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Viridis Visconti

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Viridis Visconti
Duchess of Austria
Portrait of Viridis Visconti by Anton Boys
Bornc. 1352
Milan, Italy
Died1 March 1414 (aged 61-62)
Stična Abbey, Windic March
SpouseLeopold III, Duke of Austria
IssueWilliam
Leopold IV
Ernest the Iron
Frederick IV
HouseVisconti (by birth)
FatherBernabò Visconti
MotherBeatrice Regina della Scala

Viridis Visconti (1354–1414) was an Italian noblewoman. Her marriage to Leopold III, Duke of Austria, Viridis was Duchess consort of Austria, Styria and Carinthia, she was also Countess consort of Tyrol.

Family

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Born in c.1354, Viridis was born in Milan,[1] a daughter of the Lord of Milan, Bernabò Visconti[2] and his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala.[3] She was likely named after her maternal aunt Verde della Scala.

Alt
Parents of Viridis by Andrea di Bonaiuto

Viridis and the rest of her sisters secured politically advantageous marriages. Viridis was seen as a very eligible bride, as not only did the Visconti family rule over the extremely wealthy region of Lombardy by her father Bernabòs strategically marrying off his many children, whom he systematically married to members of the nobility, so he had a network of relatives among the leading families of the Empire.

Thus in 1365 she was betrothed to the fourteen year old Leopold. She brought 100 000 florins as dowry.[4] The marriage was arranged by the grooms brother Rudolf II, Duke of Austria who allying themselves through marriage with the powerful Viscontis, the Habsburgs found an ally in their efforts to secure their rule in Tyrol. [5]Rudolf however died on his way to attend the marriage of Viridis and Leopold in Milan.[6] Viridis husband therefore came to co-rule Austria with his brother Albrecht.[5]

They were married 23 February 1365 in the Bernabo palace at the church San Giovanni in Conca. Her parents gifted her a Tacuinum Sanitatis around this time.

Viridis and her husband lived at Tyrol Castle near Merano[4]

In 1385 her father was deposed by her cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti and brother-in-law through having married her sister Caterina Visconti. Bernabo was then imprisoned in the castle of Trezzo, he died on 19 December of that year, presumably poisoned.

Marriage

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Viridis married Leopold III, Duke of Austria,[2] son of Albert II, Duke of Austria and his wife Johanna of Pfirt.

The couple had:

  1. William the Courteous[7]
  2. Leopold IV the Fat[8]
  3. Ernest the Iron[2]
  4. Frederick IV of the Empty Pockets[8]
  5. Elisabeth (1378–1392)
  6. Margaretha (1370–?)
  7. Catherine (1385–?), Abbess of St. Klara in Vienna

Viridis was widowed in 1386, and her eldest son William became Duke of Austria.

She was a long time benefactor of the Stična Abbey, and often lend money to the abbot of the monastery. As widow, she resided on a property close to the convent.

Death

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Viridis died on 1 March 1414 and out-lived at least three of seven children, since her younger daughter Katherine's date of death is unknown. Viridis is buried in Sittich, Karnten, Austria.[1]

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ a b York 1999, p. 51.
  2. ^ a b c Margolis 2016, p. 73.
  3. ^ Antenhofer & Schober 2021, p. 8.
  4. ^ a b Meier, Bruno (2013-05-27). Ein Königshaus aus der Schweiz: Die Habsburger, der Aargau und die Eidgenossenschaft im Mittelalter (in German). Hier und Jetzt, Verlag für Kultur und Geschichte. ISBN 978-3-03919-735-4.
  5. ^ a b Beller, Steven (2006). A Concise History of Austria. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47886-1.
  6. ^ Beller, Steven (2006). A Concise History of Austria. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-47886-1.
  7. ^ Wilson 2016, p. lviii.
  8. ^ a b Wilson 2016, p. lix.

Sources

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  • Antenhofer, Christina; Schober, Richard, eds. (2021). Tiroler Heimat 86 (2022): Zeitschrift für Regional- und Kulturgeschichte Nord-, Ost- und Sudtirols (in German). Universitätsverlag Wagner.
  • Margolis, Oren (2016). The Politics of Culture in Quattrocento Europe: René of Anjou in Italy. Oxford University Press.
  • Wilson, Peter (2016). Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Harvard University Press.
  • York, Laura (1999). "Visconti, Virida (c.1354-1414)". In Commire, Anne; Klezmer, Deborah (eds.). Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Vol. 16:Vict-X. Yorkin Publishing.

Further reading

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Media related to Viridis Visconti at Wikimedia Commons

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