The possessions of the Guelfs in the days of Henry the Lion
The
House of Welf is a European
dynasty that has included many
German and
British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century.
The House of Welf is the older branch of the
House of Este, a dynasty whose oldest known members lived in
Lombardy in the 9th century. For this reason, it is sometimes also called
Welf-Este. The first member of this branch was
Welf IV; he inherited the property of the
Elder House of Welf when his maternal uncle
Welf, Duke of Carinthia, died in 1055. In 1070, Welf IV became duke of
Bavaria.
Welf V married Countess
Matilda of Tuscany who died childless and left him her possessions, including
Tuscany,
Ferrara,
Modena,
Mantua, and
Reggio, which played a role in the
Investiture controversy. Since the Welf dynasty sided with the Pope in this controversy, partisans of the Pope came to be known in Italy as "Guelphs"; see
Guelphs and Ghibellines.
Henry the Black, duke of Bavaria from 1120–1126, was the first of the three dukes of the Welf dynasty carrying the same name. His son,
Henry the Proud, duke of Bavaria and also of
Saxony, was the favoured candidate in the imperial election against
Conrad III of the
Hohenstaufen. Henry lost the election, as the other princes feared his power and temperament, and was dispossessed of his duchies by Conrad III.
Henry the Lion recovered his father's two duchies, Saxony in 1142, Bavaria in 1156. In 1158 he married
Matilda (1156–1189), the daughter of
Henry II of England and
Eleanor of Aquitaine, and sister of
Richard Lionheart. Dispossessed of his duchies after the
Battle of Legnano in 1176 by Emperor
Frederick I and the other princes of the German Empire eager to claim parts of his vast territories, he was exiled to the court of his father-in-law Henry II in Normandy in 1180, but returned to Germany three years later. Henry died in 1195.
His son
Otto of Brunswick was elected king and crowned emperor as
Otto IV.
His grandson
Otto the Child became 1235 the duke of a part of Saxony, the new so-called Duchy of
Brunswick-Lüneburg, and died there in 1252. The Welf dynasty of
Brunswick-Lüneburg would continue to rule in Hanover until the defeat of
George V of Hanover, Austria's ally in the
Austro-Prussian War when he was dethroned the Hanover annexed by
Prussia.
In 1692 the head of the cadet Calenberg line was raised to the status of an imperial
elector, and became known as the
Elector of Hanover. His son,
Georg Ludwig, inherited the British throne in 1714 as a result of the
Act of Settlement 1701. Members of the Welf dynasty continued to rule Great Britain until the death of
Queen Victoria in 1901; in Britain they were known as the
House of Hanover.
Hanover itself was raised to a kingdom in 1814, but was annexed by
Prussia following the
Austro-Prussian War of 1866, in which Hanover had sided with Austria. The senior line of the dynasty ruled the much smaller Duchy of
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. This line became extinct in 1884. Although the Duchy should have been inherited by the
Duke of Cumberland, son of the last king of Hanover, suspicions of his loyalty led the duchy's throne to remain vacant until 1913, when Cumberland's son,
Ernst August, married the daughter of
Kaiser Wilhelm II and was allowed to inherit the duchy. His rule there was short-lived, however, as the monarchy came to an end following the
First World War in 1918.
The Welf dynasty continues to exist. Its current head,
Ernst August, is the third and present husband of
Princess Caroline of Monaco.
See also
Welf family tree 12th century
