Relationship to King Rudolph I
Rudolf I, also called Rudolf of Habsburg, (born May 1, 1218, Limburg-im-Breisgau [Germany]—died July 15, 1291, Speyer), first German king of the Habsburg dynasty.
A son of Albert IV, Count of Habsburg, Rudolf on the occasion of his father’s death (c.1239) inherited lands in upper Alsace, the Aargau, and Breisgau. A partisan of the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman emperor Frederick II and his son Conrad IV, he increased his territories largely at the expense of his uncle, Count Hartmann of Kyburg, and his cousin, Count Hartmann the Younger, who supported the papal cause against the Hohenstaufens. Rudolf’s first marriage (c.1245), to Gertrude of Zollern-Hohenberg-Haigerloch, also added considerable property to his domains. In 1254 he assisted the Knights of the Teutonic Order by participating in a crusade in Prussia.
Rudolf ’s election as German king at Frankfurt was hastened by the desire of the electors to exclude an increasingly powerful rival candidate of non-German birth, Otakar II of Bohemia. Crowned at Aachen on Oct. 24, 1273, Rudolf was recognized by Pope Gregory X in September 1274 on the condition that he would renounce all imperial rights in Rome, in the papal territories, and in Italy and to lead a new crusade. In 1275 the pope managed to persuade Alfonso X of Castile (whom some of the German electors had chosen king in April 1257) to abandon his claim to the German crown.
Meanwhile Otakar II of Bohemia had been gaining control of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. When in 1274 Otakar refused to appear before an imperial diet to show cause for his actions, Rudolf placed him under the ban of the empire and led an army into Austria, where he defeated Otakar in 1276. In 1278 Otakar, attempting to reconquer the territories he had lost to Rudolf, invaded Austria; he was again defeated and killed at the Battle of Dürnkrut (August 26).
In 1282 Rudolf received permission from the German princes to grant to his sons the territories recovered from Otakar, and in December of that year he granted Austria and Styria to his sons Albert and Rudolf, thus constituting the territorial nucleus of the future Habsburg power.
Rudolf combated the expansionist policy of France on his western frontier by marrying (his first wife having died in 1281) Isabella, daughter of Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy, and by compelling Otto IV, Count Palatine of Franche-Comté, to pay homage (1289). French influence at the papal court, however, prevented Rudolf from being crowned Holy Roman emperor by the pope.
Rudolf made great efforts, in concert with the territorial princes, to enforce the public peace (Landfriede) in Germany, and in 1274 he reasserted the right of the monarchy to impose taxation on the cities. He was, however, unsuccessful in his efforts, between 1287 and 1291, to secure the election of his elder son Albert as German king or king of the Romans. The German electors were determined that the crown should not become a hereditary possession of the House of Habsburg, and thus the electors’ freedom of action remained intact at the time of Rudolf’s death.
Gertrude was born in Deilingen, Swabiato Count Burkhard V of Hohenberg (died 1253) and his wife Matilda (Mechtild), daughter of Count Palatine Rudolf II of Tübingen. The comital Hohenbergdynasty, a cadet branch of the Swabian House of Hohenzollern, then ruled over extended estates in southwestern Germany. Citing contemporary sources, Gertrude’s descent was questioned by the Swisshistorian Aegidius Tschudi(1505–1572), who postulated a Frohburglineage; nevertheless, his objections have been disproved.
About 1251 in Alsace, Gertrude married Rudolf (1218–1291), son of Count Albert IV of Habsburgand Heilwig of Kyburg. She went on to live with her husband as a comital couple in Rheinfelden. They had eleven children:
- Matilda(c. 1253, Rheinfelden – 23 December 1304, Munich), married 1273 in Aachento Louis II, Duke of Bavariaand became mother of Rudolf I, Count Palatine of the Rhineand Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
- Albert I of Germany(July 1255 – 1 May 1308), Duke of Austriaand also of Styria.
- Catherine (1256 – 4 April 1282, Landshut), married 1279 in Viennato Otto III, Duke of Bavariawho later (after her death) became the disputed King Bela V of Hungaryand left no surviving issue.
- Agnes[Gertrude] (c. 1257 – 11 October 1322, Wittenberg), married 1273 to Albert II, Duke of Saxonyand became the mother of Rudolf I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg.
- Hedwig(c. 1259 – 26 January 1285/27 October 1286), married 1270 in Vienna to Otto VI, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedeland left no issue.
- Clementia(c. 1262 – after 7 February 1293), married 1281 in Vienna to Charles Martel of Anjou, the Papal claimant to the throne of Hungaryand mother of king Charles I of Hungary, as well as of queen Clementia of France, herself the mother of the baby king John I of France.
- Hartmann (1263, Rheinfelden – 21 December 1281), drowned in Rheinau.
- Rudolf II, Duke of Austria and Styria (1270 – 10 May 1290, Prague), titular Duke of Swabia, father of John the Patricide of Austria.
- Judith of Habsburg(Jutte/Bona) (13 March 1271 – 18 June 1297, Prague), married 24 January 1285 to King Wenceslaus II of Bohemiaand became the mother of king Wenceslaus III of Bohemia, Poland and Hungary, of queen Anne of Bohemia (1290–1313), duchess of Carinthia, and of queen Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330), countess of Luxembourg.
- Samson (before 19 Oct 1275 – died young).
- Charles (14 February 1276 – 16 August 1276).
Gertrude’s husband was elected King of the Romans(as Rudolf I) in Frankfurton 29 September 1273. The election was largely due to the efforts of her cousin Burgrave Frederick III of Nuremberg. Rudolf was crowned in Aachen Cathedralon 24 October 1273. As “Queen Anne” (Anna Regina) she served as his consort for the following eight years. Reluctant to interfere in politics, she witnessed Rudolf’s struggles to secure his rule against the rivalling King Ottokar II of Bohemia, as well as his fruitless efforts to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
Gertrude died early in 1281 at her husband’s residence in Viennaafter a short severe illness. According to her will, she was buried in Basel Minster, alongside her youngest son Charles. King Rudolf, though he had engaged in lengthy conflicts with the Prince-Bishops of Basel, gave his consent to the funeral which took place on March 20. Centuries later, her mortal remains were solemnly transferred to Saint Blaise Abbeyin 1770; today they rest at Saint Paul’s Abbeyin Carinthia.
King Rudolf remained a widower for three years and proceeded to marry Isabella of Burgundy.
