Bavaria-Straubing

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Bavaria-Straubing was a scattered set of lands in the Wittelsbach family of Bavaria, ruled by independent dukes from 1353 to about 1432. It shows how parts of a realm could be divided when inheritance wasn’t limited to the eldest son. In 1255 Bavaria was split into Upper and Lower Bavaria. They were briefly reunited in 1340, but after Emperor Louis IV died in 1349 his sons divided the land again. In 1353 Lower Bavaria was split into Bavaria-Landshut and Bavaria-Straubing. The Straubing line controlled Straubing and also had claims in the Low Countries—Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland—so its dukes were also counts there. In 1425 Duke John III died without a male heir, and in 1429 his lands were divided among Bavaria-Munich, Bavaria-Landshut, and Bavaria-Ingolstadt by the emperor. John’s niece Jacqueline became Countess of Hainaut in her own right. After a succession dispute between Jacqueline and her uncle John, Bavaria-Straubing was finally divided among Bavaria-Ingolstadt, Bavaria-Landshut, and Bavaria-Munich by 1432.