July 31, 1527: Birth of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia. Part I.

Tags

Agust of Saxony, Charles V Holy Roman Empire, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Bohemia, Kingdom of Hungary Maximilian II, Philip II of Spain

Maximilian II (July 13, 1527 – October 12, 1576), a member of the Austrian House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 until his death. He was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague on May 14, 1562 and elected King of Germany (King of the Romans) on November 24, 1562. On September 8, 1563 he was crowned King of Hungary and Croatia in the Hungarian capital Pressburg (Pozsony in Hungarian; now Bratislava, Slovakia). On July 25, 1564 he succeeded his father Ferdinand I as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.

Maximilian was born in Vienna, Austria, the eldest son of the Habsburg archduke Ferdinand I, younger brother of Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Jagiellonian Princess Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547). Maximilian’s mother, Princess Anne of Bohemia and Hungary was the elder child and only daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (1456–1516) and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale.

King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia was her younger brother. Her paternal grandparents were King Casimir IV of Poland (of the Jagiellon dynasty) and Elisabeth of Austria (Habsburg), one of the heiresses of the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Duchy of Luxembourg and the Duchy of Kujavia. Her maternal grandparents were Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale, and Catherine de Foix, an Infanta of the Kingdom of Navarre.

Maximilian was named after his great-grandfather, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. At the time of his birth in 1527, his father Ferdinand succeeded his brother-in-law King Louis II in the Kingdom of Bohemia and the Kingdom of Hungary, and in 1556 Ferdinand succeeded his brother as the Holy Roman Emperor, laying the grounds for the global Habsburg Monarchy.

Having spent his childhood years at his father’s court in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Maximilian was educated principally in Italy. Among his teachers were humanist scholars like Kaspar Ursinus Velius and Georg Tannstetter. He also came in contact with the Lutheran teaching and early on corresponded with the Protestant Prince-Elector August of Saxony, suspiciously eyed by his Habsburg relatives.

From the age of 17, he gained some experience of warfare during the Italian War campaign of his uncle Charles V against King François I of France in 1544, and also during the Schmalkaldic War. Upon Charles’ victory in the 1547 Battle of Mühlberg, Maximilian put in a good word for the Schmalkaldic leaders, Johann Friedrich I of Saxony and Philipp I, Landgrave of Hesse, and soon began to take part in Imperial business.

On September 13, 1548 Emperor Charles V married Maximilian to his daughter (Maximilian’s cousin) Infanta Maria of Spain in the Castile residence of Valladolid. By the marriage his uncle intended to strengthen the ties with the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs, but also to consolidate his nephew’s Catholic faith.

Maximilian temporarily acted as the emperor’s representative in Spain, however not as stadtholder of the Habsburg Netherlands as he had hoped for. To his indignation, King Ferdinand appointed his younger brother Ferdinand II administrator in the Kingdom of Bohemia, nevertheless Maximilian’s right of succession as the future king was recognised in 1549. He returned to the Empire in December 1550 in order to take part in the discussion over the Imperial succession.

Maximilian’s relations with his uncle worsened, as Charles V, again embattled by rebellious Protestant princes led by Elector Maurice of Saxony, wished his son, the future King Felipe II of Spain, to succeed him as emperor. However, Charles’ brother Ferdinand, who had already been designated as the next occupant of the imperial throne, and his son Maximilian objected to this proposal. Maximilian sought the support of the German princes such as Duke Albert V of Bavaria and even contacted Protestant leaders like Maurice of Saxony and Duke Christoph of Württemberg.

At length a compromise was reached: Felipe was to succeed Ferdinand, but during the former’s reign Maximilian, as King of the Romans, was to govern Germany. This arrangement was not carried out, and is only important because the insistence of the emperor seriously disturbed the harmonious relations that had hitherto existed between the two branches of the Habsburg family; an illness that befell Maximilian in 1552 was attributed to poison given to him in the interests of his cousin and brother-in-law, Felipe II of Spain.

