Welf I, Duke of Bavaria
Welf I (died about
9 November 1101,
Paphos) was duke of
Bavaria from
1070 to
1077 and from
1096 to his death. He was the first member of the
Welf branch of the
House of Este. In the Welf genealogy he is counted as
Welf IV.
Welf was the son of
Azzo II of Este and his wife Chuniza of Altdorf. When Welf's maternal uncle,
Welf, Duke of Carinthia (also known as Welf III), died childless, Welf inherited his property.
Welf married Ethelinde, daughter of
Otto II, Duke of Bavaria. When Duke Otto had become an enemy of King
Henry IV, Welf divorced Ethelinde, and soon thereafter (in
1070) was appointed duke of Bavaria in Otto's stead. During the
Investiture Controversy, Welf sided with
Pope Gregory VII, and in March
1077 supported the election of
Rudolf of Rheinfelden as anti-king. In May 1077, he was banned by the king.
In
1089, Welf's son
Welf married
Matilda of Tuscany, thus strengthening relationships with the pope. After the younger Welf divorced Matilda in
1095, Welf made amends with King Henry IV and was reappointed as duke of Bavaria.
After the death of his father Azzo in
1097, Welf tried to acquire his father's property south of the Alps, but did not succeed against his younger half-brother
Fulco.
In
1099, Welf joined the
Crusade of 1101. He died while returning from the crusade in
Cyprus in
1101 and was buried in
Weingarten Abbey. He was succeeded as duke of Bavaria by his son Welf.
Welf had the following children from his marriage with Judith of Flanders, daughter of
Baldwin IV, Count of Flanders:
*
Welf, born
1072 *
Henry* Kunizza, died
6 March 1120, married
Frederick Rocho, Count of Dießen *
Genealogie Mittelalter
