Leopold the Virtuous, kneeling, receives the red-white-red banner by Emperor Henry VI, Babenberger Stammbaum, Klosterneuburg monastery, about 1490
(1157 –
December 31,
1194),
the Virtuous, was a
Babenberg duke of
Austria from 1177 to 1194 and
Styria from 1192 to 1194. Leopold was the son of
Henry II Jasomirgott and his
Byzantine wife,
Theodora Comnena.
Theodora Comnena was a daughter of
Andronicus Comnenus (the second eldest son of the
Byzantine Emperor,
John II Komnenos) and Eirene (?Aineiadissa).
Life
Duke of Austria
Leopold succeeded his father as Duke of Austria upon that man's death on 13 January 1177. Soon after becoming Duke, Leopold lent his support to
Frederick of Bohemia in his struggle against Duke
Sobeslaus II, who had campaigned in the Austrian duchy, and in 1179, Leopold reached a peace agreement with
Bohemia. On 17 August 1186, he negotiated the
Georgenberg Pact with
Ottokar IV of Styria, by which
Styria and the central part of
Upper Austria were amalgamated into the
Duchy of Austria after 1192. This was the first step towards the creation of modern
Austria.
Third Crusade and Aftermath
Leopold is mainly remembered outside Austria for his participation in the
Third Crusade. He arrived to take part in the
siege of Acre in spring 1191, having sailed from
Zadar on the
Adriatic coast. He took over command of what remained of the imperial forces after the death of
Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia in January. According to legend his tunic was blood-soaked after the fights and when he doffed his belt, a white stripe appeared.
Emperor Henry VI granted him the privilege to adopt these colours as his new banner, that later would become the
Flag of Austria.
After Acre had surrendered, the banners of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem,
Richard I of England,
Philip II of France and Leopold's ducal flag were raised in the city by Leopold's cousin,
Conrad of Montferrat. However, Richard removed Leopold's colours (see
Siege of Acre) and the duke wrathfully left for his Austrian home, where he arrived by the end of 1191. Richard was also suspected of involvement in the murder of Conrad, shortly after his election as
King of Jerusalem in April 1192.
On his journey back that winter, Richard, travelling in disguise, shortly before Christmas 1192 had to stop near
Vienna, where he was recognized (supposedly because of his signet ring) and arrested in Erdberg (modern
Landstraße district). For some time the king was imprisoned in
Dürnstein, and in March 1193 was brought before Emperor Henry VI at
Trifels Castle, accused of Conrad's murder. Leopold's share of the immense ransom, supposedly six thousand buckets - about 23 tons - of
silver, became the foundation for the mint in Vienna, and was used to build new
city walls for Vienna, as well as to found the towns of
Wiener Neustadt and
Friedberg in Styria. However, the duke was
excommunicated by
Pope Celestine III for having taken a fellow
crusader prisoner.
Marriage and Children
In 1172, Leopold married
Helena, a daughter of King
Géza II of Hungary. By her, Leopold had at least two children (both sons):
Death
In 1194, Leopold's foot was crushed when
his horse fell on him at a
tournament in
Graz. He died of
gangrene, still under excommunication, and was buried at
Heiligenkreuz Abbey.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Leopold V of Austria
Footnotes