The relationship between the two cousins was uneasy. While Felipe had been raised a Spaniard and barely travelled out of the kingdom during his life, Maximilian identified himself as the quintessential German prince and often displayed a strong dislike of Spaniards, whom he considered as intolerant and arrogant. While his cousin was reserved and shy, Maximilian was outgoing and charismatic. His adherence to humanism and religious tolerance put him at odds with Felipe who was more committed to the defence of the Catholic faith.

History of Male British Consorts Part I.

Tags

Carlos I of Spain, Charles V Holy Roman Empire, House of Habsburg, House of Tudor, jure uxoris, Kings and Queens of England, Mary I of England, Mary Tudor, Philip II of Spain, Royal Marriages

Mary Tudor was England’s first queen regnant. As mentioned in the initial post announcing the series, Mary I of England is acknowledged as the first Queen to reign in her own right despite the brief, disputed reigns of the Empress Matilda and Lady Jane Grey.

In 1554, Mary married the future King Felipe II of Spain, becoming queen consort of Habsburg Spain on his accession in 1556. He was the eldest son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who is also Carlos I of Spain, and Eleanore of Portugal.

Felipe’s father arranged this marriage to 37-year-old Queen Mary I of England, Charles’ maternal first cousin. Charles V ceded the crown of Naples, as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to Felipe in order to give his son equal status to his wife upon their marriage.

Their marriage at Winchester Cathedral on July 24, 1554 took place just two days after their first meeting. Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the House of Commons petitioned Mary to consider marrying an Englishman, preferring Edward Courtenay.

On the part of Felipe, the marriage was purely political. Felipe had no amorous feelings toward Mary and sought the marriage for its political and strategic gains; Felipe’s aide Ruy Gómez de Silva wrote to a correspondent in Brussels, “the marriage was concluded for no fleshly consideration, but in order to remedy the disorders of this kingdom and to preserve the Low Countries.”

Although England was enlightened enough to allow a woman to be Sovereign Queen in her own right, equality of the sexes was still a long way off because under the English common law doctrine of jure uxoris, all property and titles belonging to a woman became her husband’s upon marriage. Because of this law it was feared that any man married to Queen Mary would thereby become King of England in fact and in name.

While Mary’s grandparents, Fernando II of Aragon Isabella I of Castile (and Felipe’s great-grandparents) had retained sovereignty of their own realms during their marriage, there was no precedent to follow in England.

Both Mary and Felipe were descended from John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, son of King Edward III of England, a relationship that was used to portray Felipe as an English king.

Incidentally, because Felipe descended from an earlier marriage of John of Gaunt, it is genealogically accurate that he had a greater hereditary right to the throne because the House of Tudor’s thin claim to the English crown stemmed from John of Gaunt’s third marriage which at first did not give succession rights to their descendants.

It can also be claimed that despite a thin blood claim to the English throne the House of Tudor became Kings of England by right of conquest and not right of hereditary succession.

Under Mary’s marriage treaty with Felipe, the official joint style and titles reflected not only Mary’s royal domains but also Felipe’s dominions and claims. Upon their Marriage they were titled: “Felipe and Mary, by the grace of God, King and Queen of England, France, Naples, Jerusalem, and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol”.

This style, which had been in use since 1554, was replaced when Felipe inherited the Spanish Crown in 1556 with “Felipe II and Mary, by the Grace of God King and Queen of England, Spain, France, both the Sicilies, Jerusalem and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy, Milan and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol.”

With Mary eager to enter into marriage with Felipe of Spain, therefore the legal parameters of this Union had to be ironed out in a Act of Parliament.

Under the terms of Queen Mary’s Marriage Act, Felipe was to be styled “King of England”, in all official documents (including Acts of Parliament) which were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple.

On the surface this may seem like Mary and Felipe II were joint sovereigns but this was not the case. Felipe’s title, King of England and Ireland, was during Mary’s lifetime only.

Despite holding the title of King, Felipe’s powers were restricted. England would not be obliged to provide military support to Felipe’s father, the Emperor, in any war. When Felipe came to the Spanish throne this stipulation was also adhered to.

As King, Felipe could not act without his wife’s consent or appoint foreigners to offices in England. Felipe was unhappy at these conditions imposed upon him but he was ready to agree for the sake of securing the marriage.

