recent
acquisition of Austria, Carinthia, and Carniola.

In the tenth century Austria, with both Styria and Carniola, under the
title of a margravate, was governed by Leopold I of the house of
Bamberg. It continued in the possession of his family, and in 1156 was
erected into an independent duchy by the emperor Frederick II, and
conferred on Henry, fifth in descent from Leopold, as an indivisible
and inalienable fief; in failure of male issue it was made descendible
to his eldest daughter, and, in failure of female issue, disposable by
will. In 1245 Frederick the Warlike, last duke of the Bamberg line,
obtained a confirmation of this decree; but, dying in the ensuing year
without issue and without disposing of his territories by will, a
dispute arose relative to his succession. The claimants were his two
sisters, Margaret, widow of Henry VII, King of the Romans, and
Constantia, wife of Henry the Illustrious, Margrave of Misnia; and his
niece Gertrude, daughter of Henry, his elder brother, the wife of
Premislaus, eldest son of Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia and brother of
Ottocar. But on the plea that neither of the claimants was a daughter
of the last Duke, the Emperor Frederick II sequestrated these
territories as fiefs escheating to the empire, and transferred the
administration to Otho, Count of Werdenberg, who took possession of
the country and resided in Vienna.

As this event happened during the contest between the see of Rome and
the house of Swabia, Innocent IV, who had deposed and excommunicated
Frederick, laid Austria under an interdict, and encouraged the kings
of Bohemia and Hungary and the Duke of Bavaria to invade the country.
The Pope first patronized the claims of Margaret, and urged her to
marry a German prince; but on her application to the Emperor to bestow
the duchy on her eldest son Frederick, he supported Gertrude, who,
after the death of Premislaus, had espoused Herman, Margrave of Baden,
nephew of Otho, Duke of Bavaria, and induced the anticaesar, William of
Holland, to grant him the investiture.

On the demise of Frederick II his son Conrad was too much occupied
with the affairs of Italy to attend to those of Germany; the imperial
troops quitted Austria, and, Herman dying, Otho of Bavaria occupied
that part of Austria which lies above the Ems. But Wenceslaus of
Bohemia, prevailing on the states to choose his eldest surviving son
Ottocar as their sovereign, under the condition that he should espo