Chapter 10 - Warrior of Christ
The story-teller is slowly walking up the stairs leading from the ducal dungeon and dusting his coat off. Even though the situation starts to look too dangerously similar to the Never-ending Story, he grins: 'I have suffered during the entire Leopold III's rule. As my revenge, I shall tell this chapter as a...History Book!'
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(it is not Santa Claus, it is Leopold IV with his two beloved sons - Siegfried and Luipold)
We all know Leopold IV von Babenberg, the patron saint of Austria. That famous Duke whose life is covered by so many myths that the real story sometimes can't be even found. So what do we
actually know? Well, for start, the Princeps Terrae (as he called himself) was a little bit more lazy and fatter than the historical paintings depict, he did not actually arrived in Vienna after the Battle of Villach carried by angels and almost all his deeds were much more focused on temporal things than you would expect from the contemporary chronicles, describing him as a pious man, devoting his entire life only to serving the Lord. Actually you can be pretty sure that he
was a pious man, but one with a large two-handed sword. That makes the entire Deus lo Vult thing much more convincing. So, without any more delays, here it is, the entire story of a man who is considered to have risen the House of Babenberg from the Alps to the international scene, from his early years to the bitter end...
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It all started in September, 1116 when Leopold III von Babenberg, the Wicked Duke (as he was called by his opponents, or better - everyone else than his brother. Sometimes.) married the Croatian Princess, Jadviga Trpimirovic. He did so only to appease his advisors (Leopold was already in his 40s so it was weird that he still was not married - it even led to creation and spread of many ill rumours throughout the Empire) and to strengthen his position in the realm, as he was in disfavor of the Kaiser and almost every other ruler in Germany.
Anyway, he planned only to marry her, spend with her only the first night and then lock her in the Abbey of Melk. Whether he thought he was impotent or that when it was the first time, she could not get pregnant, is not known. The fact is, that after a while in the Abbey, the Princess discovered that she was with a child.
Only thanks to the help of Bishop Nicholaus of Melk, she was not immediately taken to the Duke - it was known that he adored (I said - no ill rumours) his half-brother, Thomas and named him his only legitimate successor. But according to the Salic Law, if Jadviga's future child would be a boy, he would be the rightful heir to the March. Thanks God, Nicholaus was a member of a group opposing the Duke and 'that Styrian brat' (as they called the would-be Duke due to his gregarious and friendly nature) so he supported (many times) Jadviga during her stay in Melk.
After nine months, Jadviga gave birth to two children, named according to the Babenberg tradition Leopold and Adelheid (one legend says that von Babenbergers hated chroniclers and future history researchers) so that they would look even more as the legitimate von Babenbergers. They were both secretly betrothed to nearby rulers to secure support for little Leopold's claim - Leopold to Milada Premyslid and Adelheid to Károly Arpád.
Jadviga had one more child - a girl, Jutte. Though she was officially proclaimed a von Babenberger, it is physically impossible for Leopold III to be her father. More likely, she was a daughter of Nicholaus (I know, I know, but do
you know that celibate is meant to last the whole
life? I am sure that they did not tell us in the seminary) who later falsified her birth documents. She might look insignificant to you but she is going to play a large role in the story later on.
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In December, Leopold III finally died because of his old war wounds and the time to act came. While Thomas was preparing for the ducal coronation in Styria and everybody else celebrating, erm, mourning, Nicholaus, together with Jadviga and her children traveled to the Vienna Castle under the pretext of the coronation as it was traditionally carried out by the Melk's Bishop. There he gained the support of local lords and vassals of the duchy (not hard, considering he also brought the key to the castle's wine cellar) and crowned young Leopold the Duke and Margrave of Austria and Tyrol. When Thomas arrived, he was furious. Even though he was declared the Lord Regent according to the tradition, everyone knew that the civil war was inevitable.
It took only a month for it to start.
Nicholaus was named (read: named himself) the new Lord Regent and the Marshal of the loyalist forces and assembled the army to fight treacherous Thomas. The only actual (and decisive) battle took place in Hungary, near the town of Szombathely, where the Styrian army was preparing to circumvent their enemy and take Vienna by surprise from the East. But Nicholaus, a skilled commander (you know, when Vienna became such a fortress, the bears chose a different place to abuse), anticipated that move and led his army to meet Thomas there. The battle was tough and the fighting really intensive. (not really for Thomas, though - he employed his late brother's tactics of commanding from a nearby hill.) But when the day was over, the victory was Nicholaus's...post mortem. The Bishop of Melk himself paid his life for defending the ducal crown. Bad for him. Nobody else cared - OK, maybe except Jadviga.
When all remaining Styrian soldiers gave up, Thomas was brought to Vienna in chains. Hermann von Sponheim, the Spymaster and the third Lord Regent, accused him of treason and threw him into the castle's dungeon where he would spend the rest of his life and, after many years, die. Sad end for Thomas. But most historians agree that if he ascended to the throne and continued his brother's politics, it would mean the definitive end of the von Babenberg rule in Austria (and more fun but that is a relative measure). Even little Leo was already stained by his father's deeds.
Hermann then convinced Jadviga to grant him the revoked County of Steiermark. Yes, Jadviga was mere a puppet in the hands of the ducal Regents.
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Three years later, Hermann declared himself the guardian of both of the children and tore the remaining influence the Croat Princess had on ruling the March.
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(Hermann von Sponheim, contemporary drawing)
(the question stays: Is it better to smash heathens or infidels?)
In 1124, while the Count of Steiermark was enjoying his unlimited power (Power! Unlimited power!) over the Duchy, Leopold was sent to Melk to be educated by the local monks. The daily routine of preaching and bear-killing will have great influence on his entire life.
But Hermann's revelry should not have lasted for long - three years later, he died. Not as epic as The Return of the Duke, but still. Anyway, his death has not been fully explained yet. It is possible, that some loyalists felt that he was starting to pose a threat, considering his scheming abilities. The Archbishop of Salzburg became the new (fourth - is it the children or what?) Lord Regent and Guardian of the Duke.
(eating or smashing - this dilemma will haunt Leopold during his entire life, most times solved by the third variant - doing nothing)
Many critics say that Poppo was a terrible menthol, erm, mentor. His approach to the education had many negative effects on the Duke. He stopped doing his homework (and even bear-killing) and started over-eating. But nothing is black or white:
And even:
(not too hard with grandfather's sword)
The Archbishop helped Leopold to fight the curse of his father, fear. This act is even more worth noting as Poppo himself fought this weakness but without success. He was also helpful in different matters:
Everyone shall be struck by the sword
equally. That is the trick, Leo.
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But Leopold's childhood was not always so bright. While he was growing up, Kaiser Mathias the Wise was fighting on many fronts. The Empire regained many lost holdings in Lombardy but faced the Danish invasion in the North. The Kievan Grand Prince also continued his Drang nach Westen together with another Hungarian attack, that time for the Duchy of Moravia. The March was inevitably plundered by the Arpád hordes as it had been decades ago under Leopold II.
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In 1133, Leopold IV finally turned sixteen. As did his sister who was immediately sent to Hungary. He himself married Countess Milada, or actually
Duchess Milada of Moravia as she had helped Károly against her own kin and so she had been rewarded. Yeah, not only von Babenbergers understand the basic principles of diplomacy.
The would-be Princeps Terrae inherited his father's eyes and taste for beards. (And of course his Latin dictionary.) But that was everything they shared.
And so Leopold had grown up to be a righteous and just holy warrior. And his journey had just started...