After Felipe II’s visit in 1557, Mary once again thought she was pregnant, with a baby due in March 1558. She decreed in her will that her husband would be the regent during the minority of their child. But no child was born, and Mary was forced to accept that her half-sister Elizabeth would be her lawful successor.

Mary was weak and ill from May 1558. In pain, possibly from ovarian cysts or uterine cancer, she died on November 17, 1558, aged 42, at St James’s Palace, during an influenza epidemic. She was succeeded by Elizabeth. Felipe, who was in Brussels, wrote to his sister Joan: “I felt a reasonable regret for her death.

Upon Mary’s death Felipe cease to be king of England and Ireland. However, he was not so willing to let go of this power and prestigious titles. As we we’ll see in the next post Felipe desired to marry Elizabeth in order to remain being King of England.

This was the first of two times in English history that the husbands of a reigning Queen Regnant were granted the title “King of England.” However, there were difference in each of these occasions. Felipe held the royal title as a Consort but as we shall see in the case of Willem of Orange, he was a full sovereign.

Ironically, Felipe II of Spain and Willem of Orange were the spouses of Queen Mary I of England and Ireland and Queen Mary II of England, Scotland and Ireland, respectively.

November 17, 1558: Death of Mary I, Queen of England and Ireland. Part II.

Tags

Carlos I of Spain, Charles V Holy Roman Empire, Felipe II of Spain, King of Naples, Kings and Queens of England, Kings and Queens of Ireland, Mary I of England, Mary Tudor, Philip II of Spain

Infante Felpie of Spain was unhappy at the conditions imposed on him in his marriage to Queen Mary, but he was ready to agree for the sake of securing the marriage. He had no amorous or romantic feelings toward Mary and sought the marriage for its political and strategic gains; Felipe’s aide Ruy Gómez de Silva wrote to a correspondent in Brussels, “the marriage was concluded for no fleshly consideration, but in order to remedy the disorders of this kingdom and to preserve the Low Countries.”

To elevate his son to Mary’s rank, Felipe’s father, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V ceded to Felipe the crown of Naples as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Therefore, Mary became Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Jerusalem upon marriage.

Their wedding at Winchester Cathedral on July 25, 1554 took place just two days after their first meeting. Felipe could not speak English, and so they spoke in a mixture of Spanish, French, and Latin.

False Pregancy

In September 1554, Mary stopped menstruating. She gained weight, and felt nauseated in the mornings. For these reasons, almost the entirety of her court, including her doctors, believed her to be pregnant. Parliament passed an act making Felipe regent in the event of Mary’s death in childbirth.

In the last week of April 1555, Elizabeth was released from house arrest, and called to court as a witness to the birth, which was expected imminently. According to Giovanni Michieli, the Venetian ambassador, Felipe may have planned to marry Elizabeth in the event of Mary’s death in childbirth, but in a letter to his brother-in-law, Maximilian of Austria, Felipe expressed uncertainty as to whether his wife was pregnant.

Thanksgiving services in the diocese of London were held at the end of April after false rumours that Mary had given birth to a son spread across Europe. Through May and June, the apparent delay in delivery fed gossip that Mary was not pregnant. Susan Clarencieux revealed her doubts to the French ambassador, Antoine de Noailles.

Mary continued to exhibit signs of pregnancy until July 1555, when her abdomen receded. Michieli dismissively ridiculed the pregnancy as more likely to “end in wind rather than anything else”. It was most likely a false pregnancy, perhaps induced by Mary’s overwhelming desire to have a child.

Elizabeth remained at court until October, apparently restored to favour. In the absence of any children, Philip was concerned that one of the next claimants to the English throne after his sister-in-law was the Queen of Scots, who was betrothed to the Dauphin, François of France. Felipe persuaded his wife that Elizabeth should marry his cousin Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, to secure the Catholic succession and preserve the Habsburg interest in England, but Elizabeth refused to comply and parliamentary consent was unlikely.

In the month following her accession, Mary issued a proclamation that she would not compel any of her subjects to follow her religion, but by the end of September 1553, leading Protestant churchmen—including John Bradford, John Rogers, John Hooper, Hugh Latimer, and Thomas Cranmer—were imprisoned.

