Otto III, Duke of Carinthia

Otto III
Duke of Carinthia
Spouse(s) Euphemia of Legnica
Noble family Meinhardiner
Father Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia
Mother Elisabeth of Bavaria
Born c. 1265
Died 25 May 1310(1310-05-25)

Otto III (c.1265 – 25 May 1310), a member of the House of Gorizia (Meinhardiner dynasty), was Duke of Carinthia and Count of Tyrol from 1295 until his death. He ruled jointly with his younger brothers Louis and Henry VI.

Life

Otto was a son of Duke Meinhard of Carinthia and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria, widow of the Hohenstaufen king Conrad IV of Germany. His father was enfeoffed with the Carinthian duchy by King Rudolf I of Germany in 1286, in turn for his support of the Habsburgs against King Ottokar II of Bohemia. Otto's sister Elizabeth was married to Rudolf's son Albert of Habsburg and became German queen in 1298.

When Duke Meinhard died in 1295, his sons inherited a well-organized country, as their father had laid the foundation for an efficient administration by fostering ministeriales and creating the Tyrolean Raitbuch (internal record book). Otto signed a border treaty with the neighbouring Bishopric of Brixen, establishing the confluence of the Adige and the Avisio as the border between Tyrol and Brixen. Otto's brothers Albert (d. 1292), Louis and Henry VI were appointed Vogts of the Bishops of Trent.

Otto's brother-in-law Albert of Habsburg, elected King of the Romans in 1298, granted him several tolls. However, Otto's lavish court was a burden on his finances. Most notable of his economic policies was the expansion and securing of the market in Gries (now part of Bolzano) in 1305 competing with the market in the central town of Bolzano, which was dominated by the bishop.

Otto died in 1310 without a male heir. As his brothers Albert and Louis had already died in 1292 and 1305, respectively, he was succeeded by his youngest brother, Duke Henry VI.

Marriage and issue

In 1297 Otto married Duchess Euphemia (1281–1347),[1] a daughter of the Silesian duke Henry V of Legnica.[2] They had four daughters:

References

Footnotes

Otto III, Duke of Carinthia
Born: around 1265 Died: 25 May 1310
Preceded by
Meinhard
Duke of Carinthia
Margrave of Carniola

1295–1310
Succeeded by
Henry VI
Count of Tyrol
1295–1310
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, July 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.