Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria

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Rudolf IV of Austria. This portrait is the first half frontal portrait of the Occident. It had been on display above his grave in the Stephansdom of Vienna for several decades after his death, but can now be seen in the Museum of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. Apart from the (invented) archdukal crown, the foreshortening of which the artist did not completely master, the portrait is completely realistic. Even the duke's incipient facioplegia is shown.

Rudolf IV der Stifter (the Founder) (November 1, 1339 – July 27, 1365) was a member of the House of Habsburg and Duke and self-proclaimed Archduke of Austria from 1358 to 1365.

[edit] Biography

Rudolf was born in Vienna, the eldest son of Albert II and Johanna von Pfirt. He was a member of the third generation of Habsburg dukes in Austria. He was the first of his line born in the country and considered it his home, which considerably contributed to his popularity. One of the most energetic and active rulers of Austria in the late Middle Ages, it was said of him that as a young man he already had the air of a king.

He was married to Katharine of Bohemia making him the son-in-law of Emperor Charles IV.

His eagerness to compete with his father-in-law, who raised Prague to a radiant center of culture, was an important motivation of his plans and decisions. As Charles did with Prague, Rudolf desired to raise the importance of Vienna, which is stressed in many of the documents of his time.

One thing that had bothered all Austrian dukes for more than a century was the fact Vienna was not the residence of a bishop, but still part of the diocese of Passau. This state of affairs was considered awkward for a ducal residence. With the Bishops of Passau having excellent connections to the Pope, the project to establish a bishopric in Vienna was bound to fail. Instead, Rudolf resorted to something which could be considered imposture: He initiated the creation of a Metropolitan Chapter (which, according to the name, should be assigned to a bishop) in the Cathedral of Saint Stephan (Stephansdom), whose members wore red garments as cardinals do. The provost of the chapter received the title of Arch-Chancellor of Austria.

The decipherment of the epitaph accompanying the cenotaph, or symbolic tomb, of Duke Rudolph IV in the Stephansdom in Vienna. The translation of the secret writing into English is "This is the sepulchre of Rudolph, by the Grace of God, Duke and Founder" and "Almighty God and great lord Jesus Christ, a shepherd." Rudolf was, in fact, never buried within the almost-solid stone structure, but in the Ducal Crypt of the Stephansdom in Vienna. The text is written using the Alphabetum Kaldeorum, a code he probably invented.

The extension of the Stephansdom itself was no bluff, with the construction of its gothic nave being started under Rudolf's rule. Rudolf had himself be depicted on the cathedral's entrance. The construction efforts can be seen as an attempt to compete with St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

Similarly, the University of Vienna, which was founded by Rudolf in 1365, was expected to match the Charles University of Prague founded by Charles IV in 1348. It is still known as Alma Mater Rudolphina today and is the oldest continuing university in the German-speaking world. However, a faculty of theology, which was considered crucial for a university at that time, was not established until 1385, twenty years after Rudolf's death.

Rudolf introduced many other measures to improve the economy of Vienna such as the mayor's duty to supervise sales of real property, which was meant to prevent sales to the dead hand, i.e. economically unproductive church ownership. Rudolf also managed to establish a relatively stable currency, the so-called Wiener Pfennig (Vienna Penny).

Rudolf is most known for another bluff, the forgery of the Privilegium Maius, which de facto put him on par with the Electors of the Holy Roman Empire after Austria had not received an electoral vote in the Golden Bull. The title of Archduke, invented at this opportunity, became a honorific title of all males of the House of Habsburg in the 16th century.

In 1363, he entered into a contract of inheritance with the Countess Margarete Maultasch of the Tyrol which brought the Tyrol under Austrian rule after her death.

He concluded with his father-in-law the Contract of Inheritance of Brno of 1364 which provided for mutual inheritance between the Habsburgs and Luxemburg.

In spite of the high-flying (and maybe sometimes megalomaniac) character of his plans, he managed to modernize his territories and his residential city, the prominence of which considerably increased. His untimely death stopped his plans, as his brothers Albert III and Leopold III, who should have ruled jointly under the Rudolfinische Hausordnung (Rudolfinian House Rules), began to quarrel without remorse and decided to divide the Habsburg territories between them in 1379.

Rudolf is also remembered for founding Novo Mesto in Slovenia whose German name, Rudolfswert, was given in his honor.

Rudolf died in Milan in 1365. He and his wife are buried in the Ducal Crypt in the Stephansdom in Vienna.

Preceded by Albert II	Duke of Styria 1358–1365	Succeeded by Albert III and Leopold III
	Duke of Austria 1358–1365
	Duke of Carinthia 1358–1365
	Count of Tyrol 1358–1365