William, Duke of Austria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William, Duke of Austria
Seal of William of Austria
Spouse(s)	Joanna II of Naples
Noble family	House of Habsburg
Father	Leopold III, Duke of Austria
Mother	Viridis Visconti
Born	c. 1370 Vienna
Died	15 July 1406(1406-07-15) Vienna
Buried	Ducal Crypt in the Stephansdom in Vienna

William the Courteous (c. 1370 – 15 July 1406)^[1] was a member and head of the Leopoldinian Line, ruler of Carinthia, Styria and Carniola.

Born in Vienna, he was the oldest son of Duke Leopold the Just and his wife, Viridis Visconti, and ruled in Carinthia, Styria and Carniola.

His engagement with Hedwig of Hungary, youngest daughter of the neighboring king, was one of the first attempts of the House of Habsburg to extend their sphere of influence in Eastern Central Europe by marrying heiresses, a practice that gave rise to the phrase Bella gerant alii: tu felix Austria nube (Let others make war: thou happy Austria, marry). William's interests lay in having Hungarian lands, which Hedwig's father, King Louis I of Hungary, intended to leave to her.

Fate reversed part of these plans, however: Hedwig was chosen as queen regnant of Poland, a country far north of Austria, and was confirmed in that position in 1384. The 14-year-old William was repudiated, because, from the Polish point of view, there were more fitting marriage prospects for their 11-year-old queen. After the engagement was dissolved, William married Hedwig's relative, another Angevin and also heiress presumptive, Joanna of Naples. However, the marriage did not produce any offspring and William did not live to see his wife succeed her brother as Queen Joanna II.

In 1394, after death of his first cousin, Duke Albert the Patient, he tried to obtain control over the lands of the Albertinian Line's territories during the minority of Albert the Magnanimous. However, he never achieved that.

William died in 1406 in Vienna. He is buried in the Dukes' Catacomb in Vienna's Cathedral of Saint Stephan.

Ancestors

Ancestors of William, Duke of Austria

16. Rudolph I of Germany

8. Albert I of Germany

17. Gertrude of Hohenburg

4. Albert II, Duke of Austria

18. Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia

9. Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol

19. Elisabeth of Bavaria

2. Leopold III, Duke of Austria

20. Theobald II of Pfirt

10. Ulrich III of Pfirt

21. Catherine of Klingen

5. Joanna of Pfirt

22. Reginald of Burgundy

11. Joanna of Burgundy

23. Guillemette of Neufchâtel

1. William, Duke of Austria

24. Matteo I Visconti

12. Stefano Visconti

25. Violante Bonacosa Borri

6. Bernabò Visconti

26. Barnabo Doria

13. Valentina Doria

27. Eliana Fieschi

3. Viridis Visconti

28. Alboino I della Scala

14. Mastino II della Scala

29. Beatrice da Correggio

7. Beatrice Regina della Scala

30. Jacopo I da Carrara

15. Taddea da Carrara

31. Anna Gradenigo

References

↑ "Early Habsburg". European Heraldry. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

Regnal titles
William, Duke of Austria House of Habsburg Born: c. 1370 Died: 15 July 1406
Preceded by Leopold the Just	Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola 1386–1406	Succeeded by Ernest the Iron
Preceded by Leopold the Just	Count of Tyrol 1386–1406	Succeeded by Frederick of the Empty Pockets

Persondata
Name	William, Duke of Austria
Alternative names	Wilhelm, Herzog von Österreich (German); Wilhelm der Ehrgeizige (German nickname)
Short description	Duke of Inner Austria (1386-1406)
Date of birth	c. 1370
Place of birth	Vienna
Date of death	1406-7-15
Place of death	Vienna

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.