William IV, Duke of Bavaria

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William IV of Bavaria

William IV of Bavaria (German: Wilhelm IV., Herzog von Bayern), 13 November 1493 – 7 March 1550, was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria.

He was born in Munich to Albert IV and Kunigunde of Austria, a daughter of Emperor Frederick III.

William first showed sympathy for the reformation but then decided to stop its expansion in Bavaria. In 1522 William IV issued the first Bavarian religion mandate. It is a censorship regulation, which places the spreading and a reading from Martin Luther's bibliography under punishment. After an agreement with Pope Clement VII in 1524 William became a political leader of German Counter reformation but was in opposition against Habsburg since his brother Louis X claimed the Bohemian crown. Both dukes also suppressed the uprising of farmers in South Germany in an alliance with the archbishop of Salzburg in 1525.

The conflict with Habsburg ended in 1534 when both dukes reached an agreement with Ferdinand I in Linz. Later William supported Charles V in his war against the Schmalkaldic League in 1546.

With his collection of paintings William became the founder of the Old Pinakothek. In 1516 he edicted his famous purity regulation for Bavarian Beer which was only abolished in 1986 by Paneuropean regulations of the European Union.

William is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.

[edit] Family and children

In 1522 William married Jakobaea of Baden (1507-1580); they had four children:

Theodo of Bavaria (1526-02-10-1534-07-08)
Duke Albert V of Bavaria (1528-1579)
Wilhelm of Bavaria (1529-02-17-1530-10-22)
Mechthild of Bavaria (1532-07-12-1565-11-02), married in 1557 Philibert of Baden (1536-1569)

Also he had two illegitimate children: A son Knight Georg v.Hegnenberg (c.1509 - 1590) with Margarete Hausner v.Stettberg and a daughter Anna (died 1570) with an unknown woman