Elisabeth of Bavaria (1478 – 15 September 1504) was a member of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

and, by marriage, Electress of the Palatinate. After her father's death, she was also Duchess of

Bavaria-Landshut Bavaria-Landshut (german: Bayern-Landshut) was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire from 1353 to 1503. History The creation of the duchy was the result of the death of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. In the Treaty of Landsberg 1349, which divided ...

. She was the daughter of Duke George the Rich and his wife Hedwig Jagiellonica. After the death of her brother Louis in 1496, the Duchy of Bavaria-Landshut was without a male heir. The Wittelsbach House Treaties of 1392 and 1450 prescribed that the territory of Bavaria-Landshut should be divided among the other Bavarian duchies, if the line should die out in the male line. Duke George ignored these treaties and left his territory to his daughter in a last will and testament dated 19 September 1496. In 1499 Elisabeth married Ruprecht of the Palatinate. She had twins, Rupert and George; they both died in 1504. Her other sons,

Philip, Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg Philip the Contentious (german: Philipp der Streitbare) (12 November 1503, Heidelberg – 4 July 1548, Heidelberg), a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was a titular Count Palatine of the Rhine and ruling Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg from 15 ...

and

Otto Henry, Elector Palatine Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine, (; 10 April 1502, Amberg – 12 February 1559, Heidelberg) a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Count Palatine of Palatinate-Neuburg from 1505 to 1559 and prince elector of the Palatinate from 1556 to 1559 ...

survived into adulthood. In 1503 George appointed Ruprecht as governor of Lower Bavaria. George died on 1 December 1503 and she disbanded the Regency Council of the

Estates Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representati ...

. Her resolute approach contributed to the outbreak of the

Landshut War of Succession The War of the Succession of Landshut resulted from a dispute between the duchies of Bavaria-Munich (''Bayern-München'' in German) and Bavaria-Landshut (''Bayern-Landshut''). An earlier agreement between the different Wittelsbach lines, the Tr ...

. Her opponent Albrecht IV of

Bavaria-Munich Bavaria-Munich (german: Bayern-München) was a duchy that was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1392 to 1505. History After the death of Stephen II in 1375, his sons Stephen III, Frederick, and John II jointly ruled Bavaria- ...

had stronger allies, and soon Emperor Maximilian joined his side. Her husband died of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

on 20 August 1504. Elizabeth continued the war, and had her troops occupy the towns of Landshut,

Dingolfing Dingolfing is a town in southern Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the Landkreis (district) Dingolfing-Landau. Dingolfing is home of a BMW assembly plant. History The area now called Dingolfing was first mentioned in ''Tinguluinga'' in the ...

and Moosburg an der Isar. She was declared an

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill th ...

. Her Bohemian allies suffered a decisive defeat at Wenzenbach on 12 September 1504. Three days later, she, too, died of dysentery. She was interred in the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

monastery of Seligenthal in

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also ...

References and sources

* Nikolaus Orlop: ''Alle Herrscher Bayerns'', second edition, LangenMüller in der F. A. Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung GmbH, Munich, 2006, , pp. 346–349 House of Wittelsbach Countesses Palatine of the Holy Roman Empire 1478 births 1504 deaths 15th-century German people 16th-century German people Women of medieval Bavaria 16th-century women rulers 15th-century German women 16th-century German women Daughters of monarchs {{Germany-duchess-stub