Ep. 149: Ludwig the Bavarian (1314-1347) - The Real Ludwig of Bavaria
History of the Germans from the Middle Ages to Reunification
Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
4.9 • 550 Ratings
🗓️ 23 May 2024
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A few months after emperor Henry VII had died in the Tuscan village of Buonconvento and before a successor had been elected, a young man, Ludwig, second son of the duke of Upper Bavaria made his name defeating a much larger Habsburg force. This success could not have come at a more opportune time as it propelled him into contention for the title of King of the Romas and ultimately, emperor.
His rule, constantly contested but lasting 33 years would become a major turning point in German, if not European history as it triggered the modern notion of the separation of church and state.
I know that I cannot always maintain a completely unbiased position in this podcast, but I rarely succumb to my personal bugbears. But this time I will have to expose you to one of my biggest, and that is the weird romanticization of Ludwig II of Bavaria, the mentally ill recluse who built the three kitsch palaces of Neuschwanstein, Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof in the deluded hope of resurrecting an absolutist regime in a kingdom he had sold to Prussia. Don’t get me wrong. The three palaces are worth visiting, if not for their somewhat morbid charm, but what irritates me is that this politically and artistically inconsequential monarch overshadows the more interesting, more complex and more consequential Bavarian rulers, chief amongst them his namesake, Ludwig IV the Bavarian.
Let’s see whether HotGPod cannot right this misconception…..
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.
So far I have:
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen
The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356
The Reformation before the Reformation
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the History of the Germans, episode 149, the real Ludwig of Bavaria, |
| 0:12.0 | part of season 8, from the Interregnum to the Golden Bowl. |
| 0:16.8 | A few months after Emperor Henry VIII had died in the Tuscan village of one convento, |
| 0:22.6 | and before a successor could have been elected, a young man, Ludwig, second son of the Duke of Upper Bavaria, |
| 0:30.1 | made his name defeating a much larger Habsburg force. |
| 0:35.0 | This success could not have come at a more opportune time as it propelled him into contention |
| 0:40.2 | for the title of King of the Romans and ultimately emperor. |
| 0:46.8 | His rule constantly contested but lasting 33 years would become a major turning point |
| 0:52.4 | in German, if not European history, as it triggered |
| 0:55.6 | the modern notion of the separation of church and state. And for fans of the name of the |
| 1:01.9 | rose, that's the background to the entire novel. Now I know that I cannot always maintain a |
| 1:09.7 | completely unbiased position in this podcast |
| 1:12.0 | even though I try very hard. |
| 1:14.9 | And I rarely succumb to my personal bug bears. |
| 1:18.6 | But this time I will have to expose you to one of my biggest. |
| 1:22.2 | And that is this weird romanticization of Ludwig II of Bavaria, |
| 1:27.2 | that mentally ill recluse that built the |
| 1:30.0 | three kitsch palaces of Neuschwanstein, Heronkimsy and Linderhof, in the deluded |
| 1:35.6 | hope of resurrecting an absolutist regime in a kingdom he had effectively sold to Prussia. |
| 1:43.4 | Don't get me wrong. |
| 1:48.8 | There three palaces are worth visiting, if not for their somewhat morbid charm. |
| 1:54.5 | But what irritates me is that this politically and artistically inconsequential monarch overshadows the more interesting, the more complex, and the more consequential Bavarian |
... |
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