Leopold II OF AUSTRIA (1050-1095)

Name:	Leopold II OF AUSTRIA 1
Sex:	Male
Nickname:	"the Fair"
Father:	-
Mother:	-

Individual Events and Attributes

Birth	1050
Occupation	frm 1075 to 1095 (age 24-45)	Margrave of Austria
Group/Caste Membership		House of Babenberg
Death	12 Oct 1095 (age 44-45)
canonised as a saint	1486 (age 435-436)

Additional Information

canonised as a saint

by Pope Innocent VIII. He is the patron saint of Austria.

Marriage

	Statue of Leopold, in the St. Leopold side chapel in the southern aisle of the Stephansdom.

Spouse	Ita OF CHAM (1055-1101)
Children	Leopold III OF AUSTRIA (1073-1136)
Marriage	1065 (age 14-15)	Cham, Oberphalz, Bavaria

Individual Note 1

Leopold II (1050 – October 12, 1095) was a Babenberg Margrave of Austria ruling from 1075 onwards. He was known as Leopold the 'fair'. He was the son of Ernest the Brave and Adelheid, the daughter of Margrave Dedi (or Dedo) II of Meissen. In the Investiture Dispute, he first sided with Emperor Henry IV, but in 1081 at the Diet of Tulln switched sides under the influence of his wife Itha and Bishop Altmann of Passau. Subsequently, he was deposed by the Emperor, who gave the fief to Vratislav II of Bohemia, who defeated Leopold in the Battle of Mailberg. Ultimately, Leopold managed to retain his position, but he lost some territory in Southern Moravia. Leopold resided in Gars am Kamp.

 

In 1089 Leopold II helped pay for the construction of Melk Abbey in eastern Austria by donating the land for the new Abbey. A few miles away from Melk Abbey, in eastern Austria, are the ruins of Thunau a Kamp castle, once a summer residence of Leopold II.

 

In 1065 Leopold married Itha (Ida of Cham), countess of Cham (1060–1101), in Cham, Oberphalz, Bavaria. Ida was the daughter of Rapoto IV, Count of Cham, and Mathilde. Ida is said to have died on a crusade.

 

The two had a son, Leopold III, as well as six daughters who married Dukes and Counts from Carinthia, Bohemia and Germany.

 

REFERENCES:

The Royal Ancestry Bible, Royal Ancestors of 300 Colonial American Families Vol. 3 (chart 2180) by Michel L. Call ISBN 1-933194-22-7

Foundation for Medieval Genealogy on Leopold II, Margraf of Ostmark²

Individual Note 2

Also known as

Leopold the Good

Leopold the Valiant

Leopold of Austria

Leopold the Saint

 

Memorial

15 November

 

Profile

Grandson of Emperor Henry III. Grandfather of Frederick Barbarossa. Educated by bishop Altman of Passau. At age 23 he succeeded his father as margrave (military governor) of Austria. Married to Agnes, widowed daughter of Emperor Henry IV. She brought two children into the marriage, and they had eighteenof their own, eleven of whom survived. Father of Otto of Freising, who wrote Leopold's biography, and of Duke Henry II of Austria, and step-father to King Conrad III of Germany. Founded Benedictine, Cistercian and Augustinian houses in 1106, and others later in life; houses in Heiligenkreuz, Klosterneuburg, and Mariazell still exist. Defeated the Hungarians to defend his homeland. Arranged the Concordat of Worms in 1122, an agreement that ended the battle over royal versus ecclesiastical investiture. Refused the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor in 1125. Active in support of the First Crusade.

 

Born

1073 at Melk, Lower Austria, Austria

 

Died

1136 at the abbey of Klosternburg, Niederosterrich, Austria of natural causes

 

Canonized

1486 by Pope Innocent VIII

 

Patronage

Austria (so named in 1663)

death of children

large families

Lower Austria

step-parents

Upper Austria

 

Representation

- man armed count with a cross on his coronet, a banner with three eagles, and a model of the church of Heiligenkreuz in his hand

- man before the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Anne

- man hunting with his courtiers, and finding his wife's veil near the monastery of Klosterneuburg

- with Saint Jerome

- with his building Klosterneuburg

- with the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to him while he hunts, and with a veil nearby

 

http://saints.sqpn.com/saintl20.htm

Individual Note 3

Leopold was born at Melk, Austria, in 1073. He was educated by Bishop Altman of Passau, and at the age of twenty-three, he succeeded his father as military governor of Austria.

 

In 1106, Leopold married Emperor Henry IV's daughter, who bore him eighteen children, eleven of whom survived childhood. Known for his piety and charity, in 1106 he also founded three monasteries.

 

In 1125, Leopold refused to become Emperor upon the death of his brother-in-law, Henry V. He died in 1135 at one of the monasteries he had founded. He was canonized by Pope Innocent VIII in 1486.

 

When one carries out the duties of one's state of life with fairness, justice, and virtue, as did Leopold, many people are won over not only to a peaceful political scene, but also to a life of faith and virtue. His feast day is November 15.

 

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=301³

Sources

1	Weis, Frederick Lewis & Sheppard, Walter Lee, Jr, "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700: Lineages from Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, Malcolm of Scotland, Robert the Strong, and other Historical Individuals". p 142, 147-26.

2	"Wikipedia". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Austria.

3	"Catholic Online". http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=301.