John II, Duke of Bavaria
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Duke John II of Bavaria-Munich (1341–1397), (German: Johann II, Herzog von Bayern-München), since 1375 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was the third son of Stephen II and Elizabeth of Sicily.
His maternal grandparents were Frederick III of Sicily and Eleanor of Anjou. His maternal grandparents were Eleanor was Charles II of Naples and Maria Arpad of Hungary.
Maria was a daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and his wife, queen Elisabeth, who was daughter of Zayhan of Kuni, a chief of the Cuman tribe and had been a pagan before her marriage.
Stephen V was a son of Béla IV of Hungary and Maria Laskarina. Maria Laskarina was a daughter of Theodore I Lascaris and Anna Angelina. Anna was daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius III and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina.
From 1375 to 1392 John ruled with his brothers Stephen III and Frederick. In 1392 John initiated a new partition of Bavaria since he refused to finance the Italian adventures of his brothers and Stephen's expensive holding of court. Then John ruled alone in Bavaria-Munich for three years until 1395, but 1395 to 1397 he shared his power again with Stephen III again after an armed conflict between both brothers. John II was succeeded by his sons Ernest and William III who finally managed to enforce their sole rule over Bavaria-Munich against Stephen III.
He married 1372 Katharina of Görz. They children were:
- Ernest I of Bavaria-Munich (1373–2 July 1438, Munich).
- William III of Bavaria-Munich (1375, Munich–1435, Munich).
- Sofia of Bavaria (1376–26 September 1425, Pressburg), married in Prague 2 May 1389 King Wenceslaus.
He also had illegitimate son, Johann Grünwalder (1393–1452), who was Cardinal and Bishop of Freising.
| Preceded by Stephen II |
Duke of Bavaria 1375–1397 |
Succeeded by Ernest |