Taddea Visconti

Taddea Visconti
Duchess of Bavaria
Born	1351 Milan, Italy
Died	28 September 1381 Munich, Germany
Noble family	House of Visconti (by birth) House of Wittelsbach (by marriage)
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.

Early life

Bernabò Visconti and Beatrice Regina della Scala, the parents of Taddea Visconti

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). She had sixteen younger siblings. 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, was a ruthless despot, who would, in 1385, be overthrown by his nephew and son-in-law Gian Galeazzo Visconti and later poisoned in the castle of Trezzo.

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. He ruled jointly with his brothers, Frederick and John II, in Bavaria-Landshut. Taddea brought a dowry of 100,000 gold ducats. Her husband Stephen is described by historian Barbara Tuchman as "reckless, prodigal, ostentatious, amorous, restless without a tournament or war and well-suited to a Visconti daughter".

The marriage produced three children:

• Louis VII, Duke of Bavaria (c. 1368–2 May 1447), married firstly Anne de Bourbon, 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.
• unnamed son (born and died in 1377)

Death and legacy

Taddea died on 28 September 1381 in Munich at the age of 30. She was buried in Unsere Liebe Frau. 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

Family of Taddea Visconti

Teobaldo Visconti Matteo I Visconti, Lord of Milan Anastasia Pirovana Stefano Visconti, Lord of Milan Squarcina Borri Violante Bonacosa Borri Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan Brancaleone Doria Barnabo Doria, Captain of Genoa Caterina Zancha Valentina Doria Federico Fieschi, Lord of Genoa Eliana Fieschi Chiara N. Taddea Visconti Alberto I della Scala, Lord of Verona Alboino I della Scala, Lord of Verona Verde di Salizzole Mastino II della Scala Gilberto III da Correggio, Lord of Parma Beatrice da Correggio Elena Malaspina Beatrice Regina della Scala Marsiglio III da Carrara Jacopo I da Carrara N.N. di Carturo Taddea da Carrara Pietro Gradenigo, Doge of Venice Anna Gradenigo Tommasina Morosini

Sources

• Cawley, Charles. "Dukes of Bavaria". Medieval Lands.
• Cawley, Charles. "Lords of Milan, Visconti". Medieval Lands.
• Tuchman, Barbara (1978). A Distant Mirror. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.