Born in Graz, the eldest son of Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg and his first wife, Maria Anna of Bavaria, and was baptised as Ferdinand Ernst. German map of religious demographics in the Holy Roman Empire before the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War. He was the oldest son of Archduke Charles of the Inner Austrian line of the Hapsburgs (ruling in Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, etc., since 1576) and Maria, the daughter of Duke Albert V of Bavaria. He made an unsuccessful expedition to Italy, but because of opposition from the Venetians, failed to reach Rome for his imperial coronation in 1508. The Habsburg cause in the next few years would seem to suffer unrecoverable reverses. His greatest success was in arranging the marriage of his son Philip to Joan I of Castile, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. Although Protestant, he was not successful in uniting Protestants in the empire.…, Charles VI, 1685–1740, Holy Roman emperor (1711–40), king of Bohemia (1711–40) and, as Charles III, king of Hungary (1712–40); brother and successor…, MATTHIAS (HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE) (1557–1619; ruled 1612–1619). Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. Albert's cousin Duke Frederick of Styria succeeded him and ruled as Frederick III until 1493. ", to take advantage of; to make productive use of. Quarrels within the family, the ambitions of rival families, and the general political instability in Europe prevented the Habsburgs from regaining the imperial* throne until 1438, when Albert II seized power. Charles finally arranged for his brother Ferdinand to inherit the imperial throne, which would then pass to Philip, Charles's son. 2021 . . Charlemagne (2 April 742/747/748 28 January 814), also known as Charles the Great (German: Karl der Große; Latin: Carolus or Karolus Magnus) or Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, the King of Italy from 774, and from 800 the first emperor in western Europe since the collapse of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. In the late thirteenth century, Rudolf I became the first of the line to be elected as Holy Roman Emperor; he passed this title on to his son Albert I. Though a Habsburg and a Catholic, he approached the Lutheran Imperial estates with a view to overcome the denominational schism, which ultimately failed. ." The Habsburgs also played a significant role in the cultural life of the Renaissance through their patronage* of major artists, literary figures, and scientists. He had all Protestants dismissed from court service. Weary of his heavy responsibilities, Charles abdicated in 1555; three years later Ferdinand was crowned emperor. ." Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Wishing to keep the empire in the hands of one man, Charles announced in 1550 his intention to turn over the entire Habsburg inheritance to his talented son Philip. His cousin Ferdinand II, who succeeded him, was a staunch Catholic whose attempts to enforce Habsburg authority in Bohemia touched off the Thirty Years' War. Finally, he married his son, Maximilian, to Mary of Burgundy (daughter of the prosperous duke of Burgundy). He married Anna of Tyrol (1585 – 1618) in 1611. Who did the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II hire to build an imperial army? Lutherans—that is to say, Lutheran estates and governments—sought to extend the rights they had won in 1555 to parts of Germany that were still Roman Catholic. He dealt with the efforts of reformers to alter the political structure of the realm and with disagreements over taxes. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/arts-construction-medicine-science-and-technology-magazines/habsburg-dynasty, "Habsburg dynasty The Holy Roman Empire was a fragmented collection of largely independent states, which, after the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, was divided between Catholic and Protestant rulership. Matthias, (born Feb. 24, 1557, Vienna—died March 20, 1619, Vienna), Holy Roman emperor from 1612, who, in a reversal of the policy of his father, Maximilian II, sponsored a Catholic revival in the Habsburg domains that, despite his moderating influence, … A well-educated man and skillful diplomat, Maximilian was a patron of the arts, literature, and scholarship at his court in Vienna. The Austrian domain was thus a major European power in its own right, ruling over some eight million subjects. Some people said of the Habsburgs, "Others may wage war, but thou, happy Austria, marry! Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. The term “Roman emperor” is older, dating from Otto II (died 983). Rudolf II, Maximilian's successor as Holy Roman Emperor, made Prague a center of the new astronomy, bringing Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler to his court in the capital of Bohemia. After Matthias's accession as Holy Roman Emperor, his policy was dominated by Klesl, who hoped to bring about a compromise between Catholic and Protestant states within the Holy Roman Empire in order to strengthen it. Initially a war between various Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmented Holy Roman Empire, it gradually developed into a more general conflict involving most of the great powers. Encyclopedia.com. Maximilian’s successor as Holy Roman emperor and as archduke of Austria, his son Rudolf II (reigned 1576–1612), had been educated in Spain strictly in the Catholic faith. Through a series of advantageous marriages, the family managed to overcome territorial and language boundaries and gained control of much of Europe and of vast tracts of land in the Americas. Ferdinand II was a devout Roman Catholic and relatively intolerant when compared to his predecessor, Rudolf II. ." The Thirty Years’ War was a series of wars between various Protestant and Catholic states in the fragmented Holy Roman Empire between 1618 and 1648. Charles retired to his country house and died in 1558, the year Ferdinand was crowned emperor. ), political body in central Europe composed of several states; existed until 1806, referring to a Renaissance cultural movement promoting the study of the humanities (the languages, literature, and history of ancient Greece and Rome) as a guide to living, Turkish followers of Islam who founded the Ottoman Empire in the 1300s; the empire eventually included large areas of eastern Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa, As a matchmaker, Maximilian I had few equals. The Later Habsburgs. In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg had settled religious disputes in the Holy Roman Empire by enshrining the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio, allowing a prince to determine the religion of his subjects. A devout Catholic, Charles fought against the Protestant Reformation, which was supported by German princes who sought independence from Habsburg control. One of the most remarkable princes to emerge during the Renaissance, Frederick's son Maximilian I (1459–1519) had studied astrology, music, carpentry, mining, hunting, weaponry, and other subjects in his youth. He was an enthusiastic follower of the open-minded humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus. ." His tolerance for diversity, however, went only so far. Rivalries for land and authority within the Habsburg family were intense. Maximilian's grandson Charles inherited the throne of Spain as well as the title of Holy Roman Emperor. In the arts, Charles maintained the Habsburg tradition of patronage, supporting DÜrer and the great Italian painter Titian. Despite numerous intermarriages, the Habsburg inheritance remained divided between its Austrian and Spanish branches. