - Carlos
Prince of Asturias
1545–1568 — Philip III
of Spain
1578–1621 — Rudolf II
HRE
1552–1612 — Ernest
of Austria
1553–1595 — Matthias
HRE
1557–1619 — Maximilian III
Archduke of Austria
1558–1618 — Albert VII
Archduke of Austria
1559–1621 — Wenceslaus
Archduke of Austria
1561–1578 — Andrew
Margrave of Burgau
1558–1600 — Charles
Margrave of Burgau
1560–1618 — Ferdinand II
HRE
1578–1637 — Maximilian Ernest
of Austria
1583–1616 — Leopold V
Archduke of Austria
1586–1632 — Charles
of Austria
1590–1624 - Philip IV
of Spain
1605–1665 — Charles
of Austria
1607–1632 — Ferdinand
of Austria
1609–1641 — John-Charles
of Austria
1605–1619 — Ferdinand III
HRE
1608–1657 — Leopold Wilhelm
of Austria
1614–1662 — Ferdinand Charles
Archduke of Austria
1628–1662 — Sigismund Francis
Archduke of Austria
1630–1665 - Balthasar Charles
Prince of Asturias
1629–1646 — Charles II
of Spain
1661–1700 — Ferdinand IV
King of the Romans
1633–1654 — Leopold I
HRE
1640–1705 — Charles Joseph
of Austria
1649–1664 - Joseph I
HRE
1678–1711 — Charles VI
HRE
1685–1740 - Lorraine
- Maria Theresa
HRE
1740–1780 — Francis I
HRE
1745–1765 - Habsburg-Lorraine
- Joseph II
HRE
1765–1790 — Leopold II
HRE
1790–1792 - Francis II
HRE
1792–1806 - Notes:
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 Lodge 1924, p. 273.
- Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 Back to citation occurrence 2.2 Hohkamp 2007, Figure 5.1.
- Back to citation "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
Bibliography
- Lodge, Eleanor Constance (1924). The End of the Middle Age, 1273-1453. Methuen & Company Limited.
- Hohkamp, Michaela (2007). "Sisters, Aunts, and Cousins: Familial Architectures and the Political Field in Early Modern Europe". In Sabean, David Warren; Mathieu, Jon; Teuscher, Simon (eds.). Kinship in Europe: Approaches to Long-Term Development (1300-1900). Berghahn Books.
External links
- Entry in Aeiou Encyclopedia