Born on September 21 1415 – Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1493) Frederick III (21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493), called the Peaceful, was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. Prior to his imperial coronation, he was hereditary Duke of Austria (as Frederick V) from 1424 and elected King of Germany (as Frederick IV) from 1440. He was the first emperor of the House of Habsburg. In 1493, he was succeeded by his son Maximilian I after ten years of joint rule. Born in Innsbruck, he was the son of Duke Ernest the Iron of the Leopoldian line of the Habsburg family, the ruler of Inner Austria, i.e. the duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, and of Ernests wife Cymburgis of Masovia. He became duke of Inner Austria as Frederick V upon his fathers death in 1424. In 1440 he was elected German king as Frederick IV and in 1452 crowned Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III by Pope Nicholas V. In 1452, at the age of 37, he married the 18-year-old Infanta Eleanor, daughter of King Edward of Portugal, whose dowry helped him to alleviate his debts and cement his power. In 1442, Frederick allied himself with Rudolf Stüssi, burgomaster of Zurich, against the Old Swiss Confederacy in the Old Zurich War (Alter Zürichkrieg). In 1448, he entered into the Vienna Concordat with the Holy See, which remained in force until 1806 and regulated the relationship between the Habsburgs and the Holy See. Frederick was the last Emperor to be crowned in Rome (his great-grandson Charles V was the last emperor to be crowned, but in Bologna). He opposed the reform of the Holy Roman Empire at that time and was barely able to prevent the electors from holding another election. Death: At the age of 77, Frederick III died at Linz when the amputation of his left leg caused him to bleed to death. His grave, built by Nikolaus Gerhaert von Leyden, in St. Stephens Cathedral, Vienna, is one of the most important works of sculptural art of the late Middle Ages. His amputated leg was buried with him. For the last ten years of Fredericks life, he and Maximilian ruled jointly.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 10:33:40 +0000
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