John Henry IV of Gorizia (1322–1338) was a medieval
Count of Gorizia and a member of the
Meinhardiner
The House of Gorizia, also called the Meinhardiner, were a comital, princely and ducal dynasty in the Holy Roman Empire. Named after Gorizia Castle in Gorizia (now in Italy, on the border with Slovenia), they were originally "advocates" (''Vo ...
dynasty. He was the only surviving son of
Henry III and his wife Beatrix of Lower Bavaria, the daughter of Duke
Stephen I. He succeeded his father as Count of Gorizia in 1323. Because he was still a minor, his mother and his uncles
Albert II of Gorizia and later
Henry of Carinthia acted as regents. After 1329, the custody was taken over by his cousin
Albert III. Since he died young, he never actually reigned himself. Nevertheless, in 1332, aged nine, he was elected as
podesta of
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
, in the city's attempt to forge an alliance with Gorizia against
Venetian expansion.
In 1335, he was betrothed to
Beatrice of Sicily, daughter of
Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Sicily
Elizabeth of Carinthia (1298–1352) was Queen of Sicily by marriage to Peter II of Sicily. She was the regent of Sicily during the minority of her son Louis, King of Sicily from 1348 until her death in 1352.
The daughter of Otto III, Duke of Ca ...
.
Elizabeth renounced her rights to
Tyrol
Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
and
Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
on Beatrice's behalf, but the betrothal was cancelled by John Henry's mother who decided to settle with the new Habsburg rulers of Carinthia.
[Wilhelm Baum, I conti di Gorizia (LEG, 2000), p. 139] In 1335, with a treaty signed in
Ljubljana
{{Infobox settlement
, name = Ljubljana
, official_name =
, settlement_type = Capital city
, image_skyline = {{multiple image
, border = infobox
, perrow = 1/2/2/1
, total_widt ...
, John Henry thus betrothed to
Anna of Habsburg, the daughter of the anti-king
Frederick the Fair
Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death.
Background
Frederi ...
, who was a second cousin in his mother. The two married soon thereafter but the marriage remained childless.
Since he died childless, he was succeeded by the sons of his uncle
Albert II. They were
Meinhard VI (until 1385),
Albert III (until 1374) and
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
(until 1362).
He was buried in the abbey in
Rosazzo in
Friuli
Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...
.
References
Counts of Gorizia
1320s births
Year of birth uncertain
1338 deaths
{{Germany-noble-stub