Leonhard of Gorizia
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Lienz, County of Görz
Lienz
Paola Gonzaga
Leonhard | |
|---|---|
| Count of Görz | |
.jpg) | |
| Born | 1440 Lienz, County of Görz |
| Died | 12 April 1500 (aged 59–60) Lienz |
| Noble family | Meinhardiner dynasty |
| Spouses | Hieronyma of Ilok Paola Gonzaga |
| Father | Henry VI of Gorizia |
| Mother | Catherine of Garay |
Leonhard (1440 – 12 April 1500) was the last count of Gorizia from the Meinhardiner dynasty. He ruled at Lienz and Gorizia (Görz) from 1454 until his death. He also held the title and rights as a count palatine of Carinthia.
Leonhard was born at Bruck Castle in Lienz, the comital residence of the House of Gorizia. He was the son of Henry VI, Count of Gorizia, and his wife, Catherine, a daughter of the Hungarian palatine Nicholas II Garay. In 1454 he succeeded his father, who left him an almost ruined county with two separate territories.
Leonhards first marriage to Hieronyma of Ilok, the daughter of Nicholas of Ilok, King of Bosnia had produced no issue. After her death in 1460 Leonhard married second, in 1478, Paola Gonzaga, the daughter of the Italian marquis Ludovico III of Mantua, and together they had a daughter who died as an infant.
During the negotiations for his marriage, Andrea da Schivenoglia, chronicler of the Gonzaga family, described the then 36-old Count of Gorizia as "pleasant and joyful" (piaxevolo et zoioso).[1]
Early reign
Leonhard at first ruled jointly with his brothers John II and Louis. John as the eldest apparently held most of the power while younger Louis did not exercise any political role and died between 1456 and 1457. The brothers had to face the hostility of Emperor Frederick III who aimed to seize their remaining "outer county" around the town of Lienz and the Puster Valley, separating the Habsburg hereditary lands of Tyrol and Carinthia, which had been possessions of the Meinhardiner dynasty until the 14th century.
Moreover, John and Leonhard picked a fierce inheritance conflict around the lands of the extinct counts of Celje after the death of Count Ulrich II in 1456, whereupon the defeated brothers not only had to renounce all their claims but also were forced to cede the residence at Lienz and various territories in Carinthia to Frederick III. The Counts of Görz had to move to Heinfels Castle. John died in 1462 and Leonhard became sole ruler. With the help of his capable deputy Virgil von Graben, a relative from the House of Graben von Stein, he recovered Lienz. Later Leonhard also get back the title and rights as a Count palatine of Carinthia.
