Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor

Louis IV
Tomb effigy at Munich Frauenkirche
King of the Romans King of Germany until 1330 with Frederick the Handsome
Reign	20 October 1314 – 11 October 1347
Coronation	25 November 1314 (Aachen)
Predecessor	Henry VII
Successor	Charles IV
King of Italy
Reign	31 May 1327 – 11 October 1347
Coronation	31 May 1327 (Milan)
Predecessor	Henry VII
Successor	Charles IV
Holy Roman Emperor
Reign	1328 – 11 October 1347
Coronation	17 January 1328 (Rome)
Predecessor	Henry VII
Successor	Charles IV
Duke of Bavaria until 1317 with Rudolf I
Reign	1301 – 11 October 1347
Predecessor	Rudolf I
Successor	Louis V, Stephen II, Louis VI, William I, Albert I and Otto V
Born	1 April 1282 Munich
Died	11 October 1347(1347-10-11) (aged 65) Puch, near Fürstenfeldbruck
Spouses	Beatrix of Świdnica ​ ​ (m. 1308; died 1322)​ Margaret II, Countess of Holland ​ ​ (m. 1324)​
Issue	Matilda, Margravine of Meissen Louis V, Duke of Bavaria Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria Louis VI, Duke of Bavaria William I, Duke of Bavaria Albert I, Duke of Bavaria Beatrice, Queen of Sweden Otto V, Duke of Bavaria
House	Wittelsbach
Father	Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Matilda of Habsburg

Louis IV (German: Ludwig; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (Ludwig der Bayer, Latin: Ludovicus Bavarus), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347.

Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was controversial, as his Habsburg cousin Frederick the Fair was simultaneously elected king by a separate set of electors. Louis defeated Frederick in the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322, and the two eventually reconciled. Louis was opposed and excommunicated by the French Pope John XXII; Louis in turn attempted to depose the pope and install an anti-pope.

Louis IV was Duke of Upper Bavaria from 1294 to 1301 together with his elder brother Rudolf I, was Margrave of Brandenburg until 1323, and Count Palatine of the Rhine until 1329, and became Duke of Lower Bavaria in 1340. He was the last Bavarian to be a king of Germany until 1742. He became Count of Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, and Friesland in 1345 when his wife Margaret inherited those domains.^[1][2]