Toynbee "Rodolfo_1"
Rudolf I, emperor from 1273 to 1291; he was born in 1218, and was the eldest son of Albert IV, count of Habsburg, and the founder of the imperial house of Austria. He first served under Ottokar, king of Bohemia, in his German wars, but in 1273, as he was encamped before the walls of Basle, he received the news that he had been elected emperor, in preference to Ottokar and to Alfonso of Castile. Ottokar refused to acknowledge him as emperor, but Rudolf, supported by powerful allies, made war upon him and compelled him to sue for peace, which was granted only upon condition that he should cede Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. A few years later Ottokar again rebelled, and was finally defeated and slain near Vienna Aug. 1278. Rudolf allowed Ottokar's son, Wenceslaus, to succeed to the throne of Bohemia, but Austria, Styria, and Carniola he granted to his own sons, Albert and Rudolf. [Ottacchero: Vincislao].

The Emperor Rudolf is placed among the Negligent Princes in the valley of flowers in Ante-Purgatory, where he is seated amicably in company with his former foe, Ottokar of Bohemia, [Purg. vii. 94] [Antipurgatorio]; D., by the mouth of Sordello, reproaches him with having neglected Italy, inasmuch as 'he might have healed the wounds which caused her death' ([Purg. vii. 94-96]). Villani says of him:

Questo re Ridolfo fu di grande affare, e magnanimo, e pro' in arme, e bene avventuroso in battaglie, molto ridottato dagli Alamanni e dagl'Italiani, e se avesse voluto passare in Italia, sanza contrasto n'era signore. ({Villani. vii. 55}),

. .. sempre intese a crescere suo stato e signoria in Alamagna, lasciando le 'mprese d'ltalia per accrescere terra e podere a' figliuoli, che per suo procaccio e valore di piccolo conte divenne imperadore, e acquistò in proprio il ducato d'Osterich, e gran parte di quello di Soavia. ({Villani. vii. 146}.)

Rudolf is referred to as the father of the Emperor Albert I and again reproached for his neglect of Itaiy, [Purg. vi. 103] [Alberto Tedesco]; he is mentioned (in the Heaven of Venus) by Charles Martel of Hungary (son of Charles II of Naples and grandson of Charles I), who married his daughter Clemence, [Par. viii. 72] [Clemenza: Carlo_3]; D. mentions him, together with his successors Adolf and Albert I among the successors of Frederick II, Conv. IV. iii. 6 [Andolfo: Federigo_2].

©Oxford University Press 1968. From A Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante by Paget Toynbee (1968) by permission of Oxford University Press