European Kingdoms

Duchy of Carinthia (Habsburg) (Austria) (Central Europe)
AD 1276 - 1286

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Situated in the south of Austria, close to modern Slovenia, the medieval region of Carinthia emerged out of Roman domination. In the sixth and seventh centuries it was settled by Slav groups before being organised into a 'Slav Kingdom' across a wide swathe of Central Europe. Following the death of its founder in AD 658 the kingdom fragmented.

The Carinthian section became known by its Slav name of Khorushka. In time it was absorbed by the Eastern Franks and a duchy was created which enjoyed a series of 'Non-Dynastic Dukes' until the death of the ruling Eppensteiners meant a change of governance. The county of Spontheim provided the next dynasty of ruling dukes, the 'Spontheim Dukes', after Count Siegfried I inherited large tracts of territory in Carinthia and Tyrol.

The last of the Spontheim dukes, Ulrich III, had secretly agreed in 1268 to be succeeded by Ottokar II, his Bohemian wife's nephew. This was despite also having formally recognised his own brother as his successor, Philip, deposed archbishop of Salzburg. Ottokar made good on his agreement upon Ulrich's death in 1269, with the old duke having outlived his own children.

The duchy of Carinthia was appended to Ottokar's own powerful kingdom of Bohemia, making him the one and only 'Przemyslid Duke' of Carinthia. As he already held Austria, this gave him a continuous corridor of territory down into neighbouring Styria, along with the margraviate of Carniola.

Implacably opposing Ottokar, Rudolph of Austria gained the duchies of Austria and Carinthia in 1276, slicing them away from Bohemian control as he geared up towards killing Ottokar just two years later in battle on the Moravia Field.

In the gap between those events it seems that the counts of Spanheim, who had been reduced in rank and prestige by Ottokar's accession as duke of Carinthia, now seized their chance to return to regional greatness. Philip, the brother of Duke Ulrich III of Spanheim-controlled Carinthia, had effectively been dispossessed of the title by Ottokar in 1269. Now he took titular control while Rudolph concentrated on the duties of his imperial office as Holy Roman emperor and on defeating Ottokar once and for all.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Geschichte Kärntens bis 1335 (Vols 1 & 2), A Jaksch (Klagenfurt, 1928-29), from Geschichte Kärntens (Vols 1 & 2), C Fräss-Ehrfeld (Klagenfurt, 1984-94), from Dynasties of the World, John E Morby, from From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms, Thomas F X Noble, from Popular Revolt, Dynastic Politics, and Aristocratic Factionalism in the Early Middle Ages: The Saxon Stellinga Reconsidered, Eric J Goldberg (Speculum, Vol 70, No 3, Jul 1995), from The Annals of Fulda (Timothy Reuter (Trans), Manchester Medieval Series, Ninth-Century Histories, Volume II, 1992), and from External Links: House of Habsburg (dead link), and Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, and Encyclopaedia.com, and Cranach Digital Archive (in German and English), and Special Collections (University of Arizona), and The Holy Roman Empire (Heraldica), and The Holy Roman Empire, Christopher Brooks (Portland Community College via LibreTexts Humanities).)

1276 - 1279

Brother of Duke Ulrich III of 'Spontheim Carinthia'.

1279

Unfortunately for Philip, the title of duke of Carinthia is all he really does hold. His supporter, Rudolf of Habsburg, has a firm hand on actual power within the duchy, and Philip's untimely death in 1279 hands even the title to Rudolf without any further action being necessary.

The county of Spanheim, though, does remain in family hands until 1437, under a junior branch. With the death of the last male Spanheimer, the title passes through the female line to become part of the duchy of Baden.

Rudolf, the son of Count Albert IV of Habsburg, and Hedwig, daughter of Count Ulrich of Kyburg, had inherited the large Habsburg estates around Habsburg Castle (in modern Switzerland), as well as lands in Alsace, and from that power-base he grabbed further power wherever it was available, fighting his way to the top

1279 - 1286

Held Austria (1273-1282). HRE (1273-1291). Bohemia (1278).

1282 - 1286

In December 1282, as Holy Roman emperor, Rudolph of Habsburg grants the duchies of Austria and Styria to his sons, Albert and Rudolf II respectively. At the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1286, Carinthia and the adjoining march of Carniola are also passed to Meinhard of Gorizia-Tyrol as the first of the 'Tirol Dukes' of Carinthia.