Otto IV of Brunswick (1175 or 1176 – May 19, 1218) was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he was deposed in 1215.
Otto was the son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, and Matilda Plantagenet. His exact birthplace is not given by any original source
He grew up in England in the care of his grandfather King Henry II. Otto becam...
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Otto IV of Brunswick (1175 or 1176 – May 19, 1218) was one of two rival kings of the Holy Roman Empire from 1198 on, sole king from 1208 on, and emperor from 1209 on. The only king of the Welf dynasty, he was deposed in 1215.
Otto was the son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, and Matilda Plantagenet. His exact birthplace is not given by any original source
He grew up in England in the care of his grandfather King Henry II. Otto became a friend of Richard I of England, who attempted to make him Earl of York, and, through marriage, king of Scotland. Both attempts failed, and so in 1196, he was made Count of Poitou. He participated in the war against France on the side of Richard.
After the death of Emperor Henry VI, some of the princes of the Empire elected his brother, Philip, Duke of Swabia, king in March 1198. The papacy, under Innocent III, seized the opportunity to extend its sway at the expense of the vulnerable empire and proceeded to move heaven and earth on behalf...
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