Mary’s first Parliament, which assembled in early October, declared the marriage of her parents valid and abolished Edward’s religious laws. Church doctrine was restored to the form it had taken in the 1539 Six Articles of Henry VIII, which (among other things) re-affirmed clerical celibacy. Married priests were deprived of their benefices.

Mary had always rejected the break with Rome instituted by her father and the establishment of Protestantism by her brother’s regents. Philip persuaded Parliament to repeal Henry’s religious laws, thus returning the English church to Roman jurisdiction. Reaching an agreement took many months and Mary and Pope Julius III had to make a major concession: the confiscated monastery lands were not returned to the church but remained in the hands of their influential new owners. By the end of 1554, the pope had approved the deal, and the Heresy Acts were revived.

Under the Heresy Acts, numerous Protestants were executed in the Marian persecutions. Around 800 rich Protestants, including John Foxe, fled into exile. The first executions occurred over a period of five days in early February 1555: John Rogers on February 4,:Laurence Saunders on February 8, and Rowland Taylor and John Hooper on February 9. Thomas Cranmer, the imprisoned archbishop of Canterbury, was forced to watch Bishops Ridley and Latimer being burned at the stake.

Cranmer recanted, repudiated Protestant theology, and rejoined the Catholic faith. Under the normal process of the law, he should have been absolved as a repentant. Mary, however, refused to reprieve him. On the day of his burning, he dramatically withdrew his recantation. In total, 283 were executed, most by burning. The burnings proved so unpopular that even Alfonso de Castro, one of Felipe’s own ecclesiastical staff, condemned them and another adviser, Simon Renard, warned him that such “cruel enforcement” could “cause a revolt”.

Mary persevered with the policy, which continued until her death and exacerbated anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish feeling among the English people. The victims of the persecutions became lauded as martyrs.

The Holy Roman Empire

Tags

Charlemagne, Charles V Holy Roman Empire, Essay on the Manner and Spirit of Nations and on the Principal Occurrences in History, Frederick Barbarossa, House of Hohenstaufen, Karl V, Otto the Great, Voltaire

Otto I, the Great. Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Saxony.

After developing my love of royalty with my interest in the British monarchy my next fascination was with the German monarchies. The history of monarchy in Germany can make your head spin. We have the Carolingian Empire founded by Charlemagne, the Kingdom of Germany and then the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. Historians are all over the map with these terms, some seeing all of these as one entity while others see them as three distinct entities. I think the truth is that what became the Holy Roman Empire was something that had evolved over time and has been connected to previous empires.

On Christmas day 800, Charles the Great (Charlemagne) was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III. His actual title was Imperator Romanorum, Emperor of the Romans. I recall one historian which I watched on TV discussing a biography of Charlemagne mention that his empire really did not have a name. He was supposed to have revived the Roman Empire in the West. The Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire as it was called, was still thriving in the year 800CE with Irene of Athens as the reigning Empress. However, today Charlemagne’s Empire is not seen as a continuation of the Roman Empire but the originator of a new Empire which eventually was called the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. This points to an interesting aspect of historiography; terms and labels that we are now familiar with were often inventions by later historians and placed retrospectively on the past. My mentioning of the Byzantine Empire is a good example. To its contemporaries the Byzantine Empire was known simply as the Roman Empire.

Charlemagne’s empire was eventually dived up with the western half evolving into the Kingdom of France. The last Imperator Romanorum of Charlemagne’s empire, according to some historians, was Berengar of Friuli (c845-924) who ruled from 915 until his death in 924. Some historians count Arnulf of Carinthia (850-899) as the last official holder of the imperial title from 896 until his death in 899. The next definitive holder of the Imperial title would be Otto of Saxony (912-973) who was crowned Emperor on February 2, 962, by Pope John XII. Otto’s father, Heinrich the Fowler is numbered as Heinrich I among the Holy Roman Emperors despite never holding the imperial title. Heinrich the Fowler held the title Rex Teutonicorum “King of the Germans.” Reading on the history of the German Kingdom it looks as if several monarchs reigned at the same time. For example, Heinrich I’s immediate predecessor, Conrad I (890-918) who ruled as a German King from 911 until his death in 918 is also listed as a Holy Roman Emperor although he never held the imperial title.

