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Otto IV

Type Figure Region Brunswick Time c. 1175–1218 Also known as Otto IV、Otto of Brunswick、Otto IV Holy Roman Emperor、不伦瑞克的奥托

Otto IV (c.1175/1182–1218), son of Henry the Lion and the English princess Matilda, was the Welf heir;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1175–1190Brunswick · Lower SaxonyBorn to Henry the Lion and Matilda (English princess) and raised in Brunswick; after his father's deposition in the 1180s the family retained part of its Brunswick lands, and Otto, as the second son, was already involved in Welf political networks by the late 1180s, maintaining contacts with the English royal house.
  2. 1198–1209Cologne · RhinelandAfter Henry VI's death in 1198, electors including the Archbishop of Cologne chose Otto king at Cologne, opposing Philip of Swabia; crowned in 1201 and crowned emperor by Pope Innocent III in 1209, his imperial title was never universally recognized.
  3. 1212–1218Harz region · Saxony-AnhaltDeposed by the pope in 1212 for intervening in Sicilian affairs, he failed to support France at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214 and Welf power sharply declined; thereafter he lived in exile in England and elsewhere, dying at Exterrode in the Harz on 19 May 1218 without heirs.

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