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/habsburg-dynasty, "Habsburg Dynasty Although the Peace of Augsburg created a temporary end to hostilities, it did not resolve the underlying religious conflict, which was made yet more complex by the spread of Calvinism throughout Germany in the years that followed. Maximilian II became the Holy Roman Emperor in 1564, followed by Rudolf II in 1576. Matthias of Austria, a member of the House of Habsburg (* February 24, 1557 in Vienna, † March 20, 1619 ibid) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria (1612 – 1619), king of Hungary (as Mátyás II) and Croatia (as Matija II) since 1608 and king of Bohemia (also as Matyáš II) since 1611. He also had six sisters. . He also reached an agreement with Pope Nicholas V that gave the Holy Roman Emperor considerable authority over the appointment of church officials in Habsburg lands. Charles never fully realized the significance of his overseas possessions. . FERDINAND II, HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR Reigned from 1619 to 1637; b. Graz, Styria, July 9, 1578; d. Vienna, Feb. 15, 1637. Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor (1619–1637), King of Bohemia (1617–1619, 1620–1637), and King of Hungary and Croatia (1618–1637). Charles defeated a French army and King Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, and fought off an assault by the Ottoman Turks on Vienna in 1529. ." Protestants in Bohemia were wary of Ferdinand reversing the religious tolerance and freedom formerly established by the Peace of Augsburg. Philip continued his father's patronage of the Italian artist Titian and also promoted the career of one of the leading female painters of the late Renaissance—Sofonisba Anguissola of Cremona. The population’s sentiments notwithstanding, the added insult of the nobility’s rejection of Ferdinand, who had been elected Bohemian Crown Prince in 1617, triggered the Thirty Years’ War in 1618, when his representatives were thrown out of a window and seriously injured. In 1618 the war began with religious conflict in Bohemia. See Also: Charles V; Holy Roman Empire; Philip II; Reformation, Protestant. He was increasingly viewed as unfit to govern, and other me… The precise term Sacrum Romanum Imperium dates only from 1254, though the term Holy Empire reaches back to 1157, and the term Roman Empire was used from 1034 to denote the lands under Conrad II’s rule. The Swedish intervention in the Thirty Years’ War, when King Gustav II Adolf … The war began when the newly elected Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, tried to impose religious uniformity on his domains, forcing Roman Catholicism on its peoples, and the Protestant states banded together to revolt against him. In some lordships and cities, the numbers of Calvinists, Catholics, and Lutherans were approximately equal. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. These states employed relatively large mercenary armies, and the war became less about religion and more of a continuation o… On the death of Ferdinand I in 1564, the Habsburg domains were divided among his three sons: Maximilian II became Holy Roman Emperor, and also ruled Bohemia and Austria. The Empire consists of the Emperor, seven electors and a number of teutonic princes. The Netherlands, Spain, Italian lands, and the colonies went to Philip. Matthias was born in the Austrian capital of Vienna as the fourth son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria of Spain. Minorities of each creed existed almost everywhere, however. In the 17th century, religious beliefs and practices were a much larger influence on an average European. Rudolf was born in Vienna on 18 July 1552. (March 10, 2021). In Document 1 the Holy Roman Emperor Matthias writes a letter to the Protestant leaders in Bohemia stating there is no need for rebellion because he has no intention of Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (1612-1619) was born in Vienna on February 24, 1557 and died in Vienna on March 20, 1619.. . A royal dynasty whose members became the hereditary rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, and held authority over the largest realm in Europe during the Renaissance. The younger son of Maximilian II, Matthias served as governor-general of the Spanish Netherlands, 1578 – 1581, governor of Upper and Lower Austria (1593), king of Hungary (1608), and king of Bohemia (1611). "Habsburg Dynasty Ferdinand I spent much of his reign trying to settle religious conflicts in Germany and urging war against the Ottomans. Toward the end his reign, Emperor Matthias, realizing he would die without an heir, arranged for his lands to go to his nearest male relative, the staunchly Catholic Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria. He also was faced with the ongoing Ottoman–Habsburg wars and rising conflicts with his Habsburg Spain cousins. Austria and Hungary, History: Biographies, Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students. The younger son of Maximilian II, Matthias served as governor-general of the Spanish Nethe…, The Holy Roman Empire, a political organization made up of states in central Europe, existed from 962 until 1806. The immense empire ruled by Charles V—the largest since the time of Charlemagne—posed a serious problem regarding succession. He had less success in his role as Holy Roman Emperor, failing to establish a workable system of taxation in the empire and raiding the royal treasury. Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students. This added a third major faith to the region, but its position was not recognized in any way by the Augsburg terms, to which only Catholicism and Lutheranism were parties. Although Albert ruled for only about a year, he became the first of an unbroken line of Habsburg rulers that lasted until 1740. A capable ruler with a wide education, Frederick consolidated Habsburg rule in Germany, expanded the domain to the east, and signed the Concordat of Vienna with Pope Nicholas V, an agreement that allowed the Habsburgs some independence from the control of the church.