Taddea Visconti

Who was Taddea Visconti?

Taddea Visconti, Duchess of Bavaria 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.

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. 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.

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".