Statue by Ernst Herter, 1899, former
Siegesallee, Berlin
, called
the Brandenburger (May 1315 –
18 September 1361 in
Zorneding near
Munich) was
Duke of Bavaria and as
Louis I also
Margrave of Brandenburg and
Count of Tyrol. Louis V was the eldest son of
Emperor Louis IV and his first wife
Beatrix of Świdnica. He was a member of the
Wittelsbach dynasty.
Biography
Louis V was
Margrave of Brandenburg from 1323 onwards when he received the country as a fiefdom from his father. As such Louis contributed to the
Declaration at Rhense in 1338. The Wittelsbach rule in Brandenburg never got much popularity. As a consequence of the murder of
Provost Nikolaus von Bernau by
Berlin citizens in 1325 the town was punished with a papal
interdict. From 1328 onwards Louis was in war against the
Duchy of Pomerania which
he claimed as a fiefdom and the conflict did not end before 1333 when he had to resign.
In order to acquire
Tyrol for the Wittelsbach family, Louis V married
Margarete Maultasch in 1342 before she was divorced from her previous husband,
John Henry of Luxembourg. John Henry was a brother of
Emperor Charles IV and son of
John the Blind, who had deposed Margarete's father,
Henry of Gorizia-Tyrol as
King of Bohemia in 1310.
William of Ockham and
Marsilius of Padua defended this first "
civil marriage" in the Middle Ages. The Pope, however, excommunicated the couple and the scandal was known across Europe. Also Tyrol was punished with an interdict.
When his father died in 1347, Louis succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria and Count of
Holland and
Hainaut together with his five brothers. In 1349, Bavaria and the Wittelsbach possessions in the Netherlands were partitioned; he and his younger brothers
Louis VI the Roman and
Otto V the Bavarian received
Upper Bavaria. His brothers
Stephen II,
William I and
Albert I received
Lower Bavaria, Holland and Hainaut.
The banned Louis could not apply for the German crown and his party tried to move
Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen to the acceptance of the German crown, however, he mistrusted the inconstancy of his voters and rejected the request. Louis then negotiated with his father's ally
Edward III of England to compete against the new German king
Charles IV. Edward was elected
10 January 1348 at
Lahnstein but resigned already four months later. Finally the Wittelsbach party elected
Günther von Schwarzburg as
anti-king in 1349. Louis V successfully resisted
Charles IV even though Günther von Schwarzburg's kingship failed. He managed to keep all possessions for the
Wittelsbach dynasty until his death.
First Louis successfully repulsed an attack of Charles IV against Tyrol in 1347. In alliance with
Denmark and Pomerania Louis V then drove back a revolt in 1348 - 1350 caused by the "False Waldemar," an imposter who claimed Brandenburg and got support from several cities and Charles IV. The civil war caused a huge devastation in Brandenburg. In march of 1350 Louis came to terms with Charles IV and the conflict ended.
In 1349 and 1351 Louis issued two decrees to relieve the consequences of the
plague.
Louis released Brandenburg in December 1351 to his brothers
Louis VI the Roman and
Otto V the Bavarian in exchange for the sole rule of Upper Bavaria. Louis then combined the administration of Upper Bavaria and Tyrol.
With the
Golden Bull of 1356 only the Palatinate branch of the Wittelsbach and Louis VI the Roman as margrave of Brandenburg were invested with the
electoral dignity, which caused a new conflict between Louis and Charles IV.
Louis had good relations with his
Habsburg relatives and arbitrated during the conflicts of
Albert II, Duke of Austria with
Switzerland. With their support, Louis and his consort Margarete were absolved from the excommunication in 1359. Louis suddenly died in September of 1361 during a ride from Tyrol to Munich and was succeeded by his son
Meinhard.
He is buried at the
Frauenkirche in
Munich.
Family and children
He was married two times.
- # Elisabeth of Bavaria (1326?-1345?)
- # Hermann of Bavaria (Mar 1343-1360)
Ancestors
Map
Category:1315 birthsCategory:1361 deathsCategory:Dukes of BavariaCategory:Counts of TyrolCategory:House of WittelsbachCategory:Burials at Munich FrauenkircheCategory:Margraves of Brandenburgcs:Ludvík V. Bavorskýde:Ludwig V. (Bayern)fr:Louis V de Bavièreit:Ludovico V di Bavieranl:Lodewijk V van Beierenpl:Ludwik V Bawarskiru:Людвиг V (герцог Баварии)
