Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto IV of Brunswick (1175 or 1176 - 19 May 1218) was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he was deposed in 1215.

Otto was born in Braunschweig, the son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, and Matilda Plantagenet.

He grew up in England in the care of his grandfather King Henry II. Otto became a friend of Richard I of England, who attempted to make him Earl of York, and, through marriage, king of Scotland. Both attempts failed, and so in 1196, he was made count of Poitou. He participated in the war against France on the side of Richard.

After the death of Emperor Henry VI, some of the princes of the Empire elected his brother, Philip, Duke of Swabia, king in March 1198. Those princes opposed to the Staufen dynasty decided, on the initiative of Richard of England, to elect instead a member of the House of Welf, motivated by the ongoing rivalry between the two houses. Otto's elder brother, Henry, was on a crusade at this time, and so the choice fell to Otto. He was elected king by the princes of northern Germany in Cologne on 9 June 1198. Otto took control of Aachen, the place of coronation, and was crowned by Adolf, Archbishop of Cologne, on 12 July 1198. The coronation was done with fake regalia, because the real regalia were in the hands of the Staufen.

Otto's election pulled the Empire into the conflict between England and France, since Philip allied himself with France, and Otto was being supported by England. In 1200/1201, Pope Innocent III announced that he recognized Otto as the only legitimate king. In return, Otto promised to support the Pope's interests in Italy. In the following years, Otto's situation worsened because after England's defeat against France he lost his financial support from England. Many of his allies changed sides to Philip â€" even his brother Henry. Otto was defeated and wounded in battle by Philip on 27 July 1206 near Wassenberg, and as a consequence also lost the support of the Pope. Otto was forced to retire to his possessions near Braunschweig.

However, Philip was murdered two years later, on 8 June 1208. After Philip's death, Otto made amends with the Staufen party and became engaged to Philip's daughter Beatrix. In an election in Frankfurt, 11 November 1208, he gained the support of all the electoral princes. He was crowned emperor by Pope Innocent on 4 October 1209.

In contradiction to his earlier promises, Otto worked to restore imperial power in Italy, and was excommunicated by the Pope for this in 1210. In 1211, he tried to conquer Sicily, which was held by the Staufen king Frederick Roger. While Otto was in southern Italy, several princes of the Empire, at the instigation of by King Philip II of France and with the consent of the Pope, elected Frederick Roger king at the Diet of Nuremberg. Otto returned to Germany to deal with this situation. After Beatrix died in the summer of 1212, and Frederick arrived with his army in Germany in September 1212, most of the former Staufen supporters deserted Otto for Frederick. On 5 December 1212, Frederick was elected king for a second time, by a majority of the princes. However, Frederick did not manage to defeat Otto until 1214, when Otto, who was allied with King John of England, decisively lost the Battle of Bouvines (27 July 1214) to the forces of Philip II of France.

Otto was forced again to withdraw to his private possessions around Brunswick, and died at Harzburg castle on 19 May 1218. He is entombed in Brunswick Cathedral.

Family

Otto married twice and had no children.# 1209 or 1212 to Beatrix (1198â€"1212), daughter of King Philip of the Holy Roman Empire and Irene Angelina.# 19 May 1214 in Aachen to Mary (died 1260), daughter of Henry I, Duke of Brabant and Maud of Boulogne.