Coins of Bavaria.pdf - numismatas.com

Leopold 1139-1141
Leopold IV, the Generous (c. 1108–October 18, 1141) was Margrave of Austria from 1136 and Duke of Bavaria from 1139 until his
death.
He was one of the younger sons of Margrave Leopold III, the Holy. It is not known why he was originally preferred to his brothers
Adalbert and Henry Jasomirgott.
Through his mother Agnes, he was related to the Hohenstaufen. In the course of their struggle against the competing Welfen family,
he was given the formerly Welfish Bavaria as a fief by Emperor Conrad III. He managed to maintain his position there, as his
brother Otto was Bishop of Freising there.
The most important measure of his short reign was the Exchange of Mautern entered into with the Bishop of Passau in 1137. The
bishop was given the Church of St. Peter in Vienna, while the Margrave received extended stretches of land from the bishop outside
the city walls, with the notable exception of the territory where a new church was to be built, which was to become St.
Stephen's Cathedral.
Leopold died at Niederaltaich (Bavaria) unexpectedly and was succeeded by his brother Henry.
Henry XI Jasomirgott
Heinrich (Henry) II, (1107 – January 13, 1177), Count Palatine of the Rhine,
1140-1141, Margrave of Austria from 1141 to 1156 and, as Heinrich (Henry)
XI, also Duke of Bavaria from 1141 to 1156, Duke of Austria, 1156-1177, was
a prince of the Babenberg dynasty.
As the son of Markgrave Leopold III, he first became Count Palatine of the
Rhine until being appointed Duke of Bavaria and Margrave of Austria when
his brother Leopold IV unexpectedly died.
In the course of the dispute between the Welfen and Staufen dynasties in the
Holy Roman Empire, the duchy of Bavaria had been taken away from the
Welf Henry the Proud by the emperor and given to the Babenberg dynasty.
The new Emperor Friedrich I tried to reach a compromise with the Welfs and
endowed the son of Henry the Proud, Henry the Lion, with Bavaria in 1156. A
replacement had to be found for the Babenberg family, namely the
Privilegium Minus, by which Austria was elevated to a duchy and gained complete
independence from Bavaria.
Other than his father, who resided in Klosterneuburg for most of the time,
Henry moved his residence to Vienna in 1145. Only by this act could the
modern Austrian capital surpass cities such as Krems, Melk or
Klosterneuburg. Since then, it has remained the capital of the country. Also in
1147, St. Stephen's Cathedral was completed, which became a visible landmark
of the city, showing its prominence. In 1155, Henry founded the
Schottenstift monastery in Vienna, in the courtyard of which a statue of him
stands to this day.
Until 1143, he was married to Gertrud of Supplinburg, the daughter of
Emperor Lothar II. In 1148 he married Theodora Comnena, a niece of the
Byzantine Emperor Manuel I. Both marriages strongly show the importance of
the House of Babenberg in Central Europe in that period.
Henry's brother was the important chronicler Otto of Freising. His sister Judith was the wife of William V of Montferrat.
Henry's surname, Jasomirgott, was first documented during the 13th century in the form of Jochsamergott, the meaning of which
is unclear. According to one theory, it is derived from an Arab word bearing a connection to the Second Crusade where Henry
participated in 1146. According to a popular etymology, it is derived from the formula Ja so mir Gott helfe (meaning: "Yes, God
willing").