William, Duke of Austria - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

William the Courteous was a member and head of the Leopoldinian Line, ruler of Carinthia, Styria and Carniola

Carniola

Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...

.

Born in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, he was the oldest son of Duke Leopold the Just and his wife, Viridis Visconti

Viridis Visconti

Viridis Visconti was an Italian noblewoman, a daughter of Bernabò Visconti and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala. By her marriage to Leopold III, Duke of Austria, Viridis was Duchess consort of Austria, Styria and Carinthia, she was also Countess consort of Tyrol.- Family :Viridis was born in...

, and ruled in Carinthia, Styria and Carniola

Carniola

.

His engagement with Hedwig of Hungary, youngest daughter of the neighboring king, was one of the first attempts of the House of Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

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

House of Anjou

The Angevins, also known as the House of Anjou, were a noble family founded in the early years of the Carolingian Empire. They first emerged as part of the minor feudal nobility, in what would soon be known as the Kingdom of France during the 10th century...

and also heiress presumptive, Joan of Naples

Joan II of Naples

Joan II was Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death, upon which the senior Angevin line of Naples became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary....

. However, the marriage did not produce any offspring and William did not live to see his wife succeed her brother as Queen Joan 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

Albertinian Line

The Albertinian line was a line of the Habsburg dynasty, begun by Albert III, who, after death of his brother Rudolf IV the Founder, split the Habsburg territories with his brother. Albert was the prince of the Duchy of Austria, while the southern territories were ruled by his brother - Leopold III...

's territories during the minority of Albert the Magnanimous

Albert II of Germany

Albert the Magnanimous KG was King of Hungary from 1438 until his death. He was also King of Bohemia, elected King of Germany as Albert II, duke of Luxembourg and, as Albert V, archduke of Austria from 1404.-Biography:Albert was born in Vienna as the son of Albert IV, Duke of Austria, and Johanna...

. However, he never achieved that.

William died in 1406 in Vienna. He is buried in the Dukes' Catacomb

Ducal Crypt (Vienna)

The Ducal Crypt is a mausoleum under the chancel of the Stephansdom in Vienna, Austria. It holds 78 containers with the bodies, hearts, or viscera of 72 members of the Habsburg dynasty.-History:...

in Vienna's Cathedral of Saint Stephan

Stephansdom

St. Stephen's Cathedral is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP...

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