Rupert, King of Germany

Rupert of the Palatinate
Rupert of Germany, contemporary painting in the Stiftskirche, Neustadt an der Weinstraße
King of Germany
Reign	21 August 1400-18 May 1410
Predecessor	Wenceslaus
Successor	Sigismund
Spouse	Elisabeth of Nuremberg
Issue
Margaret, Duchess of Lorraine Louis III, Elector Palatine
House	House of Wittelsbach
Father	Rupert II, Elector Palatine
Mother	Beatrice of Sicily
Born	(1352-05-05)5 May 1352 Amberg
Died	18 May 1410(1410-05-18) (aged 58) Landskron Castle, Oppenheim

Rupert with his wife, Elisabeth of Nurnberg

Rupert and his wife Elisabeth of Nuremberg, detail from their tomb in the Holy Spirit Church, Heidelberg

Rupert (German: Ruprecht; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410) was Elector Palatine from 1398 and German King (rex Romanorum) from 1400 until his death. He was the son of Elector Palatine Rupert II and Beatrice, daughter of King Peter II of Sicily. Rupert's granduncle was Emperor Louis IV.

Life

Rupert was born at Amberg, 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-electors who met at Lahneck Castle in Oberlahnstein on 20 August 1400 and declared King Wenceslaus deposed. On the next day the same four electors met at Rhens 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, though Wenceslaus himself did not take any action to regain his title. After Rupert had won some recognition in Southern Germany, Rupert made an expedition to the Italian kingdom, where he hoped to receive the Imperial crown and to crush the rule of Gian Galeazzo Visconti over the thriving Duchy of Milan. In the autumn of 1401 he crossed the Alps, but his troops, checked before Brescia, 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 by the marriage of his son Louis with Blanche, daughter of King Henry IV in 1401 and in October 1403 he was recognized by Pope Boniface IX. 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 in 1406, Rupert was compelled to make certain concessions. The quarrel was complicated by the Papal Schism, but the king was just beginning to make some headway when he died at his castle of Landskrone near Oppenheim on 18 May 1410 and was buried at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg. His achievements earned him the surname clemens. He was succeeded as Count Palatine by his son Louis.

Family and children

He was married in Amberg on 27 June 1374 to Elisabeth of Nuremberg, daughter of Burgrave Frederick V of Hohenzollern and Elisabeth of Meissen. They had the following children:

1. Rupert Pipan (20 February 1375, Amberg – 25 January 1397, Amberg)
2. Margaret (1376 – 27 August 1434, Nancy), married on 6th of February in 1393 to Charles II, Duke of Lorraine
3. Frederick (ca. 1377, Amberg – 7 March 1401, Amberg)
4. Louis III, Elector Palatine (23 January 1378 – 30 December 1436, Heidelberg)
5. Agnes (1379 – 1401, Heidelberg), married in Heidelberg shortly before March 1400 to Duke Adolph I of Cleves
6. Elisabeth (27 October 1381 – 31 December 1408, Innsbruck), married in Innsbruck 24 December 1407 to Duke Frederick IV of Austria
7. Count Palatine John of Neumarkt (1383, Neunburg vorm Wald – 13–14 March 1443)
8. Count Palatine Stephen of Simmern-Zweibrücken (23 June 1385 – 14 February 1459, Simmern)
9. Count Palatine Otto I of Mosbach (24 August 1390, Mosbach – 5 July 1461)

Ancestors

Legacy

Rupert commissioned the Ruprecht building in Heidelberg castle.

See also

• Kings of Germany family tree. He was related to every other king of Germany.

References

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rupert (king)". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press 

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