With such confusion among historians over this time period (it still makes my head spin) it is easy to see how Otto can be called the first of the Holy Roman Emperors since it was the revival of his title which evolved into the Holy Roman Empire. The German aspect of the nation wouldn’t be emphasized until the end of the Hohenstaufen Dynasty under Conrad IV (1250-1254) when the Italian possessions of the empire were lost. It was also during the Hohenstaufen Dynasty when the term “Holy” was attached to the empire to signify its close association with the Church. Emperors were not considered to have adopted their office until officially crowned by the pope. As future emperors wanted to assert their own authority the papal coronation was done away with. Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I adopted the title Erwählter Römischer Kaiser (Elected Roman Emperor) with approval of Pope Julius II, ending the custom that the Holy Roman Emperor had to be crowned by the pope.

The Holy Roman Empire continues to fascinate me and even the times which came after it . After looking at the complexities of its history I can agree with Voltaire’s famous description of the empire in his 1756 Essay on the Manner and Spirit of Nations and on the Principal Occurrences in History, that the Empire as “neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.”

Crown of the Holy Roman Emperors

Top 10 Favorite Monarchs

Tags

Carlos I of Spain, Charlemagne, Charles I of England, Charles II of England, Charles V Holy Roman Empire, English Civil War, Felipe II of Spain, Kings and Queens of England, Protestant Reformation, Sir Issac Newton, William the Conqueror

Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland

Today I am taking a break from my pretenders series and will do something a little fun, well fun for me. I am going to list my top 10 favorite monarchs with some biographical information. I will do this in two sections. 5 today and 5 tomorrow.

Top 10 Favorite Monarchs

1. Charlemagne, King of the Franks, Emperor of the West
Born: c. 742. Died: 28 January 814. Reign: King, 768-814; Emperor 800-814.

Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, ruled the majority of Europe in his life time and the forging of his empire was to have repercussions throughout European history. He was a strong warrior and also an able administrator.

2. William I the Conqueror, King of England, Duke of Normandy
Born: c. 1028 Died: 9 September 1087. Reign: Duke, 1035-1087; King, 1066-1087

William the Conqueror was another powerful warrior and his conquest of the throne of England changed the course of English history. He brought permanent changes to the Church, aristocracy, culture, the nature of kingship and language that can still be felt today.

3. Karl V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain
Born: 24 February 1500. Died: 21 September 1558. Reign: King, 1516-1556; Emperor, 1519-1556

Holy Roman Emperor Karl V (Carlos I of Spain) also ruled a vast empire and had titles too numerous to list here. His empire rivaled that of Charlemagne’s. One of the most powerful rulers of the Habsburg family Karl and his policies played a large role in Protestant Reformation a significant moment in European history. His empire was broken up on his abdication in 1556. The Holy Roman Empire went to his brother Ferdinand and Spain to his eldest son, Felipe II.

4. Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre.
Born: 5 September 1638. Died: 1 September 1715. Reign: 1648-1715.

Louis XIV holds the record for being the longest reigning king in European history ruling France and the tiny kingdom of Navarre for 72 years 110 days. He came to his throne as a child and survived political uprisings to take the reigns of government himself and has become the model for absolute monarchy. He built the Palace of Versailles and brought much good for France but also sowed the seeds for future revolution.

5. Charles II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland
Born: 5 September 1638. Died: 1 September 1715. Reign: 1660-1685

A first cousin to king Louis XIV of France, Charles II, was called the Merry Monarch but almost never came to the throne. His father, Charles I, lost his head at the end of the English Civil War and the monarchy was abolished. He spent much of that time with a bounty on his head and living in exile. Restored to the throne in 1660 Charles opened a breath of fresh air after 11 years of puritanical rule. He allowed the theater to thrive once again and became a patron of the arts. Science also returned to prominence and this was an area in which the king specifically supported. Charles II founded the Royal Observatory and supported the Royal Society, a scientific group whose members included Sir Isaac Newton.

The next five will be revealed tomorrow.