Taddea Visconti

14th-century Duchess of Bavaria

Taddea Visconti
Duchess of Bavaria
A posthumous engraving of Taddea by Joseph Zimmermann
Born	1351 Milan, Italy
Died	September 28, 1381(1381-09-28) (aged 29–30) Munich, Germany
Noble family	Visconti
Spouse(s)	Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria
Issue	Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria Isabeau, Queen of France
Father	Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan
Mother	Beatrice Regina della Scala

Taddea Visconti, Duchess of Bavaria (1351 – 28 September 1381) was an Italian noblewoman of the Visconti family, the ruling house in Milan from 1277 to 1447. She was the first wife of Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria, and the mother of the French queen Isabeau of Bavaria.^[1]

Early life

Born in Milan in 1351, sometime after 27 June, Taddea was the eldest child of Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and Beatrice Regina della Scala (1331–18 June 1384).^[2] She had fourteen younger siblings, but she was her parents' favorite child. Her paternal grandparents were Stefano Visconti, Lord of Milan, and Valentina Doria, and her maternal grandparents were Mastino II della Scala and Taddea da Carrara.

Taddea's father Bernabò, continually at war with the papacy (for which he was excommunicated), was a ruthless despot,^[3] who would, in 1385, be overthrown by his nephew and son-in-law Gian Galeazzo Visconti and later poisoned in the castle of Trezzo.^[4]

Marriage

Bavaria was the wealthiest and most powerful of the German states at the time. Bernabò managed to secure the marriages of four of his children to members of the ruling Wittelsbach family. Taddea, being the eldest, was the first of the four Visconti children selected.

In 1367, Taddea became the first wife of Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, who, on 13 May 1375, became Duke of Bavaria.^[2] He ruled jointly with his brothers, Frederick (who married Taddea's younger sister Maddalena) and John II, in Bavaria-Landshut. Taddea brought a dowry of 100,000 gold ducats.^[5] Her husband Stephen (who was 14 years older than her) is described by writer Barbara Tuchman as "reckless, prodigal, ostentatious, amorous, restless without a tournament or war and well-suited to a Visconti daughter".^[4]

The marriage produced three children:

Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria (c. 1368–2 May 1447), married firstly Anne de Bourbon,^[6] by whom he had issue, and secondly, Catherine d'Alençon. He had several illegitimate children by various mistresses.
Isabeau of Bavaria, (early 1370–24 September 1435), Queen consort of King Charles VI of France, whom she married on 17 July 1385.^[6]
unnamed son (born and died in 1377)

Adjustment to life in Bavaria proved a difficult challenge for Taddea, prompting her, in later years, to take extended journeys abroad. The climate of Munich did not prove healthy for her, and she developed a persistent cough and recurring fever. After Stephen III became duke, Taddea was required to attend more state functions, her health notwithstanding. In the 1370s, she began to pay long visits to her homeland, usually bringing her husband and children with her, and stopping at Milan to visit her family. She visited Rome in 1378.

Death and legacy

After a trip to Milan in December 1380, Taddea fell seriously ill. By the time she returned to Bavaria, she was suffering from fever, coughing and weight loss. Her health continued to fail and she died on 28 September 1381 in Munich at the age of 30. She was buried in Unsere Liebe Frau.^[7] When news of her death reached Milan, her devastated father ordered his subjects to wear mourning clothes. Less than four years later, her daughter, Isabeau, became Queen of France. Taddea's husband Stephen married secondly, on 16 January 1401, Elisabeth of Cleves, daughter of Count Adolf III of Cleves. This second marriage was childless.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Taddea Visconti

16. Teobaldo Visconti

8. Matteo I Visconti

17. Anastasia Pirovano

4. Stefano Visconti

18. Squarcina Borri

9. Bonacossa Borri

19. Antonia

2. Bernabò Visconti

20. Brancaleone Doria

10. Bernabò Doria

21. Caterina Zancha

5. Valentina Doria

22. Federico Fieschi

11. Eliana Fieschi

23. Chiara

1. Taddea Visconti

24. Alberto I della Scala

12. Alboino I della Scala

25. Verde di Salizzole

6. Mastino II della Scala

26. Gilberto III da Correggio

13. Beatrice da Correggio

27. Elena Malaspina

3. Beatrice Regina della Scala

28. Marsilio III da Carrara

14. Jacopo I da Carrara

29. ... di Carturo

7. Taddea da Carrara

30. Pietro Gradenigo

15. Anna Gradenigo

31. Tommasina Morosini

References

^ Kibler & Zinn 2006, p. 909.
^ ^a ^b Rohr 2016, p. 53.
^ Tuchman 1978, p. 254.
^ ^a ^b Tuchman 1978, p. 437–438.
^ Tuchman 1978, p. 436.
^ ^a ^b Adams 2010, p. 256.
^ Richardson 2011, p. 214.

Sources

Adams, Tracy (2010). The Life and Afterlife of Isabeau of Bavaria. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kibler, William W.; Zinn, Grover A., eds. (2006). "Isabeau of Bavaria". Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Routledge.
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families (2nd ed.). Genealogical Publishing Company.
Rohr, Zita Eva (2016). Yolande of Aragon (1381-1442) Family and Power: The Reverse of the Tapestry. Palgrave Macmillan.
Tuchman, Barbara (1978). A Distant Mirror. Alfred A Knopf. ISBN 9780394400266.