Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria
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Rudolf IV of Austria. This portrait, the first Half Frontal Portrait of the Occident, can hardly be overestimated in its importance for the History of Art. It had been on display above his grave in the Stephansdom for several decades after his death, but can now be seen in the Museum of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna. Apart from the (invented) archdukal crown, the foreshortening of which the artist did not completely master, the portrait is completely realistic. Even the duke's incipient facioplegia is shown. |
Rudolf IV der Stifter (the Founder) (
November 1 1339,
Vienna–
July 27 1365,
Milan) was a member of the
House of Habsburg and
Duke and self-proclaimed
Archduke of
Austria from
1358 to
1365.
The eldest son of
Albert II and
Johanna von Pfirt, he was a member of the third generation of Habsburg dukes in Austria. He was the first of his line born in the country and considered it his home, which considerably contributed to his popularity. One of the most energetic and active rulers of Austria in the late
Middle Ages, it was said of him that as a young man he already had the air of a king.
He was married to
Katharine of Bohemia making him the son-in-law of Emperor
Charles IV.
His eagerness to compete with his father-in-law, who raised
Prague to a radiant center of culture, was an important motivation of his plans and decisions. As Charles did with Prague, Rudolf desired to raise the importance of
Vienna, which is stressed in many of the documents of his time.
One thing that had bothered all Austrian dukes for more than a century was the fact Vienna was not the residence of a
bishop, but still part of the diocese of
Passau. This state of affairs was considered awkward for a ducal residence. With the Bishops of Passau having excellent connections to the
Pope, the project to establish a
bishopric in Vienna was bound to fail. Instead, Rudolf resorted to something which could be considered imposture: He initiated the creation of a
Metropolitan Chapter (which, according to the name, should be assigned to a bishop) in the Cathedral of Saint Stephan (
Stephansdom), whose members wore red garments as
cardinals do. The
provost of the chapter received the title of
Arch-Chancellor of Austria.
[[Image:Rudolph4 of Austria Epitaph.png|thumb|left|
The decipherment of the epitaph accompanying the cenotaph, or symbolic tomb, of Duke Rudolph IV in the {{Stephansdom}} in Vienna. The translation of the secret writing into English is "This is the sepulchre of Rudolph, by the Grace of God, Duke and Founder" and "Almighty God and great lord Jesus Christ, a shepherd." Rudolf was, in fact, never buried within the almost-solid stone structure, but in the {{Ducal Crypt (Vienna)|Ducal Crypt of the Stephansdom}} in {{Vienna}}.The text is written using the {{Alphabetum Kaldeorum}}, a code he probably invented.]]The extension of the
Stephansdom itself was no bluff, with the construction of its
gothic nave being started under Rudolf's rule. Rudolf had himself be depicted on the cathedral's entrance. The construction efforts can be seen as an attempt to compete with
St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
Similarly, the
University of Vienna, which was founded by Rudolf in
1365, was expected to match the
Charles University of Prague founded by Charles IV only in
1348. It is still known as
Alma Mater Rudolphina today and is the oldest continuing
university in the German-speaking world. However, a faculty of
theology, which was considered crucial for a university at that time, was not established until
1385, twenty years after Rudolf's death.
Rudolf introduced many other measures to improve the economy of Vienna such as the
mayor's duty to supervise sales of real property, which was meant to prevent sales to the
dead hand, i.e. economically unproductive church ownership. Rudolf also managed to establish a relatively stable
currency, the so-called
Wiener Pfennig (Vienna Penny).
Rudolf is most known for another bluff, the
forgery of the
Privilegium Maius, which de facto put him on par with the
Electors of the
Holy Roman Empire after Austria had not received an electoral vote in the
Golden Bull. The title of
Archduke, invented at this opportunity, became a honorific title of all males of the House of Habsburg in the
16th century.
In
1363, he entered into a
contract of inheritance with the Countess
Margarete Maultasch of the
Tyrol which brought the Tyrol under Austrian rule after her death.
He concluded with his father-in-law the Contract of Inheritance of
Brno of
1364 which provided for mutual inheritance between the
Habsburgs and
Luxemburg.
In spite of the high-flying (and maybe sometimes megalomaniac) character of his plans, he managed to modernize his territories and his residential city, the prominence of which considerably increased. His untimely death stopped his plans, as his brothers
Albert III and
Leopold III, who should have ruled jointly under the
Rudolfinische Hausordnung (Rudolfinian House Rules), began to quarrel without remorse and decided to divide the Habsburg territories between them in
1379.
Rudolf is also remembered for founding
Novo Mesto in
Slovenia whose German name,
Rudolfswert, was given in his honor.
He and his wife are buried in the
Ducal Crypt in the
Stephansdom in Vienna.
*Wilhelm Baum:
Rudolf IV. der Stifter. Seine Welt und seine Zeit, Graz-Wien-Köln
1996*
Website of the Museum of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna
