Battle of Mühldorf
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Mühldorf was fought near Mühldorf am Inn
Mühldorf
Mühldorf am Inn is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the district Mühldorf on the river Inn. It is located at , and had a population of about 17,808 in 2005.-History:...

 on September 28, 1322 between the Duchy of (Upper) Bavaria
History of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empires to its status as an independent kingdom and, finally, as a large and significant Bundesland of the modern Federal Republic of...

 and Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...

. The Bavarians were led by the German king Louis of Wittelsbach
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....

, while the Austrians were under the command of his cousin, antiking Frederick of Habsburg.

Background

The early 14th century saw the powerful dynasties of Habsburg, Luxembourg
House of Luxembourg
The House of Luxembourg was a late medieval German dynasty, which between 1308 and 1437 ruled the Holy Roman Empire, twice interrupted by the rivaling House of Wittelsbach.-History:...

 and Wittelsbach rivaling for the rule over the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

, while the prince-electors were anxious not to allow one noble family to install a hereditary monarchy. After the death of Emperor Henry VII of Luxembourg
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VII was the King of Germany from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312. He was the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg...

 in 1313 the electoral college denied the succession of his son John of Bohemia and instead accorded its favour to Louis of Wittelsbach and Frederick of Habsburg, however split over the question who to choose.

Therefore in 1314 a double election took place at Frankfurt: Cologne, the Palatinate, Bohemia
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a country located in the region of Bohemia in Central Europe, most of whose territory is currently located in the modern-day Czech Republic. The King was Elector of Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, whereupon it became part of the Austrian Empire, and...

 and the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg
Saxe-Wittenberg
The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. As the precursor of the Saxon Electorate, the Ascanian Wittenberg dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity.-Ascanian...

 voted for Frederick as Rex Romanorum. Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...

, Archbishopric of Trier
Archbishopric of Trier
The Archbishopric of Trier was a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany, that existed from Carolingian times until the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Its suffragans were the dioceses of Metz, Toul and Verdun. Since the 9th century the Archbishops of Trier were simultaneously princes and since the 11th...

, Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....

 and Elector John II of Saxe-Lauenburg (whose electoral dignity was denied by their Saxe-Wittenberg cousins) adopted Louis.

The draw resulted into an enduring conflict with violent fights, in which both contrahents tried to gain the support of the Imperial estates
Imperial State
An Imperial State or Imperial Estate was an entity in the Holy Roman Empire with a vote in the Imperial Diet assemblies. Several territories of the Empire were not represented, while some officials were non-voting members; neither qualified as Imperial States.Rulers of Imperial States were...

. Louis in addition had to settle the domestic dispute with his brother Count Palatine Rudolf I
Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria
Rudolf I of Bavaria , a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine...

 (who had voted against him), which finally ended with Rudolf's death in 1319. Meanwhile Frederick continued his campaigns into Bavaria, devastating Louis' duchy several times without meeting much resistance.

The battle

Frederick, encouraged by his previous expeditions, in 1322 allied with the Bishop of Passau and the Salzburg Archbishopric
Archbishopric of Salzburg
The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an ecclesiastical State of the Holy Roman Empire, its territory roughly congruent with the present-day Austrian state of Salzburg....

. Their armed forces met on September 24 near Mühldorf on the Inn River
Inn River
The Inn is a river in Switzerland, Austria and Germany. It is a right tributary of the Danube and is approximately 500km long. The highest point of its drainage basin is the summit of Piz Bernina, at 4,049 metres.- Geography :...

, where Frederick expected the arrival of further troops from Further Austria
Further Austria
Further Austria or Anterior Austria was the collective name for the old possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, including territories in the Alsace region west of the Rhine and in Vorarlberg, after the focus of the Habsburgs had moved to the...

, led by his brother Leopold
Leopold I, Duke of Austria
Leopold I from the House of Habsburg was Duke of Austria and Styria – as co-ruler with his elder brother Frederick the Fair – from 1308 until his death...

.

The battle did not go well for the Austrians: Louis had forged an alliance with John of Bohemia and Burggrave Frederick IV of Nuremberg
Frederick IV, Burgrave of Nuremberg
Frederick IV of Nuremberg , Burgrave of Nuremberg from House of Hohenzollern. He was younger son of Frederick III of Nuremberg from his second marriage with Helene of Saxony.-Life:...

 and on September 28 reached Mühldorf with a sizable army, while Leopold's relief troops were barred from reaching the battlefield in time. Despite this unfavourable situation Frederick agreed to meet Louis' knights at once. His army was defeated by Louis outnumbering forces under high losses on both sides. More than 1000 noblemen from Austria and Salzburg were captured, as was Frederick himself.

Aftermath

Though Louis had prevailed, his royal title remained contested, especially by Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...

 and Frederick's brother Leopold, who remained a fierce opponent. After three years Louis had to release Frederick from captivity and reconcile with him, even offering him a joint rule and the Rex Romanorum title in return for his support to receive the Imperial crown. Neither the House of Wittelsbach nor the Habsburgs were able to defend their claims to the royal title, which after Louis' death in 1347 again passed to Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

from the House of Luxembourg.
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